1.25.26 Matthew 4:12–23 (EHV)
12 When Jesus heard that John was put in prison, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 He did this to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: 15 Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, along the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, 16 the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and on those dwelling in the region and the shadow of death a light has dawned. 17 From that time, Jesus began to preach: “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near.” 18 As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen. 19 He said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 They immediately left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. 23 Jesus traveled throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.
The Quiet Counter-Attack
If you’ve been following the news, the latest headlines have revolved around the interactions of immigration officials in Minnesota. Some protestors are throwing objects through the glass of cars and hurling epithets at the officers, blowing whistles in their ears. Renee Nicole Good, an anti-ICE agitator was then shot and killed after driving towards an officer near Minneapolis. I recently saw a video of a man now holding a gun to “protect” his neighborhood from ICE officials. This week they interrupted a Baptist church service nearby. You can see the temperature rising quickly.
God prescribed “eye for eye” when it came to dealing out justice within the government of the Old Testament. However, we make a distinction between how we are to respond individually and how the government is supposed to respond officially. Jesus told us to “turn the other cheek.” One of my favorite books to read was “The Hidden Place,” written by Corrie TenBoom. She was a strong Christian woman who resisted the Nazi regime, not with vulgarity and violence, but with a more passive resistance. Even when she was arrested, she showed respect to the soldiers and prayed for those that imprisoned her. When Martin Luther expounded on the Sermon on the Mount, he also preached a very passive resistance, almost too extreme in my opinion. There is such a thing as self defense.
When we get to today’s text, John the Baptist was thrown in prison after preaching against Herod Antipas. (This wasn’t the same Herod that had the babies of Bethlehem murdered. He was known as Herod the “Great.” This was one of his sons.) Herod Antipas had married his brother’s wife, basically stealing her from him. So John the Baptist publicly condemned what Herod did. Remember that John was a well known prophet. Many people had come out to be baptized by him. He was miraculously born of his mother Elizabeth when she was well beyond child bearing years. So this could have escalated quickly. If Jesus wanted to, He could have easily stirred up the Jewish people to a rebellion.
But how does Jesus respond? When Jesus heard that John was put in prison, he withdrew into Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. Nazareth was his home town where he grew up, south west of the Sea of Galilee. He left from there and went 20 miles away to the northern side of the Sea of Galilee. It seems strange to us though, doesn’t it? Why not show some power? Show that you won’t be intimidated! What better way to show your power than standing up to the man?
I. Spreads Light in the Darkness
Jesus wasn’t running. He was actually launching a quiet, powerful and strategic counter-attack on darkness. He was fulfilling a prophecy spoken and written about 700 years before Jesus was even born. Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, along the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and on those dwelling in the region and the shadow of death a light has dawned. This prophecy shows that God was ALWAYS concerned about the salvation of ALL people - even the Gentiles - the non-Jews, and this was Jesus' way of fulfilling that desire.
Galilee was an area that didn’t have as much knowledge of the Old Testament. Many years prior the Assyrians had taken the Jews captive and those who were left behind intermarried with the Assyrians. The religion of the land was a hodge podge of different theologies, with Judaism and other foreign religions mixed together. They needed to hear the truth. So Jesus went to a darker place, in order to let His light shine THERE all the more. He wasn’t just running from danger. He was running to spread His light somewhere else, to a place that was somewhat despised by the people of Jerusalem, up north. It was a strategic withdrawal. God wanted them to see Jesus too. He wanted them to be saved also.
And the same rings true of you as well. No matter what kind of darkness you’ve been living in. No matter what kind of secrets you are keeping inside. No matter how neglected you’ve been, maybe even by your own family. He knows your darkness. He knows what you’re running from. He didn’t put you in the darkness, but He wants to save you from it. He doesn’t want you to stay in the dark. He wants you to come to the Light. He wants you to have hope. He wants you to know that He sees you and He wants you too. His quiet counter-attack to darkness is simply to turn on the Light where it is needed most.
II. An Unchanging War Cry
Now think about this. It is all the more interesting. God comes from heaven above. He has all of the wisdom of eternity. He can see things that nobody else can see. He has an eternity of insights. He could have been so much more impressive than Solomon. Yet what does Jesus do to turn the lights on in Galilee? From that time, Jesus began to preach: “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near.” It sounds so simple. So basic. He preaches the same message as John, and it’s the same message as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the rest of the prophets as well. Why not try something new? Something different? Something more attractive? John was imprisoned for it and eventually beheaded for it. Jeremiah was sawed in two over it, and many other prophets died over it as well. Kind of an ugly message in the world’s ears, one that the world has always hated. Repent! But Jesus continues with the unchanging war cry against sin. Repent!
Why do so many despise this simple message? It is completely counter cultural to our world’s gospel. The gospel of the world is acceptance. Take me as I am. Take it or leave it. It is actually loud and prideful. This “gospel” is now being preached in Christian churches, which means that you have nothing to repent of. God is love, and God loves everyone. But that’s a twisting of how God’s Word says it. The call to repentance calls for a quiet humility, to admit there is darkness within, sin inside of all of us. Imagine if your thoughts were on a loudspeaker for all to hear, just today, during worship. Do you think you might be embarrassed over some of those thoughts? God knows them. He sees them. He doesn’t ignore them. He doesn’t treat them as no big deal. He treats it as a reality. He calls on all of us to repent. And that was the first thesis that Luther wrote when he posted the 95 Theses to the Castle Door of the Wittenberg church. He wrote, "When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, 'Repent,' he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance". Repentance is a quiet and humble way of life for Christians. Jesus didn’t come to preach anything new.
But we can’t forget WHY He wants us to repent. Repentance isn’t just turning FROM darkness. It’s also turning TO the light, and Jesus said that He IS the Light of the WORLD. That’s what Jesus came to provide, a beacon of light, mercy and forgiveness, in the darkest place of them all, at the cross. This is where hell landed on heaven, God’s wrath was spent on behalf of humanity, on His Son, for your sins and my sins. We look at the cross. It is the darkest of darkness, and yet the lightest of light.
Notice how Jesus says it. Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near. Having a kingdom also means that there is a new King and a new Ruler in town. In baptism, God has created a way for my sins to be washed away, for me to look holy and precious in God’s sight. So this King changes my outlook on life. He grabs hold of my love and attention with His mercy and forgiveness. He promises to send His angels to protect me. He promises to take me to heaven when I die. He promises to work all things out for my good. He captivates my mind and heart. I can’t stop thinking about Him throughout the day. I hope in Him. I love Him. He rules me with His love. The kingdom of heaven is within. It’s a spiritual kingdom on earth.
Think of Paul and Silas in prison. Here they are with their feet in the stocks for proclaiming the Gospel. They’ve been stripped naked and beaten severely. And what are they doing in the midst of their pain? They are SINGING hymns to Jesus! (Acts 16) They are filled with hope and joy. Why? Because Jesus was ruling in their hearts. They weren’t ruled by bitterness and anger. They were ruled by peace, hope, and joy.
Jesus’ call to repent calls for a radical change of allegiance—a different Kingdom and a different Ruler.
III. The Unlikely Army (Verses 18-22)
So it is only logical that God would use a different kind of Army for His different kind of kingdom. Look at who He chooses to fight with Him. The first people He chooses to advance His mission are regular fisherman, Peter, Andrew, James, and John. They weren't polished scholars, speakers, or warriors. They were just regular guys. Jesus wouldn’t have wanted any of them to think that they were something special. He wanted them to have a profound sense of humility. In the Luke rendition of this story, Peter was so humbled at the miraculous catch of fish that he knelt before Jesus and told him to leave, because he didn’t feel worthy to be in Jesus’ presence. That was exactly the perfect attitude to be one of Jesus’ disciples, one of repentance and humility.
And if you think about what is happening today as I preach my first sermon to you, and embark on a new ministry of feeding you with Word and sacrament, isn’t that a great thing to remember about me too? I’m nothing special. I’m a sinner just like you. I deserve none of this grace either. I don’t walk on water. I don’t have any special powers. Nonetheless, God has called me, through you, to be your pastor. So we can both work together, with the same message, the same Word and sacrament, to fight against the same darkness with the same Light of Jesus Christ. The power is in the Word. The power is in Jesus. It’s not rocket science. It’s just faith. Trust God to do the work through sinners like us. I don’t have to be anyone special and neither do you. We already have that someone special. It’s Jesus, whose Spirit works wonders through us and in us.
And what a mission Jesus gives us! "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." I’ve never been much of a fisherman. I don’t have the patience or the courage. It takes a certain art. You have to know when to go, where to go, what kind of bait to use, how to reel them in. I’ve never been a big fan of trying to get this slimy creature off of a hook. It’s kind of exciting when you get a bite. Try to set the hook. Try to reel it in. But then you have to clean the fish before you eat it too. That’s not fun either.
Think about it. You catch fish in order to kill it and consume it. Or maybe you just do it for sport. But what a contrast there is when God calls on us to fish for men. It’s a totally different thing. We aren’t using sheer force and fake food. We are using the bread of LIFE in the Word of God, the only thing in this world that really satisfies, with grace, and mercy and forgiveness in Jesus. We take fish out of the water in order to kill them. We put people into the water of baptism in order to bring them life. God brings us into His kingdom in order to feed us and care for us, in order to take us HOME to Him, to the place that He died for us to be. When we are brought to faith we aren’t confined to a fish tank, locked up just to look at. We are set free to serve. We are brought into an entirely different world, and we see things we would never see were we not caught. Our minds are opened to see where we came from, who God is, angels and demons, heaven and hell.
Maybe some of you have seen the children’s movie called Finding Nemo. Nemo is dragged from the ocean and captured. Put in a little tank. His father has to come rescue him, trying to bring him back to the ocean. Isn’t that what has happened to humanity? We’ve been captured by Satan. Some of us are comfortable in our little tanks. Living our little lives of fun and entertainment. But it doesn’t take long to realize something in here stinks. This can’t be it, no matter how comfortable your life may be. After Tom Brady won several Superbowls, he even recognized and said in an interview, “There has to be something more.”
There is more, but to find it, we have to stop screaming and start listening. There is an old story about a farmer who lost a precious pocket watch in a barn filled with hay. It was a sentimental heirloom, and he was frantic. He asked a group of workers who were nearby to help him find it. They rushed in, kicking up the hay, tossing bales aside, shouting instructions to one another. The barn was filled with dust and noise, but after an hour, no one had found the watch.
Exhausted, the men gave up and went to lunch. As they left, a small boy walked into the quiet barn. He didn’t kick the hay. He didn't shout. He simply walked to the center of the room, sat down on a stump, and closed his eyes. He sat in total silence for a full minute. Then, he stood up, walked to a specific pile of hay, dug his hand in, and pulled out the watch. The farmer was amazed. “How did you find it when all these men failed?” he asked. The boy replied, “I didn't do anything, sir. I just got quiet enough to hear the ticking.”
The world we live in is thrashing about, kicking up dust, breaking glass, and screaming for answers. But the Kingdom of Heaven is near. It is ticking with the heartbeat of God’s grace. Jesus withdrew to Galilee not to hide, but to let that heartbeat be heard in a new place.
So, repent. Turn down the noise of the world and tune into the voice of your Savior. He has called you. He has caught you. And now, in the quiet confidence of faith, He sends you out to catch others. Amen.
