The Quiet Counter-Attack

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.