Matthew 4:12-25 Jesus' Message, Method, and Ministry

 "While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, 'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.'" (Mat 4:18-19 ESV)

Following Jesus' temptation in the wilderness, he began preaching a message of repentance, calling disciples, and healing the sick. While each of these aspects of Jesus ministry have differences as they are carried out in the life of the church today, they are all essential to biblical faithfulness.

His Message: Preaching Repentance
Matthew 4:12-17 tells of the beginning of Jesus' ministry. It begins with the "decrease" that John the Baptist had predicted about himself. John was put in prison, and Jesus returned to his home in Galilee. However, he left Nazareth, the town where he had grown up and went to Capernaum. Matthew tells us that this was to fulfill a prophesy of Isaiah that a light would dawn on the Gentiles. The area where Jesus went was a region populated by Gentiles. The context of this prophecy is that of Isaiah 9 and the promise of a king who would sit on David's throne forever. Matthew had already been pointing to Jesus' kingship by the genealogy that he started his Gospel with, and now this prophetic fulfillment links Jesus again to this kingly role.

Finally, in verse 17, Matthew tells us that Jesus began to preach the same message that John the Baptist had preached--"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." A definition of "repent" must be given. John had preached this message, and his baptism was characterized by repentance. People came to him confessing their sins, and John told them to bear fruit which accords with repentance. It is only natural that Jesus' meaning was the same as that of John the Baptist. Repentance meant to turn away from sins, to confess them openly, and to declare publicly a renunciation of those things, and then to live a life that is consistent with that public testimony.

Today we are often soft about the message of repentance. We want to explain the gospel in winsome ways, and we want to make it palatable for people so that they will accept it. We tell children that Jesus can be their "forever friend." We tell adults to come and "make a decision." We emphasize belief in Christ, and salvation by faith, and somehow we are fearful of speaking about repentance because it sounds like it must be some sort of work. In actuality, repentance is the fruit of true faith. Repentance is a gift of God. If we truly believe on Christ, we will naturally repent. What does that look like? We will have a change of mind and heart about who Jesus is and his authority over us. We will bow to his lordship, and we will be marked with genuine sorrow for our sins. These are all things that happen in the heart that cannot be manufactured or manipulated. True repentance only comes when God grants it.

His Method: Calling Disciples
In verses 18-22, Jesus calls his disciples, Peter, Andrew, James, and John. These men are called in pairs. First, Jesus was walking by the sea of Galilee and saw the brothers, Simon and Andrew, fishing. What happens is striking. Jesus simply says, "Follow me." There is no discussion or questions. There is no arguments for why. Simon and Andrew immediately left their nets and followed him. They obeyed without question. Then, Jesus saw two more brothers--James and John. They were in the process of fixing their nets, and their father was with them. They were a small family business. In this text, we aren't given Jesus words to James and John; it simply says "he called them," and they responded just as Simon and Andrew. Immediately, they obeyed; they left their nets, they left their father, and they followed Jesus.

Now certainly, we don't have the same kind of authority that Jesus had. Jesus is the Lord of Creation. He has all authority in Heaven and Earth. He commands the wind and the waves, and he is the LORD who turns the heart of kings whichever way he wishes. However, there is an analogy between Jesus' method of calling his disciples and the way we preach the gospel.

When we preach the gospel, we preach a command. Jesus commands that all men everywhere must repent and believe the gospel. We can be tempted to have a different posture when we proclaim the good news. It could be tempting to mound up persuasive arguments about why following Jesus will give people a happier, more fulfilling life. However, that isn't the posture we see here. When we preach the gospel, we must remember that we are proclaiming the objective news of the life, death, burial, and resurrection, and we are telling people what they must do because of that reality. We are pleading with men to be reconciled to God, but in doing so, we must not forget that repentance and faith is the duty of all. It isn't just something that you can add to your life to be more fulfilled. True conversion to Christ isn't just adding Jesus to "your life"; it's renouncing your former life to follow him.

His Ministry: Compassion on the Multitudes
The next section, verses 23-25, is a summary statement that describes Jesus' ministry. Jesus was an itinerant preacher. He preached the "good news" of the kingdom, and he healed every disease. As he went around preaching, he would heal as he went, but then word got out. He became famous. So then people started bringing him all those who had diseases. He even healed those who were demon possessed, those who had seizures, and those who were paralyzed. He healed all manner of diseases, and crowds followed him everywhere he went.

People have various opinions about the continuation of miraculous gifts. I would put myself in the cessationist camp. I believe that the gifts of healing were given specifically for the time of the apostles to mark a unique period in salvation history. However, I think there is an example of ministry that believers today should follow today. I don't mean a healing ministry, but a ministry of compassion. These verses are very similar to what Matthew writes in 9:35-38. There Matthew records, "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." A ministry that follows Jesus' pattern will be a ministry of compassion. We may not be able to say to people, "arise, take up your bed, and walk," but we can model compassion in action.

Believers can show compassion today in serving the poor, in caring for the sick, and helping counsel addicts as well as many other ways. Those things aren't meant to replace Gospel preaching. This passage tells us that Jesus did both. He preached and he healed. The compassionate ministry of mercy that we, believers, engage in will be the authenticating mark of having a heart like Jesus. We can be doctrinally sound and have cold hearts and tight fists. Jesus calls us to combine the message of good news with a ministry of compassion.

Results
What results should we expect from a ministry following this patter. What should we expect when we preach the message of repentance, when we call people to bow and submit themselves to a King, and when we minister in the compassion of Christ? He will receive the glory. It isn't about us. It isn't about accumulating crowds for us. It's about bringing fame to Jesus, not about making ourselves a name. 

"So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them." (Mat 4:24 ESV)

Matthew 3:1-12 A Confrontational Preacher

"In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'" (Matthew 3:1-2)

Before Jesus began his earthly ministry, he was preceded by a prophetic forerunner--John the Baptist. Luke tells us of the circumstances of John's birth and that he was filled with the Spirit from birth. Then each of the gospel accounts preface the ministry of Jesus with the ministry of John. He was the one who came to preach and prepare the way for the Messiah. Though he denied being the returned embodiment of Elijah, Jesus acknowledged that John was the fulfillment of Malachi's prophecy that the LORD would send Elijah before his great and awesome day arrived. 

John came as a strange figure. His father was a priest, but this preacher wouldn't follow in his father's ministry methods. Rather than being a participant in the sacrificial system, John went out into the wilderness and proclaimed a message. Why would he go to the wilderness? This is not where you would expect someone to go find a crowd. If you want a hearing, go where the people are, right? Go to the cities--the population centers of bustling activity. No, John would not have that. He went to the wilderness, to the forsaken places, and there he proclaimed a message of repentance. 

In spite of his unlikely place to perform his ministry, John gathered a following. People saw this strange man who dressed in camel's hair and a leather belt, who ate locusts and wild honey, and they left their cities and went to the barren places to hear his preaching. Lesson 1: You don't have to make things easy on people to get them to come, if what you are preaching is worth hearing, they will come. 

John's message was no easier than his lifestyle. He preached repentance and he baptized his followers. It's uncertain where John got this from. There were ritual washings for purification within Judaism at the time, and proselytes were sometimes baptized, but John's baptism was different. If there was a link to proselyte baptism, it communicates something radical. John was telling Jews that if they wanted to be be right with God they had to repent and convert. 

Lots and lots of people came out to see John. Maybe some wanted to see the spectacle, but many came to be baptized and they were confessing their sins. Among those who came out to see John were the religious leaders. The Pharisees and Sadducees were not two groups you would expect to be together. The Pharisees were conservatives. They were radically devoted to the study of God's word. They accepted all of it. They believed the Torah (the first five books of Moses) and all the prophets. They heard the message of the prophets and the warning they gave because of the sins of the people, and they responded with a legalistic devotion to living out the law--and not just the law but all the traditions associated with it as well. The Sadducees were liberals. They didn't believe in an afterlife. They only believed in the Torah and they were mainly among elites and the rich. The two groups would not usually be together on anything, but here we see they were both curious to see what this prophet was doing out in the wilderness, so they too came out to see.

John didn't do what you might expect when he saw these religious leaders. You might expect that he would say, "I'm so glad you are here. Come and join us." But no. That isn't John's response. Rather, he calls them names. He doesn't just call them any names, he calls them a brood of vipers. Now, not everyone accepts the validity of this, but considering the conflict that is set up in Genesis 3 between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, I think it's likely John was telling them they were the seed of the serpent. They were the enemies of God's people. They were children of the devil. Not exactly a warm welcome. Then, as if to anticipate their objection, John says, "don't presume on saying we are Abraham's seed." John tells them that the fact that they had the right religious pedigree didn't help them a bit. What matters is fruit. The fruit in the lives of these religious leaders revealed who's children they really were. John told them that if they wanted to escape the coming wrath they only way they would do so would be to truly repent and turn from their former way of life. They had to have fruit that corresponded with repentance. If their repentance is real, they will humble themselves and they would become as children.

John warned them that the time was coming when someone greater than himself was coming. He wouldn't just preach repentance and baptize with water. He would baptize with Holy Spirit fire. The image is that figuratively, fire comes down on the one who is being immersed in the Holy Spirit and burns away the chaff. He will do this among groups. The sheep will be with Christ in paradise, and the goats will be thrown into eternal fire. And he would do it with individuals. When a person is born again, they are baptized in the Holy Spirit, the old man dies and is burned away, and the new man, the product of the new birth, the fruit of repentance is all that remains. 

John's message is still a hard message. It tells us not to presume on the faith of our family heritage. If we will be accepted by God we will personally and individually bear the fruit of repentance. It tells us that being religious is dangerous. The religious leaders were who John called children of the devil! Just because someone is a preacher, a deacon, a Sunday School teacher, or because they walked an aisle doesn't mean they are right with God. Only the one who responds in repentance and faith in Christ will survive the oncoming fire of baptism. 

"His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." (Matthew 3:12)