Here are a few thoughts on the first part of Sunday's gospel. Please let me know your take on the gospel reading. This was sent to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church.
Gospel: Matthew 4:12-23
12Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15“Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
light has dawned.”
17From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
18As he walked 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. 19And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” 20Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
23Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.
After Jesus’ baptism and temptation in the wilderness, Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist, had been arrested. This was a signal for Jesus to begin his ministry, but before he could do that, “he withdrew to Galilee.” There are likely a number of reasons Jesus did this; some very practical, while others were to fulfill scripture. On the practical side, if the authorities arrested John (and later beheaded him), then that could happen to Jesus as well. Would Jesus be able to accomplish the purpose God had for him if he stayed in a place where the situation was so hot? There was work for Jesus to do and he had not yet begun it. Sometimes it’s important to take a step back, compose ourselves and get a look at the bigger picture, before beginning something new. For Jesus, no doubt some of that preparatory time was spent in prayer, communing with his Father.
Moving was part of Jesus’ preparation as well: from Judea (where he was baptized) to Galilee for an unknown period of time (which is where Nazareth is located), to Capernaum, just over 20 miles from Nazareth, where he began gathering disciples.
In Matthew’s gospel, we see these or similar words many times, “so that what had been spoken through the prophet … might be fulfilled.” God did what God said he would do. God’s Messiah had been promised and God fulfilled that promise. God is faithful.
To do the things God has in mind for us to do sometimes means change. Jesus had to leave family and friends to form a new kind of family with his followers. He did a lot of traveling all over Palestine: from south to north, east to west. He didn’t have the luxury of staying in one place and having those in need all come to him.
Do we take time to withdraw, step back and listen to how we should respond to the needs of our day, what we should do? Jesus didn’t do anything major before taking that time. We see that throughout the gospels. Can we be effective as a church if we don’t individually and corporately take the time to breathe and listen? We too have a message for a hurting world about God who loved us enough to live as one of us and to die for us as “…the kingdom of God has come near.”
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