Matthew 4:12-17

Matthew 4:12-17

And after seeing that John was being handed over, he withdrew in Galilee.  And after departing from Nazareth He came and He lived in Capernaum – the one by the sea – in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.  In order that the words through Isaiah the prophet should be fulfilled while saying, “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, a way of the sea on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: the people who reside in darkness saw a great light.  And to the ones who reside in the region and the shadow of death: a light dawns upon them!”  Then from that time Jesus began to proclaim and to say, “Repent!  For the kingdom of heaven has drawn near.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

John was imprisoned.  This is a pretty interesting thing to note.  First of all, some time goes by between Jesus’ baptism and John’s imprisonment.  It isn’t like Jesus is baptized and that very afternoon He is out preaching.  No, Jesus is baptized.  The He goes out into the wilderness to abide – and be tempted by the Devil.  Then Jesus begins His ministry.  So often we – or at least I – want to rush all around and do ministry and get it done and find success.  But ministry is best done when we remember to abide first so that we are prepared to do ministry when God’s timing is right.

Have you ever thought of Jesus needing to abide?  What does it mean to you that even the Son of God took time to prepare Himself for ministry?

Second Thought:

John was handed over.  John attacked the religious institution of the day and he would pay the price for it.  John spoke prophetically into their lives and they rejected him.  This is the reality of bringing God’s truth.  Most people don’t want to hear it because it usually involves change and challenge.  If we want to be obedient to God and speak His truth, we should also prepare ourselves for the consequences.  Jesus was crucified.  Here we see that john is imprisoned and later we’ll see that he is beheaded.  God never promises that life on this side of the grave will be easy when we follow Him.

Are you willing to follow God wherever He leads?  Would you go to prison for God?  Would you let someone behead you if it was for God?

Third Thought:

I can’t help but wonder about those people in Capernaum.  Did they notice the light that had dawned upon them?  Of course a few of them did.  They became His disciples!  And others took notice of His miraculous healings and other such things.  But did they really take notice of this light from God that God had sent into their life to pierce the darkness?  And what of the people in Nazareth?  It wasn’t until after Jesus left them that He began to proclaim a message of repentance in the first place!  Why were they so unable to hear the message of God?  God sends messages into our life periodically.  He knows that every day we are alive we are like the people of Zebulun and Naphtali in that we dwell in the region of sin and in the shadow of death.  God sends us light.  If only we would look for it!

Do you see God’s light around you?  Where do you see it?  When do you see it?  How do you respond to God’s light?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 4:18-19