Matthew gave much prominence to Jesus' teachings in his Gospel. The first of these is the so-called Sermon on the Mount (chs. 5-7). To prepare the reader for this discourse, the writer gave a brief introduction to Jesus' ministry (4:12-25). In it Matthew provided a resumé of His work.
Comparison of John's Gospel and Matthew's shows that Jesus ministered for about a year before John the Baptist's arrest. John had criticized Herod Antipas for having an adulterous relationship with his brother Philip's wife (Mark 1:14; Luke 3:19-20; 4:14). Jesus ministered first in Galilee (John 1:19-2:12) and then in Judea (John 2:13-3:21). Then He returned to Galilee by way of Samaria (John 3:22-4:42). Why did Matthew begin his account of Jesus' ministry with John's arrest?
John's arrest by Herod signalled the beginning of a new phase of Jesus' ministry. The forerunner's work was now complete. It was time for the King to appear publicly.
"In royal protocol the King does not make His appearance in public until the forerunner has finished his work. Matthew, emphesizing the official and regal character of Jesus, follows this procedure exactly."200
4:12-13 The word "withdrew"(NASB) or "returned"(NIV; Gr. anachoreo) is significant. Evidently Jesus wanted to get away from Israel's religious leaders in Jerusalem who opposed John (John 4:1-3; 5:1-16). It is unlikely that Herod Antipas would have imprisoned John if the religious authorities had supported John. Matthew used the same Greek word, paredothe("to be taken into custody"), later when he described Jesus' arrest (26:15, 16, 21, 23, 25; 27:3, 4). The religious leaders evidently played a significant role in both arrests.
To Matthew, Galilee had great significance for two reasons. First, it was the place where Isaiah had predicted Messiah would minister. Second, since it was an area where many Gentiles lived, it corroborated Messiah's influence over the nations as well as Israel.
Jesus moved the base of His ministry from Nazareth to Capernaum (v. 13). Matthew described it as he did in view of the prophecy that Jesus' residence there fulfilled (vv. 15-16). This town stood on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee (14:34). It was the town where Peter, Andrew, James, and John (the fishermen) and Matthew (the tax collector) worked (8:14; 9:9).
"If Joseph settled in Nazareth after the return from Egypt (2:22-23), Jesus now leaves Nazareth and moves to Capernaum (4:12-13), which becomes his own city' (9:1). He is thus poised to begin his public ministry."201
4:14-16 Jesus' move to Capernaum fulfilled Isaiah 9:1, part of a section of Isaiah's prophecy that describes Immanuel's coming. Matthew's quotation of this passage was a free one. Its point was that light had dawned in a dark part of Palestine. When Isaiah prophesied, Galilee was under the oppressive influence of the Assyrians. He predicted that Messiah would liberate the people living there. When Matthew wrote, Galilee was under Roman oppression. The darkness was also symbolic of the absence of religious, political, and cultural advantages available to Jews who lived in Jerusalem. "Dawned"(Gr. aneteilen) suggests that the light of Messiah's ministry would first shine brightly in Galilee (cf. John 1:9; 12:46).202
". . . From of old the Messiah was promised to Galilee of the Gentiles' (ton ethnon), a foreshadowing of the commission to all nations' (panta ta ethne, 28:19). Moreover, if the messianic light dawns on the darkest places, then Messiah's salvation can only be a bestowal of grace--namely, that Jesus came to call, not the righteous, but sinners (9:13)."203
"Matthew's story of Jesus' life and ministry possesses a clearly defined beginning, middle, and end and hence falls into three parts: (I) The Presentation of Jesus (1:1-4:16); (II) The Ministry of Jesus to Israel and Israel's Repudiation of Jesus (4:17-16:20); and (III) The Journey of Jesus to Jerusalem and His Suffering, Death, and Resurrection (16:21-28:20). In the first part, Matthew presents Jesus as the Davidic Messiah-King, the royal Son of God (1:1-4:16). To show that Jesus is preeminently the Son of God, Matthew depicts God as announcing within the world of the story that Jesus is his Son (3:17). As the Son of God, Jesus stands forth as the supreme agent of God who authoritatively espouses God's evaluative point of view."204
The clause "From that time Jesus"(Gr. apo tote epxato Iesous) is very significant in Matthew's Gospel. He used it only twice, here and in 16:21, and in both instances it indicates a major change in Jesus' ministry.205Here it signals the beginning of Jesus' public preaching. Until now, His ministry had been to selected individuals and groups, which John's Gospel records. Jesus "went public"after John had ended his ministry of preparing Israel for her Messiah. Here Jesus took up exactly the same message that John had been preaching (cf. 3:2).206In 16:21, having been rejected by Israel, He announced His approaching passion and resurrection. The verb "to begin"(erxato) indicates the beginning of an action that continues, or it describes a new phase in the narrative, wherever it occurs.207
Jesus used the same words as John, and He, too, offered no explanation of their meaning. Clearly Jesus' concept of the kingdom was the same as that of the prophets and John. Some commentators claim that John's concept of the kingdom was eschatological but Jesus' was soteriological.208However there is no basis for this distinction in the text. Both John and Jesus viewed the kingdom as having both soteriological and eschatological elements. Now the King began announcing the nearness of the earthly kingdom of Messiah and urged His subjects to prepare themselves spiritually.
"The kingdom being at hand meant that it was being offered in the person of the prophesied King, but it did not mean that it would be immediately fulfilled."209
The calling of these four men shows Jesus' authority over people. The response of these disciples was appropriate in view of their summons by the King. They obeyed "immediately"(vv. 20, 22).
4:18-20 The Hebrews referred to lakes as "seas."The Sea of Galilee (Old Testament Chinnereth) got its name from its district.210Its other name, Sea of "Gennesaret,"from "Chinnereth,"came from the plain to the northwest of the lake (Luke 5:1).211Sometimes people referred to the lake as the Sea of Tiberias. Tiberias was the city Herod built on its southwest shore. It was approximately 12 miles long and 9 miles wide at its longest and broadest points. It supported a thriving fishing industry in Jesus' day with nine towns on its western shore. Simon and Andrew had moved from their hometown of Bethsaida ("Fishtown,"John 1:44) to Capernium (Mark 1:21, 29).
Simon's nickname was Peter ("Rocky"). The net (Gr. amphibleston, used only here in the New Testament) that Simon and Andrew were casting into the lake was a circular one. It was a common tool of Galilean fishermen.
Jesus' command, "Follow me"(v. 19) was a call to leave their occupations and literally follow Jesus wherever He would take them as His trainees. The phrase "fishers of men"recalls Jeremiah 16:16. There Yahweh sent "fishermen"to gather Israelites for the Exile. Here Jesus called fishermen to announce the end of Israel's spiritual exile (cf. 1:11-12; 2:17-18) and to prepare for His messianic reign. Later, after experiencing rejection by Israel, Jesus recommissioned these men for duty in the inter-advent age (28:18-20; John 21:15-23).
Evidently Jesus had called Simon, Andrew, Philip, and Nathanael earlier (John 1:35-51). Probably they returned to Galilee and resumed their former work.212This would partially explain their quick response to Jesus here (v. 20). If the miracle of Luke 5:1-11 took place the night before this calling, we have another reason they followed Jesus "immediately."Matthew's interest was not in whythese men responded as they did but howthey responded. They recognized Jesus' authority and left all to follow Him.
4:21-22 James and John were evidently repairing (Gr. katartizo) their nets after a night of fishing (cf. 1 Cor. 1:10; 2 Cor. 13:11).
"In the Synoptics, unlike Paul's epistles, Jesus' call is not necessarily effectual. But in this instance it was immediately obeyed."213
Note that the disciples left their father as well as their fishing (v. 22).
"The call of God through Jesus is sovereign and absolute in its authority; the response of those who are called is to be both immediate and absolute, involving a complete break with old loyalties. The actual shape of this break with the past will undoubtedly vary from individual to individual, but that there must be a fundamental, radical reorientation of a person's priorities is taken for granted."214
This brief resumé (cf. 9:35-38) stresses the varied activities and the geographical and ethnic extent of Jesus' ministry then. It sets the stage for the discourse to follow (chs. 5-7) implying that this is but a sample of Jesus' teaching (cf. 9:35).
Galilee (v. 23) covered an area of about 2,800 square miles (roughly 70 by 40 miles) and contained approximately 3,000,000 people who lived in 204 cities and villages.215As an itinerant preacher, Jesus engaged in three primary activities: teaching His disciples, preaching to the multitudes, and healing many who were infirm. His ministry was to the Jewish people. This is clear, first, since he preached in the Jewish synagogues of Galilee. Second, He preached a Jewish message, the good news about the messianic kingdom. Third, he practiced His healing among the Jews. The Greek word laos("people") refers specifically to "the people,"that is, the Jews.216
Syria (v. 24), to the Jews in Galilee, meant the area to the north. However the Roman province of Syria covered all of Palestine except Galilee that then was under Herod Antipas' special administration. Regardless of the way Matthew intended us to understand "Syria,"Jesus' popularity spread far north. Matthew described the painfully diseased people who sought Jesus out in three categories. There were those whom demons oppressed. Others had ailments that resulted in mental and physical imbalances that demons did not induce. Still others suffered paralyses of various kinds. Jesus' miracles dealt with incurable afflictions, not just trivial maladies (cf. Isa. 35:5-6).
". . . both Scripture and Jewish tradition take sickness as resulting directly or indirectly from living in a fallen world . . . . The Messianic Age would end such grief (Isa. 11:1-5; 35:5-6). Therefore Jesus' miracles, dealing with every kind of ailment, not only herald the kingdom but show that God has pledged himself to deal with sin at a basic level (cf. 1:21; 8:17)."217
When Matthew wrote that multitudes followed Jesus, he did not mean that they were thoroughly committed disciples, as the text will show. Some were undoubtedly ardent disciples, but others were simply needy or curious individuals who followed Jesus temporarily. These people came from all over Galilee, Decapolis (the area to the east of Galilee as far north as Damascus and as far south as Philadelphia), Jerusalem, Judea, and east of the Jordan River. Many of these had to be Gentiles.
"While Jesus begins His ministry with the Jews only, His fame becomes so widespread that both Jews and Gentiles respond. This is clearly a foreview of the kingdom. The King is present with both Jews and Gentiles being blessed, the Gentiles coming to the Jewish Messiah for blessing (Zechariah 2:10-12; 8:18-23; Isaiah 2:1-4)."218
This section (vv. 12-25) constitutes a fitting introduction to the discourse that follows. The King has called disciples to follow Him, and huge crowds seek Him out anticipating great supernatural blessings from His hand. He has appealed mainly to the Jews, but multitudes of Gentiles seek Him and experience His blessing too.
"The evangelist wants us quickly to sense the great excitement surrounding Jesus at the beginning of his ministry, where he began to preach the good news of the kingdom,' before presenting him in more detail as the master teacher (chaps. 5-7) and charismatic healer (chaps. 8-9)."219
