Text: Matthew 4:12–25
Preacher: Pastor Brian Sauvé
The Gospel of The Kingdom
Our text this morning is Matthew 4:12–25. Remember, if you were with us last week, or let me summarize for anyone who wasn't here with us last week, what it is that we saw in Matthew 4:1–11.
Jesus has just been offered—and rejected—all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, if only he would worship the Serpent. It’s important again to remember that Jesus did not reject this offer in his wilderness temptation because he didn’t come for the world, but because he came for the world on his own terms. Remember this is the one who is described in Revelation 11 thus,
“Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.’” -Revelation 11:15
The problem was that everyone wanted a certain kind of Messiah—Messiah being the Anointed King promised throughout the Hebrew Bible. They wanted a Messiah who would rout all the villains out of Israel and save the good guys, whom the Jews thought they were. They want a Rambo Messiah, because they think that’s all they lack—power to overcome their physical enemies.
But the problem is worse than they think. What if Israel is the Egypt? What if Israel are the villains? What if everyone is, and Israel just shows that no amount of opportunity to obey God will actually result in a people obeying God? What if this Anointed One, this Messiah, came to conquer something far worse than a military occupation, but actually the occupation of the whole world by sin and the Serpent?
What we find in the rest of chapter four this morning is that Jesus’ rejection of the kingdoms of the world and their glory wasn’t a rejection out of hand, but rather a rejection of means. Yes, he is here for the whole world, but not on the Serpent’s terms. In fact, he is here for the world, and he will settle for nothing less.
Let’s open the book together. Look with me at Matthew 4:12–25. This is the Word of the Living God:
“Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles—the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.”From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
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.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 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, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.” -Matthew 4:12–25
Thus ends the reading of God’s Word. May he write it on our hearts by faith. Let’s pray.
The Gospel of the Kingdom
This whole passage is about something that Matthew summarizes in verse 23 as “…the gospel of the kingdom,” which means, “the good news of the kingdom.”
There are three basic sections to the text, each one of them telling us something about this gospel of the kingdom that Jesus taught throughout all Galilee—this message and its accompanying works that Matthew tells us brought fame to Jesus throughout all Syria and Galilee and Decapolis, and from Jerusalem to Judea, and beyond the Jordan.
First, from verse 12 to 17, we find that Jesus’ coming is like the dawn of this Kingdom, that it is like the sun of this Kingdom breaking over the horizon of history.
Second, from verse 18–22, we’ll find that the Kingdom comes with a call, and this call is totalizing.
Finally, from verse 23–25, we’ll see why this Kingdom is gospel, that is, why it’s good news.
The Dawn of the Kingdom (12–17)
Look again at that section, starting in verse 12,
“Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles—the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.”From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
-Matthew 4:12–17
Matthew wants us to see that Jesus’ geographical movements as he leaves his wilderness testing and begins his public ministry are symbolic and prophetic, fulfilling the prophet Isaiah’s words in both Isaiah 9 and 42. It was his leaving Nazareth and journeying to live in Capernaum by the sea, the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, that specifically leads Matthew to say, “Jesus is fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah 9:1–2, and 42:7.”
So our question should be: What is the significance of these regions and prophecies? The region of Zebulun and Naphtali, the region of Galilee where Jesus withdraws into, was a kind of borderland, culturally. It was neither fully Gentile, nor fully Jewish.
If you read the history of this region in the Old Testament, you aren’t surprised that it would be symbolic of a region of darkness. Solomon sells this region at one point to a pagan king, Hiram, and it is described there as kabul, meaning “worthless.” Later, in 2 Kings, this region is several times plundered and conquered by Assyrian kings, bringing captivity and tragedy.
And now it is a borderland of Jews and Gentiles, a reviled land, a land of darkness.
In context, this prophecy from Isaiah 9 comes at a time when Judah is being harassed by Gentile nations on several sides. Leaders from outside nations are joining with leaders inside Judah to try to force Ahaz, king of Judah, to join into alliance against Assyria.
And Isaiah seven and eight warns that God is going to bring Assyria to invade the Southern Kingdom, Judah. Judah is under judgment, because her people are listening to and obeying demonic mediums and spiritualists instead of their Lord and his Law. So the warning is that all who refuse to go to the Law of God will not see dawn, but only darkness, as Isaiah 8:22 puts it, darkness, gloom of anguish, distress; they will be driven into the darkness.
But, Isaiah 9 promises, a light will dawn! And Matthew tells us that this light, this dawn, has arisen with the coming of Jesus. And as with Judah in Isaiah’s day, Israel has become like a pagan nation. And so this light will dawn, not in Jerusalem in the Temple, but in Galilee of the Gentiles. What does that mean? It means this light has come for the world.
The coming of Jesus is the dawn of the long-awaited light of the world—John 8. On these death-dwelling, darkness ensnared people, light has come. And so the question we should ask is simply: What does light do? What is the light here to do? Because that will tell us what the ministry of Jesus is to be.
Jesus’ message in verse 17 tells us plainly. Remember, Matthew told us that Jesus was preaching this message as the light dawning in this region: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!”
It means that Jesus is continuing the message of John the Baptist, that the world needs to have its sin illuminated, uncovered, revealed, and banished. That is what light does; that is the nature of light. Light reveals. Light uncovers. And not only does light reveal what was hidden in darkness—it also banishes darkness.
So the dawning of the Kingdom of God shows all men that they are sinners—that they are not good. It shows all men everywhere—Jew and Gentile—that for all of our clever moral pretending, for all of our complex moral philosophies, for all of our hiding behind fig leaves, justifying ourselves, shifting blame, and calling ourselves good—we are not good.
When you see Jesus, the God-Man, and in seeing him, see righteousness embodied, you realize that you are not it. You realize that you are not what righteousness looks like. Mankind, in other words, needs the grace of shame. We need to find out that the world’s shrill yell of, “You are enough! Be true to yourself!” is nothing more than the ravings of the spiritually dead. Jesus came to do that, to reveal our sin, hidden in darkness.
And he came to banish the darkness. He didn’t come only to shame and show and uncover the deeds we had been doing in the dark—and then judge us for them, but to banish them. He came to bear the curse of them himself. He came to rescue us, not to crucify us. Jesus is not like the Accuser, who revels in shaming us, but a loving Father, who uncovers our shame that he might deal with it.
So what would the light reveal in your life, should it be turned on? Do you want to scurry into a corner somewhere and hide?“Don’t let the light touch that! It’s too much. Too embarrassing. Too shameful.” Will you do that, or will you have it banished?
Jesus can banish it. He can forgive you. He can wash you. He can make you new. He calls you, even now, as I preach this message. My call right now to you is the external call of the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Heed it. But also, count the cost of it, as we are invited to do in verses 18–22, where we see the call of the Kingdom:
The Call of the Kingdom
Look again at that section, starting in verse 12,
“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.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”
-Matthew 4:18–22
So light has dawned, and it has dawned on the whole world. Again, the light dawns in the borderlands, Galilee of the Gentiles, and it spreads by the end of this chapter to Decapolis, a circle of ten Hellenistic cities to the east of the Sea of Galilee and very much a Gentile-heavy region, as well as to Jerusalem and Judea and all Syria and beyond the Jordan. Jesus calls Simon and Andrew, James and John from their fishing boats, just as the prophet Elijah called Elisha from his plowing.
Why? Because the dawn of the Kingdom of God will require ambassadors—fishers of men to cast their nets into the sea of the nations, and draw them in. This language of fishers of men is not new to Jesus, but draws from the language of the prophets. But the way Jesus uses it is an ironic reversal.
See, in the Old Testament, for example, in Amos 4:2, fishing for men was something that happened to Israel in judgement by pagan nations. Amos prophesies that God would send the surrounding nations to judge Israel for their wickedness, and that “…they shall take you away with hooks, even the last of you with fishhooks.”
Jesus is now calling for his disciples to do the same, except they won’t be pulling apostate Israel from the land and into exile—they will be pulling exiles into the Kingdom. The gospel of the Kingdom of God is the good news that God is making a nation of exiles. He’s making a Kingdom of his people from out of all the nations.
But we see that this gospel of the Kingdom of God demands everything—it is totalizing. It demands allegiance above father and mother and brother and vocation and possessions. This call will require everything. It will entail verse 22: “Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed [Jesus].”
The coming of the Kingdom makes totalizing demands on us. Not everyone is called, as these two sets of brothers were, to drop your vocation and go into a ministry of missions, but everyone who follows the Lord is called to fling everything into orbit around him—his call is radical, totalizing, and allows for no competition in ultimate allegiance.
We are called, as those who wanted to follow Jesus throughout the gospels were called, to count the cost before we put right foot in front of left foot to follow after the Lord.
Will your money kneel to King Jesus?
Will your family kneel to King Jesus?
Will your sexuality kneel to King Jesus?
Will your emotions kneel to King Jesus?
Will your intellect kneel to King Jesus?
Jesus and his Kingdom don’t have any intention of settling for some kind of brokered deal for your person. He demands everything. But slavery to Christ is freedom; that’s the paradox. Jesus also promises in Mark 10 that he returns far beyond what we renounce. Leave, renounce father, brother, house, lands, vocation, or the approval of men, and receive back a hundredfold against what you lost.
The point is that it will all be worth it. We will have no regrets. This kingdom is good news, even in its demands.
The Gospel of the Kingdom
Look at verse 23, and we’ll see this all come together in the final section of the text.
“And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 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, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.”
-Matthew 4:23–25
Jesus’ message is here summarized by Matthew as “the gospel of the kingdom,” or we could translate it, “the good news of the kingdom.” What does that mean? What is the good news of the kingdom? Well, he shows us:
Jews and Gentiles stream to him. This gospel is for the world, not a subdivision of it. It is a gospel that cannot be contained to a region in Palestine, a few tribes, tongues, and nations. No, Jesus came to save the world.
The curse of the sin—disease and death—are being reversed. Sin is the mother of disease and death, and if this Messiah has come to banish sin, he can certainly handle sin’s offspring. Jesus’ ministry is marked by miraculous healing to show us that he is a curse-breaking healer-King.
Take heart, church. Take heart in your aging bodies, in your chronically ill child, in your pain and suffering, in your burying of family, in the coffin in your future that has your own name on it—the Lord has come to defeat even disease and death. We’ll sing over it in victory in the end.
Matthew shows us that the demonic oppression of the Kingdom of Darkness is being dismantled and banished. He has resisted Satan, and Satan has fled. Now he begins the plunder of his house. Jesus has come to crush the Serpent’s head under his feet, to bind him and cast him out, and to plunder the world through his people.
So let me close by asking you a question: What is the gospel? Every word of our text this morning is about the gospel of Jesus Christ—that is, it is about the good news of who this Jesus is, of what it is that he came to do, and what that means for every person and place and atom and molecule and power and principality of creation.
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul gives the gospel, the good news of Christ's death and burial and resurrection in accordance with the Scriptures. Is that your whole gospel? Is that all you tell the world? Because that’s not Paul’s whole gospel.
He continues—and too often, we don't. But he continues the story, this story of the good news of what Jesus came to do, and shows that it is also a story of the good news of what he is yet doing, of what he has been doing, and what he intends to do.
The good news is also the good news of his reign, the reign of Jesus, the rule of Jesus. Paul cites Psalm 110:1, that Jesus must reign until all his enemies are a footstool for his feet.
So what is the good news? Well, it is the good news of the Kingdom of God, the gospel of the Kingdom of God. It is the good news that Jesus has come to set the world right—actually, to bring the world to glory.
In Isaiah 2, there's this prophetic picture of what Messiah will do, of what Jesus came to do, and what its effects will be, the effects of his rule: The nations streaming to the mountain of God, to be instructed and taught by God and his people.
The nations will learn peace rather than war, truth rather than lies, light rather than darkness, joy rather than mourning, freedom rather than slavery. This picture, the mountain of God, isn't just talking about a physical mountain you climb up, that that nations will climb up—but what?
The mountain of God is the Kingdom. It is the people. It is the holy nation. It is what Daniel saw in his prophetic vision—the growth of the Messiah's Kingdom over the whole earth. Daniel saw a stone, cut out by no human hands, which struck the clay feet of the wicked kingdoms of men, and that statue fell over, became dust, and blew away before this stone, which then became a mountain and covered the whole world.
The stone is Jesus. The Mountain is the growth of his Kingdom, of his law-word and grace—just as the Garden of Eden was on a mountain plateau, just as Abraham climbed Mount Moriah to offer his beloved son to God, who stayed his hand; just as Moses met God on a mountain to receive the law, just as Christ climbed a mountain to deliver his law, the Sermon on the Mount of the next chapter in Matthew. The mountain is the kingdom—it's law and gospel and advance and reign and peace and glory and joy and victory.
Daniel sees, in chapter 7 of Daniel, this vision of one like a Son of Man ascending up with the clouds of heaven, “...and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”
In Isaiah 9, we find that this Holy One, El Gibbor, the Father of Eternity, that of the increase of his government and of peace there would be no end.
This is the good news of the gospel of the kingdom of God, prophesied in the Old Testament: That God is coming to forgive sin, to pardon iniquity, to clear debts. That God is coming, such that the promises of the Psalms, of Psalm 22, for example, that “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before [God]. For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.”
The gospel is that Jesus has come to rule—to fulfill the promises to Abraham, that in his Seed, in Christ, the Seed of Abraham, Son of Abraham, all the nations of the earth would be blessed.
Jesus’ preaching, his proclamation of the good news of the kingdom, is the good news that there is a King. It is the good news that this King has come to set things right, to set the broken bone and bring healing.
The good news is not only that God has come to forgive sinners and get them to heaven, but that his Kingdom is coming on earth as it is in heaven. The good news of the kingdom of God is not only that Jesus came down to die for us, but that he also rose and ascended to his throne to rule, and to conquer, and to send a people against the very gates of Hell, to plunder the world, and to disciple the nations.
That is the gospel we revel in together. That is our hope and our aim, and that is what is worthy of our whole selves.