Matthew 4:12-25 (Jesus gets started)

Following his ordeal in the desert, Jesus sets to work, but in Matthew there's an interesting detail that comes first.

In Matthew 4:12-25 we're told that Jesus moved from his hometown of Nazareth to Capernaum. Matthew--who always likes to draw connections to the Hebrew Scriptures presents this is the fulfillment of a scriptural prophecy from Isaiah 9:1-2. His use of this passage about the people who had lived in darkness having seen a great light really resonates with Christians.

There was probably another very practical reason for Jesus relocating. John the Baptist had been arrested by Herod Antipas. Herod didn't like trouble-making preachers, and probably had a special distaste for anyone closely associated with the Baptist. Jesus had begun his public ministry by being baptized by John and--as the Gospel of Matthew tells us--his preaching picked up right where John's left off. That would have probably made him a person of interest in Herod's eyes and a good candidate for arrest. If Jesus had remained in Nazareth, he'd have been deep inside Herod's territory. Capernaum, on the other hand, sat on the north shore of Lake Galilee and offered a quick escape route if Jesus needed one. A quick boat ride would have carried him out of Herod's jurisdiction.

It's on the shores of Galilee that Jesus calls his first disciples, two sets of brothers: Simon and Andrew, and James and John, the sons of Zebedee. It's a mysterious scene as the young teacher walks along the shore and tells them to come with him to become "fishers of men." The men, without question, drop their nets and follow, abandoning their family business and their only means of livelihood.

I've seen several explanations for this, including a wonderful reflection by emergent pastor Rob Bell in his video, "Dust." Bell explains that Jewish society of Jesus' day had a rigorous educational screening process. Every family wanted their sons to become a rabbi, but most flunked out fairly early in the process and were left in dead-end jobs like laborers or fishermen. In other words, the people Jess was calling to be his disciples--the successors in training to a charismatic rabbi--were failures. Their dreams of reaching that sort of prestige had been crushed long ago. When Jesus called them, it was like a resurrection of their hopes and dreams.

I find this compelling because bringing new life to people who life had left behind was central to Jesus' ministry. He reached out in unqualified love to all the people his culture rejected and marginalized; it only makes sense that he would choose people considered "losers" as his leadership team. Kind of like this bit of humor that's been around for a few years.

Jordan Management Consultants

Jesus, son of Joseph

Nazareth, Galilee

Dear Sir,

Thank you for submitting the résumés of the 12 men you have picked for managerial positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken a battery of tests and we have run them through our computers. It is the staffs’ opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, educational and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would suggest that you continue your search for persons with experience and proven capability.

Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper.

Andrew has no leadership skills at all.

The two brothers, James and John, place personal interest above company loyalty.

Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale.

We feel that it is our duty to inform you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau.

James and Thaddeus have radical leanings and registered high manic-depressive scores.

Only one of the candidates shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness who meets people well and has a keen business mind. He has contacts in high places and is highly motivated, ambitious and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your comptroller and right-hand man.

We wish you every success in your new venture.

Sincerely yours,

Jordan Management Consultants

Jerusalem, Judea

The passage goes on to give a description of Jesus' ministry, which was talking about God's Kingdom and doing things to show what that Kingdom was like. When Jesus used the phrase "God's Kingdom" or "Kingdom of Heaven" he was talking about a world in which people made their first loyalty to God rather than to government, or culture, or religion. I won't say a lot about it here because chapter 5 begins a long section on just what the Kingdom is.

One thing I will say is that Jesus' healings really illustrate what life in the Kingdom is supposed to be like. In his day, people with illnesses--whether physical, mental or emotional--were considered unclean and were effectively shunned. In fact, many went so far as to say that anyone with an illness was being punished by God for being a sinner. The poor were often neglected or mistreated, and people could be shunned for offending the morals of their community in any number of ways. I'll get more detailed in later chapters, but suffice to say, you didn't want to be different or have problems in the world of Jesus' day. You'd be treated very badly and very unfairly.

But Jesus' ministry was all about moving past those differences. He touched the people who were considered untouchable, loved the people who were considered unlovable, and forgave the people who were considered unforgivable. He removed the barriers that kept them from taking part in family and community by healing, forgiving, and accepting.

Not surprisingly, people loved this, especially the poor, the sick, and outcasts of every kind. They flocked to Capernaum to hear his words and be touched by him. And that sets the stage for Jesus teachings, which are bundled together in Matthew as the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 4:1-11 (Jesus and the Temptations)

Silly, but I couldn't resist.

Matthew 4:1-11 shows us the Temptations of Jesus that come between his baptism and the beginning of his ministry. Versions of this story also show up in Mark 1:12-14 and Luke 4:1-13. He is compelled by the Holy Spirit to go out into the desert wilderness for 40 days and nights. The number 40 shows up a lot in the Hebrew Scriptures, the two most famous examples being the Israelites wandering in the wilderness for 40 years after being set free of slavery in Egypt, and Noah's flood, when the people and animals on the Ark had to endure 40 days and nights of rain.

Any time you see the number 40 in the Bible, it's a subtle reminder that the people in that story are going through a rough time. When you come out on the other side of the wilderness you can look back and see that God was there with you all along, but when you're in the middle of it, you feel alone and maybe even abandoned. You feel frightened, uncertain and vulnerable. If you have you press on, but it's not a cheerful, confident time and you're very aware of how close you are to disaster.

That's the way the Israelites felt in the wilderness--you can see it in their constant complaining--and it's the way all of us feel at times. Our wildernesses may be times of illness, unemployment, divorce, the death of a loved one, or any number of other things. They can be any situation where getting through is a hard and lonely job and we don't know if we're going to make it.

I've known people who say that Jesus cruised through his 40 days effortlessly, and that his resisting the temptations was a foregone conclusion. I've heard some of the same people tell me that, if I you enough faith, you can breeze past these situations without any struggle at all. I have to say, I think that's nonsense.

Struggling with doubt, temptation and despair is a part of human life that we all have to face. Faith doesn't mean we get to skip these things, only that we choose to trust God, even when we aren't sure that God is listening or that God cares.

This story shows us Jesus going through that same ordeal, and we can see it was an ordeal. Jesus didn't pretend to be tempted, he really was tempted. He didn't pretend to struggle, he really had to struggle. The story isn't trying to get us to admire him because he's doing something we couldn't do; it's giving us an example that can give us strength because we are going to have to struggle with temptations of our own.

The first temptation was bread. Jesus had been fasting and was weak and hungry so the Devil challenged him to turn stones to loaves of bread.

Matthew wants to that remind us of the Israelites during their forty years in the wilderness. They complained of hunger and wanted to give up their newfound freedom so they could go back to Egypt. "Fleshpots" of Egypt" basically means that there was always stew to be had when you got hungry.

They didn't stop complaining even when God gave them manna--the mysterious "bread from heaven"--that kept them alive, they kept complaining. When the Devil tells Jesus he should conjure up his own miraculous bread he seems to want Jesus to have the same mindset. For the people, the attitude seemed to be "I'll e faithful, but only after I've taken care of my own needs."

Jesus' response, a quote from Deuteronomy 8:3, shows that his priorities are different. He's committed to God and committed to his mission. He refuses to participate in the "dog-eat-dog" attitude that is so prevalent in our world. He's going to do what's right, and trust in God to take care of him. In other words, he's not letting fear or practical considerations hold him back.

In the second temptation, the Devil takes Jesus to the highest point of the Temple and tells him to jump. At first it sounds like a really stupid idea, but the Devil has his own scripture. Quoting Psalms 91:12, he says that scripture promises God isn't going to let anything bad happen to Jesus. If he jumps, angels will catch him. It's a sure-fire way to prove to himself and to everyone watching, who he is with a really showy miracle.

I hear this sometimes… usually from televangelists. They say that the purpose of miracles in the Bible is to show that Jesus is not a normal human being. He has special supernatural powers, and can get God to do anything he wants. They say that, if you believe in Jesus, you can have miraculous answers to all your wants and needs too. You can get God to give you whatever you want or need, whether that's healing, money, fame, the perfect spouse, etc. this movement, called prosperity theology, effectively tries to make God into a genie in a bottle--a cosmic sugar daddy who can get us all the good things in life.

If that were the case then it would make perfect sense for Jesus to jump, but he refuses. He quotes his own scripture (Deuteronomy 6:16) saying that it's wrong to put God to a test. Trying to get God to give us what we want isn't faith, it's manipulation, and that's a messed foundation for any relationship. For Jesus, the relationship with God is the bottom line. We don't worship God because we're looking for nice fringe benefits, or because God has the most impressive special effects department. We worship God out of love.

Seeing that nothing else has worked, the Devil gives Jesus a panoramic view of the world and promises him power over the world, if he worships him. This is a biggie, because it's so easy to believe that, if we only had power, we could do so much good. And if you have to give up ideals and integrity to get power, so what? Once you have power you can do all the good you want to. But Jesus isn't willing to compromise his integrity, or the integrity of his relationship with God--not even for all the power in the world. He quotes a final scripture (Deuteronomy 10:20) and that ends the temptations.