Matthew
4:12-25
Lesson 6
4:12-25
Lesson 6
Matthew 4:12-25
Jesus begins His ministry 12 Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; 13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: 14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; 16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. 17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. 21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. 22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him. 23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. 24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. 25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan. |
Margin notes:
"John was cast into prison." (4:12) - John the Baptist was arrested and cast into prison for condemning Herod Antipas' incestuous marriage to his niece Herodias (Mark 1:14). "And leaving Nazareth." (4:13) - Despite being raised in Nazareth, Jesus left for Capernaum after an angry mob tried to throw Him from a cliff (Luke 4:16-31). "Capernaum." (4:13) - Capernaum (meaning village of Nahum) was a large city on the north-west shore of the Sea of Galilee and the hometown of several disciples. Located on the main highway from Damascus to Acco and Tyre, Capernaum was a bustling center of commerce. It also boasted a thriving fishing industry. A customs station (Matthew 9:9; 17:24; Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27) and a large contingent of Roman soldiers were stationed there, and the city became known for its moral excesses. The disciple Peter owned a house in Capernaum, and Jesus made it His center of operations while in Galilee (as prophesized in Isaiah 9:1-2 and discussed in Matthew 4:13-16). Because its citizens witnessed many miracles (Matthew 8:14-16; Mark 1:30-34; Luke 4:38-41) yet still rejected Christ, Jesus denounced the city in Matthew 10:15, 11:23, and Luke 10:15. Its ancient remains have been excavated near the modern-day town of Tell Hum. Among the ruins are the remains of a synagogue unearthed in 1905 by a German archeology team. It could be the same synagogue built by the Roman centurion who begged Jesus for a miracle in Matthew 8:5-8 and Luke 7:1-10). See map above. "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet." (4:14) - Another fulfilled prophecy? To read the prophecy see Isaiah 9:1-2. "Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim." (4:15) - "From that time Jesus began to preach." (4:17) - This is the beginning of Jesus' ministry. "Repent." (4:17) - To repent is to regret, be sorry, be penitent, to turn away from, be remorseful and ask forgiveness, to atone. To change your mind and the direction of your life. To repent is to see the wrong in your past actions and be sorry for them. To accept Christ is to repent. "The kingdom of heaven." (4:17) - Another way of saying the Kingdom of God. "Sea of Galilee." (4:18) - Also called the Sea of Chinnereth (Numbers 34:11; Joshua 12:3; 13:27), Lake of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1) or The Sea of Tiberias (John 6:1; 21:1). The Sea of Galilee is a large freshwater lake, thirteen miles long, seven miles wide, 150 feet deep, and in Jesus' day, it was surrounded by approximately thirty fishing villages. It was the primary source of water for the area and supported a board agricultural base and other industries such as boat manufacturing and tanning. The Sea of Galilee sits 680 feet below sea level in a basin surrounded by mountains and suffers many unexpected storms. According to "Matthew, the Life Change Series," (Published by NavPress Books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; pg. 65), "Cool air from the Mediterranean is drawn down through the narrow mountain passes and clashes with the hot, humid air lying over the lake" causing storms that sometimes include twenty-foot waves. "Going on from thence." (4:21) - "Going on from there." "Healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people." (4:23) - Jesus performed miracles and healed the sick in an amazing display of love. Many witnesses saw this as irrefutable evidence that Jesus is God. Also see verse 9:35. "Brought unto him all sick people." (4:24) - See Mark 1:32-33. "Divers diseases and torments." (4:24) - "Various diseases and pains." "Those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy." (4:24) - "Those who were insane and those who were paralyzed." "Decapolis." (4:25) - Decapolis is not one town. It is a confederation of ten independent cities located to the east and southeast of the Sea of Galilee. This alliance of cities stretched from the Sea of Galilee southward to Philadelphia (modern day Amman). All but one of the ten cities, Scythopolis (Beth Shan), were located east of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. Mentioned three times in the New Testament, Decapolis was populated mainly by Gentiles. In 65 BC the Romans conquered Syria and colonized the area. They rebuilt Decapolis and gave its citizens special privileges. Jesus traveled to Decapolis several times (Mark 7:31). This verse and Mark 5:1-20 tell us that He won many converts in Decapolis. "Judaea." (4:25) - Also called Judea, it is the southern area of Palestine covering approximately two thousand square miles from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River. It is almost fifty percent desert. Jerusalem and Bethlehem were in Judaea. Christianity began in Judaea. It is where Jesus was born, lived, taught, and died. |