Welcome to The MHB Podcast. This is Michael Baun. And welcome to my 183rd episode. In this episode we are going to continue our study of the book of Matthew. We are in chapter 4. We just finished the passage which details the temptation of Christ at the hands of Satan. We saw how Christ took recourse to Scripture as His means of rebuking Satan’s efforts in each of the three temptations. Upon failing to sway Jesus, Satan leaves the scene and angels come in to minister to Christ. That’s where we pick up with our study today. But first it’s worth noting that some events in Christ’s life which are recorded in John’s gospel likely transpired between the temptation narrative and the one we’re studying today.
John the Baptist probably saw Christ not long after the temptation and declared Him to be the Lamb of God who has come to take away the sins of the world. Then Jesus would have gone up to Jerusalem for the passover. Next Jesus had His conversation with Nicodemus and that was followed by His meeting with the Samarian woman. After these events is when Jesus returned to Galilee to preach. Matthew’s own residence in Galilee is likely what accounts for his report of Christ’s public ministry beginning when Jesus actually arrives in Galilee. So that’s where we’ll begin with verses 12-17:
Mat 4:12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee;
Mat 4:13 and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.
Mat 4:14 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
Mat 4:15 “THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF NAPHTALI, BY THE WAY OF THE SEA, BEYOND THE JORDAN, GALILEE OF THE GENTILES—
Mat 4:16 “THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH, UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED.”
Mat 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Jesus Himself is the original preacher of the gospel. In addition to carrying out His work of salvation through sacrifice, He also came into the world to call attention to it. Salvation is the central purpose of Christ’s incarnation and His singular focus on this Good News reveals its importance to us. If the gospel is important enough to merit the full attention of God, it certainly should make up the firm foundation upon which we ourselves build our worldview. You can think of Scripture as truth and you would be correct, but it’s even better to think of Scripture as the precondition for the manifestation of truth. What I mean is that every person on earth has a kind of structure or mechanism inside of them which determines what they perceive when they look at the world. This structure is something like a narrative which is why authoritarian regimes work so hard to protect and promote their own narratives. Human beings think in narratives and we use narratives to inform what facts we choose to look at. Cold, hard facts are not what make up the foundation of your perception – narrative makes up the foundation of your perception and there’s no way for you to change that.
Jesus heard that John was cast into prison and that’s when He went into Galilee. This news about John might have spread by word of mouth through the people – but it’s also true that Jesus hears the cries of our suffering even when no one else does. That’s one of the blessings which comes with being a follower of Christ. When you belong to Jesus, all of your trials and tribulations are brought to Him. He hears you and He is cognizant of your struggles. You might consider John’s arrest divine providence. The preaching of John needed to be eclipsed and replaced by the preaching of Jesus. If John had remained in public ministry when Christ began to preach, it’s likely people would have formed division between them.
It sounds odd to think John’s imprisonment was part of God’s plan. Sometimes providence can appear cruel or unnecessary. But consider what we know about John and the sacrifices he made in order to be the harbinger of Christ. John was full of faith and he wanted nothing more than to see the kingdom of God expand. The two witnesses in Revelation are similar in that God preserves their lives until they finish their testimony, then He removes His protection and allows them to be martyred. Whether we recognize it or not it’s a great honor to lay down your life for the gospel. If John’s imprisonment was a necessary step for establishing the Good News, John would not have wanted it any other way.
Something else we notice about the imprisonment of John is how God never leaves His church without a guide. When Moses died God raised up Joshua to take his place. When John was arrested Jesus Himself stepped in to take over. It’s silly how tyrants throughout history never learn this reality. Over and over again they think if only they can get rid of all the Christians then Jesus will go away. And over and over again God raises up new teachers, new leaders, and new guides to steer His church in the proper direction. Jesus never goes away.
Jesus didn’t travel to the most affluent or most educated city to begin preaching His gospel – He went to Galilee. Galilee was impoverished and considered less civilized than other parts of the world. Galilean men would have made good soldiers but poor scholars. Sometimes preachers lack the humility to go into the poor parts of the world and share the gospel. Sometimes they want to speak to wealthy, educated types so they themselves can garner wealth and status. Christ having gone to Galilee demonstrates both His humility and His equal love for all people whether they are social elite or not.
You might wonder why Jesus didn’t start His ministry in His hometown of Nazareth – and technically He did. He gave the people of Nazareth a fair chance to hear His gospel but they rejected Him and pushed Him out. His own hometown was the first place on earth which refused Jesus – and they were therefore refused by Him. The grace and mercy of God are both mysterious and immeasurable, but it remains true that Christ will not keep His presence among people who don’t want it. Nazareth made the wrong choice and so the peace of God was hidden from them.
There was a city in Galilee called Capernaum and it was situated by the sea coast. This city would have belonged to the Israelite tribe called Naphtali and it would have bordered the tribe Zebulun. Capernaum is the city where Christ came and established residence. I say established residence loosely, because Jesus was always on the move preaching the gospel and doing good. Whether He lived with His father Joseph, or Simon Peter, or had some other lodging, Capernaum became something of a headquarters for the Son of Man. The people in Capernaum welcomed Jesus in a way Nazareth did not – so Capernaum was given the honor of His presence and Nazareth was deprived of it. That’s something to keep in mind as an individual as well. Just because you reject Christ doesn’t mean others will – and you might find yourself stuck on the outside looking in at all the blessings which befall those who accepted Christ as their King.
The people in the region who accepted Jesus are said to have witnessed a great light come into their land of shadow and darkness. Galilee was no stranger to persecution and they were conquered at least twice prior to the arrival of Jesus. Once by Ben-Hadad who was king of Aram and once by Tiglath-Pileser who was king of Assyria. The Assyrian invasion would have been much more horrific because the Assyrians were known for their brutality. But even despite these historical conquests, the redemptive light of Jesus shone upon them when He came into their land. It’s no accident that the gospel tends to spread well in places which are familiar with persecution. Persecution has a way of humbling a population and restoring a proper perspective to the people. Ideally we would resist losing this perspective to begin with but history reveals how our nature causes us to forget it.
Zebulun’s territory by the sea coast made it a popular place for ships and undoubtedly a valuable destination for trade. The territory of Naphtali is remembered principally for its good words – and this feature was predicted all the way back in Genesis. It’s remembered for its beautiful words because out of Naphtali sprung the gospel. The word gospel means good news, and we call it good news for several reasons, but one of them is that accepting the gospel brings God’s favor – and nothing is more satisfying to your soul than that. The Gentiles understood this better than the Jews and it is a great mercy of Jesus that during His time in Galilee His gospel spread to lands beyond the Jordan so the Gentiles could hear it as well. As preachers and evangelists we can sometimes feel great pressure to spread the news of Jesus – but we must always remember how the news of Jesus has such diffusive influence that it almost spreads itself. Throughout history, squelching the gospel has proved to be a more difficult and ultimately more futile task than has spreading it.
People who live outside of the gospel are said to be lost or to be in darkness. It’s possible to think of them as darkness itself in the same way darkness covered the face of the deep at the beginning of creation. This metaphor of darkness is not entirely devoted to describing evil here, but it’s also meant to describe as yet unformed potential. Before a person comes to Christ through accepting His gospel there is a lot of unformed potential in that person. We don’t know who that person could be in Christ – but we also know whoever that person could be in Christ is the highest satisfaction of his or her intended design. It’s exciting to see God redeem a soul because this conversion is simply the beginning of many great and profound changes which will characterize his or her life.
Those who walk in darkness are also walking in the shadow of death without the protection of their Savior which is a dangerous enterprise. Those who don’t know Jesus build their residence on fertile ground for bad decisions and corruption so subtle they may not notice it happening. Anyone who has a future has some measure of unformed potential in them, and this potential could go either way depending on his or her proximity to Christ.
If you find yourself going through a similar darkness, a good rule for life is to never settle down in such a place. Keep moving until the pathway out reveals itself to you. The moment you give up and accept darkness is the moment despair sets in. This kind of despair is dangerous because it transforms your heart and calls forward all the worst parts of you. To stem the pain of despair you’ll put on the numbing-armor of cynicism. As you learn to successfully mask the pain of your descent into evil your eyes will begin to adjust to the darkness. Once that transformation takes place it’s not long before you love the darkness and hate the light. This willful blindness possesses you so deeply that to even look upon the truth will trigger feelings of rage and hate. You’ll want nothing to do with Jesus even when He reveals Himself to you. Such was the spiritual condition of the religious elite who organized His crucifixion.
None of this is to say that seasons of darkness imply spiritual corruption. Being thrust into the shadow of death by tragedy or the wickedness of others doesn’t mean you’re a bad Christian. In fact, the promise of Jesus is that no matter how dark your circumstances become you always have hope and light in Him. The more steadfast your relationship with God the more you yourself become a light who can shine out for others in dark times. So while willfully blind, wicked people choose darkness as a matter of preference, you as a faithful follower of Christ are able to bring light into the dark parts of the world. When you advance God’s kingdom by sharing His gospel you help in the process of implanting this light in other people as well, so they too can participate in God’s redemptive plan.
When we consider the use of light and darkness in the articulation of the gospel we begin to see more depth to what it’s doing. Darkness causes a person to be lost, fumbling around with no discernible direction and especially vulnerable to snare and injury. People also use darkness to cover up their evil deeds. The gospel of Jesus is light because it exposes all of these hidden things. The light of the Lord allows you to discover where you are and where you need to go. It gives you direction and purpose. The truth of the gospel is no small light either. It’s not the kind of light you need to strain through the darkness to see. It’s more like the light of the sun which chases away darkness entirely.
The law of God given through Moses was a smaller light which was sufficient for making us aware we need a Savior. The gospel – in tandem with the law of the Old Testament – has formed a great light which continues to grow each day and will continue until the perfect reign of Jesus eliminates all shadows. The gospel-kingdom started out like a grain of mustard seed or like the glimmerings of the first morning light, but in it’s full fruition it will be a perfect light. It will be the all-encompassing revelation of untrammeled truth itself.
This light of truth can be sought after and should be sought after, but even if we choose to live in darkness the light is going to spring upon us. You can’t live in a web of lies forever because the truth always re-asserts itself. The book of Job says that God commands the morning light and causes the sunrise to know its place so that it may take hold of the ends of the earth. God is also in command of the truth, He Himself is the truth, and nothing we do can prevent that light from casting away the darkness.
The preaching of Jesus didn’t start out explosively popular. His ministry grew and became more public gradually. Ministry is work which should be carried out with humility and a sense of reverence for the importance of what you’re doing. Generally speaking, it’s better for both the minister and the ministry if growth happens gradually and advances are made one step at a time. The gospel Jesus preached centered on the same theme as the gospel John preached: repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. No matter the time, place, or who is preaching it, the gospel is everlasting and should never change. If he’s doing it right, your pastor is preaching the very same gospel that Jesus Himself preached 2,000 years ago. There’s comfort in the stability of the eternal Word of God but there’s also temptation to change things up in the name of keeping it fresh. As ministers we must resist that temptation and remain faithful to continuously repeat the good news which has been given to us by God.
Of all things which verified John the Baptist as a legitimate forerunner of Jesus the most important was that their messages were the same. John spoke the truth and so did Jesus. When you commit yourself to telling the truth to the best of your ability you become sheltered by the legitimacy and authority of God. In a sense it doesn’t matter whether you have a loaded resume as long as you are a truth-teller. When you focus on telling the truth you can depend on God’s authority instead of needing to depend on your own. John’s greatest credibility comes from people who understand who Jesus is and then see that both of them preached the same thing.
If you preach a false ideology or develop a cult-of-personality then you are depending on your own charisma to legitimize your message. This is a bad idea for two reasons. First is that the moment someone gets close enough to you they will see all of your flaws and your flaws will delegitimize your teaching. Second is that your message, being rooted in lies, will be cut down and undone when the truth reveals itself – which it always does. If you want your work to have durability and authority it needs to be founded on the truth of Scripture and its purpose must be to honor God Himself.
The second thing we can learn by looking at the plain repetition of Christ’s gospel concerns the danger of philosophical pursuits. I want to be careful here because anyone who knows me knows I persistently warn against the danger of ignorance and willful blindness. The world is complicated, life is complicated, and human beings are complicated. In order to solve real problems we must resist low-resolution ideology and we must be willing to pay attention to small enough fields of focus in order to capture the full nuance of what’s happening. That’s not easy to do which is why we must be satisfied with small, authentic transformation on a local scale before we even think of effective global change. Young activist-types who think they’ll transform the world with bumper-sticker slogans or platitudes scrawled across picket signs cause more damage to the world around them than they cause benefit. Real problems take a lifetime of study and hard work, and even then your efforts may only move the needle a little bit – you have to be okay with that if you’re going to pursue transformation properly.
None of that is to say we need to be coming up with new and creative gospels. The original, plain gospel of repentance and faith in Jesus is just as good now as it was when He Himself preached it. And it’s just as necessary. If this simple message does not make up the foundation of everything else we teach then we will inevitably stray into self-deception. Repentance is the first step toward wisdom which has any kind of everlasting value because repentance is the first step toward a relationship with Jesus. That’s why the Scriptures say the fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Wherever Christ and His disciples went they preached this same message and they never considered it to be worn out. The world apart from God is constantly in search of novel ways to replace the simple, everlasting gospel – and these efforts always come up empty.
When we persist in our repetition of the word of God we’ll experience it reach down into parts of ourselves we didn’t know we had and it had never gone before. You can hear the same sermon on the same passage of Scripture at two different moments of your life and its impact will be different. That’s what it means to say the word of God is quick and alive. Another reason you should continue in repeating the eternal truths of Scripture is because you never know when someone else is hearing them for the first time. New people are born everyday and new people are coming to repentance at every moment. The successful Christian is the one who is faithful to speak and embody the word of God when someone else needs to hear it most. Of all the protests, activism, and movements you could take part in – nothing will cause more permanent transformation than a word of God’s truth delivered to someone at the perfect, divinely-ordained moment.
When you hear the word repentance you shouldn’t hear it as a warning so much as it is an opportunity. The fact that there is still room for repentance and sanctification after all that you’ve done reveals God’s unspeakable grace. The opportunity for repentance is a revelation of how much God loves you. Our culture claims to be characterized by tolerance and love yet they can’t even understand this simple principle of repentance. Their lack of understanding in this domain is the very impetus behind the cancel-culture. They don’t understand forgiveness because they don’t know the Holy One who forgives. Just like John, when Jesus calls us to repentance He always follows this call with the same reasoning: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
The Spirit of God was poured out on the day of Pentecost after Christ’s ascension and the Spirit of God is closer to you than you think. Indeed if you have faith in Jesus then the Spirit of God lives in you. God’s presence in your life is a source of comfort, of wisdom, and of truth. We should embrace God’s Spirit and use what He gives us to effect our duties in advancing a little bit of heaven here on earth. We should do this work diligently and without hesitation, because we all know how time flies by, and it may not be long before King Jesus Himself returns to set things right.
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