Insights
Rev Gav
From what and to where did Jesus call his disciples?
Matthew 4:12-23
When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali — to fulfil what was said through the prophet Isaiah:
“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles—
the people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.”
From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.
Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
Reflect
There are a few contextual clues in today’s Bible text from Matthew that point towards the subversiveness and counter-cultural nature of Jesus’ ministry.
For starters, why did Jesus leave Nazareth and go and live in Capernaum? (v13) Secondly, why quote this particular passage from the prophet Isaiah? (v15-16) Thirdly, what was the significance of the four fishermen leaving their nets, boats, and fathers? (v19-22) And finally, what is the significance of the Greek word ‘euangelion’ interpreted as ‘good news’)? (v23) Let’s find out!
Jesus left Nazareth and moved to Capernaum. Despite only 40 miles separating these two towns, they could not have been more different. Nazareth was a tiny, obscure, agricultural village in the Galilean hills, whereas Capernaum was a large, commercial town and centre of the prosperous fishing industry. Additionally, Capernaum was on the Via Maris, a major (taxable) trade-route between Egypt in the south and Syria and Mesopotamia in the north. Because of it’s economic value in terms of fishing and trade, it attracted an imperial presence and was governed by Herod Antipas (the Jewish puppet ruler).
It is important for us to note that Jesus removed himself from an ‘old’ place to live in a ‘new’ place and positioned himself in the midst of an imperial town to begin his public ministry.
Secondly, Matthew makes a connection between this move of Jesus and Isaiah 9:1-2. The context of these verses from Isaiah was they were written for a people being oppressed by the Assyrians. It was a message of anti-imperial hope that God was going to deliver them from their enemies through God’s Anointed One (Messiah) who would bring justice and peace. Through using this passage from Isaiah, Matthew spelled it out that Jesus was this person!
Capernaum out of Nazareth. Light out of Darkness. There is a theme emerging!
Matthew made it clear that those first disciples not only followed Jesus, but that they left their professions and their fathers. I have written previously about why they may have left their jobs and families, but Matthew wants us to know they left their Jewish culture and heritage to start a new profession (fishing for people) with a new family and ‘heavenly’ father.
It is easy to read these passages without truly understanding the cultural consequences of those fishermen’s actions. Yes, following a rabbi was a great privilege but it came at great cost to their families — especially given the radical and progressive nature of this itinerant rabbi called Jesus.
Capernaum out of Nazareth. Light out of darkness. Fishermen to disciples. Earthly father to heavenly father. Are you getting the picture? This whole passage is about being called out of the contemporary, imperialistic culture to living in a new anti-imperialistic, counter-cultural way.
The final clue is in the use of the Greek word ‘euangelion’ which comes from ‘eu’ meaning ‘good’ and ‘angelos’ meaning ‘messenger’ or ‘message’. We tend to use the Latinised version ‘evangelion’ from which we get the word ‘evangelism’, and in our Bibles the word is rendered ‘good news’ or ‘gospel’.
In the Roman world, ending words with ‘isation’, ‘ism’, ‘ist’, ‘ical’ was a way of proclaiming imperial victory and the word ‘euangelion’ was used extensively in Roman propoganda to promote the imperial agenda, particularly regarding Caesar Augustus. It was used to herald an emperor’s birth, victories, or the arrival of Roman peace. And here Jesus has appropriated the word and is applying it to himself. Taking an almost exclusively imperial word and reappropriating it could not be a clearer message about the mission and ministry of Jesus!
Now we understand the context of the passage, what does it mean for us?
The beauty of the gospel or good news of Jesus Christ is that it is able to be preached afresh in each generation no matter the context. In other words, it is as applicable today as it was when Jesus first called people to, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven has arrived.” Each generation and territory has its own cultural context, and whoever we are and wherever we live, we are called out of our cultural context into a new way of living.
The gospel of Jesus Christ does not shy away from the strains and difficulties of society, but acts from within its turmoil. Jesus used metaphors such as the kingdom being like yeast working through dough, and perhaps today, we might use a sports metaphor such as ‘Jesus does not beckon us from the sidelines or the safety of the dugout, but from the pitch in the midst of the on-field action’.
The command to us is the same command Jesus spoke to those fishermen, “Come, follow me.” When we repent, it means we change our mind and turn to walk in a different direction. It means to adopt a change of perspective and make a conscious decision to take a new path. We step away from our culture and become counter-cultural, choosing first to be disciples of Christ. We have a new role of joining in with God’s mission in the world, and are adopted into a new family — the family of God.
It might be a good exercise to ask how we, as Christians, are living lives that are distinct from our surrounding culture. How are you living counter-culturally? How are you living subversively? How are you living anti-imperialistically? How is your discipleship going?
Amen.
Photo by Javier Allegue Barros on Unsplash
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