Matthew 4:17

JESUS IN GALILEE. -- Matthew 4:17-25.

GOLDEN TEXT. -- The people which sat in darkness saw great light. -- Matthew 4:16. TIME. --A. D. 28, more than. year after the last lesson. In the second year of the Lord's ministry. PLACES. --Galilee, Capernaum, the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. HELPFUL READINGS. -- Mark 1:14-28; Luke 4:14-15; John 4:46-54. LESSON ANALYSIS. --1. Preaching the Kingdom; 2. Making Fishers of Men; 3. The Great Physician.

INTRODUCTION.

We learn from Mark 1:14 that this Galilean ministry took place after John was cast into prison. This shows that it did not occur immediately after the temptation, but more than. year later. The chronological order of events is undoubtedly best preserved in John. The intervening events are,

(1) the return of Jesus from the wilderness to Bethabara, John 1:15-37, where the first disciples are called;

(2) the return to Galilee and the miracle at Cana, John 2:1-11 ;

(3) the first passover of the Lord's ministry in Jerusalem and the temple cleansed, John 2:14-25 ;

(4) interview with Nicodemus, John 3:1-21 ;

(5) ministry in Judea, John 4:2 ;

(6) leaves for Galilee, passed through Samaria, conversation at Sychar, John 4:4-52 ;

(7) heals nobleman's son, John 4:46-54 ;

(8). period of retirement in Galilee, John imprisoned, Matthew 4:12 ;

(9) attends feast in Jerusalem, miracle at pool of Bethesda, John 5;

(10) returns to Galilee, April A. D. 28.

We thus see that an interval of more than. year is passed over in silence by Matthew, between the last verse of the last lesson and the first verse of this.. considerable part of this time was spent by Jesus in Judea, till so great an opposition rose against him that he left Judea, and spent almost two years in Galilee and the regions round about, with only an occasional visit to Jerusalem.

I. PREACHING THE KINGDOM.

17. From that time Jesus began to preach.

Probably from the time of the imprisonment of John the Baptist, spoken of in verse 12. The message which Jesus began to preach now was, not the gospel of the crucified Savior preached by his apostles, but the same message that John had preached. When John was silenced Jesus took up his message. All was still preparatory. The announcement made is that the kingdom is at hand, and men are called upon to repent as. preparation for it. This is the beginning of the Galilean ministry, to which Matthew confines himself; the Judæan ministry of many months, related by John, is passed in silence by Matthew. It can hardly be doubted that the Lord preached the same message in Judea.

Repent.

Not mere remorse, but conversion and reformation, or turning away from sin and unto God. The Greek word means change of mind or heart.-- Schaff. They were called upon to repent now; for never had they so much reason to repent, and so much help to repent, and so many blessings if they did repent, as the coming of Christ in his kingdom would bring them. The cry "Repent!" shows (a) that men were in. false position; (b) that they had power to alter it; (c) that such power was immediately associated with. great opportunity.-- Joseph Parker.

The kingdom of heaven.

What Matthew in general calls the kingdom of heaven (see Matthew 4:17) is designated by Mark and Luke the kingdom of God. The two expressions, the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God, vary only in phase. The kingdom is divine, and hence heavenly. It is. thing of heaven. It originated in heaven, tends to heaven, culminates in heaven. It is. heavenly community, with. heavenly sovereign at its head. All its objects are heavenly, whether they be on earth or in heaven. Our whole earth should have been. part of heaven. But it is. runaway world, having gone off from heaven. It is not, however, finally lost to heaven. God, the great moral Governor, has not and will not let it go. He desires, not by the use of physical omnipotence, but by glorious moral means, to win it back. Long, long ago, he took the initiative for the accomplishment of this end. He reclaimed. foothold for heavenly institutions. And now the time was come for establishing, in. somewhat developed, and, as it were, completed form, the heavenly community--"the Kingdom of God."-- Morison.

Is at hand.

The end of the old covenant is at hand... the Son is born, grown up, anointed (in his baptism), tempted, gone forth, the testimony of his witness is given, and now he witnesses himself; now begins that last speaking of God, by his Son (Hebrews 1:2), which henceforth shall be proclaimed in all the world till the end comes.-- Stier. The expression "at hand," indicates that Jesus had not yet publicly declared himself as the Messiah.-- Schaff. The Greek word translated "is at hand," means "draws near." The term shows that the kingdom was yet future. It was not inaugurated until Christ had demonstrated his Sonship by rising from the dead, and was "lifted up" from the cross and tomb to. heavenly throne.