Introduction

It was Twitter, now it’s called “X,” which is a popular social media site that thrives on short text posts for people to read. If you like what someone has to say you can choose to “follow” them and what they have to say will show up in your personalized feed. What was once a quaint tool to interact with your friends quickly became a means to influence the world. See, when you have thousands and thousands of followers, a whole lot of people are paying attention to what you have to say. And so the goal becomes to get more followers so more you have more influence. If you have more influence you have more power.

So X has quickly become a power-grab. People try to get more followers to get more power. And now there are all sorts of websites out there that will give you tips on how to get more followers, because more followers also means more money. Churches can sometimes fall into the same category. We want more members because we want to feel like we’re making a difference. Some churches want more members to have more power. Some are quite blunt to admit that churches want more members to get more money.

Today we are looking at the story where Jesus calls people to follow him. And we might think that he does this for similar reasons. I mean, he is a king establishing his kingdom. . .who will he choose? The most powerful and wealthy? The most influential? We can see Jesus does not practice gimmicks or manipulative tactics to convince people to join his cause. Nor does he choose the richest. Rather he forthrightly goes to a group average fishermen.

True hope is found in the good news of the kingdom Matt. 4:12-17

Matthew 4:12–17 ESV

Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

In this first story we see God’s orchestration of events as well as fulfillment of prophecy. I want you to think about the first two major events in v. 12: “arrest” and “withdrawal.” These are not positive events. But it is certainly God who can take something seemingly bad and work something positive out of it.

In Israel’s story we know they were rescued from slavery and went through the waters to the wilderness. After the wilderness they conquered the promised land. . .partly. Then after their paganization and constant sin, they were captured by a foreign nation and deported into foreign lands.

God’s orchestration of these deep, dark events brings us to the brink of one of the greatest chasms of theological speculation in history. How can God be in control of seemingly harmful or terrible events?

When it comes to human evil the answer is quite straightforward: God has given mankind a will to act of his own accord. When I think of the free will, I don’t think it’s best to think of it floating in space not attached to anything, because certainly it is. Our wills aren’t just random or arbitrary, rather our wills are attached to what we know and what we want.

John’s arrest is not positive, it’s not good. However, God permits this to take place—you could say he even ordains it—in order that what he has planned might take place. And what is this plan? The spreading of the gospel to the nations.

This tension is seen again in Isaiah 10:5-7Isaiah 10:5–7 ESV

Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury! Against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command him, to take spoil and seize plunder, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. But he does not so intend, and his heart does not so think; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few;

Notice in Isaiah that Assyria is God’s rod— his instrument of divine wrath. And yet, he is now going to punish the tool he uses? This seems quite ridiculous does it not? Does a painter punish his paint brush? Does a writer punish his pen? Does a golfer punish his golf club? Well. . .Maybe that’s not the best example.

Nevertheless, God’s chosen instrument has a will of its own that acts against God’s moral will. This is why, for example, when Israel is give laws around holy war they are not supposed to profit in any way from it. And this is because they are acting as God’s instruments of judgment. God uses the Assyrians to act as an instrument against Israel, but the Assyrians desire and intention is not God’s desire and intention (Is. 10:7)

So, God is sovereign and in control and at the same time man is free to act according to his own desire. God’s sovereignty never limits man’s responsibility or culpability.

So while Matthew 4:12 opens with these negative events of arrest and withdrawal, God’s hands are all over it working it for good. You could say, “There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Notice to where Jesus withdrew in v. 13, “Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali.” Matthew is mentioning these places specifically to lead into his quotation of Isaiah 9. Furthermore, the language he uses at the beginning of v. 13 tells us that Jesus is taking up residence in this region.

Capernaum was a largely Jewish city on the sea of Galilee that had a population upwards of 10,000 at this time. It was not as centrally located to Antipas’s rule like Nazareth was, so Jesus’s risk of arrest for being associated with the baptizer was greatly diminished. This event is a new stage in Christ’s ministry.

The prophecy that Matthew cites is from Isaiah 9:1-2 where again, these specific geographical locations are announced. In the original context of Isaiah, the light represents hope after exile. Here in Matthew, that hope, that light is Christ. And not just Christ, but also his proclamation. Notice what Jesus proclaims in v. 17, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” —this is the same message that John the Baptist was preaching earlier, so we can see continuity between their ministries.

Jesus’s message of good news— that there is no judgment upon repentance —is only made possible through Jesus’s perfect life, substitutionary sacrifice, and resurrection. Because of what Christ has done for us, we can be a part of the kingdom of heaven.

The kingdom of heaven is wherever God’s rule is made evident. Matthew says “of heaven” as most people believe this is a way to avoid uttering the divine name. But it also makes the phrase inclusive of both God and Christ.

True hope is found in the good news of the kingdom.

Where do you place your hope? Is it placed in this world or in the kingdom that is at hand?

The way we budget out time and our money shows us where are hope is truly placed, right? Do we make a point to spend time with the King daily, or do we find ourselves too busy with the things of this world?

Hope has a way to motivate us. From Parade magazine comes the story of self-made millionaire Eugene Lang, who greatly changed the lives of a sixth-grade class in East Harlem. Mr. Lang had been asked to speak to a class of 59 sixth-graders. What could he say to inspire these students, most of whom would drop out of school? He wondered how he could get these predominantly black and Puerto Rican children even to look at him. Scrapping his notes, he decided to speak to them from his heart. “Stay in school,” he admonished, “and I’ll help pay the college tuition for every one of you.” At that moment the lives of these students changed. For the first time they had hope. Said one student, “I had something to look forward to, something waiting for me. It was a golden feeling.” Nearly 90 percent of that class went on to graduate from high school.

Here’s something for you to look forward to: your kingdom is not of this world, it is a kingdom that cannot be shaken. The down payment has already be made for you in Christ’s sacrifice to be a citizen in this kingdom.

Think about how much hope can influence you: When you face temptation: what do you hope in? When you face discouragement: what grounds your hope? Hope is the light that shines out in the darkness. But not just an empty, vacuous hope; a specific hope in Christ’s kingdom.

But what is a kingdom without royal agents? The irony here is that these are not the royal agents are your average fishermen.

The Call to follow Christ is a Call to but Christ first Matt. 4:18-22