Matthew 4
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Good morning Rivertree it is a joy to be with you today. Hello to everyone here downtown, watching online and at cove.
this morning we continue our series now is the time as we study through the book of matthew
If you have your Bible go ahead and be turining to Matthew 4 and we start in verse 12.
If you. Don’t have a Bible this morning the scripture will be on the Bible you version app under events and on the screens
I want to let you know here we are heading this morning.
First we are going to see Jesus goes to unlikely places
second we are going to see Jesus brings unbelievable light
and finally we are going to see Jesus establishes an unshakeable Kingdom
Read
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.”
After Jesus leaves his wilderness temptation we are introduced to the beginning of his public ministry
and there is a little detail in verse 12 of chapter 4 which we don’t need to miss
John had been arrested.
4 words in our Bibles but very weighty at that.
Let’s just reflect on what Matthew is saying here In verse 12. Think about Johns ministry with me.
It had been Prophesied about 700 years before by the Prophet Isaiah. And then 500 years before by Malachi
and in the end a ministry that had been hundreds of years in the making only lasted about 18 months
In those 18 months he spent his time in the wilderness. Offending religious leaders, wearing strange clothing and eating strange food.
Yet in those 18 months he had given everything for God
He had prepared the way to Jesus
simple profound obeiednce. He now sat in a jail cell waiting for his sentence still with questions.
and these 4 words in verse 12 are a good reminder. God has also planned good works for us. But our life has limits. We never know when our work is done
so we have to live with the kind of perspective John did. An eternal one. One that continues to prepare the way for the Lord
Let’s posture our lives to be used in a similarly way
Johns arrest is what launches Jesus into his public ministry. Everything that had come before had passed and “now is the time” for the public ministry of Jesus to begIn. We are told in Pauls epistles this was the fullness of time in other words the perfect time
We are told in 1st peter this was a time chosen before the foundation of the world.
Now is the time for Jesus to start his ministry
and he starts in the most unlikely place
We are told by Matthew he left his hometown Nazareth and goes to the region of Galliee
Right here we see Jesus going to one of the most unlikely places for the messiah to go.
Bethlehem sure. Jerusalem even better but we see Jesus is going to a place that had been forgotten about. A place that had been under oppression for a long time. A place which darkness dwelled.
It’s a reminder real places matter to Jesus. In verse 12, 13 5 different places are mentioned in this regions. Matthew is showing us the geography of what is happening.
He is reminds the readers and us God really did take on flesh and make his home among us.
He is reminding us God really did have a human body and as Eugene Peterson said he moved into the neighborhood
Instead of going to the political and spiritual elites Jesus went to those in a place and space in time which probably felt overlooked. Overshowed and hopeless.
A place where the waiting on the messiah felt like forever.
A place that understood oppression both spiritually and politically.
And it is here Jesus begins to establish his ministry
and he does this to fulfill the word of God from Isiah
we are told in verse 14 he came to this region so what was spoken by Isaiah would be fulfilled
reminding us once again God always keeps his word. God cannot lie. what had been spoken some 700 years before this moment was now happening.
This kind of fulfillment is seen all throughout scripture and it is a great reminder God always keeps his word
Whatever we find as promises in the Bible God has made we can be sure he will keep them.
In moments we feel forgotten. In moments we wonder if God will really do what he said
We can wonder if God sees us. And it’s when we look at the promises fullfilled through Jesus life that we can be reminded
We are not forgotten. God keeps his word and he sees us.
This passage teaches us more then just Jesus going to unlikely places
It shows what happens when Jesus shows up in those places
We see in Matthew 4 Jesus brings unbeleivable light
We are told in verse 16
Those who were dwelling in darkness have seen a great light
those dwelling in the region and shadow of death
a light has dawned on them
This is remarkable. It reminds us any place Jesus goes he changes everything about that place
no matter how distance it is, no matter how unlikely it is, no matter the struggle or the pain, or the depth of despair
no matter what the place has been through when Jesus shows up LIGHT COMES WITH HIM
The people in this region had been despised by many. They were surrounded by nations that didn’t worship God
They had faced so much oppersion for over 500 years. Even there native tounge was despised. Outside customs and non-Jewish influences had swayed everyone
Most likely they lived in and area that had expierenced a moral and spiritual death. There was no orthodoxy
No love for God and No love for neighbor
It truly was dark.
It was a deep darkness for sure.
That’s why we see repetition in the back part of this verse.
We are told people are dwelling in the shadow of death.
I don’t know about you but for me that doesn’t really sound like a great place to live.
It’s not necessarily the subdivision we would want to call home yet we are told this is where Jesus shows up
this concept of shadow of death is seen in a few places throughout scritpure.
It’s often poetically used for thick darkness
but can also describe Sheol. It figurtly means deep deistrass
You might even be most familiar with
A Psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
and this is the place the people of Galilee lived in.
It was a place of distress, it was hell on earth, it the shadow of death
and this is where Jesus came
He came to people who were in distress
He came to those expierence a living hell
He cam to people who new what death was
and he came to the darkness.
And I find great encourage from
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
what Great hope Jesus must have brought to these people. They probably had many days where they wondered if life would ever get better.
They wondered if death would end
They wondered if the present darkness they were living in could end.
They may have felt hopeless but we are told in matthrew
when Jesus moved into the nieghboorhood they SAW with there own eyes a great light.
How wonderful is this?
They didn’t just hear about the great light
They didn’t just read about the great light
They saw the great light with there own eyes.
This is grace. This is love. The people did nothing to earn it. They did nothing to deserve it. They lived in the most unlikely places for religious leaders of the day to come
Yet this where Jesus first comes. ALl they were was needed and that was enough.
They didn’t make a pilgrimage or pence before God.
They didn’t study more or work harder.
No Jesus saw people in deep darkness and he came to them.
And when he arrived LIGHT HAD DAWNED.
It’s this idea of a new beginning. I's the idea of a new day is coming for the people who have seen the light
This is their hope, their salvation
and john tells us
In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
He is brining life. Where there is death, darkness and despair
Jesus is bringing life, light, and hope
he would raise the dead
he heal the sick
he would touch the untoucable
and love the unlovable
Jesus brought increadible hope to the places he went
He was truly the Shepard who had gone to lead his sheep into new and better pastures
The green pastures and still waters spoken about in psalm 23 was exactly what Jesus was brining to the people who had dwelled in darkness for so long. His light had come and nothing could stop it from shining everywehre he went
and in this unlikely place3 where Jesus brought and unbeleivable light he would begin to establish and unshakeable kingdom
when Jesus says the kingdom is at hand this is a watershed moment in the book of matthew.
Matthew allows us to enter into this major section of the story as the kingdom Jesus is establishng was proclaimed in galliee
As Jesus proclaims this kingdom the people hearing his message in the 1st centruary new exactly what he meant. They knew if someone was talking about Gods kingdom they were talking about a revelotion
Jesus grew up in the shadow of many of these kingdom-movements.
His homeland had been conquered by rome who was just one of many nations who had done so throughout history. Hearod the great was a puppet master to lead the people
Most Jews living in Jesus days were reading for a revlutions they wanted a rebellion all they needed was a leader
THey longed for this kingdom, they prayed for it, they worked for it and many where ready to die for this Kingdom
but what they would find out is Jesus’ Kingdom reveltiojn was not one of miltarstic might or warfare
it was a
Reveloution of the heart
The people did need delievernce but not from Rome. THey neecded delviernce from a greater enemy the enemy of sin.
For far to long sin, death, shame and guilt had ruled the hearts of the people. As many sacrifices as they made, as much as they tried to keep the law, they could not expierence the delvierence there hearts so despartley needed
and the way they would expierence this delvierence was through the gift of repentence.
Through Jesus God was doing a work in the peoples heart. They had seen the light and now had the oppurtunity to be deliverd by repenting.
Repntence utimently comnes when God does a work in a persons heart, restores their spritual sight so they can see him
and what happens is when we observe Gods kindess and mercy repentence follows
Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
People in Galliee would see the kidness of Jesus and they would expirence repentance.
There was something so amazing, so marvouls, so Kind about Jesus the only appriorite repsonse was to repent.
His presence and kindness in their lives would lead them to a change of heart and mind.
It lead to a postive response to his kidness and grace in their lives.
They weren’t just feeling sorry for themesleves and the situation they found themselves in. They weren’t playing the victim in this moment. They weren’t feeling an overwhelming sense of Guilt.
Instead something greater a more profound was happening when they expierenced the kidness of Jesus. They had a deep remorese for how they had sinned agaisnt God. They didn’t try and justify it or excuse it away.
They longed for the clean heart David talked about in Psalm 51 realizings only Jesus could bring this revolution of the heart.
True repentence has a sense of brokness and grief but also offers us a sense of hope.
What Jesus was offering the people of his day in repentence was a way to enter the kingdom. No one could actaully enter the kingdom without repentence. He was offering them a way to change their lives
If we arent’ careful we can think of repentence as something on the outside but this isn’t what Jesus is saying when he is proclaiming the kingdom of God beign at hand. He is proclaiming an inward chagne where we need help.
true repentence always starts on the inside. It’s not always about what we stop doing. True repentence always leads us to start doing something also.
It’s what Jesus was inviting people to do as he proclaimed the kingdom of God.
He was inviting them to turn from sin, and to change everything about their lives. As he brought revoltioun on the inside. Inside their hearts. They’re outside would look completly different.
They way they would live differently. IN the freedom Christ would Bring
They would love differently. No longer would they spend their lives with hate filled hearts wanting to conquer rome. They would live with the love of God in thier hearts longing for the people of Rom to come into the kingdom also
Everything about them would change.
Because Jesus came to an unlikely place, showed increadible light and was establishing an unsahkeable kingdom.
and for those who have expierenced Jesus in a similar way I think there are some takeaways for us this morning
First when we have expierence3 the revolution of the heart
We get to go to unlikely places
Every since Jesus those who followed Jesus have always gone to unlikely places. We’ve gone to the forgotten and told them God sees them
We’ve gone to the hurting and brought hope
We’ve gone to the sick and broguht healing
We’ve gone to the untoucable and have been the hands and feet of Jesus
We’ve served, giving, and gone to places no one else would think is worth it
We go to those who’ve hurt us, those who’ve been our enimies, those we thought needed a revolution and we bring them the forgivness and peace only God can offer
and we’ve done it becasue it’s what Jesus did. And when we show up we remind the world that ever person matters. That ever person and place deserves to hear about the love of God. We do this not to earn Gods favour but as a result of expercing Gods favor.
We go to the unreached and unegage and bring the greatest news ever. The news that God loves them so much he sent his son so that whoever would believ ein him shall not persih but have eternal life
and we can be sure as we go to thse unlikely places we carry with us
an unbelieveable light
Jesus tells those would follow him in
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
and Jesus doesn’t lie. So we can be sure as we go to those unlikely places they will be changed becasue of the light of God in us. In other words when people see how we live and act they should see something different
The world still has a heavey darkness over it but we can recognize as christians go into dark places the light of Christ shines through them. The light actually begins to impact the darkness and change everything that is happening within the darkness
The light brings hope and promise of a future not yet realized. What you need to know is sometimes your presnece as a christian is enough
I can remeber when I first started making hosptial visits and pastoral visitis as a young pastor I was always worried what to say. In my early 20s I didn’t know what to say when someone had lost a loved one, or there was a new cancer diagoniosis, or tradegy had taken place
I often felt pretty insufficent. And a faithful pastor let me know. Your words probably are. But your presnec e is what matters. becasue when you are present it reminds people God is present
He called it the ministry of presence. It transformed the way I would make those visits. I realized sometimes just being present with people is enough.
Often people don’t remeber what we say in moments of tradgety and criss they remeber we were there.
and brother and sister when you are there with someone you can be confident the light of Christ will shine through you.
and when you go to unlikley places, brining this unbeleivable light we get to share the message of Gods kingdom with people
we get to tell them the good news of the Kingdom. we get to tell people about a God who brings revlioution not through miltary moight but a revoluiton of the heart.
We get to tell people this kingdom deafests sin, death, shame and condemnation once and for all
and this is a kingdom that will never end.
but there is more
becuase here is what this passage reminds us of
The same Jesus who went to Galiee this unlikely forgotten place
will come to us today. He will come to those places in our hearts that feel forgotten, that feel hopeless, those places of guilt and shame that we want no one to know about
the places that bring us the most discouragement and pain and he will come. And in the places that are increaedible difficult for us he will do some of us best work in and thorugh us.
becasue as he comes to those dark places in our hearts we are reminded that even as dark as those places are to us they aren’t dark to him
and he will allow dawn to come again. he will bring his increadible light into those places
and we will expiernce his tender care and kindness in our lives again. His love and his mercy
and when we do we will find hope and healing. He will shepard us from the shadow of darkness into greener pastures becasue it’s what he loves to do
and as we expierence this light we see his kindness and expierence repentence once again
our hearts become fertile ground for Gods grace to grow a fresh and a new.
so maybe for you it’s enough just to allow Jesus to be with you
to Know he is already at work in your heart
and as you see a new day coming, as you see dawn again you would turn back to him and turn towards what he has next for you. That will change the rest of your week, your day and your year
Let’s pray
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
This morning father I ask pepole all across this room downtown, those watching online and those at cove would expierence your steadfast love this morning. They would expiernce your mercy a fresh and a new today.
Thank you your faithfulness is great
I ask today you would go into those places that no one else would go into inside our hearts, that your tenderness and mercy and kindness would beging to transfomr us Jesus
that the darkness we feel and expierence would be transformed by your light and that your would bring us to a place of repentence again today
and as you do this good work I also pray we would be willing to go to unlikley and forgotten places
that we would be confident as we go that your light would shine thorugh us
and we could be a part of your kingdom movement
tahnk you for each person here. Have your way
In Jesus name I pray, Amen