Revised Common Lectionary: Year A Third Sunday After the Epiphany
January 22, 2023
Highlighted Text: Matthew 4:12–23
Summary of the Text
Preaching Angle: John Arrested, Jesus Preaches the Kingdom
The major event in redemptive history which immediately precedes this passage is Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. I can’t imagine a 40 day fast (maybe you can, or maybe you know someone who has fasted 40 days, or maybe even you have!), let alone a one-on-one temptation with the accuser. Yet, as Matthew sets up his Gospel, he recounts for us Jesus’ successful obedience to the Father and rejection of the devil’s schemes. In fact, Matthew is showing us in narrative form Jesus’ New Adam/Second Adam theology. Where Adam failed to obey God in the midst of the devil’s tricks, Jesus succeeded, and it’s this active obedience which is imputed to us as an alien righteousness, credited to our account (Rom 5:12-21).
Now, coming off the heels of that powerful event, Matthew’s Gospel narrative notes a drop, a complication in the plot. After such a great success comes what would seem like such a great setback. John, a relative of Jesus and the major figure who went before the Lord to prepare God’s people for Christ (Matt 3:2-3), is arrested. And how does Jesus respond? The text reads, “he withdrew into Galilee” (Matt 4:12 ESV). It could seem like Jesus, upon hearing that another powerful Kingdom worker was arrested because of his Kingdom work, flees danger to avoid a similar fate. But Matthew doesn’t allow us to conclude this for long.
In fact, in verses 13-14, Matthew shows us how Jesus’ travel into the Galilean cities fulfills God’s Old Testament promises to His people. Matthew quotes Isaiah 9 and 42, demonstrating that Jesus is in full control of the situation, turning what would seem like a major setback into a major success in proving God’s ability to fulfill promises. Jesus’ travel shows us that He is not fleeing from a potential run in with the law; rather, He demonstrates His power, control, and connection with the Father as Jesus fulfills Old Testament prophecy: Zebulun, Naphtali, and the Gentiles who live there—they’ve seen a great light! The light of the Christ!
Not only does Jesus’ travel demonstrate that He isn’t avoiding a possible arrest, but notice what Jesus does as He’s traveling around Galilee: “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 4:17 ESV). If Jesus were afraid of arrest and imprisonment because of His Kingdom ministry, He wouldn’t be preaching the Kingdom and doing Kingdom ministry! Yet, He wasn’t afraid. He knew His goal. He knew where He was headed. It was “for the joy that was set before Him [He] endured the cross” (Heb 12:2 ESV). Jesus wasn’t afraid. He was likely saddened by the news of John’s arrest, but He was no less resolved to carry out the plans which the Father, the Holy Spirit, and He had planned from before the foundations of the world.
Preaching Angle: Jesus calls His Disciples
A great deal can be said about Jesus’ calling His disciples: discipleship, leaving aside one’s family, leaving aside one’s career goals, and the like. What is so striking at a more basic level is the power of Jesus’ call. Jesus’ call and the simple response of the disciples seems to reflect God’s demonstrable power in creation, akin to that in Genesis: “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light” (Gen 1:3 ESV). Jesus’ call to Simon (Peter), Andrew, James, and John unfolded similarly: “Follow me” and they did. If you know the human heart, you know that the greater miracle isn’t creation ex nihilo, creation by fiat; the greater miracle is Jesus’ calling to His disciples. He called; they followed. That’s power.
Jesus’ call here reminds us of God’s effectual calling. When we were dead in our trespasses and sins, God called us and made us alive in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:1-10). And in calling us, He saved us, and he saved us fully (Rom 8:3o). And when Jesus calls His disciples, their whole lives are changed. Their earthly lives were changed. They began following the King. They learned ministry from the Maker. They saw the one who was the fulfillment of all Old Testament hope fulfilling prophecies. And not only were their earthly lives changed. Their eternal lives were changed. When Jesus calls, He saves, both now and forever.
Preaching Angle: Preaching and Healing
The final verse in this day’s lectionary reading is Matthew 4:23, and it’s powerful: “And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people” (ESV). The way Matthew describes Jesus’ Galilean ministry reminds us of David’s words in Psalm 68:18: “You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there” (ESV).
It’s as though those whom Jesus healed were the captives whom He led to freedom, giving them gifts of healing and the Gospel. Not only this, but the apostle Paul picks up on Psalm 68:18 to highlight the spiritual gifts Christ has given His Church through His ascension (Eph 4:8). The point to note here in Matthew 4:23 is that in Christ’s descent, in His humiliation, in His coming to earth, He gave great gifts to men and women. He taught in their synagogues. He proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdom. He healed every disease and affliction. These are powerful gifts. Just imagine receiving His teaching, His preaching, or His healing. And this teaching, preaching, and healing is given to us today through the ministry of the Holy Spirit according to the witness of Holy Scripture.
Dustin grew up in Springfield, MO later graduating from Evangel University and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, studying Biblical Hebrew and Greek, Theology, and ancient history.
He and his wife, Debbie, married in 2009 and have three children: Abigail, Judah, and Ezra. Dustin still rides BMX bikes, listens to hardcore music, loves research and writing, and enjoys helping his family seek and savor King Jesus.
Sermon Resources
Key Quotes
The recognition of sin is the beginning of salvation.
Martin Luther
and
Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, by saying: Repent, intended that the whole life of believers should be repentance.”
Martin Luther
and
John Calvin, in his commentary on Matthew 4:22, discusses the power and sweetness of Christ’s call to His disciples and their response:
“The first thing that strikes us here is the power of Christ’s voice. Not that his voice alone makes so powerful an impression on the hearts of men: but those whom the Lord is pleased to lead and draw to himself, are inwardly addressed by his Spirit, that they may obey his voice. The second is, the commendation bestowed on the docility and ready obedience of his disciples, who prefer the call of Christ to all worldly affairs. The ministers of the Word ought, in a particular manner, to be directed by this example, to lay aside all other occupations, and to devote themselves unreservedly to the Church, to which they are appointed.”
John Calvin, Harmony of the Evangelists; vol 1, p. 244.
Key Illustration
Repentance
Sometimes we get numb to what repenting toward Christ’s Kingdom really looks like, or what it would sound like if we were told to follow another king. John Piper gives a paraphrastic-parable of what a town crier might sound like announcing forgiveness:
“Good news is for proclaiming—for heralding the way an old-fashioned town crier would do.
Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye! All rebels, insurgents, dissidents, and protesters against the King! Hear the royal decree! A great day of reckoning is coming, a day of justice and vengeance. But now hear this, all inhabitants of the King’s realm! Amnesty is herewith published by the mercy of your Sovereign. A price has been paid. All debts may be forgiven. All rebellion absolved. All dishonor pardoned. None is excluded from this offer. Lay down the weapons of rebellion, kneel in submission, receive the royal amnesty as a gift of imperial love, swear fealty to your sovereign, and rise a free and happy subject of your King.”
John Piper, God Is the Gospel: Meditations on God’s Love as the Gift of Himself; Crossway, p. 19.
Additional Sermon Resources
Liturgical Elements
Call to Worship
Isaiah 9:2-4
Leader: The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.
All: The light has shined on those who lived in the land of the shadow of death.
Leader: You have multiplied the nation. You have increased their joy.
All: They rejoice before you according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
(WEB, adapted for liturgical use)
Adapted from Psalm 27
Leader: The Lord is our light and our salvation—
So why should we be afraid?
People: The Lord is our fortress, protecting us from danger,
So why should we tremble?
Leader: The one thing we ask of the Lord is to live in the house of the Lord
all the days of our lives.
People: Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous.
Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.
All: Let us worship God!
Submitted by Chip Hardwick
Adapted from Psalm 27:1-2; 4-5
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked advance against me
to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
who will stumble and fall.
One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
and set me high upon a rock.
Stuart Strachan Jr.
Adapted from Isaiah 9:2; 6-7a
Leader: The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
People: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
Leader: And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
People: Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.
Submitted by Stuart Strachan Jr.
Prayer of Adoration
Inspired by today’s Psalm reading (Psalm 27)
All: Oh Lord, my Light, my Life, my Joy, my Peace—with you I find refuge from danger, shelter from the storms in my life. You are good and you do good. You are the Strength of my life, and I look to you for power. On this Lord’s Day, as we worship you in spirit and in truth, there is one thing that we seek: You. We want to worship You. We want to tell You and each other how great and mighty and gentle and kind You have been to us. We gaze upon Your beauty, not because our eyes are worthy to behold You; we gaze upon Your beauty, not because we are sinless like You; no, we gaze upon Your beauty because You have called us, washed away our sins through the blood of Christ, and You have raised us with Him to new life through His resurrection. Since You have been so gracious to us, we do not doubt that You will bring us safely home into the arms of our Savior, in whose name we pray, Amen.
Submitted by Dustin Ray
Prayer of Confession
Inspired by today’s Gospel reading (Matthew 4:12-23)
All: Holy Father, You are gracious to call us to Yourself. You are the King of kings, the Lord of Lords, and the Treasure of treasures, worthy of our lives. And just like Jesus called out His disciples to come and follow Himself, He bids us come, follow, live, die, and live again. Yet, we fail to hear and heed His call. We stop up our ears so that we can pretend not to hear Him. Forgive us for believing that we are too busy to follow where You lead us. Forgive us for trying to steer our lives where we think we should go, rather than submitting our lives to you. Restore to us the joy of our salvation—Christ Himself—and help us follow Him and You and Your Holy Spirit, World without end. Amen.
Submitted by Dustin Ray
Inspired by today’s New Testament reading (1 Corinthians 1:10-18)
All: Oh kind and generous God, You have condescended so graciously to our humble needs. You have given us holy baptism to teach us such a simple truth: the blood of Christ washes away our sins. Great glory! Yet even in this, we Your people find a way to sin by boasting in the number of people whom we serve. We boast to each other about innumerable other things—how we vote, how we take care of our homes, our incomes, how much we give, how spiritual we are, how humble we are. How foolish we are! Kindly show us our foolishness and gently lead through repentance and into wisdom and true humility. Do all this for the sake of the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen!
Submitted by Dustin Ray
Assurance of Pardon
Taken from today’s Psalm reading (Psalm 27:1)
Leader: Through the grace and righteousness of Jesus Christ, the plan of the Father, and power of the Holy Spirit, you who trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins—your sins are washed away!
All: “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
Benediction
Inspired by today’s Psalm reading (Psalm 27:4)
Leader: May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ give you the one great thing that you seek: that you may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of your lives, and that you may gaze upon His beauty, and that you may continually lift up your requests to God as you go from this place, and may you bless others with the hope of the Gospel!
Submitted by Dustin Ray
Psalm 116:5 & Colossians 1:13 & 14
Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful. He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. In Christ we are forgiven!