Chapter 4 Part 7

More Scripture Fulfilled

Matt. 4:13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: 14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; 16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

 The above quotation is taken from the book of Isaiah.  Is. 9:1 "Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. 2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined."  Jesus is that light that the people saw who had previously been in darkness.  That God's people were at one time in darkness and now a light has shined unto them is proven by the following scriptures:

            1.  Lk. 1:78 "Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, 79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

            2.  Acts 26:16 "But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; 17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, 18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me."

            3.  Rom. 13:12 "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light."

            4.  1 Cor. 4:5 "Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God."

            5.  2 Cor. 4:6 "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

            6.  Eph. 5:8 "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:"

            7.  1 Pet. 2:9 "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:"

Chapter 4 Part 8

Jesus Preaches

            Matt. 4:17 "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

            From the above we draw the following conclusions:

            1.  Jesus preached the same message as John.

            2.  He affirmed the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

            3.  He preached repentance.

Chapter 4 Part 9

Jesus calls his disciples

            Matt. 4:18 "And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. 21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. 22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him." 

            We make the following observations based on the above:

            1.  We see the sovereignty of God in the calling of his disciples.

            2.  Those whom Jesus called are not who men would have called.

            3.  The disciples must first be followers, before they can be fishers of men.

            4.  The disciples immediately responded and left their ships and their father and followed him.

            The sovereignty of God is also manifest in the calling of Paul to preach the gospel.  Acts 9:1 "And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. 3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do."  Also we note that Paul is not one that the church would have called to preach the gospel.

            Men would not have called fishers to be leaders of a movement.  They would have chosen salesmen, or politicians, or corporate leaders, etc.  God's ways are not man's ways.

Chapter 4 Part 10

Jesus works

            Matt. 4:23 "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. 24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. 25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan."

            The power of God is manifest in the healings that Jesus performed on the people.  This included the power to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.  This also shows forth the wisdom of God in that he knows about all sicknesses and about all diseases and what it takes to heal them.

            This passage tells us four things that Jesus did.  He went, he preached, he taught, and he healed.

            There were great multitudes that followed the Lord.  As we will see in the next chapter, the multitudes followed the Lord because of his healings, not because they wanted to hear what he preached and taught.