Turn Around

Matthew 4:12-23

In our Gospel reading today from this past week’s Lectionary, we read a word that is not very popular in today’s world, and that is the word “repent”.  Many pastors are hesitant to preach or speak about repentance, thinking it will label them as some type of 17th century Puritan-era preacher. People seem to feel that it is a message from the past, one that doesn’t fit into today’s 21st century world.  Preachers today like to give “feel-good” messages, as that’s what people want to hear. They like to hear that everything is fine, that they are good, and about peace and love. However, this was the major theme of God’s messenger, John the Baptist, and as we see today, one that was picked up and preached by the Lord Jesus Christ, as well.

As our Scripture passage opens, Jesus is just leaving the city of Nazareth, the town that He had grown up in.  Jesus had experienced nothing but rejection and hostility in His hometown of Nazareth. They had even talked of killing Him there (Luke 4:16-30), so He heads about 20 miles north, to the city of Capernaum, where He sets up His home base for His ministry in Galilee (vs. 12-16).  Being in Capernaum fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 9:1-2. Capernaum was also a more bustling city than Nazareth, and was on a trade route along the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, where more people could be reached with the Gospel message.

The area of Galilee had once been a part of the northern kingdom of Israel, the kingdom that had been the first to fall into idolatry when the nation had split into two kingdoms following the death of King Solomon.  The people of the northern kingdom had fallen away from the true worship of Yahweh, and became deeply entrenched in the worship of false gods and idols. As the prophet Isaiah said, they were a people in darkness (vs. 16).  It was to the Galileans, the descendants of the people of the northern kingdom that Jesus came and spent a large portion of His ministry with, occasionally going south into Judah for religious festivals. The Light of God came to them, just as Isaiah promised in his prophecy.

What was the first message that Jesus brought?  His first messages were about repentance (vs. 17) .  Many people today do not think that Jesus ever spoke about repentance, feeling that this was just an Old Testament injunction, and that Jesus changed the tone of the Bible from repentance to love.  As we see here, Jesus called upon people to repent. To repent is like the military command “About face!” Turn around and go in the opposite direction. Stop heading towards sin and self, and instead turn around and head towards God and His ways.  This is a message that we need to hear today. We need to turn away from our self-centeredness and our wanting to run our lives ourself, and turn our lives over to Jesus and His control and direction. We need to admit that we are sinners, heading down the wrong path, the path of sin and towards the devil.  We need to listen to God’s Word and His messengers, and realize we are going the wrong way! Repent and turn around, and head back towards God! That was Jesus’ message as He started preaching and teaching in Galilee.

One of the first things Jesus also did when He arrived in Capernaum was to seek out and call two of the men He had previously met when He was baptized by John.  He sought out Peter and Andrew, along with their companions James and John (vs. 18-22). Peter and Andrew had already met and spoken with Jesus, and were already interested in following Him, and they all heard His preaching and teaching in the area.  When Jesus called them, they responded and gave up controlling their own life their own way, allowing God to take charge (vs. 20, 22).

Along with Jesus’ call to these men to come and follow Him, He instructed them that they were also to go out and bring others to Him, to be “fishers of men” (vs. 19).  This instruction is to us, as well. We are to help others find Jesus. We are to follow and obey God in our own lives, and also share the Gospel with others. Right before He returned to heaven, Jesus instructed us to tell others about repentance (Luke 24:45-48), along with salvation in His Name.  We are to preach repentance, just as He did, along with John the Baptist, and the prophets. Our life and our message will draw others to Jesus, just like a fisherman.