The Beginnings of the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 4:12-25)

Matthew couches everything that happens in Jesus’ life in terms of the prophecies of the Messiah. When John is arrested, Jesus concentrates His public ministry around Capernaum. Matthew claims that this is a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy in Isaiah 9. Some might say that this looks like cherry picking. Jesus works in the territories of Zebulun and Naphtali, so Matthew finds a passage mentioning those areas. But that is not what is happening. This passage in Isaiah is a prediction about the Messianic King. The whole first portion of Isaiah from 1-37 is a collection of prophecies where the Messiah is shown to be King. So, it is an ideal portion for Matthew to draw from presenting Jesus as the Messianic King. And, in 9, Isaiah is looking ahead to a time when those tribes would be blessed by the King being in their midst. Here we see this prophecy fulfilled.

Jesus shines the prophesied light: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Already mentioned, this is the essence of the Gospel message. We are presented with an opportunity through Jesus. We can abandon our rebellious, self-defeating ways—the darkness we are stumbling around in—to embrace God’s perfect plans for our lives. And, we can do it without penalty. We can become citizens of God’s Kingdom voluntarily.

In this early ministry we don’t just see the message of the Gospel, but we see it played out in another important theme of Matthew’s: discipleship. What does the repentance Jesus preach look like? Just look to Simon, Andrew, James and John. Their story as Matthew progresses will be an important example for all those who chose to become citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven.