Matthew: Connecting the Covenants, Part 6 - Yeshua's Ministry Begins

We are now in chapter 4, beginning with verse 12.

Following His baptism and temptation, Yeshua got ready to start His ministry.  He was 30 years old, according to Luke 3:23.  It is interesting to note that a priest would begin his priestly service at age 30, as recorded in Numbers 4.

The first thing Yeshua did was to withdraw from Judea and head to the Galilee region, after hearing about the arrest of John the baptizer.  Matthew then paraphrases the scripture from Isaiah 9:1-2, which says, But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish.  In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.  The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; whose who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

Further confirmation from Isaiah 60:1-3 says, Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.  For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

The light has come! Where else have we seen darkness covering the earth, then boom - light?  Look no further than Genesis 1:2-3, which says, The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, "Let there be light."

Beautiful Sea of Galilee at sunrise

And what is Yeshua's initial message?  Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  God has always intended to have a kingdom on earth, with man ruling and reigning with him. But many things still had to happen before the final culmination of that kingdom.  Six thousand years later, we are still waiting. There will be much more on God's kingdom as we move continue through Matthew.

Before moving on, why Galilee? After the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel and the subsequent scattering of the northern tribes, Galilee had become heavily settled by non-Jews, especially Assyrians and Samaritans. A minority of Jews began to resettle the area in the times of the Maccabbees, about 165-140 BC, including refugees from the line of King David of Bethlehem (which is why Mary and Joseph were living in the Galilee region). But the Jews were still a minority.  

I love that of Yeshua ministered to both Jews and Gentiles during His time on earth.

Yeshua began choosing His followers, and the four gospels give us different eyewitness accounts of that process.

Matthew gives us a beautiful picture of fishermen, who would leave their fishing nets behind and eventually go fishing for people.  According to the gospel of John, Peter and his brother Andrew had been followers of John the baptizer, so they had previously encountered Yeshua.

Matthew does not mention the miracle of the nets full of fish the morning after a fruitless night's work, but Luke wrote of it, which is why Matthew 4:22 records that James and John immediately left their father and their fishing jobs to follow Him.

Yeshua then traveled throughout Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, proclaiming the kingdom, and healing every disease and affliction.  His fame spread even into Syria and beyond the Jordan. The healing of Naaman the Syrian just popped into my mind as I wrote this. The LORD healed him of leprosy after he dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as recorded in 2 Kings 5. We will come back to the account of Naaman in the near future, so hold that thought.

Psalm 103 sings of His marvelouos works, His righteousness, His steadfast love, and His kingdom!  Yeshua, being God, was manifesting all of those things in His Galilean ministry.

Bless Yahweh O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
Bless Yahweh, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit,

who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Yahweh works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.
Yahweh is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children, so Yahweh shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.
As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field;
for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.

But the steadfast love of Yahweh is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.

Yahweh has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.
Bless Yahweh, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word,  obeying the voice of his word!
Bless Yahweh, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will!

Bless Yahweh, all his works, in all places of his dominion.
Bless Yahweh, O my soul!