Matthew 4:12-22
“Notice what you notice.” Yeah, I’m fascinated by the chronology and the geography – and even more so when we see the four Gospels harmonizing together in our Chronological Bibles. But I just got whapped by something. A few days ago when Jesus was with the woman at the well and His disciples came, Jesus had said that there were still four months until the harvest. My Bible notes had suggested, therefore, that He must have spent 2-3 months in Judea after the Passover celebration before returning to Galilee. So now we leave John’s Gospel and move to the Synoptics, specifically Matthew’s 4th chapter, which begins with Jesus’ forty days’ temptation in the wilderness. Forty days in the wilderness completely agrees with John’s 2-3 months in Judea after the Passover. Plus, all three Synoptics cover Jesus’ temptation, then move Him to Galilee. So there is a real consistency between John’s time frame and the Synoptics.
Furthermore, the Synoptics’ calling of the first four disciples (today’s reading) is now chronologically reasonable. Andrew was one of the two disciples of John the Baptist; possibly John the writer was the other (let’s imagine that for a time). So Andrew and his partner leave John the Baptist and follow Jesus, after first bringing along Simon Peter (John 1:35-42). Very possibly they are all headed to Jerusalem for the Passover. They witness the cleansing of the Temple and see other signs that Jesus performed. Then Jesus heads off to the wilderness while the three or four followers (Andrew, Peter, John, ?James?) head back to Galilee, back to fishing. Then after Jesus’ 2-3 months in Judea, he goes through Samaria, then on to Nazareth, then Capernaum (Mt. 4:12-13) which is by the sea. Now, knowing that He is beginning His Galilean ministry, He calls the first four disciples – who had already been called a couple of months earlier, but had returned to fishing when He went on His retreat.
Two other items worth noting. In verse 13 Matthew has Jesus living (settling) in Capernaum. Jesus having residence there will be picked up a number of times as we read further (e.g., Mark 1:21, 2:1; Luke 4:23, 31). Finally, in verses 20 and 22, Matthew uses the word “immediately”. I’ve always associated “immediately” with Mark!
Blessings!!
How refreshing it is to see someone recognize that Jesus’ interaction with Peter, Andrew, James, and John by the Sea of Galilee was not the first encounter these disciples had with Jesus! How many sermons have we all heard where the premise is that “Follow Me!” was the first thing these disciples heard from Jesus, and instantly they left their nets and blindly followed Him? Then the sermons’ application is that we likewise should follow the Lord without hesitation — blindly. That, I think, is hogwash, as the conclusion is drawn from a false premise. Yes, we should indeed follow the Lord without reservation, but the Lord does not generally ask us to follow Him blindly. Neither was this the first time these disciples encountered Jesus, as Fred rightly observed. They had already gotten to know Him. Likewise, we also need to know Him before we can properly follow Him.
Otherwise, what I noticed was that Matthew here recognizes Jesus as “light” (Matthew 4:16 quoting Isaiah 9:2), just as in John’s Gospel (John 1:4,5,7,8,9). Secondly, comparing Matthew 4:17 with Matthew 3:1,2, we see that Jesus’ preaching was aligned with that of John the Baptist.