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Matthew 4:12-17
After the temptation of Jesus, God sent angels to “minister” to Him in His weakened physical condition (Matthew 4:11). We may question that if Jesus is God in the form of man, “Why didn’t He simply heal Himself?” The answer is that Jesus was sent into this world to experience that physical side of life on this earth in the humanly form. This is the authenticity of His humanity which makes Him worthy (in human form) to be the eternal sacrifice for humanity. He must experience life as a human to be the acceptable sacrifice for humanity.
At this point Jesus has experienced the temptations that Satan throws at humanity and has overcome them (Matthew 4:1-11). He has set the example to be baptized in showing one’s faith in God (Matthew 3:13-17). He has been ministered to by angels (Matthew 4:11). He is now ready, in His human form, to begin His ministry (Matthew 4:17). He relocates to Capernaum and in so doing fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 9:1,2 which declares,
“The land of Zebulun and the land of
Naphtali,
By the way of the sea, beyond the
Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles:
The people who sat in darkness have
seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region
And shadow of death
Light has dawned.”
We must note the information given about John the Baptist in Matthew 4:12 which informs us that he had been put in prison. This is important in fulfilling things said by John the Baptist. He declares in Matthew 3:11-12, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” John the Baptist states that “after” him is coming the one in which he is preparing the way for.
The connection between John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus and the ministry of Jesus is the same message: Matthew 3:2 describes the message that John the Baptist preached, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” The message of Jesus’ ministry is found in Matthew 4:17, “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
So, in this light, how do we apply this message today? “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2, 4:17).
Dear LORD,
This is the simple truth of the Bible, Old Testament and New Testament, that we should repent/turn away from our evil ways of this world and seek a new life in forgiveness – forgiveness that only comes through the sacrifice that Jesus made for all humanity, that if we put our faith in Him, He will give us His righteousness in forgiveness through our sincerity of our hearts in believing that He is our King and Savior for all eternity – in Christ! My prayer today LORD is that we all “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” as is the message of John the Baptist and our Savior Jesus (Matthew 3:2, 4:17). In Jesus name I pray, amen.