Matthew 4:12-25 “A Crash Course in Kingdom”

Passage: Matthew 4:12-25

12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.”
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”[a]

Jesus Calls the First Disciples
18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”[b] 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds
23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Intro:
The King has shown us how to live in light of who He is.

Outro:
The King has shown us how to live in light of who he is. In our crash course in Kingdom, we saw the glorious King himself. Brings light into the darkest place. He’s able. He’s worthy.

We saw his method for gathering Kingdom people. He sets his affections on them, initiates relationship with them and brings them to himself. And he gives them a purpose, a royal calling to participate in Kingdom work.

He models for us what Kingdom progress looks like through teaching, proclaiming and healing. A mission still in effect today because the King has not yet returned and so His Kingdom work goes on.

This is the King. This is his Kingdom. It gets better. One day we won’t need… (teaching. Healing). That’s where this is going. That’s the eternity Jesus secured for us by…(gospel).