Matthew 4: First Steps (1)
Pray Psalm 66.1-4.
Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!
Sing out the honor of His name;
Make His praise glorious.
Say to God,
“How awesome are Your works!
Through the greatness of Your power
Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.
All the earth shall worship You
And sing praises to You;
They shall sing praises to Your name.”
Sing Psalm 66.1-4.
(Regent Square: Angels from the Realms of Glory)
Shout for joy to God, all people, sing the glory of His Name!
Give Him glorious praise and say, “How great Your pow’r and great Your fame!
All the earth shall worship gladly as they praise Your glorious Name!”
Read Matthew 4.1-12-25; meditate on verses 12-16
What did Jesus signal by living here?
Prepare.
1. What seems to have prompted Jesus to return to Galilee?
2. Which Old Testament prophecy did Jesus fulfill by doing this?
Meditate.
Jesus did nothing without redemptive purpose. All His movements were planned and executed with a view to fulfilling all the Word of God. We have already seen—both in the genealogy of Jesus and the visit of the Magi—that the Good News Jesus brings is for the whole world, and not just for the people of Israel. Here again, Jesus signals the broad scope of His mission: He returns to “Galilee of the Gentiles.”
When Jesus heard the report that John had been imprisoned, He left Judea and went into Galilee. The ministry of the trailblazer was coming to its end; now it was time for Jesus to begin His own work. We might wonder, “Why didn’t He go to Jerusalem? Why did He return to a place that had a bad reputation?” (cf. Jn. 1.45, 46)
We remember, first, that He was to be regarded as a “Nazarene”—with all the implications attached to that (Matt. 2.22, 23). Second, the Old Testament had specifically prophesied that the light of God’s salvation would shine in the darkest of places—where Israel shares borders with pagan Gentile peoples. Third, by recalling verbatim this prophecy from Isaiah 9.1, 2, Matthew also signaled the greater and all-conquering mission of Jesus, referred to in Isaiah 9.3-7: “For unto us a Child is born; unto us a Son is given…” By beginning His earthly ministry in Galilee of the Gentiles, Jesus fulfilled the first part of Isaiah’s prophecy (vv. 1, 2). The end of that same prophecy—Is. 9.6, 7—would be realized in Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. The middle part—Is. 9.3-5—with the images of rejoicing and conquest and death, would be fulfilled during the rest of Jesus’ earthly ministry.
Matthew tells us volumes about the work Jesus came to do. It was a work of Light in the darkness, of victory in a great warfare, of exaltation to a Kingdom that would never end. And it all began in an unlikely place—Galilee of the Gentiles, Dawn of the Kingdom.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“How awesome are Your works!
Through the greatness of Your power
Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.
All the earth shall worship You and sing praises to You;
they shall sing praises to Your Name” (Ps. 66.3, 4).
“The haters of the LORD would pretend submission to Him…” (Ps. 81.15).
All the prophecies concerning Jesus’ birth, life, death, resurrection, and ultimate return are true.
And each one that should have been fulfilled by now, has been. The rest we are still eagerly anticipating.
God carefully planned out each step of the Lord Jesus’ life; Matthew made sure that all would know of His prophesied arrival to earth, and, later, of His death and resurrection. By our knowing Him in line with the prophesies, we can know Him beyond His earthly life, in anticipation of His glorious arrival back to earth to claim His own.
All who have ever lived and will ever live have the prophesied and fulfilled Lord Jesus to give them new life: “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” (Matt. 4.16).
And this prophecy, promise, and truth will never change:
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13.8).
All God’s awesome works, which He did to prepare the way for His Son’s awesome works, are enough to save everyone. He is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3.9); but because humankind is given the opportunity to choose between life or death, some will choose poorly; but all will submit (Ps. 66.3; 81.15).
His Kingdom has come—just as God said it would.
Jesus is the King of that Kingdom—just as God said He would be.
And God’s Word never fails—just as we see it to be so (Prov. 30.5).
We can either pretend submission, or sincerely serve in His glorious Kingdom.
Either way, the Light has dawned.
Reflect.
1. In what ways is the Kingdom of God like the dawning of a new day?
2. Jesus associated with the lowly, the outcast, and those scorned by religious leaders. How should this guide your work in your Personal Mission Field.
3. How does Matthew’s citing these prophecies illuminate the purpose of the Old Testament?
Those who are without Christ, are in the dark. They were sitting in this condition, a contented posture; they chose it rather than light; they were willingly ignorant. When the gospel comes, light comes; when it comes to any place, when it comes to any soul, it makes day there. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Matthew 4.12
Pray Psalm 66.5-20.
Praise God for the great works He does, especially those He has done in saving and sanctifying you for His Kingdom. Pray for those you will see today, that God will give you an opportunity to share with them what He has done for your soul.
Sing Psalm 66.5-20.
Psalm 66.5-20 (Regent Square: Angels from the Realms of Glory)
Great and awesome is our Savior in the works which He has done.
He the sea and river dried to let His people cross as one.
Then our joy was great to worship Him our mighty, sovereign One.
He the nations watches ever—all you rebels, humbled be.
Bless our God, all men and nations, praise His Name eternally!
He preserves our souls, and He will keep His paths beneath our feet.
You have tried us, LORD, as silver, and have brought us into nets,
made us carry heavy burdens, let men trample o’er our heads.
But through all Your grace sustained us and has brought us through to rest.
To Your house we come with off’rings, what we vowed, LORD, help us do.
O, receive our praise and homage as we give ourselves to You.
Come and listen, all who fear Him: hear what this great God can do!
When we cried to You, You answered, filled our mouths with highest praise.
Let not sin abide within us, lest we languish all our days.
Bless the LORD, Who hears our pleadings and preserves His love always.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest: This week: The Read Moore podcast continues readings from If Men Will Pray. Our Crosfigell teaching letter has begun a new series on the state of the Church in Europe at the time of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column is studying the Church and why we need it. Check out our other excellent writers. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
