SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 4:12-25:
John the Baptist was thrown in prison, so Jesus returned to Galilee from Nazareth. He went to Capernaum in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali to fulfill Isaiah’s words. Jesus preaches how the kingdom of heaven is near. Jesus began to call his disciples. He first called Simon Peter and his brother, Andrew, who were fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. He next called james and John who were in a boat with their gather, Zebedee.
Jesus began to travel through Galilee, preaching the Good News and healing people of diseases and sicknesses. Large crowds began to follow him and bring their sick to him to be healed.
BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 4, Day 5: Matthew 4:12-25
12 ) Capernaum in Galilee, fulfilling Isaiah’s words that the future king would come from there.
13 ) John the Baptist baptized people in the Jordan River who came from all over Judea.
14a ) Jesus called and they immediately followed him without question. They dropped everything they were doing in the moment.
b ) It’s best to answer God’s call immediately. Life is too short to delay.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 4, Day 5: Matthew 4:12-25
We’re about to embark on an exciting journey with Jesus as he begins his work. What I would give to have walked with him.
End Notes BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 4, Day 5: Matthew 4:12-25
Matthew begins his telling Jesus’s ministry in Galilee. John tells the story of an earlier ministry of Jesus where he himself baptized people and where we get the story of the Samarian woman at the well John 3:22 and 4:1-2.
Galilee was a very populuous area for Biblical times, which is probably why Jesus began there. He could make the biggest impact there. It was very fertile and had many wealthy citizens. Both Jews and Gentiles lived here side by side. In ancient times, there were nine cities that had 15,000 or more people who lived on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
Remember that the people of Nazareth, his hometown, rejected him because they had seen him grow up ordinary (Luke 4:16-30), which is why he chose Capernaum. Plus, the disciples were there too, as we see. Jesus was the light in this region as Isaiah predicted.
Jesus waits until John the Baptist is put into prison to begin his ministry.
Do note that the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God seem to be the same thing. Bible scholars believe Matthew used the phrase “kingdom of heaven” because the Jewish people never wrote out the word “God.”
A Purpose
Jesus didn’t just randomly call his disciples. The Bible records other places where he encounters them (John 1:35-42 and Luke 5:3). Undoubtedly, Jesus knew who he would call ahead of time. Jesus calls most of the disciples when they were doing something. Jesus needed doers and action-takers.
Most rabbi had disciples so this was not unusual behavior on the part of Jesus. This is how rabbis taught other rabbis.
Just like we have guest speakers at church, they did so in ancient times, too.
Healing shows that Jesus could overcome the consequences of sin (which was death to the body).
FUN FACT: This is the first time the Bible mentions demon-possessed. It shows Jesus’s ultimate authority over the evil in the world. While Old Testament people were troubled by spirits 1 Samuel 18:10, 19:9), this is the first time it is mentioned of removing an evil one from the body.
Large crowds followed Jesus. He is successful.
One thought on “BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 4, Day 5: Matthew 4:12-25”