Matthew 4:12

(Text and Audio)

Title: The Timeline and the Timing

Matthew reaches a transition point in his Gospel in the passage we are studying today.  What we have looked at thus far, through the first 3.5 chapters of Matthew, can essentially be broken down into two events:  

1. The Birth of Jesus and the prophecies fulfilled by these events
2. The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist and his testing in the wilderness.  (Essentially, his preparation for the ministry.)

Now the Gospel account turns its attention to the actual beginning of the ministry of Jesus, and in today’s passage we will see something very peculiar, very interesting, that we must take note of, just in this one verse alone.

Let us pray.

(pray/read)

1. A Working Timeline 

One of the things that I think helps us at a transitional point such as this is to look for chronological evidence in the other Gospels so that we don’t misunderstand what Matthew is saying.  If all we read was the Gospel of Matthew, it would be logical to presume that immediately following the temptation in the wilderness Jesus gets word that John has been put into prison and then sets out for Galilee, where he eventually calls the 12 to be his disciples.

The problem with that line of thinking is two fold:

1. It conflicts with other gospel accounts (particularly the Gospel of John)
2. It causes us to forget that each Gospel was written from a certain perspective, and highlighted certain aspects of Jesus’ ministry, in order to be most effective to the intended audience.

In my explanation of the timeline of these events, I’m going to lean heavily this morning on the work of Jonathan Edwards, one of the great American preachers and theologians of the 17th century.  He had a very, very keen eye for the chronological order of things in scripture and I think it is very useful to us to understand why Matthew doesn’t record information that the other gospels touch on.

Edwards writes:

Several passages in the other gospels, especially in that of St. John, are supposed, in the order of the story of Christ’s life, to intervene between his temptation and his preaching in Galilee. His first appearance after his temptation, was when John Baptist pointed to him, saying, Behold the Lamb of God, Jn. 1:29. After that, he went up to Jerusalem, to the passover (Jn. 2), discoursed with Nicodemus (Jn. 3), with the woman of Samaria (Jn. 4), and then returned into Galilee, and preached there. But Matthew, having had his residence in Galilee, begins his story of Christ’s public ministry with his preaching there, which here we have an account of.

So here’s the $25,000 question:  Why doesn’t Matthew record these events?  (take answers)

1. Matthew was written much earlier than John, maybe he didn’t know about these events.
2. Matthew was from Galilee, and his Gospel was written for the Matthew’s people, the Jews, and it was written from Matthew’s perspective.  So perhaps Matthew did know about the account with Nicodemus, but chose to keep his focus on Jesus’ Galilean ministry.

*Let me be clear about something here:  There is no conflict between the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of John, what we are talking about is not conflict, it is organization of the material for the effectiveness toward the intended audience.

Let me try to explain this in a way that we might be able to relate.  About 2.5 years ago Mary was in need of a new car.  Her car was on it’s last legs and she needed something a bit more reliable.  I knew that Mary drives almost exactly 50 miles round trip to and from work each day.  What do you think the most important factors were for me, as a husband buying a car for Mary in that situation?

1. Reliability
2. Fuel economy

Mary knew the exact same information that I did about her needs, and her commute.  But what do you think were Mary’s top two priorities when we went looking for a new car?

1. Heated Seats
2.   The Color Red

We were looking at the same cars, but we were certainly also emphasizing very different features of those cars.  The same can be said about Matthew and John.  They are telling the same story.  But Matthew and John are different people in different situations, with different circumstances.

What are some of those differences between Matthew and John and their gospels?

1. Matthew written much earlier than John.  (This is one reason that John’s gospel looks so very different from Matthew, Mark, and Luke:  John was familiar with their works, and purposefully wrote a gospel with a different emphasis.) 
2.   John was much younger than Matthew.  (Most scholars believe John was about 16 when he walked with Jesus, while Matthew was likely in his 30’s.)
3.   Matthew was intentional written for the Jews, with heavy emphasis on O.T. prophecy fulfillment.
4.   John was written for the lost, with a keen emphasis on the relationships Jesus had with people.  (example:  The Nicodemus account)

In conclusion to the timeline and chronology topic:  It is important to know that events did occur between Jesus’ testing in the wilderness and his beginning of the Galilean ministry, but it is also acceptable that Matthew did not record these events.  

Again, the point of the Gospels is not a moment by moment biography of the events of Jesus’ life, rather the Gospels are the telling of Jesus’ ministry, with certain emphases and perspectives.  That is why the Gospels are each unique and individual.

2. Why did Jesus wait to go to Galilee until after John was put in prison?

This is certain a fair question to ask.  What is the connection between Jesus deciding to leave Nazareth for Galilee at the time that John the Baptist was put into prison?

To answer this question, it is important to understand where both men are operating at this time.  Jesus is in Nazareth, suburb of Jerusalem, a fairly modern and cosmopolitan area.

John, “preaching from the wilderness” (3:1) is from the woods, the sticks, left of center of the middle of nowhere.  Remember:  people were coming “out to him” to see him preach.

When Jesus hears about John, Jesus goes to the people that John was ministering to, in the wilderness.

To be blunt, the region of Galilee was looked down upon by the more modern people of Jerusalem.  Galilee was fisherman, farmers, laborers, not scholars, not theologians, not philosophers, not thinkers.  John was  freak show, Jesus was a Rabbi.  Yet Jesus leaves the academic word, and not only travels to the backwoods hollers of Galilee, but, here’s the key: he also calls his disciples from among these backwoods, uneducated people.

Point:  This is not the first time, nor will it be the last, that we’ve seen an example in scripture of Jesus making the last first.  Jesus will often chose us, despite our own shortcomings, so that the glory MUST reside in his name.

So why did Jesus wait to go to the wilderness until John was imprisioned?

Three Reasons:

1. Theological:  John had to be “eclipsed” by Jesus so there would be no discipleship division between Jesus and John.

2. Safety:  If those of the “The Way” were beginning to be persecuted, it would be much easier for Jesus to continue to move his ministry from place to place in the countryside vs. in the cities.  (Consider WHY Paul’s disciples plead with him in Acts to NOT go into Jerusalem, they know he’ll be caught, tried, and imprisoned there.)

3. To provide for the disciples that were now without a shepherd.  

Again, let us consider what Jonathan Edwards says here:

When Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, then he went into Galilee, v. 12. Note, The cry of the saints’ sufferings comes up into the ears of the Lord Jesus. If John be cast into prison, Jesus hears it, takes cognizance of it, and steers his course accordingly: he remembers the bonds and afflictions that abide his people. Observe, 1. Christ did not go into the country, till he heard of John’s imprisonment; for he must have time given him to prepare the way of the Lord, before the Lord himself appear. Providence wisely ordered it, that John should be eclipsed before Christ shone forth; otherwise the minds of people would have been distracted between the two; one would have said, I am of John, and another, I am of Jesus. John must be Christ’s harbinger, but not his rival. The moon and stars are lost when the sun rises. John had done his work by the baptism of repentance, and then he was laid aside. The witnesses were slain when they had finished their testimony, and not before, Rev. 11:7. 2. He did go into the country as soon as he heard of John’s imprisonment; not only to provide for his own safety, knowing that the Pharisees in Judea were as much enemies to him as Herod was to John, but to supply the want of John Baptist, and to build upon the good foundation he had laid. Note, God will not leave himself without witness, nor his church without guides; when he removes one useful instrument, he can raise up another, for he has the residue of the Spirit, and he will do it, if he has work to do. Moses my servant is dead, John is cast into prison; now, therefore, Joshua, arise; Jesus, arise.

So what is it I want you to take away from today’s message?

One thing:  Providence.

It was God’s Providence that allowed for four unique authors to reach four unique audiences with the same Gospel message.

It was God’s Providence that allowed for each Gospel to be individual and unique without once conflicting with each other.

It was God’s Providence that allowed John to minister to the people in the wilderness while Jesus ministered in the synagogues around Jerusalem.

It was God’s Providence that then moved Jesus into that same wilderness to fill the void left by John’s imprisonment.

It was God’s Providence that used that remote setting for Jesus to call his disciples, and not to call them from society’s elite, but from society’s scrubs, laborers, uneducated, for they would one day fill the void as the shepherds when Jesus himself ascended to heaven.

It was God’s Providence that led you here this morning, that has you sitting in the seat you are sitting in, that has you listening to my voice right now.

So my question to you is simple:  what are you going to do about it?