December 9, 2008 (Matthew 4:23-25)

Yesterday we saw how Jesus specifically chose apostles who were rejected by other rabbis. In today’s reading, we see the circle of Jesus’ acceptance expand even more. Matthew has already told us that Jesus grew up in the town of Nazareth (2:23). After His baptism and wilderness temptation, He briefly returned to Nazareth (perhaps to pack?) and then moved to Capernaum “in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.” Matthew goes on to cite Isaiah in saying this was “where so many Gentiles live…[and]…where the people sit in darkness.” (4:13-16). Once Jesus’ public ministry begins, Matthew reports that He had followers from (among other places) “the Ten Towns” and “from east of the Jordan.” (4:25)

Though lost to us, the idea that the Messiah of God would grow up in a place like Nazareth…and then spend most of His ministry travelling around a “backwater” place like Galilee would’ve been unthinkable to most Jews of the first century. (see John 1:45-46) No rabbi worth his salt stayed in places like that. If a man was really talented, then he’d be in Jerusalem, where the real action was.

Jesus was really going out on a limb. Not content to fraternize with dumb-jock disciples, and live among low-class Jews, now He actually has people following Him who aren’t even Jews at all! (The Ten Towns were Gentile territory…as was the eastern side of the Jordan River).

Matthew paints a picture of a Messiah who would not be play by the normal rules. He wouldn’t do what rabbis were “supposed” to do. In fact, it seems that Jesus thought many of Israel’s problems were tied to the corrupt class power and religious structures of Jerusalem. When He finally did go to Jerusalem, it wasn’t to participate in that structure…but to tear it down.

“So what does any of this have to do with me?” you may be asking. Simple. If you’re a Christian, I’m guessing that you want to grow. You want your youth group…your church…your small group to grow. Most of us do. What sometimes goes unexamined, however, is how we want to grow. Many desire only growth of a certain type. We desire to grow by adding pretty people…wealthy people…people who look like us…or maybe people that we desperately want to be. That, however, is not the example of Jesus. He went where no one wanted to go and hung out with people who couldn’t help Him or His career one bit. Jesus didn’t try to make His Church “look respectable.” In fact, Jesus and His followers were repeatedly slandered for associating with “the wrong sort.” Jesus taught us that it isn’t a certain type of person that makes a church respectable, but rather the presence of a holy God Who is the only One Who can make anyone respectable.

-- Justin

Brandon Heath's Give Me Your Eyes