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NARRATIVE 1: PREPARATION FOR MINISTRY
Matt 1:1-4:25

INTRODUCTION
The Genealogy and Virgin Birth (1:1-23)
The Wise Men and Flight to Egypt (2:1-23)
The Preparation for Ministry (3:1-4:11)
          The Ministry of John the Baptist (3:1-12)
          The Baptism of Jesus (3:13-17)
          Jesus' Temptation (4:1-11)
 The Galilean Ministry (4:12-17)
          The Beginning of Jesus' Galilean Ministry (4:12-17)
          The Call of the Disciples, James and John (4:18-25)
The Call of the Disciples (4:18-25

Click on Structure to refer to the Structural Outline of Matthew.  

The Galilean Ministry (4:12-17)

1. The Beginning of Jesus' Galilean Ministry (4:12-17
This is the first of several "withdrawal" trips Jesus will make.

The circumstances that caused John to be arrested must have been politically or sociologically tense in Judea.  John was popular with the community, having preached successfully in the wilderness and baptized many (Mat 3:5 states that Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region went out to hear John).  Matthew tells us later (Mat 14:3) that John had been arrested by Herod the Tetrarch because John had preached against Herod's taking Herodias, his brother Philip's wife.

Luke adds in Lk 4:14, 15, that "Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and a report concerning him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all."

Apparently after visiting Nazareth he went to Capernaum.
From this point on, Capernaum became Jesus' home base.
John informs us in John 4:44 that after spending several days (two or more) Jesus went on to Cana and then to Capernaum.  John indicates that Jesus' ministry in Nazareth may not been well received, "For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.  Matthew's objective is not to tell us of Jesus' visit to Nazareth, but merely that his public ministry began in earnest in Capernaum of Galilee.
All four Gospels inform us that Jesus moved to Capernaum at this point.  John adds that on the journey he spent a few days in Samaria where he spoke to the woman at the well about living water.

Matthew introduces his narrative by referring to his fifth formulae passage, here a Midrashic application of Isa 9:1,2.  In Isaiah this prophecy was in regard to the promised Restoration of Israel.  Matthew applies it to the beginning of Jesus' ministry.

With this comment, Matthew adds that "Jesus began to preach, saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand'."
We have already commented in detail on the eschatological impact of the terms "repent", "kingdom of heaven", and "at hand".
Click here to go to that discussion in the context of John the Baptist's preaching.

Mark (Mk 1:15) adds to the urgency of Jesus' preaching by inserting the words, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel."

This event at Capernaum becomes a pivotal point in Jesus' ministry and Matthew's gospel.

Jack Dean Kingsbury saw this verse, Mat 4:17 "From that time Jesus began to..." as a formulae text which along with Mat 16:21 frame a structural outline for Matthew's Gospel.  We feel that Kingsbury, although correct in identifying the two formulae texts, has misinterpreted them as keys to a structural outline for Matthew's Gospel rather than a topical outline for Jesus' ministry.  Click here to go to a discussion on this. 

Mat 4:17 and 16:21 are key verses (formulae texts) identifying a topical outline for Jesus' ministry.  These two texts form pivotal points in the ministry of Jesus, separating or defining the periods of Public and Private Ministry:

Mat 1:1-4:16 The Period of Preparation
Mat 4:17-16:20 The Period of Public Ministry
Mat 16:21-28:20 The Period of Private Ministry

By Public Ministry we have in mind Jesus' Ministry to the Jews primarily in Galilee and Judea as he teaches and performs miracles and clashes with the Jewish leaders.
By Private Ministry we have in mind Jesus' Ministry to his Disciples in the last week of his life as he prepares them for his passion (trial, death, burial, and resurrection).


2.  The Call of the Disciples, Peter and Andrew, and James and John (4:18-25)
All four of our Gospels describe the calling of the first disciples. 
The accounts of Matthew and Mark are shorter than those of Luke and John.
Read Luke 5:1-11 and John 1:35-42.
Peter and Andrew were brothers, as were James and John.  The worked as partners in the fishing business.
When Jesus called the two groups of brothers, immediately they left their fishing boats and their family and followed Jesus.
The emphasis on immediately stresses the radical nature of discipleship to which the disciples were called by Jesus.
The radical nature of discipleship will become a major theme in Matthew's Gospel.
Luke recounts that henceforth the disciples would be catching men, not fish!  Note Luke's interest in salvation.

After the call of the first disciples, Jesus went about Galilee and Syria (the Roman Province of Syria which included Galilee, the Decapolis, and Judea) teaching in the synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and infirmity of the people, as well as casting out demons.
(Luke 416-21 explains that Jesus' ministry of teaching, preaching, and healing were his Messianic ministry and that when Jesus performed these acts he was fulfilling his Messianic mission.  See also Mat 11:2ff and 12:28 for reinforcement of the fact that Jesus was fulfilling his Messianic mission.)