The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 22, 2023

Matthew 4, 12–23

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen. From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him. He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people. 

“When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea.”  It is interesting to note that St. Matthew connects the moving of Jesus to Capernaum with the arrest of John the Baptist while St. Luke connects it with the Lord’s rejection and near murder by the people of Nazareth.  These two events happened around the same time, allowing for the varying interpretations of the Evangelists.  Matthew also continues with his theme of how Jesus, the Savior of the world, came from the right family, at the right time, at the right place, and performed the right work, all according to the Scriptures.  It was then important for him to show that the Lord only began his public work when John had finished his.  Matthew does this to reinforce among the suffering Galilean Christians that Jesus was indeed the Messiah — all the signs pointed to this: he even quotes Isaiah 9, 1 to show where the Lord would live — so as to fortify them during their persecution by their unbelieving neighbors and by the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem.  Perhaps Saul of Tarsus, as yet unconverted and riding high after the martyrdom of St. Stephen, was one of these.

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  The Greek actually says, “The Kingdom of heaven is approaching.”  It is not sitting somewhere.  And since we cannot draw near to it because of our sins, it draws near to us, in the Person of the Lord Jesus himself.  This is the Lord’s core message throughout his travels through Galilee and Judea.  He calls on the Jews to repent as has John the Baptist, but whereas John had performed no miracles to validate his message, the Lord Jesus did; and John had stayed in one corner of Judea so that people had to go to him, the Lord Jesus went far and near, not forbearing to go anywhere in order to convert souls.

“He saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.”  The way Matthew presents the order of events, Jesus chose his first Apostles soon after beginning his preaching, and seemingly these men had not heard of him before.  We know from St. John’s Gospel, though, that Andrew and John had spent a day with him just after he was baptized, and afterwards, Andrew brought Peter to meet him.  Matthew, of course, presumed that his readers, many of whom had seen and heard the Lord themselves, and had been neighbors with Peter, Andrew, James, and John, knew this, so he felt no need to slow up the pace of his account by repeating it,  The point of his telling of the call of the Apostles was to show their quick obedience to him: “At once they left their nets and followed him.”. That is, they heard his offer to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men”, and they wanted this.  They wanted to follow him and not just listen to him.  They wanted to live with him and know him, and they wanted to fish for men for him.  Exactly what this “fishing” meant they did not know, but they would do it for him if he wanted it.  “He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.”  likewise, the Lord called to James and John, who with their father were partners with Peter and Andrew.  

“He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.”  Matthew here summarizes the first two years of the Lord’s three years of ministry.  After he gives the account of the Sermon on the Mount and various parables, almost everything else in his Gospel took place in the third year.  How much he did in those years, constantly moving, encountering people of all kinds, treating all with mercy.  He continued to move among us today, through the Holy Church: preaching, healing, and providing the means of salvation.  One day we will finally see him face to face, and at that time we will not be able to take our eyes off of him. 

While these calls of the Apostles actually happened, we should note that Matthew uses the opportunity here to utilize the Hebrew literary device of doublets to emphasize that this immediate obedience is what the Lord wants from us.  We see this device throughout Hebrew poetry in the Scriptures: there is a statement, and then a following statement that bolsters the first, sometimes adding a little detail.  For instance, the first verse of the lovely Psalm 19: “The heavens shew forth the glory of God, and the firmament declare the work of his hands.”  The heavens show, and the firmament declares, the glory of God, the word of his hands.  How necessary it is for us to render the Lord this obedience, Matthew is telling us.