Christ Sets Two Foundations for the Church's Mission

“Now Jesus heard that John [the Baptist] had been taken into custody. He withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulon and Nepthali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: ‘The land of Zebulon and the land of Nepthali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles-the people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light, and those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death upon them a light dawned.’ From that time Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.’”---Matt. 4:12-17

 

Today we begin our search for understanding of the preparation which Jesus did with the disciples to prepare them for an exchange that would become the foundation for the missional church and the greatest evangelization of the church in its history. We can see a couple of things on which the church was initially founded on:

 

1.)                The Word of God.

2.)                Location, Location, Location

 

It doesn’t take you reading very long in the gospel of Matthew to realize that every single detail of Jesus’ life was controlled by the Word of God. Earlier, in Chapter 4 of Matthew, we see Jesus respond to three separate temptations of the devil by using the Word of God.

 

To set the stage a little, we need to understand that the imprisonment of John the Baptist did not come immediately following Jesus’ temptation by the devil. John continued his ministry even after Jesus’ baptism and temptation in the desert for some time (John 1:19-3:36). This is important to understand because the people in the area were still in questioning of who Jesus was. John the Baptist was there to “prepare the way” for the Messiah. As a result, as we will see tomorrow, through John the Baptist, people were drawn to Jesus and, actually, the first disciples which Jesus calls-Peter, Andrew, James, and John-were called due to a meeting they had with Jesus at the hands of John the Baptist. We must understand that timing is everything.

 

The practical application of this passage is stunning to me. We may never know the root works behind a calling which we have. While living in Chicago, Jess and I were part of a church plant which started in one of the Western Suburbs. People prayed and sought out for the exact location and community which this new church would engage. Over the course of a few years, the calling came to plant the church in Downers Grove. Within weeks of the announcement and the engagement into the Downers Grove community, we learned of people who had been praying for many, many years that a strong and Biblically sound church would come to Downers Grove. The bottom line is that when we are led by Scripture and the Holy Spirit, God always leads us where we need to be. Jesus Christ was no different. He set the example at the very onset of the Christian Mission and the Christian Church: be grounded in Scripture.

 

Interestingly enough, it was Scripture which brought about for Jesus the destination to which He would begin His earthly ministry, and the destination to which the church would be founded. In Isaiah, the prophet wrote about people who “walked” in darkness, yet, we must understand that by the time Jesus quoted this passage in Matthew, the situation in Capernaum was so incredibly discouraging that the people were “sitting” in darkness. Jesus Christ, the light of the world, brought the light of the gospel to them. He planted Himself and His Mission right slap dab in the center of the chaos and confusion and darkness. Such was the exact place where Jesus knew His message would take root. Jesus knew that He could feed upon the need, and create such a deep desire in the hearts of the people there that His Mission and His purpose would spread like wildfire.

 

We will see in coming days why Capernaum was indeed a great place-a place by the sea, a sea that was covered with professional fishermen; fishermen who would make up over half of His band. There was absolutely no coincidence in the location; a location determined through the reliance upon the Word of God. For those of us desiring to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ in our world today, we should take note!

 

I pray you stay with me as we continue searching…

 

KT