The Beginning of Jesus’ Galilean Ministry

Today's Reflections   
 

                       

The Beginning of Jesus’ Galilean Ministry 

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Mt 4:12-23

¹²When [Jesus] heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. ¹³He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled:

¹⁵“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,/ the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,/ Galilee of the Gentiles,/ ¹⁶the people who sit in darkness/ have seen a great light,/ on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death/ light has arisen.”        ¹⁷From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

¹⁸As 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. ¹⁹He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ²⁰At once they left their nets and followed him. ²¹He 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, ²²and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him. ²³He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.

JESUS CREATES HIS TEAM. The Gospel tells us that as soon as Jesus begins his public ministry, he sets about gathering disciples. First to be called are brothers Simon and Andrew, and the sons of Zebedee: James and John. All are fishermen. They are sturdy and hardworking, but hardly up to the task of “catching men and women for the kingdom” and of bringing the light of the Gospel to the world enveloped in the darkness of sin.

The subsequent choices of Jesus are hardly “inspired”: a hated tax collector (Matthew or Levi), a freedom fighter (Simon the Cananean), one who has taken to the study of the Torah (Nathanael or Bartholomew), and one who will turn traitor (Judas Iscariot).

Jesus, it seems, is not a great planner. But what he has accomplished with these men, his “staff,” is beyond imagining. A few years after he finished his mission on earth and sent the apostles to the whole world to preach the good news, Christianity spread to the then known world, thanks to this chosen band and to the “last born” of the apostles, Paul, who had persecuted the believers.

Jesus believes in a cause, the cause of the heavenly Father. He is committed to it; doing the will of the Father is his “food.” He comes to preach the reign of God: the reign of forgiveness, love, and victory over sin and the evil one.

Although Jesus is passionate about his cause, he does not feel he must do everything alone. And so he creates a team. He trains that team and shares with them his vision and his enthusiasm. He works on their weaknesses and bears with them. He then entrusts to them his own mission and tells them that they will succeed, because it is not theirs but his—and God’s. Jesus believes in the simple folk he has called, gives them a vision larger than themselves, and turns their simplicity and poverty into strength.