November 20, 2022
Gospel -January 6, 2020 – Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25
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.”
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.
His fame spread to all of Syria,
and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases
and racked with pain,
those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics,
and he cured them.
And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea,
and from beyond the Jordan followed him.
Do you remember back in your younger days being a part of something “radical”? You thought it was a good idea until someone got caught. Then, everyone thought they’d be next.
Jesus experiences this today. John was his hero. At the time Jesus is just coming into his own in his ministry. John was established and a role model for how Jesus would grow. They were teaching something radical for the time.
But then, John gets arrested and Jesus knows he could be next. He and John are talked about in the same breath very often. Everything we do today could have been greatly changed if Jesus too had been arrested. Remember, John is beheaded.
So Jesus leaves so that his destiny, why he came, might be fulfilled.
And where does he go? Into a region that was occupied by great numbers of gentiles.
I’m beginning to think this Jesus guy has a plan. And I’m so happy he did.
How about you?
At least that’s what I heard Him say…
What I Heard Him Say 