Matthew 4:12-23
- Reading the Text:
- NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
- Greek Interlinear Bible, ScrTR, ScrTR t, Strong, Parsing, CGTS, CGES id, AV.
- The Bible Gateway: NRSV, RSV, NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
- The Blue Letter Bible. KJV, alternate versions, Greek text with concordance, commentaries.
- The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary & sermons.
- Historical References, Commentary and
Comparative Texts:
- The Five Gospels Parallels, John W. Marshall, University of Toronto.
- "Kingdom and Repentance," "Fishing for Humans," "In Capernaum's Synagogue," "To Other Places," The Jesus Database, an online annotated inventory of the traditions concerning the life and teachings of Jesus. Dr. Gregory C. Jenks, FaithFutures Foundation.
- Homily XIV - Matthew 4:12, Homilies on the Gospel of St. Matthew, St. Chrysostom (c. 380)
- Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, John Calvin, 1558: Matthew 4:12, 17/Mark 1:14-15, Luke 3:19-20/Luke 4:14-15, Matthew 4:13-16, Matthew 4:18-25/Mark 1:16-20/Luke 5:1-11.
- From the Catena Aurea, Patristic Commentary by St Thomas Aquinas.
- From the Geneva Notes.
- "Christ, thinking that he would eventually depart from us, even at the beginning of his preaching gets himself disciples of a heavenly sort, poor and unlearned, and therefore such as might be left as honest witnesses of the truth of those things which they heard and saw."
- From
Matthew
Henry's Commentary.
- "He went not to Herod's court, not to Jerusalem, among the chief priests and the elders, but to the sea of Galilee, among the fishermen. The same power which called Peter and Andrew, could have wrought upon Annas and Caiaphas, for with God nothing is impossible. But Christ chooses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise."
- From
Wesley's Notes.
- "Although it is the peculiar business of Christ to establish the kingdom of heaven in the hearts of men, yet it is observable, he begins his preaching in the same words with John the Baptist: because the repentance which John taught still was, and ever will be, the necessary preparation for that inward kingdom."
- "Christ's First and Last Subject," Luke 24:47; Matthew 4:17, Charles H. Spurgeon, 1860.
- From the
Commentary on the Whole Bible
(Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
- "Our Lord sometimes speaks of the new kingdom as already come--in His own Person and ministry; but the economy of it was only "at hand" until the blood of the cross was shed, and the Spirit on the day of Pentecost opened the fountain for sin and for uncleanness to the world at large."
- From The People's
New Testament, B.W. Johnson, 1891.
- "They obeyed at once. Thus Christ ought always to be obeyed. No excuses for delay were offered, or should ever be."
- Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
- Radical Gratitude, lectionary-based stewardship, Northwest United Methodist Foundation. (.pdf)
- Commentary,
Matthew 4:12-23, Eric Barreto, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2011.
- "For the third time in Matthew, Jesus finds himself embracing a new hometown."
- Commentary, Matthew 4:12-23, Audrey West, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2008.
- Comments (commentary) and Clippings (technical notes for in-depth study), Epiphany 3, Chris Haslam, Anglican Diocese of Montreal.
- Jesus Calls the First Disciples, audio telling, story in episodes, graphic, audio and written commentaries. Go Tell Communications, Biblical Storytelling for the Global Village, 2011.
- Lectionary Blogging, Epiphany 3, John Petty, Progressive Involvement, 2011.
- "This 'new community' is not based on family or economic ties--quite the contrary, in fact; its first four members left their families and their boat. The new community is the one based in Jesus."
- Sacredise, "Shocking Hospitality," John van de Laar, 2010.
- "Capernaum offered Jesus its hospitality – it became a home for him. But, far more than this, Jesus, by settling in Capernaum, offered the hospitality of God to the world."
- "Snap Decisions are the Best Kind," Alyce McKenzie, Patheos, 2011.
- "Maybe snap decisions aren't as snap as we think. Every decision takes place in a context."
- "Out of Nowhere," Russell Rathbun, The Hardest Question, 2011.
- "Why does the incarnation of the word of God not start in Jerusalem, but instead begins out in the Gentile countryside? "
- "Fishing for Christ," Gospel Analysis, Sermons from
Seattle, Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle,
Washington. Detailed background and exegesis.
- "What does it mean for you to be a fisherman, a fisherwoman for Christ?"
-
"First
Thoughts on Year A Gospel Passages in the Lectionary: Epiphany 3,"
William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.
- "It is not scalp hunting but seeking out people to follow, in the way that Jesus has sought out the disciples, engaging them in the vision and agenda of the kingdom which will widen their horizons taking them into dark and unfamiliar places, but with light and compassion."
-
Dylan's Lectionary Blog, Epiphany 3, 2005. Biblical Scholar Sarah
Dylan Breuer looks at readings for the coming Sunday in the lectionary
of the Episcopal Church.
- "Becoming a "fisher for people" is going to bring these Galilean fishers not only into relationship with Jesus, but into a whole new network of relationships with others. Their relationship with Herod Antipas and the powers of this world, with the hated toll collectors, with their neighbors, with their families, with Gentiles and Pharisees, with anyone who hears Jesus' call and, responding to it, becomes a sister or brother ... none of these will ever be the same."
-
Exegetical Notes
by Brian Stoffregen at CrossMarks Christian Resources.
- "What should be our response to the coming of heaven's rule? Surprisingly, it is not worship or praise, but repentance."
- "Preaching Matthew 4:12-23," Thomas H. Troeger, Lectionary Homiletics Sample.
- "What an encouragement this story of Christ's ministry must have been to Matthew's church, and what an encouragement to us who may be frightened to give bold witness in the dangerous and nervous times in which we are called to be the church."
- Holy
Textures, Understanding the Bible in its own time and in ours, Matthew 4:12-23, David Ewart, 2011.
- "The command / invitation to Peter, Andrew, James and John to 'Come, follow me,' is not: 'I wonder if you would consider the possibility of tagging along if you have the time, and it's not too inconvenient.'"
- Matthew in the Margins, by Brian McGowan, Anglican priest in Western Australia.
-
"What About Zebedee?" Mark Ralls, The Christian Century,
2005.
- "When Christ calls, he beckons us beyond the point of familiarity, asking us to risk doing something we don?t know how to do, to become someone we?re not yet sure we know how to be."
- "Third Sunday after Epiphany: Matthew 4:12-23," Revelation and Response: Matthean Texts for Christmas and Epiphany, Carol Mork, Word & World: Theology for Christian Ministry, Luther Northwestern Theological School, 1989.
- Wellspring of the Gospel, Ordinary 3A, Catherine McElhinney and Kathryn Turner, Weekly Wellsprings.
-
"Fleeing
Before Herod (Matt 4:12-13)," Fred B. Craddock, The Christian Century.
At Religion Online.
- "What, then, are we to make of the text? It certainly is not an attractive picture, Jesus withdrawing and moving again and again. Is there any Good News here? Yes. First, that Jesus can and does identify with the uprooted, the pursued, the victim, is in itself an encouraging and redeeming word..."
- "Light Has Dawned," Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons, Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources. Includes detailed textual notes.
-
"They Were Fishers..."
Jerry Goebel, One
Family Outreach. "Focus on scripture from a justice perspective." Exegesis, study, and teen study
and activities.
- "Those who considered following Jesus would look at his uncouth disciples and either say; 'If he accepts them?maybe he will take me.' Or, 'I?m not going to hang around people like that!'"
-
"The
Call to Adventure (Matthew 4:17-22)," John C. Purdy. Chapter 2 of Returning God's Call: The Challenge of Christian Living. At Religion
Online.
- "Wherever the church allows "the kingdom of heaven is at hand" to be separated from Jesus' call to working people to follow him, the game is up. The vital nerve of the Christian movement has been severed."
-
"Being Whole Rather than Cured,"
Fr. Gerry Pierse, C.Ss.R., from Sundays Into
Silence: Reflections on the Sunday Gospels in the Light of Christian
Meditation. Claretian Publications.
- "Meditation is a form of prayer that asks us to follow Christ by letting go of all."
-
"A Light to the Nations," Larry Broding's Word-Sunday.Com: A
Catholic Resource for This Sunday's Gospel. Adult Study, Children's Story,
Family Activity, Support Materials.
- "Who do you know that is wise? Who truly 'enlightens' you?"
- "A Calculated Withdrawal," Expository Essay, Bill Long. Part 2.
- Articles & Background:
- "Capernaum," "Calling the Disciples," wikipedia.
- "The
Galilean Fishing Economy and the Jesus Tradition,"
by
K.C. Hanson.
- "I employ a model of embedded economics to articulate the relationships between the various players in the sub-system: the Roman emperors; Herod Antipas; the tax administrators; the brokers, tax collectors, and toll collectors; the fishing families; the hired laborers; the suppliers of raw goods and other products; fish processors; and shippers and carters."
- Fishing in the NT- A
Misunderstood Analogy for Evangelism by Daniel B. Wallace at the Biblical Studies
Foundation.
- "The imagery has nothing to do with 'hooking' the unbeliever with the gospel. Further, the picture is not individualistic: the point is not one person being reeled in at a time. All of this has to do with line-fishing, but this is not the picture seen in this text."
- Capharnaum, featuring information and images from 19 seasons of excavations conducted by the late Fr. Virgilio C. Corbo ofm and Fr. Stanislao Loffereda ofm.
-
"How
to Be a Disciple," Dallas Willard. Adapted from The Divine Conspiracy:
Rediscovering our Hidden Life in God. Reprinted in The Christian Century,
1998. At Religion OnLine.
- "When we have achieved clarity on 'the costs' -- on what is gained and what is lost by becoming or failing to become his apprentice -- an effective decision is then possible. But still it must be made. It will not just happen. We do not drift into discipleship."
- Recommended articles
from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are
linked below.
ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of
selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices. Annotated list of "starting place" articles at ATLAS for this week's texts (includes direct links).
- Carter, Warren,
"Evoking Isaiah: Matthean Soteriology and an Intertextual Reading of Isaiah
7-9 and Matthew 1:23 and 4:15-16," Journal of Biblical Literature,
2000.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Carter, Warren, "Matthew and the
Gentiles: Individual Conversion and/or Systemic Transformation,"
Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 2004.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Carter, Warren,
"Matthew 4:18-22 and Matthean Discipleship: An Audience-Oriented
Perspective," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1997.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Carter, Warren, "Narrative/Literary Approaches to
Matthean Theology: The 'Reign of the Heavens' as an Example (Mt.
4:17-5:12)," Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 1997.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Craddock, Fred B., "Fleeing before
Herod," The Christian Century, 1990.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Goulder, Michael, "Two Significant
Minor Agreements (Mat. 4:13 Par.; Mat 26:67-68 Par.)," Novum
Testamentum, 2003.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Hall, T. Hartley, "An Exposition of Matthew 4:12-23,"
Interpretation, 1975.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - "Homiletical Helps," Concordia Journal, 2010. (Section on this text begins on page 372)
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Mork, Carol,
"Revelation and Response: Matthean Texts for Christmas and Epiphany,"
Word & World, 1989.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Ralls, Mark, "What About Zebedee?"
The Christian Century, 2005.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Senior, Donald, C.P.,
"Between Two Worlds: Gentile and Jewish Christians in Matthew's Gospel,"
The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1999.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Shedinger, Robert F.,
"Must the Greek Text Always Be Preferred? Versional and Patristic Witnesses
to the Text of Matthew 4:16," Journal of Biblical Literature,
2004.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Spencer, F. Scott,
"'Follow Me,' The Imperious Call of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels,"
Interpretation, 2005.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Wainwright, Elaine,
"Reading Matthew 3-4: Jesus--Sage, Seer, Sophia, Son of God," Journal
for the Study of the New Testament, 2000.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Willard, Dallas, "How To Be a Disciple," The
Christian Century, 1998.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Carter, Warren,
"Evoking Isaiah: Matthean Soteriology and an Intertextual Reading of Isaiah
7-9 and Matthew 1:23 and 4:15-16," Journal of Biblical Literature,
2000.
- Reviews:
- Sermons:
- "Asking," Richard E. Zajac, SermonStudio, 2011.
- "Cobwebs on the Confessional," the Rev. Dr. William L. Self, Day 1, 2008.
- "Follow Me, and I Will Make You Go Fishing," the Very Rev. Samuel G. Candler, Day 1, 2005.
- "Fishing for Christ," Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle, Washington.
- "Discovering What We Were Meant to Do," John Jewell, 1999.
- "Walk in the Light," the Rev. Michael J. Fish, Day 1, 1999.
- Father Andrew M. Greeley, "Priest, Author, Sociologist," Commentary & Homily:
- With Children:
- "Children's Literature: A Resource for Ministry," Jan 23, Union Presbyterian Seminary, 2011. Connections: Isaiah 9:1-4 and The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau, 1 Corinthians 1:10-18 and Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury, Matthew 4:12-23 and Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter.
- "Fishermen Who Became Fishers of Men," Illustrating the Story (lessons, children's sermons), coloring pages, activity sheets, crafts, children's songs. MSSS Crafts.
- "Going Fishing," Charles Kirkpatrick, Sermons4kids.com.
- "Jesus' Disciples Catch Lots of Fish," Sunday School Lessons: Family Bible Study, art projects, music, stories, etc.
- Gospel Puzzles for the Lectionary, Matthew 4:12-23, Mark Ryman, edoxy.com.
- Fishing for People Dot-to-Dot, Fishing for People Wordsearch, sermons4kids.com.
- "Jesus Preaches in Galilee," online computer java-based coloring pages from Grace Baptist Church of Feeding Hill.
- Drama:
- "Towards the Galilee of the Gentiles," "The First Five," from A Certain Jesus by Jose Ignacio and Maria Lopez Vigil. Ideal for catechetical and liturgical dramatization of today's gospel. Claretian Publications.
- Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
- Clip Art, Matthew 4:17, Matthew 4:20, Fr. Richard Lonsdale, Resources for Catholic Educators.
- Clip Art Images: Matthew 4:12-23, Misioneros Del Sagrado Corazón en el Perú.
- Matthew 4:12-23, Matthew 4:18-22, Liturgical Drawing, Maria d.c. Zamora, Claretian Resources, Philippines. ("Download and use these for free.")
- Matthew 4:12-23, at Cerezo Barredo's weekly gospel illustration. Liberation emphasis.
- Peter and Andrew, Henry Martin, sermons4kids.com.
- Call of Disciples, Clip Art, Anglican Diocese of Dunedin, New Zealand.
- Hymns and Music:
- "Jesus, You Once Called Disciples" Text: Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, Tune: IN BABILONE 8.7.8.7 D ("There's a Wideness in God's Mercy")
- Contemporary/Praise Song suggestions, Together to Celebrate, David MacGregor.
- Hymnary.org, hymns, scores, media, information.
- Hymns with Scripture Allusions: Matthew 4:19, 23. The Cyber Hymnal.
- Hymn Selections, The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship.
- "The Lamb's Embrace," TEXT: Mark Ryman (2005) based on Matthew 4:12-23. TUNE: "Monkland." New Hymns for the Lectionary.
- At Digital Hymnal (midi files, guitar chords, karaoke files, projection text):
- Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
- Movies scenes with the following themes, listed at The Text This Week's Movie Concordance:
- Study Links and Resources for the Book of Matthew
