3RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (A)

From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Mt 4:12-23

The gospel for this Sunday may be divided into three parts:
• Jesus, the light of the nations (in fulfillment of the OT prophecies)
• The call to conversion (or living in the light of Jesus)
• Response to the call of Jesus

v. 12. When he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.

The Greek that was used to translate “arrested” was “paradidomi” which literally means “handed over”. As John the Baptist was handed over and executed, so also Jesus will be handed over and executed.

This handing over of Jesus is commemorated in every celebration of the Eucharist. Hence, the words of consecration are formulated as: “Take this all of you and eat it. This is my body which will be given up for you.” “Given up” is how the Latin “tradetur” was translated into English. Now “tradetur” is in fact the Latin equivalent of the Greek “paradidomi”.

vv. 13-14. 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. 

The choice of Galilee did not seem to be a good one for the start of Jesus’ public ministry. It was populated by Gentiles and Jews who were not noted for their observance of the Law. It was not held in high esteem. Nathanael’s low estimation of Nazareth (Can anything good come from Nazareth?) might be a reflection of the common low estimation for Galilee.

v. 17. From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the king-dom of heaven is at hand."

Preaching might be better translated proclaiming. Hence, “Jesus began to proclaim….”

Jesus was proclaiming the nearness of the kingdom of heaven. We might think of kingdom of heaven as the place were good people go after death. Jesus was not speaking of the after-life. He was speaking of life here on earth.

At this point it must be pointed out that when Matthew talks about kingdom of heaven, he was really talking of the kingdom of God. The Jews do not mention the name of God. So they use other words, such as heaven.

Instead of “kingdom of God”, the better translation would be “reign of God”. This is because the kingdom of God is not a territory. It is not a place. Instead it is a relationship between you and God. And that relationship is described as placing oneself under the loving power of God.

To repent is usually understood as being sorry. It is to regret some wrong thing I have done in the past and not to do it again. The repentance that Jesus asks of us is more than that. He is asking us to change direction. And this change in direction is the fruit of a paradigm shift. Simply put, paradigm shift means a change in how one thinks and how one looks at life. In other words, Jesus is asking us to an external change that is rooted in an internal change. The New Testament uses the Greek word “metanoia” for this kind of change.

vv. 18-19. 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 the beginning of his ministry, Jesus began to form a group associates. He did not pick them from influential members of the community such as the Scribes and Pharisees (although later on he would call St. Paul to be an apostle) . He picked fishermen who were probably illiterate (unable to read nor write) but steeped in the oral tradition of their Jewish faith. They probably knew very well the OT.

Another thing that may be pointed out is that the initiative comes from Jesus. He chose them to be his helpers. They did not choose to be his followers.

Following Jesus meant undergoing a metanoia. They left the life of fishermen to become fishers of men instead. Jesus had already done this. He left the life of a carpenter to be an itinerant preacher.

Regarding fishing Matthew (13:47ff) uses it as a metaphor for the kingdom. On the other hand, Luke (5:1-11) and John (21:4-8) use it as a metaphor for the work of the ministry.

v. 21. 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….

Can we find any symbolism in the observation that James and John were mending their nets?

The Greek word for “mending” is “katartizein”. Now this word has been used in the NT Letters to indicate the work of perfecting the church. Cf. 1 Cor 1:10; Heb. 13:21; and 1Pt 5:10.

Following this line of thought, casting the nets (Peter and Andrew) might be interpreted as the work of evangelization directed to those outside the church while mending their nets (James and John) might be interpreted as the ministry directed to those already in the church.

v .23. 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.

Teaching, proclaiming and curing describe the activities of Jesus. Late on Jesus will give to his disciples the authority to do what he does. Cf. Mt 10:1.7; and 28:20.
 
Matthew regularly uses the expression “their synagogues” to bring out the distinction between Christians and Jews.

Among the people (in Greek, “laos”). Matthew uses this expression 14 times. In most cases it means the Jews. Matthew might want to point out that although the ministry of Jesus was taking place in Galilee of the Gentiles, it was directed to the Jews who lived there. Only later when the Jews reject the good news will it be preached purposefully to the gentiles.