Who Does Jesus Choose? | Matthew 4:12–25 | Revealing the Real Jesus 4 of 7

Why did Jesus bypass the palaces of Tiberias and the religious schools of Jerusalem to set up his headquarters in a gritty, industrial border town? In this message, we observe Jesus as he makes his strategic move to Capernaum—the "Shadow of Death"—and completely flips the script on how a Rabbi finds his followers.We dive into the history of the 1st-Century Jewish education system (Bet Sefer, Bet Talmud, and Bet Midrash) to discover why Jesus choosing fishermen was such a scandalous reversal of the "system." We also look at how Jesus co-opted the political language of the Roman Empire ("Gospel") to announce a new kind of Government that brings light into the darkest corners of our world—and our own hearts.In this sermon:The Geography: Why Jesus chose the wharf over the palace.The Reversal: Why the Rabbi went looking for students who had "washed out" of religious school.The Receipts: How the miracles serve as the legal proof of the Kingdom (Isaiah 35).Join us at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Salem, OR, as we continue our series "Revealing the Real Jesus"—adopting a posture of observation to learn who God truly is.Keywords / TagsMatthew 4, Call of the Disciples, Capernaum, Jesus and Fishermen, Bet Midrash, Jewish Education System, Gospel of the Kingdom, Isaiah 35, Miracles of Jesus, Discipleship, Calling of Peter and Andrew, James and John, Sons of Zebedee, Sermon, Bible Study, Redeemer Lutheran Church, Salem Oregon, John Rallison, Revealing the Real Jesus, Theology, Christian Living.