Bible In One Year Day 258 (Matthew 1 - 4, Proverbs 18: 17-20)

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Day 258 The Kingdom is Here 

Agape Bible Study 
Matthew 1 - 4 

Time-line

Date	Events
587/6 BC	Last Davidic king is taken by the Babylonians into exile
587/6 - 164 BC	Judah is ruled in turn by the Babylonians, Persians, and Greeks
167 – 164 BC	Revolt of the Maccabees
162 – 63 BC	period of independence; rule by the Hasmonean priest-kings (descendants of the Maccabees)
63 BC	Roman General Pompey conquers Judah; Romans rename Judah the Roman Province of Judea; Judea is governed by men chosen by Rome
44 BC	Julius Caesar is assassinated; the Senate names a triumvirate of Caesar's g-nephew Octavian, Marc Antony, and Lepidus to govern the Republic
47-37 BC	Roman ally Herod is appointed governor of the Galilee
37 BC	Roman Senate appoints Herod king of the Jews
31 BC	Antony and Cleopatra VII are defeated at the Battle of Actium by Octavian
27 BC	Octavian is named Caesar Augustus and appointed ruler for life by the Roman Senate.  It is the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Roman Empire
3/2 BC	Jesus is born in Bethlehem+
1 BC/1 AD	King Herod dies and is succeeded by his son Archelaus*
14 AD	Caesar Augustus dies and is succeeded by his step-son and heir Tiberius
28 AD	John the Baptist and Jesus begin their ministries

+ and *: these dates are based on Luke's testimony that John baptized Jesus in the 15^th year of the reign of Roman Emperor Tiberius (as the ancients counted) when Jesus was about 30 years old (Lk 3:1-3, 23).  See the document: Dating the Birth of Jesus and the Bible study Advent of the Messiah Part V.

Chapter 1: The Genealogy and Birth of Jesus Christ

The Prologue of the Gospel of St. Matthew consists of Jesus' genealogy and five stories relating Jesus' birth and childhood.  In this section, St. Matthew presents the Advent of the Messiah as the climax of Israel's history, and presents the events surrounding Jesus' birth and early childhood as a fulfillment of the prophecy of God's holy prophets.  As St. Matthew reveals in 1:17, his genealogy of Jesus (beginning in verse 2) is divided into three parts:

Set #1: 14 generations from Abraham to David

Set #2: 14 generations from David to the Babylonian exile

Set #3: 14 generations from the Babylonian exile to Jesus the Messiah [Christ].

Matthew 1:1-17 ~ The Genealogy of Jesus

Set I:
2 Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.  3 Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4 Ram the father of Amminadab.  Amminadab became the father of Nashon, Nashon the father of Salmon, 5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab.  Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth.  Obed became the father of Jesse, 6 Jesse the father of David the king.  David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. 

Set II:
7 Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asaph. 8 Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah.  9 Uzziah became the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.  10 Hezekiah become the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos, Amos the father of Josiah.  11 Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exile.

Set III:
12 After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 Zerubbabel the father of Abiud.  Abiud became the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, 15 Eliud the father of Eleazar.  Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.  Of her was born Jesus who is called the Messiah [Christ].

17 The total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah [Christ], fourteen generations.

Matthew 1:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.  With the opening two Greek words biblos geneseos, translated "the book of the genealogy" in the NAB, St. Matthew takes the reader back to the very beginning of salvation history, since these first two words can be literally translated "book/scroll of origin/beginning" or "book/scroll of Genesis."  These words only appear together in two other passages in Scripture.  In the Greek Septuagint translation (translated from the Hebrew in c. 250 BC), these words are found in Genesis 2:4 in the passage describing the beginnings of heaven and earth and 5:1 in the Bible's first genealogy, the genealogy of Adam's descendants:

• Such is the story [biblos geneseos] of the heavens and the earth at their creation (Gen 2:4).
• This is the record [biblos geneseos] of Adam.  When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God ... (Gen 5:1).

The Birth and Early Childhood of Jesus

Behold the strange and wonderful birth of Christ.  It came through a line that included sinners, adulterers and Gentiles.  But such a birth does not soil the honor of Christ, rather, it commends his mercy.
Anonymous author, Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily I.

Matthew 1:18-25 ~ The Birth of Jesus

In verse 18, St. Matthew uses Jesus' royal title "Messiah/Christ" a fourth time (see 1:1, 16, 17, 18).  There can be no doubt for the reader that Matthew is presenting Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah.

Joseph was betrothed to Mary when he discovered she was pregnant.  A betrothal was not like a modern engagement.  According to the customs of the times, a couple became "betrothed" when the bride price (paid by the groom) and the dowry (paid by the girl's family) were paid and the marriage contract was signed.  The couple did not yet live together until the groom made preparations to bring a wife into his home.  When all preparations were completed, the groom brought the bride to his house and friends and family celebrated in a seven day wedding ceremony (Gen 29:27; Judg 14:12), after which the couple began to live together.  However, in the interim period, they were both legally and morally bound to each other under the specific laws enumerated in the Deuteronomic Code (see Dt 22:23-27).  These laws presupposed that a betrothed couple was already married in a legal sense and any sexual contact between a betrothed woman and another man was equivalent to the sin of adultery and punishable by death for both the betrothed woman and her partner in sin (Ex 20:14; Dt 5:18; Lev 18:20; 20:10; Dt 22:22). 

When Mary was discovered to be with child, she was in a precarious position.  If Joseph repudiated her, no other "righteous" Jewish man would marry her and she would be ridiculed and shunned by the community.  It is unlikely that at this time in history she would have been executed, as under the Mosaic Law.  Under Roman occupation a man or woman could only be executed under Roman law.  The Romans held the power over life and death in the territories under their control.

Matthew 1:22  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

This is the first of St. Matthew's ten "fulfillment" formula statements (ten is the number of divine order) which begin "this was to fulfill ..." and are followed by a quote from the Old Testament passage or by an allusion to a combination of several passages in one quotation.

Fulfillment statements:

• Jesus childhood: 1:23; 2:15, 17-18, 23
• Galilean ministry: 4:14-16; 8:17; 12:17-21; 13:35
• Jesus' last week in Jerusalem: 21:4-5; 27:9-10

Question: What purpose do the ten "fulfillment" statements serve in St. Matthew's Gospel?
Answer: They show that everything God did in the Old Testament was part of His divine plan in preparation for the Advent of the Messiah.

Chapter 2

 

Matthew 2:1-12 ~ The Magi Seek the Christ Child

Question: What was the significance of the town of Bethlehem, located about 5 miles from Jerusalem?  See 1 Sam 6:1, 10-13; Mic 5:1.
Answer: It was the birthplace of David and where the prophet Samuel anointed David as God's Messiah and the future King of Israel. Matthew's announcement that Jesus was born in Bethlehem establishes Jesus as the "new David," in fulfillment of the prophecy of the prophet Micah.

Matthew 2:13-15 ~ The Holy Family's Flight to Egypt

Again, Joseph was immediately obedient to the angel's message in his dream.  Verse 15 is the third fulfillment formula statement in Matthew's Gospel.  The fulfillment statement is a quote from Hosea 11:1 and an allusion to Exodus 4:22-23 when Yahweh told Moses to tell the Pharaoh that Israel is God's "first-born son" and to "let my son go that he may serve me," identifying Jesus with the nation of Israel and the story of the Exodus.

Matthew 2:16-18 ~ The Massacre of the Infants

Herod had good administrative skills that pleased the Romans, but during the last ten years of his life his growing paranoia made him mentally unstable.  He was insanely in love with his wife Mariamme, but suspicions that she may have been unfaithful led him to murder her.  Increasing suspicions of plots against him caused him to also execute his three eldest sons and his mother-in-law.  St. Matthew's account of the murder of the boy babies and children up to age two in Bethlehem and the other towns surrounding Jerusalem by Herod's orders is entirely consistent with the king's character.

In chapter two, St. Matthew presents Jesus not only as a "new David" but also as a "new Moses."

Question: What comparisons can be drawn between the story of Moses' early childhood and Jesus' early childhood?
Answer:                                                 

MOSES	JESUS
An evil king/Pharaoh tried to kill him as a baby (Ex 1:22).	King Herod tried to kill baby Jesus (Mt 2:16).
He was hidden from the evil king/Pharaoh (Ex 2:2).	An angel said to hide the child from the evil King Herod (Mt 2:13).
Moses was sent from Goshen into Egypt to preserve his life (Ex 2:3-4).	Jesus was sent into Egypt from Judea to preserve His life (Mt 2:13-15).
He was saved by his mother, his sister Miriam, and Pharaoh's daughter.	Jesus was saved and by His mother, Mary, and his foster father, Joseph.
Pharaoh's daughter adopted Moses (Ex 2:10).	Joseph adopted Jesus (Mt 1:25).
Moses became a prince of Egypt (Ex 2:10).	Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Is 9:5; Mt 28:18; Lk 2:14).
There is a long period of silence from childhood to adulthood.	There is a long period of silence from childhood to adulthood.
Moses had a secret identity = son of a slave.	Messianic secret = Jesus the Son of God.

See the complete chart on the Typology of Moses and Jesus in the Charts/Typology section.

Matthew 2:19-23 ~ The Holy Family Returns from Egypt

Question: When Herod died, the angel appeared to Joseph a third time and told him to return to his homeland.  Again, Joseph was obedient, but he did not return to Bethlehem for what two reasons?
Answer: He feared Herod's son Archelaus and the angel told him to go the Nazareth in the Galilee.

When Herod died, the Romans honored Herod's will and appointed his son Archelaus to rule from Jerusalem as enthnarch over the regions of Judea, Samaria, and Idumaea, while Herod's son Herod Antipas became tetrarch of the Galilee and Perea.  Archelaus was every bit as cunning and cruel as his father but with none of his father's administrative skills.  He ruled Judea for only about 2 years before the Romans removed him and made Judea a Roman province administrated by a Roman procurator under the Roman governor of Syria.

Matthew 3:1-5 ~ St. John the Baptist Proclaims the Coming of the Kingdom

 

The desert/wilderness had special significance in the history of the Old Covenant people.  It was in the crucible of the wilderness between Egypt and the Transjordan that God transformed a community of former slaves into the holy nation of Israel over a period of forty years (Dt 1:1-3).

Question: Who was St. John, who was his father and what was John's profession?  What was St. John's relationship to Jesus?  See Lk 1:5-17, 24-38.
Answer:

1. John was the son of the priest Zechariah.
2. His birth was foretold by the angel Gabriel. 
3. He was filled with the Holy Spirit in his mother's womb.
4. He was a kinsman of Jesus through Mary.
5. His mission was to turn the people back to their God, leading them in the "spirit of Elijah," the 9^th century BC prophet, to make them "fit for the Lord." 
6. Like his father, John was a descendant of Aaron and was also a chief priest.  
7. John was six months older than Jesus.

Matthew 3:7-12 ~ St. John the Baptist Condemns the Pharisees and Sadducees

In 1^st century AD Judea, there were several rival groups who sought influence over the people; the two most influential groups were the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

1. The Pharisees considered themselves to be the heirs of Ezra and believed the right exercise of their religion was centered upon strict observance of the Law, both the written Law and the oral traditions of the elders.  As such, they interpreted the obligations and prohibitions under the Law in the most severe way.  They believed in a future resurrection of the dead and in angels and spirits (Acts 23:8).  The Pharisees were very popular among the common people and are linked with the Scribes in the Gospels.⁽³⁾  The Pharisees are mentioned frequently in the Gospels as being hostile to Jesus' ministry.
2. The Sadducees were numbered among the priestly aristocracy, and their supporters included the educated class of landowners and merchants.  The Sadducees only accepted the Torah of Moses as authoritative (first 5 books of the Old Testament).  They did not believe in a bodily resurrection of the dead (Mt 22:23; Lk 20:27), denied the existence of angels or spirits (Acts 23:8), and they supported peaceful cooperation with the Romans.  They were also hostile to Jesus, and they tried to trap Him on a question concerning levirate marriage and the resurrection (Mt 22:22-23).  The Sadducees were very hostile to the Apostles after Jesus' Ascension (Acts 4:1; 5:17).

Very little is known about these two groups of Jews outside of the New Testament and the writings of Flavius Josephus (1^st century AD priest turned general and historian).  Both groups apparently sprung up during the reign of the Hasmoneans (162-63 BC).  It should be noted, however, that not all Pharisees were hostile to Jesus:

• Nicodemus was a Pharisee (Jn 3:1-3; 7:45-48).
• The Christian community of Jerusalem included Pharisees (Acts 15:5).
• St. Paul was a Pharisee (Acts 23:6-9; 26:5; Phil 3:5). 

The influence of the Sadducees disappeared with the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 AD, while the influence of the Pharisees evolved into Rabbinic Judaism.  

Matthew 3:13-17 ~ St.  John Baptizes Jesus

Question: What was significant about the site of Jesus' baptism connected to His Hebrew name in the history of Israel?

Answer: Jesus' baptism took place on the east bank of the Jordan across from Jericho near the site where the children of Israel camped before Joshua/Yehoshua led them across the river from the east to the west into the Promised Land.  After His baptism, Jesus had to cross the river from the east into west to return to Judea.  He is the new Joshua/Yehoshua (His Hebrew name), leading His people on a new Exodus that will result in the promise of entering the Promised Land of heaven.

Question: At first, St. John is hesitant to give Jesus his baptism of repentance.  Why?
Answer: John recognized that Jesus was without sin and therefore had no reason to repent.

Matthew 3:15 Jesus said to him in reply, "Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."  Then he allowed him. 

The words "fulfill/fulfilled," found 18 times in St. Matthew's Gospel, refers to the fulfillment of Scripture and the fulfillment of God's plan.  In the Bible "righteousness" is defined as obedience to God.

Question: Why does Jesus tell John that His baptism is "fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness"?
Answer: Jesus being baptized by John is "fitting" and "righteous" because John and Jesus are submitting themselves to the Father's will in fulfilling this aspect of God's plan of salvation. 

Jesus baptism by John is part of His acceptance of His mission and His inauguration as God's suffering Servant.  He has come among sinners: prostitutes, thieves, tax collectors, etc., to allow Himself to be numbered among them and is already anticipating His bloody baptism though which they can be forgiven their sins.

Jesus baptism is the beginning of His public ministry.  In His baptism, the Spirit of God, which Jesus possessed in fullness from His conception, came to rest upon Him (Jn 1:32-33; Is 11:2) as evidence that Jesus is the source of the Spirit of God for all humanity.

Chapter 4: Satan Tests Jesus and the Beginning of Jesus' Galilean Ministry

His baptism, Jesus was proclaimed the Son of God (Mt 3:17).  After His baptism, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the desert to face a three-fold covenant ordeal as Satan tested Jesus' loyalty and obedience to God (Mt 4:1-3).  A covenant ordeal is a test of faith in God as sovereign Lord and a test of one's obedience to the will of God for one's life.  In each of Jesus' three tests, Satan tempted Jesus to rebel against God.  Each test resembled the tests in which the Israelites, the "sons of God" (Ex 4:22), lacked faith and rebelled against God during their 40 years in the wilderness.  St. Matthew personifies Jesus as the true Israel and the true Son in contrast with Israel the rebellious and disobedient son.  Jesus' covenant ordeal also reminds us of Adam's covenant ordeal in the garden Sanctuary in Eden when Satan, disguised as a serpent, tempted Adam, God's first-born son in the family of man, by inviting Adam and Eve to rebel against God by making their own choices contrary to the will of God (Gen 3:1-13).  Obedience is a characteristic of true sonship.  Jesus is the new Adam and the new Israel; He is the obedient Son who rejected each of Satan's temptations. 

Matthew 4:1-11 ~ The Temptation of the New Adam

After Jesus' baptism, He crossed the Jordan River.  Immediately after crossing from Perea into Judah, Jesus was led into the Judean desert by the Holy Spirit where He fasted for 40 days and nights.  The number 40 is recognized as an important number in Scripture on account of the frequency of its occurrence and the uniformity of its association as both a time of consecration and as a period of trial and testing.

Question: What are some examples in Scripture where the number 40 is found?
Answer: Examples for the Old and New Testaments:

• 40 day epic periods during the great flood (Gen 7:4, 12, 17,8:6)
• 40 years was the age of Isaac when he married Rebekah (Gen 25:20)
• 40 years of Moses in Egypt (do the math, see Ex 7:7; Dt 34:7; Acts 7:30 )
• 40 years of Moses in Midian before his return to Egypt (Acts 7:30)
• 40 years from the Exodus until Moses' death (Dt 1:3; 34:7)
• 40 years Israel ate manna (Ex 16:35; Dt 29:5)
• 40 days Moses was on the Mountain to receive the Law of the Sinai Covenant (Ex 24:18)
• 40 days the children of Israel were tested while Moses was on the mountain (Ex 32:1)
• 40 days Moses was on the Mountain after the golden calf. (Ex 34:28)
• 40 days after his birth a male child of Israel was dedicated to God at the Sanctuary (Lev 12:1-4)
• 40 days the Israelite spies reconnoitered the land of Canaan (Num 13:25)
• 40 years was Caleb's age when Moses sent him to reconnoiter Canaan (Josh 14:7)
• 40 years that Israel spent in the wilderness before they camped by the Jordan River (Num 14:33; Dt 1:1-3; 8:2)
• 40 years from the giving of the Law at Sinai to the conquest of the Promised land (Josh 5:6)
• 40 year intervals of peace in the age of the Judges (Judg 3:11; 5:31; 8:28)
• 40 years Eli judged Israel (1 Sam 4:18)
• 40 years of war between Israel and the Philistines
• 40 years David ruled as King of Israel (2 Sam 5:5; 1 Chr 29:26-27)
• 40 years of Solomon ruled Israel. (2 Chr 9:30)
• 40 days Jonah was in the Assyrian city of Nineveh (Jonah 3:4)
• 40 years Josiah ruled Judah (2 Kng 12:2)
• 40 days Ezekiel lay on his right side to symbolize the 40 years of Judah's transgressions (Ez 4:6)
• 40 days Jesus fasted in the wilderness before His temptation (Mt 4:2; Mk 1:13; Lk 4:2)
• 40 days Jesus taught His disciples after the Resurrection.  On the 40^th day He ascended to the Father (Acts 1:3)

At the end of His ordeal of fasting and prayer, Jesus was hungry like any man.  Recognizing His physical weakness, Satan saw an opportune time to test Jesus to see if He was indeed the promised Messiah.  The Greek word diabolos (in the LXX and the New Testament) is usually translated "devil," but in Hebrew the word is satan, meaning "adversary" or "accuser" as in a court of law.  An example from the book of Job is "the satan" standing in the heavenly court accusing the man Job (Job 1:1-8); and also the use of the word "accuser/satan" in Ps 109:6-7: Find a lying witness, an accuser [satan] to stand by his right hand, that his plea may judged and found guilty, that his plea may be in vain.  The most frequent use in the Old Testament, however, is in the metaphorical sense of an adversary (for example see 1 Sam 29:4)  Every place the title "Satan" is found in the Old Testament it is preceded by the definite article "the;" the one exception is in 1 Chronicles 21:1 where it is a proper name. 

Question:  Who is Satan?  See Rev 12:7-9 and CCC 391-95 and 2852.
Answer: He is a created being who was once an angel but who is now the adversary of both God and man.  Revelation 12:9 identifies Satan as the same serpent who tempted Adam and Eve into sin and became the "deceiver of the whole world."

The Temptations of the First and Second Adams Contrasted
Temptations	The first Adam Genesis 3:1-6	Jesus, the new Adam Matthew 4:1-10
The devil's invitation to rebellion	"Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees...?"	The tempter approached and said to him, "If you are the Son of God ...
Hunger, a desire of the flesh	The woman saw that the tree was good for food	command that these stones become loaves of bread"
Enticement for the eyes:	pleasing to the eyes, and	the devil...showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence
The pride of a pretentious life (power)	desirable for gaining wisdom	If you are the Son ...throw Yourself down ... He will command his angels concerning you ...
Michal E. Hunt © 2011 (Jesus' temptations are in the order found in Lk 4:1-13)

Question: What comparisons can be made between the desert testing experiences of Jesus, the Son of God, and the Israelites, the sons of God?
Answer:

Israel	Jesus
Israel is God's "first-born son" from among the nations of the earth (Ex 4:22-23)	Jesus is the Son of God (Mt 3:17)
The Israelites were baptized by passing through the waters of the Red Sea and then, accompanied by God's spirit in the pillar of cloud and fire, they went into the desert  (Ex 13:21-22; 14:21-22; 15:22)	After Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River, the Spirit of God led Jesus into the desert (Mt 4:1)
The Israelites were in the desert for 40 years where they suffered from hunger (Ex 16:2-3)	After 40 days and nights in the desert, Jesus was hungry (Mt 4:2)
God tested Israel (Ex 16:4; Dt 8:2)	God allowed Satan to test Jesus (Mt 4:1-11)
The Israelites continually failed their tests of covenant obedience and loyalty, even to the point of worshiping a golden idol (Ex 32:1-6)	Jesus passed His tests.  He remained faithful and obedient to God, and He refused to bow down to worship Satan (Mt 4:10)
Michal E. Hunt © 2011

Satan is Jesus' great adversary.  Jesus describes the devil as "a murderer from the beginning" who "does not stand in truth because there is no truth in him" (Jn 8:44).  Jesus' mission is not only to free mankind from bondage to sin and death but to "destroy the works of the devil;" the most heinous of his works was to lead man to disobey God (1 Jn 3:8, CCC 394).

In Jesus' contest with Satan, the devil addressed Jesus three times, quoting Scripture once from Psalm 91:10-12 and using the formula statement "it is written" (verse 6).  In reply, Jesus quoted Scripture three times from Deuteronomy 8:3, 6:16 and 6:13, using the formula "it is written" twice in verses 4 and 7.

• Test #1: Jesus was hungry, but He rebuked Satan: 4 He said in reply, "It is written: One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God' (Dt 8:3).
• Test #2: Satan: 6b For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you: and with their hands they will support you, least you dash your foot against a stone'" (Ps 91:10-12).
                 Jesus:7 Jesus answered him, Again, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test'" (Dt 6:16).
• Test #3: Jesus:   10 At this, Jesus said to him, "Get away, Satan!  It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall your serve'" (Dt 6:13).

Matthew 4:12-17 ~ The Beginning of Jesus' Galilean Ministry

Jesus stayed in Judea and Perea until St. John was arrested and then He withdrew to the Galilee.  Herod Antipas ruled both Perea (on the east side of the Jordan River) and the Galilee in the northeast.

Question: Who arrested John the Baptist and why?  John was baptizing repentant sinners on the east side of the Jordan River in the territory of Perea.  See Mt 14:3-5.
Answer: Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great, arrested him because John publically condemned Herod's marriage to Herodias, his niece and the wife of his half-brother Philip.

Matthew 4:18-22 ~ Jesus Calls His first Disciples

Question: Was this the first time these men had come in contact with Jesus?  What significant earlier exchange did Simon have with Jesus?  See Jn 1:25-42.
Answer:  No, earlier when Jesus was still in the south after His baptism, all four men had been introduced to Jesus on the shores of the Jordan River and had spent time talking with Him.  Then, that same day in the Galilee when He called them to become His disciples, they had witnessed Jesus' supernatural powers in their harvest of fish. It was a demonstration that left little doubt for them about Jesus' true identity.

During the earlier encounter on the banks of the Jordan River, Andrew and another of John the Baptist's disciples (probably John Zebedee) spent a day talking with Jesus at that time (Jn 1:35-38, 40).  The next day Andrew brought his brother Simon (Peter) to meet Jesus, telling Simon that he had found the Messiah (Jn 1:41-42).  At that time Jesus told Simon he was to be called "Kephas," meaning "Rock" (1 Jn 1:42).⁽⁴⁾

Matthew 4:23-25 ~ Jesus Proclaims the Kingdom and Ministers to the Multitude

Like other prophets of God before Him, Jesus cured the sick and cast out demons.  His healing miracles were signs that His authority was from God.  Syria was the Roman province north of the Galilee.

+++

A Daily Defense 

DAY 258 Approximation in the Bible

CHALLENGE: “Why do you claim that the biblical authors used a different level of precision than we do?” 

DEFENSE:Approximations were more common because of the inability in the ancient world to accurately measure and record things (see Day 248).

We can show Scripture uses many forms of approximation, including:

1. Numerical approximations: For example, a basin in Solomon’s temple is said to have a diameter of ten cubits and a circumference of thirty cubits (1 Kings 7:23; 2 Chron. 4:2), indicating the approximate value of π (pi) as 3 (see Day 197). Numerical approximations are also involved when we encounter stock numbers in Scripture (40, 120, 1,000, etc).

2. Verbal approximations: Because the ancient world had no recording devices and few stenographers, ancient audiences didn’t expect written dialogue to be a verbatim transcript but an approximation of what was said. Reconstruction and paraphrase were normal. We see examples when Scripture presents parallel accounts of the same events and the biblical authors give dialogue in somewhat different forms (e.g., in the Gospels).

3. Descriptive approximations: Every time we describe an event, we must decide which details to include and omit. There is an inescapable element of approximation in every event description, and this applied to the biblical authors too. Consequently, one evangelist may mention that Jesus healed two men on an occasion, while another may streamline the account by mentioning only one (see Day 37).

 Similarly, one author may give a more detailed account by mentioning both the principals in an encounter and the agents they employed, while another may mention only the principals (see Day 124).

4. Chronological approximations: Usually, the ancients did not keep detailed chronological records, and they had the liberty to record events either chronologically or non-chronologically, within the same general time frame (e.g., within the ministry of Christ; see Day 89).

5. Literary approximations: We often convey truth using literary devices not meant to be taken literally (“We should roll out the red carpet for this visitor”), and so did the ancients (see Day 31). Symbolism and figures of speech like hyperbole are common in Scripture. Approximations are intrinsic to human speech; we can’t avoid using them, and we use the same kinds as the ancients. We just use them differently

Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist