Jesus Begins His Ministry (Isaiah 9:1-7; Mark 1:14-15; Luke 4:14-15)
Matthew 4:12-17 “When Jesus heard that John had been imprisoned, He withdrew to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, He went and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.”
From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
David Guzak in his Enduring Word Commentary has this to say about these verses:
a. When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee: John 3:22 and 4:1-2 indicate that the first ministry Jesus did with His disciples was a baptizing ministry at the Jordan. Sometime after that and after the arrest of John the Baptist, Jesus went to Galilee to begin His itinerant ministry in that region.
i. John’s Gospel (John 1:19-2:12) records an early ministry in Galilee and in Judea before Jesus went to Galilee as mentioned here. This early Judean ministry included the earliest call of the disciples and the wedding at Cana (in Galilee), and the first cleansing of the temple followed by His interview with Nicodemus (in Judea). Then John tells us what happened when Jesus traveled north to Galilee through Samaria, and met a Samaritan woman at a well.
ii. It was the imprisonment of John that prompted this. “Galilee was the tetrarchy of Herod, who had imprisoned John. Into that region, our Lord went to continue the ministry of the man thus silenced…Thus it has ever been, and still is. Evil may silence a voice, but it cannot prevent the proclamation of the Word. If John is imprisoned, then Jesus takes up the message.” (Morgan)
b. He departed to Galilee: The region of Galilee was a fertile, progressive, highly populated region. According to figures from the Jewish historian Josephus, there were some 3 million people populating Galilee, an area smaller than the state of Connecticut.
i. In an area of about 60 by 30 miles, Josephus says that there were some 204 villages with none having less than 15,000 people. That gives a population of more than 3 million for the region.
ii. Galilee was predominately Gentile in its population, but with a large number of Jewish cities and citizens. Also, Galilee was known as an incredibly fertile region. Many successful farms took advantage of the good soil.
c. Leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum: This was because the people rejected Jesus in His own hometown (Luke 4:16-30). It was significant that Jesus made His home in Capernaum and not in Nazareth.
i. Matthew may have been particularly interested in Capernaum because it was where he himself lived (Matthew 9:1-9). Peter also had a house in Capernaum (Matthew 8:14, Mark 1:29 and 2:1).
ii. Yet leaving Nazareth, Jesus did not go to live and make His home in Jerusalem or Judea. Going to Jerusalem would seem to be smarter career planning for the Messiah, but Jesus dwelt in Capernaum. “This migration to Capernaum is not formally noted in the other Gospels, but Capernaum appears in all the synoptists as the main centre of Christ’s Galilean ministry.” (Bruce)
iii. “Here he dwelt in a house, either let or lent him; for of his own he had not where to rest his head, Matthew 8:20. Here he paid tribute as an inhabitant; and hither he resorted and retired himself, when he was tired.” (Trapp)
d. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet: As is his custom, Matthew sees Jesus’ ministry in Galilee as a fulfillment of prophecy. Light has come to this region, largely populated by Gentiles, and Isaiah 9:1-2 predicted this of the ministry of the Messiah.
i. “In despised Galilee, the place where people live in darkness (i.e., without the religious and cultic advantages of Jerusalem and Judea)…here the light has dawned.” (Carson)
ii. “Galilee of the Gentiles was now an even more appropriate description than in Isaiah’s day, as successive movements of population had given it a predominately Gentile population until a deliberate Judaizing policy was adopted by the Hasmonaean rulers, resulting in a thoroughly mixed population.” (France)
One of the songs in The Cotton Patch Gospel musical says of the place where the Messiah is born that “it’s a hell of a place to be heaven-sent.” That’s probably the way some people were thinking about Jesus basing in Capernaum. As far as Jewish religious leaders were concerned, the Messiah would certainly have the good taste and discernment to appear first in Jerusalem, rather than in a Gentile-dominated area. But Jesus was taking orders from his Heavenly Father, not from the high priest in Jerusalem. After centuries of suffering religious discrimination, the people in Galilee of the Gentiles were spiritually hungry and ready for the Gospel. Jesus began by preaching to anybody who would show up, and he preached on hillsides and at the seashore. To avoid being crushed by the crowds, Jesus frequently sat in a boat floating in the shallows. Jesus even preached to the fishermen mending their nets, to the women coming to buy the fish, and to anybody else who showed up.
When Jesus traveled, he preached in every village that would receive him and also dispatched his followers to preach in other villages. Had Jesus tried to begin his ministry in Jerusalem, he might have been crucified very quickly.
Notice also that Jesus did not begin preaching about the Kingdom of God until his cousin John was imprisoned. John’s ministry prepared the way for Jesus, and Jesus was willing to wait. Timing is critically important; Herod may have been distraught about being forced to behead John and may have let Jesus alone once Jesus came preaching a message similar to that of John’s.
Timing and location are fundamental to a successful ministry. Anyone choosing to become a disciple of Jesus Christ has no right to dictate when and where he/she will work. In February 1992 we visited a tiny clinic in a remote village in northeastern Ghana. There was no electricity and only eleven workers. I was a fully-trained general and pediatric surgeon, and my husband was an EMT. We were prepared to visit and be polite, and then to tell the national church that had invited us, “Thanks, but no thanks.” But when we set foot on the clinic property, the Holy Spirit descended, wrapping us in a warm spiritual blanket. We KNEW we were called to come to that place. We came to that town in January 1993 and one year later, a tribal war broke out. Suddenly, that small clinic became the only source of medical care for nearly 100,000 people with nowhere else to go. We had to begin hospital-level work in a health center building. We had no idea what would happen, but God did.
“Little Is Much When God Is In It” Kittie L. Suffield 1924
In the harvest field now ripened
There is a work for all to do
Hark, the Master’s voice it’s calling
To the harvest, calling you
Chorus: Little is much when God is in it
Labor not for wealth or fame
There’s a crown, and you can win it
If you go in Jesus’ name.
Does the place you’re called to labor
Seem so small and little known?
Well, it is great if God is in it
And He will not forsake His own.
Are you laid aside from service
Body worn from toil and care?
You can still be in the battle
In the sacred place of prayer.
And when the conflict here has ended
And our race on Earth is run
He will say, “If you’ve been faithful
Welcome home, My child, well done”
Little is much when God is in it
Labor not for wealth or fame
There’s a crown, and you can win it
If you go in Jesus’ name.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help all who read these words to realize that You have selected their places of service and that as long as they are where you want them to be, they will be blessed. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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