Jesus’ Earthly Ministry Begins
TRANSLATION
(12) Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. (13) And leaving Nazareth, he came and lived in Capernaum which is by the sea in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali (14) so that what had been spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled: (15) “(In) the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, beyond the Jordan, (in) Galilee of the Gentiles, (16) the people that sat in darkness saw a great light, and to them that sat in the region and shadow of death, to them did a light shine forth.” (17) From that time on Jesus began to preach: “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
OBSERVATIONS
The place names Matthew mentioned in this segment, including “Galilee” (vss. 12 & 15), “Nazareth” (vs. 13), “Capernaum” (vs. 13), “Zebulun” and “Naphtali,” both tribes of the northern part of Israel (vss. 13 & 15), not only tell us where Jesus began his ministry but show us that his doing so was in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy (Is. 9:1 & 2). Along with the repetitions of “sat” and “light” (vs. 16), we find in the same verse both “darkness” and “death” contrasted with the shining of this light.
The sentence Matthew used to summarize Jesus’ message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” was the very same wording that the Gospel writer used to summarize John’s message in the previous chapter (3:2). Clearly, the forerunner had done a good job of preparing the way of the Lord.
OUTLINE
I. Jesus launched his earthly ministry in Galilee, the region in which he had grown up. (12-16)
II. Jesus began by proclaiming a message of repentance just as John had done previously. (17)
IDEA STATEMENT
By beginning his public ministry in Galilee, far to the north of Jerusalem, Jesus signaled that his messianic ministry would not only focus on the Jews but also include all nations of the earth.
APPLICATION
What was the significance of Jesus’ beginning his earthly ministry in Galilee of the Gentiles far away from Jerusalem in the northern territories? Throughout his ministry, we see repeated hints that Jesus had come not just to deliver Abraham’s direct descendants, the Jews. When Jesus first sent his disciples out to minister, we see his priority clearly set forth in the following instruction: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mt. 10:5 & 6). Paul reflected this same priority in Romans where he wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16).
However, just because Jesus came first for the Jew did not mean that he would forget those outside the “commonwealth of Israel” (Eph. 2:12). John’s Gospel described what happened: “He came to his own, and his own people (the Jews) did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name (both Jews and Gentiles), he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (Jn. 1:11-13). Even before the moment when God told Abram, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3), his intent was that all humanity should have the opportunity to hear the Good News and share in what he was doing in the world.