A VERSE BY VERSE COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 4 12-25 DEALING WITH THE BEGINNING OF JESUS'S PREACHING.AND CALLING OF THE DISCIPLES.

1. MATTHEW 4 12-25 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
12
When Jesus heard that John had been put in
prison, he returned to Galilee.
BAR ES, "John was cast into prison - For an account of the imprisonment of
John see Mat_14:1-13.
He departed into Galilee - See Mat_2:22. The reasons why Jesus then went into
Galilee were probably:
1. Because the attention of the people had been much excited by John’s preaching,
and things seemed to be favorable for success in his own ministry.
2. It appeared desirable to have some one to second John in the work of reformation.
3. It was less dangerous for him to commence his labors there than near Jerusalem.
Judea was under the dominion of the scribes, and Pharisees, and priests. They
would naturally look with envy on any one who set himself up for a public teacher,
and who should attract much attention there. It was important, therefore, that the
work of Jesus should begin in Galilee, and become somewhat established and
known before he went to Jerusalem.
GILL, "Now, when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison,.... John
was cast into prison by Herod; the reason of it may be seen in Mat_14:3. The prison into
which he was cast, according to Josephus (s), was the castle of Machaeras: here he
continued some time before he was put to death; for from hence he sent two disciples to
Jesus, to know if he was the Messiah, Mat_11:2. Now when Jesus heard of this his
imprisonment,
he departed into Galilee; not so much on account of safety, or for fear of Herod, but
to call his disciples, who lived in that country.
(s) Antiq. l. 18. c. 7.
HE RY, "We have here an account of Christ's preaching in the synagogues of
Galilee, for he came into the world to be a Preacher; the great salvation which he
wrought out, he himself began to publish (Heb_2:3) to show how much his heart was
upon it, and ours should be.
Several passages in the other gospels, especially in that of St. John, are supposed, in

2. the order of the story of Christ's life, to intervene between his temptation and his
preaching in Galilee. His first appearance after his temptation, was when John Baptist
pointed to him, saying, Behold the Lamb of God, Joh_1:29. After that, he went up to
Jerusalem, to the passover (Jn. 2), discoursed with Nicodemus (Jn. 3), with the woman
of Samaria (Jn. 4), and then returned into Galilee, and preached there. But Matthew,
having had his residence in Galilee, begins his story of Christ's public ministry with his
preaching there, which here we have an account of. Observe,
I. The time; When Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, then he went into
Galilee, Mat_4:12. Note, The cry of the saints' sufferings comes up into the ears of the
Lord Jesus. If John be cast into prison, Jesus hears it, takes cognizance of it, and steers
his course accordingly: he remembers the bonds and afflictions that abide his people.
Observe, 1. Christ did not go into the country, till he heard of John's imprisonment; for
he must have time given him to prepare the way of the Lord, before the Lord himself
appear. Providence wisely ordered it, that John should be eclipsed before Christ shone
forth; otherwise the minds of people would have been distracted between the two; one
would have said, I am of John, and another, I am of Jesus. John must be Christ's
harbinger, but not his rival. The moon and stars are lost when the sun rises. John had
done his work by the baptism of repentance, and then he was laid aside. The witnesses
were slain when they had finished their testimony, and not before, Rev_11:7. 2. He did
go into the country as soon as he heard of John's imprisonment; not only to provide for
his own safety, knowing that the Pharisees in Judea were as much enemies to him as
Herod was to John, but to supply the want of John Baptist, and to build upon the good
foundation he had laid. Note, God will not leave himself without witness, nor his church
without guides; when he removes one useful instrument, he can raise up another, for he
has the residue of the Spirit, and he will do it, if he has work to do. Moses my servant is
dead, John is cast into prison; now, therefore, Joshua, arise; Jesus, arise.
II. The place where he preached; in Galilee, a remote part of the country, that lay
furthest from Jerusalem, as was there looked upon with contempt, as rude and boorish.
The inhabitants of that country were reckoned stout men, fit for soldiers, but not polite
men, or fit for scholars. Thither Christ went, there he set up the standard of his gospel;
and in this, as in other things, he humbled himself.
JAMISO , "Mat_4:12-25. Christ begins his Galilean Ministry - Calling of Peter and
Andrew, James and John - His first Galilean circuit. ( = Mar_1:14-20, Mar_1:35-39;
Luk_4:14, Luk_4:15).
There is here a notable gap in the history, which but for the fourth Gospel we should
never have discovered. From the former Gospels we should have been apt to draw three
inferences, which from the fourth one we know to be erroneous: First, that our Lord
awaited the close of John’s ministry, by his arrest and imprisonment, before beginning
His own; next, that there was but a brief interval between the baptism of our Lord and
the imprisonment of John; and further, that our Lord not only opened His work in
Galilee, but never ministered out of it, and never visited Jerusalem at all nor kept a
passover till He went thither to become “our Passover, sacrificed for us.” The fourth
Gospel alone gives the true succession of events; not only recording those important
openings of our Lord’s public work which preceded the Baptist’s imprisonment -
extending to the end of the third chapter - but so specifying the passover which occurred
during our Lord’s ministry as to enable us to line off, with a large measure of certainty,
the events of the first three Gospels according to the successive passovers which they
embraced. Eusebius, the ecclesiastical historian, who, early in the fourth century, gave

3. much attention to this subject, in noticing these features of the Evangelical Records, says
[Ecclesiastical History, 3.24] that John wrote his Gospel at the entreaty of those who
knew the important materials he possessed, and filled up what is wanting in the first
three Gospels. Why it was reserved for the fourth Gospel, published at so late a period,
to supply such important particulars in the life of Christ, it is not easy to conjecture with
any probability. It may be, that though not unacquainted with the general facts, they
were not furnished with reliable details. But one thing may be affirmed with tolerable
certainty, that as our Lord’s teaching at Jerusalem was of a depth and grandeur scarcely
so well adapted to the prevailing character of the first three Gospels, but altogether
congenial to the fourth; and as the bare mention of the successive passovers, without any
account of the transactions and discourses they gave rise to, would have served little
purpose in the first three Gospels, there may have been no way of preserving the unity
and consistency of each Gospel, so as to furnish by means of them all the precious
information we get from them, save by the plan on which they are actually constructed.
Mat_4:12-17. Entry into Galilee.
Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison — more simply,
“was delivered up,” as recorded in Mat_14:3-5; Mar_6:17-20; Luk_3:19, Luk_3:20.
he departed — rather, “withdrew.”
into Galilee — as recorded, in its proper place, in Joh_4:1-3.
HAWKER, "The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in
the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
These are sweet views of JESUS in his humbleness of character. And what a blessed
proof they become in proof of his mission. Isa_9:1-2.
CALVI , "Matthew 4:12.When Jesus had heard. These words appear to be at
variance with the narrative of the Evangelist John, who declares, that John and
Christ discharged the office of public teachers at the same time. But we have to
observe, that our three Evangelists pass over in silence that short space of time,
because John’s course was not yet completed, and because that course was intended
to be a preparation for receiving the Gospel of Christ. And, in point of fact, though
Christ discharged the office of teacher within that period, he did not, strictly
speaking, BEGI to preach the Gospel, till he succeeded to John. Most properly,
therefore, do the three Evangelists admit and declare, that the period, during which
John prepared disciples for Christ, belonged to his ministry: for it amounts to this,
that, when the dawn was passed, the sun arose. It is proper to observe the mode of
expression EMPLOYED by Luke, that Jesus came in the power, or, by the power, of
the Spirit into Galilee: for it is of great consequence, that we do not imagine Christ
to have any thing about him that is earthly or human, but that our minds be always
occupied, and our feelings affected by his heavenly and divine power.
TRAPP, "VER 12. ow when Jesus heard that John was cast into prison] For
Herodias’ sake, though under pretexts of fear of sedition, because of the great
multitudes that followed and admired him, as Josephus hath it. This hath ever been
an ordinary accusation cast upon the most innocent, to be seedsmen of sedition, and

4. troublers of the state. Jeremiah was held and called a traitor, Elijah a troubler of
Israel, Paul a pest, ευρηκαµεν τουτον τον λοιµον, Acts 24:5. Luther, tuba rebellionis,
the trumpet of rebellion, &c. Invenies apud Tacitum frequentatas accusationes
maiestatis, unicum crimen eorum qui crimine vacabant, saith Lipsius. There was
some colour of right, yea, of piety, laid upon the French massacre, and by edicts, a
fair cloak sought to cover the impious fraud, as if there had been some wicked
conspiracy plotted by the Protestants against the king, the queen mother, the king’s
brethren, the king of avarre, and the princes of the blood. For there was coin
stamped in memory of the matter, in the forepart whereof (together with the king’s
picture) was this inscription, Virtus in rebellea Power in the rebellion, And on the
other side, Pietas excitavit iustitiam. Loyalty stirs up justice. ot many years before
this, Francis, king of France, when he would excuse to the princes of Germany
(whose friendship he then sought after) that cruelty he had exercised against the
Protestants, he gave out that he punished Anabaptists only, that bragged of
enthusiasm, and cried down magistracy, stirring up the people to sedition as they
had done not long before in Germany. (Scultet. Annul.) This foul aspersion cast
upon true religion gave occasion to Calvin (then a young man of 25 years of age) to
set forth that incomparable work, called his Institutions of Christian Religion,
concerning which, Paulus Melissus long since sang,
" Praeter Apostolicas post Christi tempera chartas,
Huic peperere libro saecula nulla parem."
Since Christ’s and the apostles’ time no such book hath been written.
He departed into Galilee] Succenturiatus prodit Ioanni, saith a learned interpreter.
He therefore went into Galilee (which was under Herod’s government) to be, as it
were, a supply and successor to John, whom Herod had imprisoned. How well might
the tyrant say of the Church, as those Persians did of the Athenians, βαλλοµεν, ου
πιπτουσι, τιτρωσκοµεν, ου φοβεονται. "We overturn them, and yet they fall not; we
wound them, and yet they fear not." (Stobaeus.) St Basil bade the persecuted
Christians tell the tyrants with a bold and brave spirit, εαν γαρ παλιν ισχυητε. παλιν
ηττηθησεσθε. "If ye prevail again, yet surely ye shall be overcome again." (Enarr.
in Isaiah 8:10) For there is neither power nor policy against the Lord. Charles V
(than whom all Christendom had not a more prudent prince, nor the Church of
Christ (almost) a sorer enemy), when he had in his hand Luther dead, and
Melancthon and Pomeran, and certain other preachers of the gospel, alive, he not
only determined not anything extremely against them, or violated their graves, but
also entreating them gently, sent them away, not so much as once forbidding them to
publish OPE LY the doctrine that they professed. (Acts and Mon.) For it is the
nature of Christ’s Church, the more that persecutors spurn against it, the more it
flourisheth and increaseth, as the palm tree spreadeth and springeth the more it is
oppressed; as the bottle or bladder, that may be dipped, not drowned; as the oak,
that taketh heart to grace from the maims and wounds given it, and sprouts the
thicker; as fenugreek, {a} which the worse it is handled (saith Pliny) the better it

5. proves. ( Duris ut ilex tonsa bipennibus, per damna, per caedes ab IPSO ducit opes
animumque ferro. Horat.) This made Arrius Antoninus (a cruel persecutor in Asia)
cry out to the Christians, who came by troops to his tribunal, and proclaimed
themselves Christians (so OFFERI G themselves to death): O miseri, si libet perire,
num vobis rupes aut testes desunt? (Tertul. ad Scapulam. ω δειλοι, ει θελετε
αποθνησκειν, κρηµνους, η βροχους εχετε.) "O wretched men, if ye be so desirous to
die, have you neither rocks nor halters wherewith to despatch yourselves?"
Diocletian, after he had in vain done his utmost to blot out Christ’s name from
under heaven, and could not effect it (such was the constancy of the primitive
Christians, that no sufferings could frighten or discourage them, but that they grew
upon him daily, do what he could to the contrary), laid down the empire in great
discontent, and betook himself (as Charles V also did) to a PRIVATE course of life.
(Bucholcer, Chronol.) As lambs breed in winter, and quails come with the wind,
umbers 11:31, so good preachers and people spring most in hard times. o fowl is
more preyed upon hy hawks, kites, &c., than the pigeon, yet are there more doves
than hawks or kites for all that, saith Optatus. µικρον ποιµνιον, Luke 12:32. So the
sheep; and so the sheep of Christ: "A little little flock," he calleth it, but such as all
the wolves on earth and devils in hell cannot possibly devour. The Christians of
Calabria suffered great persecution, A.D. 1560; for being all thrust up in one house
together, as in a sheepfold, the executioner cometh in, and among them taketh one,
and blindfoldeth him with a muffler about his eyes, and so leadeth him forth into a
LARGER place, where he commandeth him to kneel down; which being done he
cutteth his throat, and so leaving him half dead, and taking his butcher’s knife and
muffler all of gore blood, cometh again to the rest, and so leading them one after
another, he despatcheth them all, to the number of 88. (Acts and Mon.) All the elder
went to death more cheerfully, the younger were more timorous. I tremble and
shake (saith a Roman Catholic, out of whose letter to his lord this is transcribed)
even to remember how the executioner held his bloody knife between his teeth, with
the bloody muffler in his hand, and his arms all in gore blood up to the elbows,
going to the fold, and taking every one of them one after another by the hand, and
so despatching them all, no otherwise than doth a butcher kill his calves and sheep.
otwithstanding all which barbarous cruelty, the Waldenses or Protestants were so
spread, not in France only, their chief seat, but in Germany also, many years before
this, that they could travel from Collen to Milan in Italy, and every night lodge with
hosts of their own profession. It is not yet a dozen years since Pope Urban VIII (that
now sitteth), upon the surrender of Rochelle into the French king’s hands, sent his
breve to the king, exasperating him against the Protestants in France, and eagerly
urging, yea, enforcing the destruction of all the heretics stabling in the French
vineyard, as his inurbanity is pleased to express it. Reliquias omnes haereticorum in
Gallica vinea stabulantium propediem profligatum iri. (Bp Hall’s Answer to Pope
Urban.) But "what shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou
foul tongue? Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper," Psalms 120:3-4,
which burn vehemently and smell sweetly. God shall shortly put into the hearts of
the kings of the earth (and this king among the rest of the ten) to hate the whore, to
eat her flesh, and to burn her with fire, Revelation 17:16. ( Babylon altera adhuc
stat, cito itidem casura, si essetis viri. Petrar.) There are not many ages past since
one of his predecessors broke open the gates of Rome, mouldered the wall, dispersed

6. the citizens, and condemned the pope to a dark dungeon, lading him with bitter
scoffs and curses. There are not many years past since the realm of France was
ready, upon the pope’s refusal to re-bless King Henry IV, upon conversion to them,
to WITHDRAW utterly from the obedience of his see, and to erect a new patriarch
over all the French Church. (Philip le Beausandys.) The then Archbishop of Bruges
was ready to accept it: and but that the pope (in fear thereof) did hasten his
benediction, it had been effected, to his utter disgrace and decay. (Powell on
Toleration.) Before he would do it, he lashed the king in the person of his
ambassador, after the singing of every verse of miserere, until the whole Psalm was
sung out. Sed exorto Evangelii iubare, sagaciores, ut spero, PRI CIPES, ad nutum
huius Orbilii non solvent subligacula, saith a great divine of ours (Dean Prideaux).
King Henry VIII and the French king (some half a year before their deaths) were at
a point to have changed the mass in both their realms into a communion: also to
have utterly extirpated the Bishop of Rome, &c. (Acts and Mon., Ex testimon.
Cranmeri.) Yea, they were so thoroughly resolved in that behalf, that they meant
also to exhort the emperor to do the like, or to break off from him. The same
emperor, to be revenged upon Pope Clement, his enemy, abolished the pope’s
authority throughout all Spain, his native kingdom, declaring thereby (the
Spaniards themselves, for example) that ecclesiastical discipline may be conserved
without the papal authority. (A.D. 1526, Scultet. Annal.) The Eastern Churches
have long since separated; the other four patriarchs dividing themselves from the
Bishop of Rome, and at their parting using these or the like words: Thy greatness
we know, thy covetousness we cannot satisfy, thy encroaching we can no longer
abide; live to thyself. ( Odi fastum illius ecclesiae. Basil.) either are the Western
much behind, especially since all was changed in that Church, -manners, doctrine,
and the very rule of faith, in the Trent Council. Then (according to some expositors)
did "the second angel pour out his vial upon the sea" (upon that conflux of all sorts
at Trent), "and it became as the blood of a dead man" (those deadly decrees are
written with the blood of heretics), "and every living soul died in that sea," as once
the fish of Egypt. (Field of the Church, Revelation 16:3) For none that worship the
beast "have their names written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the
foundation of the world," Revelation 13:8. Slain, I say, as in his Father’s decree and
promise, as in the sacrifices of the law and faith of his people; so in his members and
martyrs, beheaded, as John Baptist, or otherwise butchered for the witness of Jesus
and for the word of God. But the blood of the martyrs was the feeding of the
Church. ( Sanguis martyrum, semen ecclesice. Tert. Testes veritatis per Illyricum.)
God was never left without witnesses, as is seen in our catalogues; but although
John was cast into prison, yea, beheaded in the prison, as if God had known nothing
of him (quoth that martyr), yet there never wanted a Jesus to go into Galilee: and
that guilty Edomite Herod was sensible of it, Matthew 14:2, when he said to his
servants, "This is John Baptist, he is risen from the dead." In like sort the Romish
Edomite, after he had done to death Christ’s two more ancient witnesses, that
(Baptist-like) came in the spirit and power of Elias, to confute and confound their
Baal-worships, yet to his great grief and regret he hath seen them revive and stand
upon their feet again, Revelation 11:10, in that heroic Wycliffe, who is said to have
written more than two hundred volumes against him, in that goose of Bohemia, that
swan of Saxony (those three famous angels, that flew in the midst of heaven, having

7. the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth), together with those
other noble reformers in all Christian Churches. (Pareus in Revelation 14:6. Hus in
that language signifieth a "goose," Luther a "swan," and John Huss at his death
prophesied it.) By whom, ever since the pope was declared to be antichrist, his
authority (saith Bellarmine) hath not only not increased, but daily more and more
decreased. The fourth beast hath lost a head, as Cusanus the cardinal hath
prophesied, A.D. 1464, and after him Trithemius the abbot, A.D. 1508. A sect of
religion, saith he, shall arise once within this thirteen years, to the great destruction
of the old religions. It is to be feared that the fourth beast will lose one of her heads.
( Secta religionis consurget, magna veterum destructio religionum; timendum ne
caput unum amittat bestia quarta. Lib. de Intelligentiis Coelestib. Bucholcer,
Chron.) This he writeth in his book concerning angels and spirits: what kind of
spirit it was (black or white) that dictated unto him this prophecy, which fell out
accordingly, and was fulfilled in Martin Luther, I cannot tell. But the godly learned
suspect it was from that evil spirit, who is said to have sung before,
" Roma, tibi subito motibus ibit amor."
As the Emperor Frederick is REPORTED also to have foretold in this ditty, -
" Roma diu titubans, variis erroribus acta,
Corruet; et mundi desinet esse caput."
{a} A leguminous plant (Trigonella Fœnum Græcum) cultivated for its seeds, which
are used by farriers. ŒD
PULPIT, " ow when Jesus had heard. If we had the synoptic Gospels alone, we
should have supposed that the Baptist was imprisoned immediately after the end of
our Lord's temptation (cf. this verse with Luke 4:14); but St. John (John 3:24)
expressly states that he had not been cast into prison when the EVE TSrecorded in
Jn 1:43-3:23 took place. "For a time Christ and the Baptist worked side by side,
preaching ' repentance' (Mark 1:15 [also Matthew 4:17]) and baptizing [John 3:22].
The Messiah took up the position of a prophet in Judaea, as afterwards in Galilee"
(Bishop Westcott, on John 3:22-24). The events in Galilee related in John 2:1-12
were "preparatory to the manifestation at Jerusalem which was the real
commencement of Christ's Messianic work. St. John records the course and issue of
this manifestation: the other Evangelists start with the record of the Galilaean
ministry, which dates from the imprisonment of the Baptist" (Bishop Westcott, on
John 3:24). He adds, on John 4:43, "It seems probable that the earlier part of the
synoptic narratives (Mk 1:14—2:14, and parallels) must be placed in the interval
which extended from Jn 4:43-5:1." Matthew alone states directly that the news of
the Baptist having been taken by Herod was the motive of our Lord's withdrawal
into Galilee. He says nothing to show whether our Lord withdrew because he would
avoid a like treatment himself, or, as is on the whole more likely, because he did not
wish to be mixed up in the tumults to which John's capture appears to have given

8. rise (cf. Matthew 14:5). Was cast into prison; "was delivered up"; παρεδόθη,
absolutely. If the more proper meaning of the word may be insisted on, the thought
is of the person to whom John was committed rather than of the place; John being
delivered up, that is to say, by Herod to his officials. But in usage it appears rather
to mean only compulsory removal, loss of liberty. Mark points out the temporary
protection that the imprisonment gave to John against the resentment of Herodias.
He departed; Revised Version, he withdrew; ἀνεχώρησεν,. A favourite word of St.
Matthew's. It always implies some motive for the change of place, and is frequently
used of departure directly consequent upon knowledge acquired. Hence it often
implies a feeling of danger. Into Galilee; whence he had come (Matthew 3:13).
Hence "returned" (Luke). In Galilee he would still be in Herod's dominions; but, as
being in his own home, he would not attract so much attention. .B.—Between
verses 12 and 13 some place the incident of his preaching at azareth (Luke 4:16-
30); but verse 23 of that passage assumes much previous work at Capernaum, and
can therefore hardly be as early as this.
ELLICOTT, "(12) Between the 11th and 12th verses there is a great break, and it is
well to remember what passed in the interval: (1) the return to the Baptist, and the
call of the six disciples (John 1:29-51); (2) the marriage at Cana, and the visit to
Capernaum (John 2:1-12); (3) the cleansing of the Temple; the interview with
icodemus, and the last testimony of the Baptist (John 2:13 to John 3:36). At this
stage comes in the imprisonment of John (mentioned here, but not narrated till 14:3-
5) and the consequent journey through Samaria to Galilee (John 4:1-42). The verse
now before us may be noted as implying a ministry in Jud
COKE, "Matthew 4:12. ow when Jesus had heard, &c.— John the Baptist was not
imprisoned till after the temptation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Between these two
events, there happened what is related in the three first chapters of St. John's
Gospel. It is commonly supposed, that the ministry of John the Baptist lasted but
about eighteen months at most, and that he was in prison a year after Christ's
baptism. We will just transcribe out of St. John's Gospel, for the sake of
CO ECTIO , what is here omitted in the history of Christ. He went from
azareth into Judaea, where he was baptized by John, Mark 1:9. From Judaea he
returned into Galilee, John 1:43; John 2:1. He went again into Judaea, and there
celebrated the passover at Jerusalem, John 2:13. He baptized in Judaea while John
was baptizing at Enon, John 3:22. All this time John was at liberty, ib. Matthew
4:24.; but the Pharisees having conspired against Jesus, John 4:1-3 and Jesus
hearing that John had been put into prison by Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee,
Mark 1:14 he went again into Galilee. See Beausobre and Lenfant. Instead of, he
departed, in this verse, we may read, he RETIRED.
COFFMA , "Delivered up refers to the imprisonment of John the Baptist by
Herod. Christ's WITHDRAWAL into Galilee was precautionary, to avoid an
untimely martyrdom, and to set his disciples an example for staying out of trouble
with authorities, provided it can be avoided honorably. Christ's withdrawal into
Galilee gave occasion for the Master's Galilean ministry, all of which Matthew
omits, probably because Matthew was not an eye-witness of the events of that

9. ministry. The following summary of the events of the Galilean ministry is given by
Johnson:[6]
Christ returns to Bethabara (John 1:15-17)
He returns to Galilee, miracle at Cana (John 2:1-11)
The first Passover and the cleansing of temple (John 2:14-35)
The interview with icodemus (John 3:1-21)
Jesus' ministry in Judaea (John 4:2)
Jesus leaves Galilee, via Samaria, and has a conversation at Sychar with the woman
at the well (John 4:4-52)
He heals the nobleman's son (John 4:46-54)
Jesus miracle at Bethesda (John 5)SIZE>
E D OTE:
[6] B. W. Johnson, The People's ew Testament (St. Louis, Missouri: Christian
Board of Publication, 1891), p. 32.
PETT, "Verse 12-13
‘ ow when he heard that John was delivered up (or ‘arrested’), he withdrew into
Galilee, and leaving azareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the
sea, in the borders of Zebulun and aphtali.’
ote how this geographical description is later paralleled at the end of the passage
by further detailed geographical description in the chiasmus. Both indicate that this
is intended to be a historical description of an historical ministry.
Jesus’ WITHDRAWAL’ on John’s arrest hints at His previous ministry alongside
John in Judaea which the first three Gospels ignore, the reason being that it was of
historical interest but not of theological interest. For it was not until John was
arrested that Jesus felt FREE to strike out on His own on His greater ministry, so
that it was then that the Messianic ministry began. It should be noted that ‘when He
heard’ is a time note. Matthew is not actually saying that John’s imprisonment was
the reason why He went into Galilee. After all Galilee was under the same ruler as
the one who had imprisoned John. It may rather be that the imprisonment of John
was seen by Him as releasing Him from responsibility in Judaea, and it may even be
that Jesus wanted to indicate to Herod that He was not afraid.
There is on the other hand an interesting contrast here between Jesus bold entry
into the wilderness to face Satan down (Matthew 4:1-11), and His possible strategic
withdrawal into Galilee at the top north west end of the Sea of Galilee. It suggests

10. that He knew that there is a time to be bold, and a time for discretion. Whichever
way we take it the delivering up of John to prison was both a warning, and an
indication that now His own unique ministry must begin in earnest, and He thus
made His choice where He considered that it would be best for Him to commence
His ministry, in the towns that bordered the Sea of Galilee. These were both
populous and on the trade routes. It should be noted that the whole of Galilee was
itself a heavily populated area, and that there were large numbers of Jews there,
mingled with many Gentiles.
Thus He left his home in isolated azareth, for that was no centre from which to
reach out to Galilee, (and as we know from both Mark and Luke He was basically
unwelcome there), and took up His quarters in Capernaum. This was by the Sea of
Galilee ‘in the borders of Zebulun and aphtali’, and being on the trade routes was
more OPE and willing to receive new things. This description is given at least
partly in order to prepare us for the verse that follows. Capernaum was in fact in
aphtali. But Zebulun bordered on aphtali, and was included in His wider
outreach. And azareth was in Zebulun.
BE SO , "Matthew 4:12. ow when Jesus had heard that John was cast into
prison — amely, for reproving Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee, for taking his
brother Philip’s wife, and for other evils, Matthew 14:3-4 : he departed into Galilee
— Viz., from Judea. This it seems he did, partly to avoid the envy of the Pharisees,
John 4:3, and partly to encourage John’s disciples, and to CO TI UE the
preaching interrupted by his confinement, being desirous to improve those good
impressions which the ministry of John had made on the minds of the people, and
which would not be erased but deepened by the injurious things they saw him
suffer. Thus it becomes one messenger of God to carry on the work begun by
another. But it is to be observed, that this was not the first, but the second time of
Jesus’s going into Galilee. or did he take this journey immediately upon his
temptation; but at some distance of time: viz., after the events had taken place
which are recorded in the latter part of the first, and in the second and third
chapters of John’s gospel. His first journey from Judea into Galilee is mentioned
John 1:43; John 2:1. Then he went into Judea again, and celebrated the passover at
Jerusalem, John 2:13. He baptized in Judea, while John was baptizing at Enon,
John 3:22-23. All this time John was at liberty. But the Pharisees being offended,
chap. Matthew 4:1, and John put in prison, he then took this journey into Galilee.
ISBET, "We approach now the BEGI I G of our Lord’s ministry. He left His
quiet country home and went forth to the great work He had come to achieve. As
priests of old were washed and anointed in preparation for their priestly office, so
Christ, our Prophet, Priest, and King, was washed in the Jordan, anointed by the
Holy Spirit, and went forth to win for us a great victory in the wilderness over Satan
and sin. Matthew does not tell us the actual beginning of His work. St. John (chaps,
2, 3, 4) shows that Christ had worked at Jerusalem, in Judæa, in Samaria, before He
made Capernaum His centre.
I. Why Christ left Judæa.—Herod Antipas had shut up John in prison; the

11. Pharisees seemed to be getting jealous of Christ’s growing influence (St. John 4:1-2),
and He goes northwards, where He could pursue His work with less risk of
interruption. Where would He most likely go to in Galilee? Surely to His own town,
azareth. Yet He did not stay there. St. Luke (Luke 4:29) tells us why. What place
did He then make His centre? Capernaum, a town on the extreme north-west shore
of the Sea of Galilee. In our Lord’s day it was a fruitful and lovely spot; a splendid
centre of TRADE and population, with the great main roads running through it.
II. The prophecy.—The circumstances under which Isaiah delivered this prophecy
(Matthew 4:15-16) are exceedingly interesting. Ahaz was on the throne of Judah.
The neighbouring kingdom of Israel, aided by the Syrians, attacked him in his
capital. Isaiah foretold the speedy destruction of Judah’s enemies. He told how at
first the two northern tribes of Zebulon and aphthali were to be ‘lightly afflicted’
by the Assyrian invader, and how afterwards they should be ‘more grievously
afflicted’ when the Assyrians returned later and made an end of the northern tribes
by carrying them away captive to Assyria. Yet was there comfort for these afflicted
lands; ‘a great Light’ was to appear, ‘the Prince of Peace’ was to arise there. That
prophecy was fulfilled in our Lord’s days. It was ‘Galilee of the Gentiles’ even in the
prophet’s day; for, lying on the borders of the heathen world, many Gentiles had
flocked into it. In Christ’s days Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Phœnicians, abounded.
Probably the foreign element was LARGER than the Jewish. This explains why the
‘darkness’ was probably darkest in Galilee; why it still deserved Isaiah’s description
as ‘the REGIO and shadow of death.’
III. The Sun of Righteousness arose in Galilee.—Upon the darkness of heathenism
the Light shone and bright Life and Immortality to light through the Gospel.
—W. Taylor.
Illustrations
(1) ‘For some time opinions as to Capernaum were about equally divided between
Tell Hûm, at the north-east, and Khan Minyeh. Thomson (Land and the Book, p.
352) advocates the former; Robinson (Bibl. Researches, vol. iii. p. 348) the latter.
Recently, the investigations of the Palestine Exploration Fund have pointed to Tell
Hûm; but Mr. Macgregor (Rob Roy on the Jordan, p. 374), whose long and
MI UTEexploration of the Lake—its waters as well as its shores—makes him a
very great authority, argues almost conclusively for Khan Minyeh; and Dr.
Tristram, who advocated (Land of Israel, p. 442) a different and third view, has
yielded to his reasonings.’
(2) ‘The little city, Capernaum, rose under the gentle declivities of hills that
encircled an earthly Paradise. There were no such trees and no such gardens
anywhere in Palestine as in the land of Gennesareth. The very name means “garden
of abundance,” and the numberless flowers blossom over a little plain which is “in
sight like unto an emerald.” It was doubtless a part of Christ’s divine plan that His
ministry should begin amid scenes so beautiful, and that the good tidings, which
revealed to mankind their loftiest hopes and purest pleasures, should be first

12. proclaimed in a region of unusual loveliness. “The cities,” says Josephus, “lie here
very thick; and the very numerous villages are so full of people because of the
fertility of the land.” Through this district passed the great caravans on their way
from Egypt to Damascus; and the heathens who congregated at Bethsaida Julias
and Cæsarea Philippi must have been constantly seen in the streets of Capernaum.
In the time of Christ it was, for population and ACTIVITY, “the manufacturing
district” of Palestine, and the waters of its lake were ploughed by four thousand
vessels of every description, from the war-vessel of the Romans to the rough fisher-
boats of Bethsaida, and the gilded pinnaces from Herod’s palace.’
PULPIT, "I. HE REMOVES TO CAPER AUM.
1. John was cast into prison. His ministry was ended; the Lord's begins. God
CO TI UES his'servants' work; when one passes away, another takes his place;
when the voice of one prophet is silenced, a greater follows, Each must work in faith
while time is given; the work is not man's, but God's. He will fulfil it. His servants
may seem to be laid aside and to be forgotten; he will carry on their work. He does
not forget their labours; he will reward them openly.
2. Jesus begins to preach.
II. THE FOUR APOSTLES.
1. The call. The Lord saw them as he walked by the sea. It was not the first
interview; two of them certainly, probably three, possibly all the four, ALREADY
knew him (John 1:40, John 1:41). ow he calls them to be his apostles, to forsake
their old EMPLOYME T, and to give themselves up to the work of the kingdom of
heaven, lie could read their hearts; he knew their characters, their capabilities. He
calls his servants still; it is that Divine call alone which raises up true and faithful
men for the sacred ministry of his Church.
2. The words of the call. "Follow me."
3. Fishers of men. Their earthly calling was a parable of the higher calling to which
they were now summoned. God's ministers must lake a lesson from the fishermen of
the Sea of Galilee. They must try to know thoroughly the portion of the work
assigned to them, as the fishers knew every corner of the lake. They must study the
art of winning souls, as the fishers STUDIED how best to allure the fish into their
nets. They must be willing to work hard, to toil all the night. They must work on
patiently even when they seem to be taking nothing. But they must have confidence
in the Lord's promise, and expect by his grace and in his own good time to "enclose
a great multitude of fishes," to draw many souls to Christ.
III. THE CIRCUIT THROUGH GALILEE.
1. The preaching of Jesus.

13. 2. His miracles. He would do no mighty works to relieve his own hunger or to
display his own power; but he was ever ready to listen to the cry of pain and sorrow.
He would do no miracle at the bidding of the tempter or to satisfy the curiosity of
Herod; now among scenes of suffering he was prodigal of his miraculous energy. He
teaches us by his Divine example that holy teaching and works of Christian love
should go together. His followers must show loving care, not only for the souls, but
also for the bodies of the sick and suffering, for so did the blessed Lord himself. It is
vain to preach the gospel of love unless we show the power of that gospel by works
of love ourselves. He was moved with compassion for suffering humanity; his
followers have built hospitals and ministered to the sick and dying. Care for the sick
is one of the marks by which the King recognizes the blessed children of his Father.
He cared for them himself; his true disciples imitate him.
3. The multitudes. Crowds followed him now. His fame spread from north to south
through the whole Holy Land, and even beyond its borders. They came from
Decapolis and from Jerusalem, from the half-heathen country peopled by the
descendants of Alexander's soldiers, and from the holy city, the centre of the
influence of Pharisees and priests. His influence spread wider and wider; his holy
teaching, his works of mercy, attracted crowds from every quarter. It seemed as if
the whole world was going after him, as if all Palestine would SUBMIT to his
authority. It was not to be so; sunshine would give place to darkness, favour to
persecution. The disciples of the Lord must not trust in popular applause; they may
have it, it comes sometimes; but it is uncertain, fickle, not to be relied on. We must
do our duty, looking simply to Jesus, not to human praise.
LESSO S.
1. The Lord calls his ministering servants. They must follow him; they must preach
where his providence sends them; they must watch for souls as they that must give
ACCOU T.
2. They must preach repentance and the good news of the kingdom; they must care,
as far as lies in their power, for the sick and suffering.
3. They must give no heed to the praise of men; they must think only of saving souls
and pleasing their Lord.
PULPIT, "Matthew 4:12-17
Light in darkness.
The end of John's work was the signal for the commencement of Christ's. Thus our
Lord would appear to some as the successor of the Baptist. To a nearer view it seems
that the completion of the preparation makes it fitting that the full advent of the
kingdom should be manifested.
I. CHRIST COMES TO PEOPLE SITTI G I DARK ESS. Here is the prophet's

14. image—a land of gloom, its inhabitants seated disconsolately and helplessly, not
having enough light to arise and do their work, or any heart to bestir themselves
and seek for such a light, till it suddenly.bursts upon their surprised and startled
gaze.
1. What is the darkness? Primarily, ignorance. Without Christ we do not know God
or ourselves, our duty or our destiny. From this ignorance comes a sense of dull
bewilderment, and that sinks down to the deadness of despair. Or if there is external
cheerfulness, the benighted soul shrinks into torpor and death. In this state the
greater darkness of sin invades the conscience, and sits like a brooding raven
hatching baleful birds of the night.
2. Who are the people? The immediate reference is to the inhabitants of orthern
Palestine—those unfortunate Israelites who were the first to forsake the God of
their fathers, and the first to fall under the rod of the heathen oppressor. ow we
see two great classes of dark souls.
3. What are these people doing! They sit—that is all. They seem to be content with
their condition. A strange lethargy has taken possession of them. This is partly
inevitable; for they cannot illuminate their own dark souls.
II. THE ADVE T OF CHRIST IS THE DAW I G OF A GREAT LIGHT.
1. The light does not arise out of the darkness. The idea of the prophet is that the
people of the dark north see the light that is rising in happy Judaea—so splendid
and far-reaching is its radiance. Christ appeared as a Jew. Even to the Jews he came
not as they expected, and his work drew none of its splendour from their goodness
or their theology. The sun is not dependent on the candle-factory for its illuminating
properties.
2. The light penetrates to the most remote REGIO S. There is no limit to the
penetrating power of light when this is not counteracted by the intervention of some
opaque body. Every star radiates light through the whole U IVERSE. The light of
Christ is for the darkest places of the earth. In our own day it has reached the heart
of "darkest Africa;" it is penetrating the dense populations of China; it is spreading
like a grey dawn over the vast empire of India; it shines in diamond points on many
a remote island of the southern seas; and still, in spite of shameful darkness, it is
brighter in England to-day than ever it was.
3. The light calls to repentance and heralds the kingdom of heaven. Christ took up
the Baptist's message BEGI I G just where his forerunner had left off. The light
of Christ reveals the sin of man. When we see Christ we see the door into the
kingdom of heaven. Christ sheds light to bring men to repentance, and to guide
them into the kingdom.—W.F.A.
DODS, "Matthew 4:12-22

15. Call of the fishermen.
I. THE OCCASIO OF THE CALL. Driven from azareth, our Lord REPAIRED
to the busy western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Through this district ran the great
caravan-roads; and several important towns gathered all kinds of tradesmen. Herod
the tetrarch had his court in Tiberias. The valuable fishings in the lake gave
employment to many. Courtiers, soldiers, tax-gatherers, watching the caravans and
fisheries, fishermen, women reputable and disreputable, filled the shore with
movement and life. Crowds were readily attracted by the new Teacher. And our
Lord, seeing the fields thus white to harvest, recognized that the time was come for
selecting labourers to reap.
II. OBJECT OF THE CALL. "I will make you fishers of men." The fishermen
would not at once see what he meant by this. Knowing that he was founding a
kingdom, they may have supposed he would make them a kind of recruiting officers
to assist him in enlisting others, as he had enlisted them. But his purpose was clear
to himself; and what he here did as if casually was carefully deliberated. He meant
to form a society coextensive with humanity and lasting as the world. He meant to
introduce into every nation a new religion. He meant to convert all men to his own
way of looking at things. And he was resolved to accomplish this purpose, not by
committing his ideas to a book which could be verified as his to all time, and from
which each generation might receive unadulterated his very ideas, but by means of
living men, who by word of mouth should tell men about himself and his kingdom,
and by their life show what a Christian is. To accomplish this great object they were
to cast their net and to angle. They were to STUDY men's ways and habits, to
circumvent and gently constrain them, to wile and attract them to their own good, to
show the untiring patience, skill, and study of professional fishermen. God is the
great Fisher of men, patiently accommodating himself to the suspicious, intractable
ways of the sinner, playing him and humouring him, but ever drawing him onwards
towards himself. ote our wild rushes back to freedom, our sullen retreat under the
cold stone of doubt, our petulant refusal to be led on. Compare, too, the parable of
the net.
III. THE PERSO S CALLED. Everywhere the world was preoccupied by religions
rooted in centuries of tradition and national memories, by philosophies buttressed
by great and cherished names, by venerable institutions and local prejudices. To
what kind of men will Jesus commit the exceptionally arduous enterprise of
establishing his own kingdom as supreme over all? icodemus, the Pharisee of
position? The instructed scribe who sought to follow him? The grateful nobleman
whose child he had saved from death? He turns for help to quite another class. One
of the earliest called was a publican: as if some modern reformer should secure the
help of an actor or a tavern-keeper. This choice at once brought on him a storm of
indignation. But he had no misgivings. He knew these fishermen were ignorant, and
would easily be foiled in argument by a clever scribe. But they had the one essential
requisite of thorough ATTACHME T to him. He knew them also as disciples of
John, sober, God-fearing men, who were waiting for the kingdom.

16. IV. IMMEDIATE RESULT OF THE CALL. "They immediately left the ship and
their father, and followed him." They were to be fitted for their work of preaching
Jesus by knowing him thoroughly. For this purpose they must live with him, and see
how he works, and learn his mind and method. They must leave that glittering pile
of fish they were already CALCULATI G the value of; they must leave their
accustomed way of winning their daily bread; they must abandon their father, and
go where Jesus went. The physical following of Jesus which was required of the
apostles is not required of all Christians; but all Christians are required to love
Christ above all, and to accept his will as supreme law.
V. E COURAGEME T GIVE TO THE CALLED. Luke relates that our Lord
stimulated the faith of these fishermen by a miraculous draught of fishes (Luke 5:1-
11). This helped them to take the STEP he invited them to take.
1. For it showed them he could provide for them. Does not our refusal to listen to the
call of Christ, and unflinchingly follow where he leads, arise chiefly from the fear
that by so doing worldly loss of one kind or other (pleasure, advancement, gain,
comfort, renown) will be occasioned us? This miracle reminds us that Christ can
easily give us more than all self-seeking toil of our own can achieve.
2. But the miracle encouraged them to believe he could make them fishers of men. If
in their own calling he could give them successes they could not for themselves
achieve, much more would he ensure their success in the calling which was
peculiarly his own. He CO FIRMED his promise by a symbol which spoke volumes
to them. And when we shrink from duties to which we are plainly called, it is
encouraging to remember that our Lord, who calls us to them, can give us success
where all professional skill would avail us nothing.—D.
PULPIT, "Jesus as John's successor.
The EVE TS in our Lord's life immediately following upon his temptation are
exceedingly difficult to trace. There seems to have been a first ministry in Judaea,
but the length of it is much disputed. Then a ministry in Galilee, which seems to
have been begun before the news came of John's imprisonment. There is, therefore,
a gap between verses 11 and 12 of this chapter. Matthew's general statements can be
filled in from the more precise details of the other Gospels, and more especially of
John's Gospel. The point on which we fix attention is, that as soon as John's work
ceased, Jesus took his work up and carried it on. God never lets his work fail. He
always keeps his witnesses witnessing. The removal of one is always the placing of
another. The truth is kept alive in the world by a constant succession of truth-
bearers; and there never was a time when the Church or the truth was in danger
because God had left himself without a witness.
I. A MA 'S SUCCESSOR CARRIES O A MA 'S WORK. Work out three
Scripture illustrations.
1. Joshua, as Moses'successor, carried on Moses' work. That work was the removal

17. of Israel from Egypt, and its settlement in the promised land.
2. Elisha, as Elijah's successor, carried on Elijah's work. The confession of the lip at
Carmel had to be made the confession of the life; and that meant quiet, persistent,
family work throughout the land.
3. The Lord Jesus carried on the work of John the Baptist. Penitence is but a
BEGI I G, a preparation for righteousness. The Lord Jesus led penitent souls on
to the joy of pardon and the power of holiness.
II. A MA 'S SUCCESSOR CARRIES O THE WORK I HIS OW WAY. True
succession never destroys individuality. Joshua differed from Moses, Elisha differed
from Elijah, the Lord Jesus differed from John. It is often noticed that successors in
statesmanship, in offices, and in pulpits, are usually strongly contrasted men.
Marked individuality is found to be quite consistent with CO TI UITY in aim and
service. We best fit to our places, we are found even to fit in best with others, by
being our own true selves. If we see clearly the relation of John to Jesus, let us be
willing also to see clearly the relation of Jesus to John.—R.T.
BARCLAY 12-17, "Before very long disaster came to John. He was arrested and
imprisoned in the dungeons of the Castle of Machaerus by Herod the king. His
crime was that he had publicly denounced Herod for seducing his brother's wife,
and making her his own wife, after he had put away the wife he had. It is never safe
to rebuke an eastern despot, and John's courage brought him first imprisonment
and then death. We shall come later to the details of that story which Matthew does
not tell until Matthew 14:3-12.
For Jesus the time had come when he must go forth to his task.
Let us note what he did first of all. He left azareth and he took up residence in the
town of Capernaum. There was a kind of symbolic finality in that move. In that
moment Jesus left his home never again to return to live in it. It is as if he shut the
door that lay behind him before he opened the door that stood in front of him. It
was the clean cut between the old and the new. One chapter was ended and another
had begun. Into life there come these moments of decision. It is always better to
meet them with an even surgical cut than to vacillate undecided between two courses
of action.
Let us note where Jesus went. He went into Galilee. When Jesus went into Galilee to
begin his mission and his ministry, he knew what he was doing. Galilee was the most
northerly district of Palestine. It stretched from the Litany River in the north to the
Plain of Esdraelon in the south. On the west it did not reach the sea coast of the
Mediterranean, because the coastal strip was in the possession of the Phoenicians.
On the north-east it was bounded by Syria, and its eastern limit was the waters of
the Sea of Galilee. Galilee was not large; it was only fifty miles from north to south,
and twenty-five miles from east to west.

18. But, small as it was, Galilee was densely populated. It was by far the most fertile
region of Palestine; its fertility was I DEED phenomenal and proverbial. There was
a saying that it was easier to raise a legion of olives in Galilee than it was to bring up
one child in Judaea. Josephus, who was at one time governor of the province, says,
"It is throughout rich in soil and pasturage, producing every variety of tree, and
inviting by its productiveness even those who have the least inclination for
agriculture; it is everywhere tilled; no part is allowed to lie idle, and everywhere it is
productive." The result of this was that for its size Galilee had an enormous
population. Josephus tells us that in it there were two hundred and four villages,
none with a population of fewer than fifteen thousand people. So, then, Jesus began
his mission in that part of Palestine where there were most people to hear him; he
began his work in an area teeming with men to whom the gospel proclamation
might be made.
But not only was Galilee a populous district; its people were people of a certain
kind. Of all parts of Palestine Galilee was most open to new ideas. Josephus says of
the Galileans, "They were ever fond of innovations, and by nature disposed to
changes, and delighted in seditions." They were ever ready to follow a leader and to
begin an insurrection. They were notoriously quick in temper and given to
quarrelling. Yet withal they were the most chivalrous of men. "The Galileans," said
Josephus, "have never been destitute of courage." "Cowardice was never a
characteristic of the Galileans." "They were ever more anxious for honour than for
gain." The inborn characteristics of the Galileans were such as to make them most
fertile ground for a new gospel to be preached to them.
This openness to new ideas was due to certain facts.
(i) The name Galilee comes from the Hebrew word galiyl (Hebrew #1550; compare
Hebrew #1551 and Hebrew #1556) which means a circle. The full name of the area
was Galilee of the Gentiles. Plummer wishes to take that to mean "heathenish
Galilee." But the phrase came from the fact that Galilee was literally surrounded by
Gentiles. On the west, the Phoenicians were its neighbours. To the north and the
east, there were the Syrians. And even to the south, there lay the territory of the
Samaritans. Galilee was in fact the one part of Palestine that was inevitably in touch
with non-Jewish influences and ideas. Galilee was bound to be open to new ideas in
a way that no other part of Palestine was.
(ii) The great roads of the world passed through Galilee, as we saw when we were
thinking of the town of azareth. The Way of the Sea led from Damascus through
Galilee right down to Egypt and to Africa. The Road to the East led through Galilee
away out to the frontiers. The traffic of the world passed through Galilee. Away in
the south Judaea is tucked into a corner, isolated and secluded. As it has been well
said, "Judaea is on the way to nowhere: Galilee is on the way to everywhere."
Judaea could erect a fence and keep all foreign influence and all new ideas out;
Galilee could never do that. Into Galilee the new ideas were bound to come.

19. (iii) Galilee's geographical position had affected its history. Again and again it had
been invaded and conquered, and the tides of the foreigners had often flowed over it
and had sometimes engulfed it.
Originally it had been assigned to the tribes of Asher, aphtali and Zebulun when
the Israelites first came into the land (Joshua 9:1-27 ) but these tribes had never
been completely successful in expelling the native Canaanite inhabitants, and from
the beginning the population of Galilee was mixed. More than once foreign
invasions from the north and east had swept down on it from Syria, and in the
eighth century B.C. the Assyrians had engulfed it completely, the greater part of its
population had been taken away into exile, and strangers had been settled in the
land. Inevitably this brought a very large injection of foreign blood into Galilee.
From the eighth until the second century B.C. it had been largely in Gentile hands.
When the Jews returned from exile under ehemiah and Ezra, many of the
Galileans came south to live in Jerusalem. In 164 B.C. Simon Maccabaeus chased
the Syrians north from Galilee back to their own territory; and on his way back he
took with him to Jerusalem the remnants of the Galileans who were left.
The most amazing thing of all is that in 104 B.C. Aristobulus reconquered Galilee
for the Jewish nation, and proceeded forcibly to circumcise the inhabitants of
Galilee, and thus to make them Jews whether they liked it or not. History had
compelled Galilee to open its doors to new strains of blood and to new ideas and to
new influences.
The natural characteristics of the Galileans, and the preparation of history had
made Galilee the one place in all Palestine where a new teacher with a new message
had any real chance of being heard, and it was there that Jesus began his mission
and first announced his message.
THE HERALD OF GOD (Matthew 4:12-17 continued)
Before we leave this passage there are certain other things which we must note.
It was to the town of Capernaum that Jesus went. The correct form of the name is
Capharnaum. The form Capernaum does not occur at all until the fifth century
A.D., but it is so fixed in our minds and memories that it would not be wise to try to
change it.
There has been much argument about the site of Capernaum. Two places have been
suggested. The commonest, and the likeliest. identification is that Capernaum is Tell
Hum, which is on the west side of the extreme north of the Sea of Galilee; the
alternative, and the less likely, identification is that Capernaum is Khan Minyeh,
which is about two and a half miles to the south-west of Tell Hum. In any event,
there is now nothing but ruins left to show where Capernaum once stood.
It was Matthew's habit to find in the Old Testament something which he could use
as a prophecy about every event in Jesus' life. He finds such a prophecy in Isaiah

20. 9:1-2. In fact that is another of the prophecies which Matthew tears violently from
its context and uses in his own extraordinary way. It is a prophecy which dates back
to the reign of Pekah. In those days the northern parts of Palestine, including
Galilee, had been despoiled by the invading armies of the Assyrians; and this was
originally a prophecy of the deliverance which would some day come to these
conquered territories. Matthew finds in it a prophecy which foretold of the light
that Jesus was to bring.
Finally, Matthew gives us a brief one-sentence summary of the message which Jesus
brought. The King James Version and Revised Standard Version both say that
Jesus began to preach. The word preach has come down in the world; it is all too
unfortunately connected in the minds of many people with boredom. The word in
Greek is kerussein (Greek #2784), which is the word for a herald's proclamation
from a king. Kerux (Greek #2783) is the Greek word for herald, and the herald was
the man who brought a message direct from the king.
This word tells us of certain characteristics of the preaching of Jesus and these are
characteristics which should be in all preaching.
(i) The herald had in his voice a note of certainty. There was no doubt about his
message; he did not come with perhapses and maybes and probablys; he came with
a definite message. Goethe had it: "Tell me of your certainties: I have doubts
enough of my own." Preaching is the proclamation of certainties, and a man cannot
make others sure of that about which he himself is in doubt.
(ii) The herald had in his voice the note of authority. He was speaking for the king;
he was laying down and announcing the king's law, the king's command, and the
king's decision. As was said of a great preacher, "He did not cloudily guess; he
knew." Preaching, as it has been put, is the application of prophetic authority to the
present situation.
(iii) The herald's message came from a source beyond himself; it came from the
king. Preaching speaks from a source beyond the preacher. It is not the expression
of one man's personal opinions; it is the voice of God transmitted through one man
to the people. It was with the voice of God that Jesus spoke to men.
The message of Jesus consisted of a command which was the consequence of a new
situation. "Repent!" he said. "Turn from your own ways, and turn to God. Lift
your eyes from earth and look to heaven. Reverse your direction, and stop walking
away from God and begin walking towards God." That command had become
urgently necessary because the reign of God was about to begin. Eternity had
invaded time; God had invaded earth in Jesus Christ, and therefore it was of
paramount importance that a man should choose the right side and the right
direction.
GOLDE CHAI , "Verses 12-16
ow when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, He departed into

21. Galilee;13. And leaving azareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon
the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and ephthalim:14. That is might be
fulfilled which was spoken by Esaeas the prophet, saying,15. "The land of Zabulon,
and the land of aphthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the
Gentiles;16. The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat
in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
Rabanus: Matthew having related the forty days" fast, the temptation of Christ,
and the ministry of Angels, proceeds, "Jesus having heard that John was cast into
prison."
Pseudo-Chrys.: By God without doubt, for none can effect any thing against a holy
man, unless God deliver him up. "He withdrew into Galilee," that is, out of Judaea;
both that He might reserve His passion to the fit time, and that He might set us an
example of flying from danger.
Chrys.: It is not blameworthy not to throw one"s self into peril, but when one has
fallen into it, not to endure manfully. He departed from Judaea both to soften
Jewish animosity, and to fulfil a prophecy, seeking moreover to fish for those
MASTERS OF the world who dwelt in Galilee.
ote also how when He would depart to the Gentiles, He received good cause from
the Jews; His forerunner was thrown into prison, which compelled Jesus to pass
into Galilee of the Gentiles.
Gloss. ap. Anselm: He came as Luke writes to azareth, where He had been brought
up, and there entering into the synagogue, He read and spoke many things, for
which they sought to throw Him down from the rock, and thence He went to
Capernaum; for which Matthew has only, "And leaving the town of azareth, He
came and dwelt at Capernaum."
Gloss. ord.: azareth is a village in Galilee near Mount Tabor; Capernaum a town
in Galilee of the Gentiles near the Lake of Gennesaret; and this is the meaning of the
word, "on the sea coast."
He adds further "in the borders of Zabulon and aphtali," where was the first
captivity of the Jews by the Assyrians. Thus where the Law was first forgotten,
there the Gospel was first preached; and from a place as it were between the two it
was spread both to Jews and Gentiles.
Remig.: He left one, viz. azareth, that He might enlighten more by His preaching
and miracles. Thus leaving an example to all preachers that they should preach at a
time and in places where they may do good, to as many as possible. In the prophecy,
the words are these - "At that first time the land of Zabulon and the land of
aphtali was lightened, and at the last time was increased the way of the sea beyond
Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles." [Isaiah 9:1]

22. Jerome, Hieron. in Esai. c. 9. 1: They are said at the first time to be lightened from
the burden of sin, because in the country of these two tribes, the Saviour first
preached the Gospel; "at the last time" their faith "was increased," most of the
Jews remaining in error.
By the sea here is meant the Lake of Gennesaret, a lake formed by the waters of the
Jordan, on its shores are the towns of Capernaum, Tiberias, Bethsaida, and
Corozaim, in which district principally Christ preached.
Or, according to the interpretation of those Hebrews who believe in Christ, the two
tribes Zabulon and aphtali were taken captive by the Assyrians, and Galilee was
left desert; and the prophet therefore says that it was lightened, because it had
before suffered the sins of the people; but afterwards the remaining tribes who
dwelt beyond Jordan and in Samaria were led into captivity; and Scripture here
means that the region which had been the first to suffer captivity, now was the first
to see the light of Christ"s preaching.
The azarenes again interpret that this was the first part of the country that, on the
coming of Christ, was freed from the errors of the Pharisees, and after by the
Gospel of the Apostle Paul, the preaching was increased or multiplied throughout
all the countries of the Gentiles.
Gloss. ap. Anselm: But Matthew here so QUOTES the passage as to make them all
nominative cases referring to one verb. The land of Zabulon, and the land of
aphtali, which is the way of the sea, and which is beyond Jordan, viz. the people of
Galilee of the Gentiles, the people which walked in darkness. Gloss. ord.: ote that
there are two Galilees; one of the Jews, the other of the Gentiles. This division of
Galilee had existed from Solomon"s time, who gave twenty cities in Galilee to
Hyram, King of Tyre; this part was afterwards called Galilee of the Gentiles; the
remained, of the Jews.
Jerome, Hieron.: Or we must read, "beyond Jordan, of Galilee of the Gentiles;" so,
I mean, that the people who either sat, or walked in darkness, have seen light, and
that not a faint light, as the light of the Prophets, but a great light, as of Him who in
the Gospel speaks thus, "I am the light of the world."
Between death and the shadow of death I suppose this difference; death is said of
such as have gone down to the grave with the works of death; the shadow of such as
live in sin, and have not yet departed from this world; these may, if they will, yet
turn to repentance.
Pseudo-Chrys.: Otherwise, the Gentiles who worshipped idols, and daemons, were
they who sat in the region of the shadow of death; the Jews, who did the works of
the Law, were in darkness, because the righteousness of God was not yet manifested
to them.
Chrys.: But that you may learn that he speaks not of natural day and night, he calls

23. the light, "a great light," which is in other places called "the true light;" and he
adds, "the shadow of death," to explain what he means by darkness. The words
"arose," and "shined," shew, that they found it not of their own seeking, but God
Himself appeared to them, they did not first run to the light; for men were in the
greatest miseries before Christ"s coming; they did not walk but safe in darkness;
which was a sign that they hoped for deliverance; for as not knowing what way they
should go, shut in by darkness they sat down, having now no power to stand. By
darkness he means here, error and ungodliness.
Rabanus, ap. Anselm: In allegory, John and the rest of the Prophets were the voice
going before the Word. When prophecy ceased and was fettered, then came the
Word, fulfilling what the Prophet had spoken of it, "He departed into Galilee," i.e.
from figure to verity.
Or, into the Church, which is a passing from vice to virtue. azareth is interpreted
"a flower," Capernaum, "the beautiful village;" He left therefore the flower of
figure, (in which was mystically intended the fruit of the Gospel,) and came into the
Church, which was beautiful with Christ"s virtues.It is "by the sea-coast," because
placed near the waves of this world, it is daily beaten by the storms of persecution.
It is situated between Zabulon and aphtali, i.e. common to Jews and Gentiles.
Zabulon is interpreted, "the abode of strength;" because the Apostles, who were
chosen from Judaea, were strong. ephtali, "extension," because the Church of the
Gentiles was extended through the world.
Aug., de Cons. Evan., ii, 17: John relates in his Gospel the calling of Peter, Andrew,
and athanael, and the miracle of Cana, before Jesus" departure into Galilee; all
these things the other Evangelists have omitted, carrying on the thread of their
narrative with Jesus" return into Galilee. We must understand then that some days
intervened, during which the things took place concerning the calling of the
disciples which John relates.
Remig.: But this should be considered with more care, viz. that John says that the
Lord went into Galilee, before John the Baptist was thrown into prison. According
to John"s Gospel after the water turned into wine, and his going down to
Capernaum, and after his going up to Jerusalem, he returned to Judaea and
baptized, and John was not yet cast into prison. But here it is after John"s
imprisonment that He retires into Galilee, and with this Mark agrees. But we need
not suppose any contradiction here. John speaks of the Lord"s first coming into
Galilee, which was before the imprisonment of John. He speaks in another place of
His second coming into Galilee [John 4:3], and the other Evangelists mention only
this second coming into Galilee which was after John"s imprisonment.
Euseb., H. E. iii. 24: It is related that John preached the Gospel almost up to the
close of his life without setting forth any thing in writing, and at length came to
write for this reason.

24. The three first written Gospels having come to his knowledge, he confirmed the
truth of their history by his own testimony; but there was yet some things wanting,
especially an ACCOU T of what the Lord had done at the first beginning of His
preaching. And it is true that the other three Gospels seem to contain only those
things which were done in that year in which John the Baptist was put into prison,
or executed. For Matthew, after the temptation, proceeds immediately, "Hearing
that John was delivered up;" and Mark in like manner. Luke again, even before
relating one of Christ"s actions, tells that "Herod had shut up John in prison." The
Apostle John then was requested to put into writing what the preceding Evangelists
had left out before the imprisonment of John; hence he says in his Gospel, "this
beginning of miracles did Jesus."
JOH BROADUS 12-25, "Verses 12-25
Matthew 4:12-25.
Beginning Of Our Lord's Ministry In Galilee
The third and principal division of the Gospel of Matthew, from Matthew 4:12 to
the end of Matthew 18, gives an ACCOU T of our Lord's ministry in Galilee. A
general introduction to that account is given in Matthew 4:12-25.
Having described the events connected with the entrance of Jesus upon his public
work, it is natural that the narrative should pass to the work itself. So far as we
learn from Matthew, Mark (Mark 1:14,) and Luke (Luke 4:14), this began after
John the Baptist's labours were closed by his imprisonment, and its scene was
Galilee and adjacent districts, until shortly before our Lord's death. or do they
intimate that any long time intervened between the temptation and this ministry in
Galilee. The Gospel of John, on the other hand, records a number of intervening
events, embracing the testimony of John the Baptist to Jesus, after his baptism, and
apparently after his temptation; the gaining of disciples, the marriage at Cans, and
the brief residence at Capernaum (John 1:19 to John 2:12); the first Passover of our
Lord's public ministry, with the expulsion of the traders and the conversation with
icodemus (John 2:13 to John 3:21); the teaching and baptizing in Judea before
John the Baptist's imprisonment, and the occurrences at Sychar when Jesus was on
the way to Galilee. (John 3:22 to John 4:42.)
But there is here no real contradiction between John and the other Evangelists.
one of them could record the whole of Jesus' public life, and each must select
according to his particular design. Where events are omitted in a brief narrative, we
cannot expect to find a wide break as if to invite their insertion from some other
source; for this would destroy the CO TI UITY of the narrative, and greatly
impair its interest and impressiveness. The story must go right on, but must not
contain such expressions as would exclude the events it omits. This is the course
which Matthew, Mark, and Luke have here pursued. They make no allusion to
labours of our Lord between the temptation and John's imprisonment, but do not at
all affirm that there were no intervening labours; and various facts mentioned by
them, (e.g. Luke 10:38) really imply that our Lord had been preaching in Judea
before the visit which ended in his death. What were the reasons for omitting one

25. thing and inserting another, we may not in all cases be able to perceive. But the
concurrence of the three first Evangelists in beginning their account of Christ's
public ministry just after that of the forerunner closed, suggests (Ewald, Alexander),
that the work of Christ then assumed in some sense a different character; the early
preaching and baptizing of our Lord while the forerunner's work still went on
(John 3:22 f.; John 4:1 f.) was introductory, and his ministry now takes in some
sense a higher position. The transition from the Old Dispensation to the ew was in
many respects gradual. Even after the ascension of Christ and the special coming of
the Spirit, the Jewish Christians long CO TI UED to observe the ceremonies of
the law, continued it apparently until providentially stopped by the destruction of
the temple. And so the forerunner continued his preaching and baptizing side by
side with that of Jesus until providentially stopped by his imprisonment. It is likely
that the oral narratives commonly given by the apostles for years after the ascension
were accustomed to begin their account of the Lord's ministry, as we find the three
first Gospels doing, with this point at which his ministry stood out apart from that
of the Baptist. But before John's Gospel was written, some persons were
maintaining that the Baptist's work was designed to be permanent, and ought to be
continued by his disciples; it may have been partly to correct this error that John
narrates the earlier ministry of Jesus, showing that he was not a mere successor of
the Baptist, but began to preach before the other ceased, and that the forerunner
distinctly and repeatedly acknowledged his own inferiority, and asserted that his
work was designed to be temporary. (John 1:29-37, John 3:26 ff.)
If we adopt the common and probable reckoning that our Lord's public ministry
occupied about three years and a half, putting his baptism some months before the
Passover at which icodemus visited him, then the labours in Galilee and vicinity
recorded by Matthew (and Mark and Luke) begin during the second year of his
ministry (reckoning from Passover to Passover, because at the Passover he died),
and probably in the latter part of that year; thus leaving rather less than two years
for this "ministry in Galilee," which ended six months before the crucifixion.
It is evident that Matthew does not in this part of his work propose to himself a
chronological account of events and discourses. He sets out with the general
statement that our Lord withdrew (from Judea) into Galilee, and making
Capernaum his residence and the centre of his operations, began to preach.
(Matthew 4:12-17) Then comes the fact of his calling certain persons to follow him,
and unite with him in these labours. (Matthew 4:8-22) ext a very general account
of his going about all Galilee, preaching and healing, while his fame spread far and
wide, and he was followed by crowds from all the adjacent regions. (Matthew 4:23-
25) The present section thus carries us into the heart of the ministry in Galilee.
Afterwards we shall find that great discourse (Matthew 5-7), in which our Lord set
forth certain principles of the kingdom or reign he came to proclaim and establish;
and then a number of miracles and discourses, such as were calculated to prove the
fact that Jesus is the Messiah, and to exhibit the true nature of the Messianic reign-
the twofold object of Matthew's Gospel. In all this there is no attempt at
chronological order, but a grouping of the topics which is more effective for the
sacred writer's object. (Compare on Matthew 8:1; Matthew 9:35; Matthew 11:2;

26. Matthew 12:1, Matthew 14:1.)
Matthew 4:12. ow when Jesus had heard, or, and hearing. The narrative goes right
on.(1) Cast into prison, or, delivered up,—literally, passed on, 'given from hand to
hand.' It is a word often used in the Gospels and the Acts, sometimes correctly
translated by 'deliver,'(2) often incorrectly by 'betray.' Matthew here contents
himself with this general expression, without stating the circumstances of John's
imprisonment, because they were familiar to his readers. Afterwards, when telling
of John's death (Matthew 14:3 ff.), he states the cause of his imprisonment.
According to the chronological estimates above mentioned, the imprisonment took
place over twelve months after the baptism of Jesus, and thus John's preaching and
baptizing continued in all about a year and a half. Henceforth, until his death, about
a year later, we are to think of him as a prisoner in the Castle of Machaerus, some
miles east of the northern part of the Dead Sea. (See on "Matthew 14:6".) Departed,
withdrew, or, 'retired,'(3) as above in Matthew 2:12-13, Matthew 2:14, Matthew
2:22, and below in Matthew 12:15; Matthew 14:13, etc The word does not
necessarily imply danger (See Acts 23:19, Acts 26:31) Yet the circumstances here
suggest that our Lord withdrew to avoid inconvenient consequences which might
follow if he remained in Judea. And this is explained by John. The Pharisees at
Jerusalem had been watching the Baptist (John 1:19 ff.) and were doubtless jealous
of his influence. But of late they had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing
more disciples than John (John 4:1), and now that John was imprisoned they would
be likely to turn their jealous attention to Jesus, who therefore withdrew from Judea
into the remoter Galilee. It is a strange mistake to say that he wished to avoid
Herod, for Judea (John 4:3) was not in Herod's dominions, and Galilee was. Similar
withdrawals by our Lord we shall find below, in Matthew 12:15; Matthew 14:13;
Matthew 15:21. (Compare on Matthew 8:4.)
Galilee, the scene of the greater part of our Lord's ministry, is wrongly conceived by
many as a poor country, with a degraded population. It has always been much more
fertile and beautiful than Judea, and in the time of Christ had an immense
population, brave, energetic, and wealthy. (Compare below on Matthew 4:23.) The
name appears to have come from the Galil or 'circuit' of twenty cities given by
Solomon to Hiram, king of Tyre, (Joshua 20:7, 1 Kings 9:11, 2 Kings 15:29) and was
gradually extended to denote the northern part of the Holy Land in general. From
its proximity to and connection with Phenicia this district would be largely occupied
by Gentiles, and so was called by Isaiah, literally (Isaiah 9:1) 'circuit of the
Gentiles.' During and after the captivity the "Gentiles became predominant." In B.
C. 164, the Jews in Galilee were so few that the Maccabees carried them all away to
Judea for safety. (1 Maccabees 5:23.) In the time of Christ the vast population were
chiefly Jews, though: Several cities are expressly said (Josephus, Strabo) to have
contained many Gentiles, and they were doubtless numerous elsewhere. These
probably sometimes heard Jesus, who may have sometimes spoken in Greek, but
there is nothing to warrant the fancy that he was a "Foreign Missionary," as
habitually preaching to the heathen; and it is quite forbidden by Matthew 10:5, and
Matthew 15:24. The constant association with Gentiles, as well as the distance from
Jerusalem, may have softened the religious prejudices of the Galilean Jews, and

27. rendered them more accessible to the new teachings. The Galileans pronounced
Aramaic with some provincial peculiarities by which the people of Jerusalem could
recognize them (Matthew 26:73), but this does not show them to have been ignorant.
Galilee exhibited an intense activity in agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing, and
trade. Besides local business, the great trade between Egypt and Damascus passed
through this region. Jesus laboured among an intelligent and actively busy people.
The district comprised the immensely fertile plain of Esdraelon on the south; the
broad, rolling uplands of the centre, rich in grass and wheat, in bright flowers and
shady trees; and the higher hills and mountains of the north, which, interspersed
with deep valleys, presented the greatest variety of productions and climate. (See
Josephus, Keim, Renan, eubauer, and especially Merrill's "Galilee in the Time of
our Lord," from "Biblioth. Sac." for 1874.) Three times we find our Lord described
as making extensive journeys around Galilee. (Matthew 4:23, Luke 8:1 ff.; Matthew
9:35)
Matthew 4:13 f. He did not make this change immediately upon reaching Galilee,
but first revisited Cans, (John 4:46) and began teaching in Galilee with great
acceptance, (Luke 4:15) coming presently to azareth. (Luke 4:16 ff.) Being there
rejected and his life attempted, he left, (Luke 4:31) and went down to Capernaum.
(1) Here he would not only be more free from popular violence, but would come in
contact with a much larger and more active-minded population. So Paul laboured
especially at Antioch, Corinth, and Ephesus, commercial centres, in which men's
minds were active and ready to grasp new ideas, and from which the news would
spread in every direction, and excursions could be readily made. Came and dwelt in,
as in Matthew 2:23. Capernaum was our Lord's home, the centre of his labours and
journeys, for probably nearly two years. (Compare on Matthew 4:12) On the
western shore of the Lake of Galilee (see on "Matthew 4:18") there extends for some
three miles an exceedingly fertile plain, called the 'Plain of Gennesaret.' (See on
"Matthew 14:34".) In this plain, or a little north of it, Capernaum was situated; but
the once highly exalted city has been cast down into such destruction, (Matthew
11:23) that we cannot certainly determine its site. Robinson placed it at Khan
Minyeh, on the northern edge of the plain, and is still followed by Keim and Conder.
(Renan and Godet doubtful.) But the great majority of recent explorers prefer the
view that it was at Tel Hum, two miles further up the shore. The earliest MSS. and
versions give the name as Capharnaum, and the Syriac gives Capharnahum. As
Caphar in Hebrew means 'village,' Capharnahum means 'village of ahum,' or
perhaps 'village of consolation' (Origen). In modern Arabic the word Tel denotes a
hill covered with ruins, and thus Tel Hum might well be the modern form of village
of ahum (so Ewald, Delitzsch, and others). Moreover, the ruins at Tel Hum
contain much black basaltic rock, which is very hard to work, and must have been
brought from the country S. E. of the lake, so that its free use indicates a wealthy
city, the most important in the neighbourhood. ow Capernaum evidently had, such
pre-eminence among the cities on the northern shores of the lake, and so it seems
highly probable that Tel Hum is the site of Capernaum.(2) At Tel Hum are the ruins
of a beautiful synagogue, the finest of which we have any remains in all Palestine,
and this may well have been 'the synagogue' built by the centurion. (Luke 7:5)
Originally but a 'village' (Caphar), and so not mentioned in O. T., it had in . T.

28. times become a 'city.' (Luke 4:31) It probably had a large fishing business (the fish
were put up in salt and transported to the interior), and general trade on the lake,
while very near it passed the principal road from Damascus to Ptolemats, carrying
the trade with Egypt, It had a custom-house, (Matthew 9:9) and a garrison of
Roman soldiers. (Matthew 8:9) Our Lord had at a former period remained here for
a short time, (John 2:12) perhaps sojourning with Peter, whom we afterwards find
living at Capernaum. (Matthew 8:14, Mark 1:29, Mark 2:1) In the synagogue at
Capernaum he delivered the great discourse of John 6 (see John 6:59). It was a
convenient starting point for his journeys into Galilee or Decapolis, towards Tyre or
Cesarea Philippi, to Perea or Judea; and was the home to which he constantly
returned.
Borders, as in Matthew 2:16. The borders of Zabulon and ephthalim means the
borders common to the two, the boundary between them. For the peculiar forms of
the names, Zabulon and ephthalim, see on "Matthew 1:2". The Evangelist takes
pains to describe the situation of Capernaum, as beside the sea (lake), and on the
boundary between these two tribes, in order to show the minute correspondence to
the prediction he is about to quote. Matthew often introduces Messianic prophecies
as fulfilled in Jesus, (Matthew 1:22, Matthew 2:6, Matthew 2:15, Matthew 2:17,
Matthew 2:23, Matthew 3:8) this being an evidence of his Messiahship.
Matthew 4:14. For that it might be fulfilled by, or, through, see on "Matthew 1:22";
and for the form of the names Esaias or Isaiah, on Matthew 1:2. A providential
design of Jesus' going to reside in this region was that the prophecy might be
fulfilled; there might of course be other designs at the same time.
Matthew 4:15 f. The Sept. translation of this passage, (Isaiah 9:1 f.) is quite
incorrect, and Matt. does not follow the Sept., as he commonly does where it is
sufficiently accurate for his purpose. The original Hebrew contains some
expressions which would be intelligible only by consulting the connection, and these
Matt. has omitted, but without affecting the meaning of the passage, as applying to
our Lord's settlement at Capernaum. He even begins in the middle of a sentence,
taking only what was appropriate to the matter in hand. The prophet has spoken of
great afflictions which would befall the people at the hands of the Assyrians and
others, but which would be followed by great blessings, to be enjoyed especially by
the tribes mentioned, they having been most afflicted; and the Evangelist shows us a
remoter reference in this to the blessings connected with the work of the Messiah, to
whom Isaiah immediately afterwards (Isaiah 9:6 f.) makes a distinct reference. By
the way of the sea, omit 'by.' This might mean road to the sea, or simply sea-road
(Meyer, Weiss); or road by the sea, meaning the great caravan route which passed
near the sea, i.e., the Lake of Galilee (see on "Matthew 4:18"); or road from the sea,
viz., the Mediterranean (Keim). The English 'sea-road'(1) would be equally
ambiguous. The most probable meaning is the second, 'road by the sea,' designating
the regions adjacent to the lake. Beyond Jordan (see Matthew 4:25) in O. T. usually
means east of the Jordan, but in some passages west of it, (see umbers 32:19,
Deuteronomy 11:30, Joshua 5:1, Joshua 22:7) reminding us that Israel came first to
the region east of the river. It of course depends on the writer's point of view in each

29. case. Isaiah, having referred to the calamities which would be inflicted by the
Eastern nations, might naturally for the moment speak from their point of view, and
thus 'beyond Jordan' would mean west of the Jordan, and would denote the same
region as the other expressions. This fits the connection, which has a series of
parallel phrases. Those who prefer the more common O. T. sense of 'beyond Jordan'
understand Decapolis, east of the lake, or Perea, east of the lower Jordan (see on
"Matthew 4:25"). They then either hold that this denotes a region distinct from
Galilee, or suppose that Galilee sometimes included Decapells, etc. Galilee of the
Gentiles (see on "Matthew 4:12"). The word rendered Gentiles signifies simply
'nations' (see margin of Rev. Ver.). The Israelites called all others 'the nations,' in
distinction from themselves, who were the chosen people.
Matthew 4:16. In this verse is an instance of that "parallelism" which is the
peculiarity in the structure of Hebrew poetry, and consequently abounds in O. T.
There are two principal varieties of it: (a) the second clause simply repeats, in
different phraseology, the thought of the first; and (b) the second stands in contrast
with the first. The present example belongs to (a), the second clause repeating first,
but in stronger terms. (See other examples in Matthew 7:6, Matthew 12:30) Shadow
of death, or, death-shade, is simply a figure for the densest darkness. (Compare
Jeremiah 13:16, Amos 5:8, Psalms 107:10, Psalms 23:4, see margin Rev. Ver. 'deep
darkness'; even Job 10:21) The 'region and shadow' may be understood as
equivalent by what grammarians call hendiadys to 'region of the shadow' (which is
the meaning of the Hebrew), or as simply expanding the idea, region of death and
shadow of death. Is sprung up, or, arose; the Greek term is often used of sunrise and
dawn.(1) The image seems to be that of persons who had lost their way in the dense
darkness, and upon whom arose the great light of the morning. The Hebrew has
'walked.... sat,' while Matt. says 'sat' in both cases, which with reference to the
figure is an equivalent expression. Here, as So often in Scripture, darkness and light
represent ignorance, sin, misery, as opposed to knowledge, holiness, happiness.—
Alexander: "The verse in its original connection has respect to the degraded and
oppressed state of the Galileans, arising from their situation on the frontier, their
exposure to attack from without, and their actual mixture with the Gentiles."
Matthew shows us in this language a further reference to the spiritual darkness of
the Galileans of our Lord's time. All the Jews were in spiritual darkness, and the
Galileans were inferior in religious privileges to the Judeans, and despised by them.
(John 7:41, John 7:49, John 7:52) There is no proof that they were morally more
corrupt than the Judeans. But he who came 'to seek and to save that which is lost,'
fixed in this remote and despised section of the Holy Land the centre of his labours,
and here chose most of the apostles who were to carry his teachings to Judea and
Samaria, and the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
Matthew 4:17. Establishing himself in Capernaum, our Lord began to preach. rom
that time began that public ministry which Matthew proposes to describe.
(Compare on Matthew 4:12) The English word preach is derived (through the
French) from the Latin predico, which signifies to proclaim, publish, declare. The
Greek word here used (kerusso) has the same sense, to proclaim as a crier or herald
does, and in general to proclaim, publish, declare. This is the word always used by

30. Matthew where the Common English Version has 'preach,' except in Matthew 11:5,
and elsewhere in . T. it is always rendered 'preach,' except in Luke 12:3,
Revelation 5:2, 'proclaim,' and in Mark 1:45, Mark 5:20, Mark 7:36, Mark 13:10,
Luke 8:39 'publish.' But it will not do to infer that 'to preach' is always in . T. an
official function, as these facts have led some to do, because the English word is also
used (in other . T. books) to translate various other words, which carry no
suggestion of a herald or other official. Thus euangelizomai, to bear a good message,
bring good news (compare euangelion, 'gospel,' introductory note to Matthew 1:1),
used once by Matthew, (Matthew 11:5) and not at all by Mark or John, is a
favourite word with Luke and Paul, and often rendered in Com. Ver. by 'preach,' or
'preach the gospel.' Laleo, to talk, speak, a very common word in that sense, is
rendered 'preach' in Mark 2:2, Acts 8:25, Acts 11:19, Acts 13:42, Acts 14:25, Acts
16:6.(1)
Repent, etc. See on "Matthew 3:2". Our Lord begins this ministry after the
imprisonment of John, with precisely the same exhortation and announcement that
had been made by John. We naturally infer that his previous preaching in Judea
had been to the same effect. Yet he by no means confined himself to the
announcement and exhortation, but already in Judea had strongly stated to
icodemus and to the woman of Samaria the spiritual nature of the Messianic reign.
To the woman he had also declared himself the Messiah (John 4:26; compare John
1:46-51), but it did not accord with his purpose publicly to declare this in Galilee.
From Mark 1:15 we see that along with the exhortation to repent he called on the
people to 'believe in the gospel,' or good news, viz., in the good news he was
announcing; just as the Baptist bade them 'believe on the (one) coming after him.'
Thus (Acts 19:4) not only repentance, but faith in the Messiah, was preached before
as well as after the day of Pentecost. Then, as in the case of Abraham (Romans 4:11)
and always, belief in God's word was the root of piety. And if the baptism of John,
and that administered by Jesus through his disciples, (John 4:1 f.) was conditioned
on faith in the Messiah as well as repentance, what essential difference was there
between it and Christian baptism?
Matthew 4:18. In Matthew 4:18-22 we have an account of the call of certain
disciples, Simon and Andrew, James and John. The first two of these, and in all
probability John also, had attached themselves to Jesus on the Jordan, soon after his
temptation, as had also Philip and athanael (John 1:35 ff.) From that time we find
him constantly attended by persons known as 'his disciples,' at Cana, (John 2:2,
John 2:11) at Capernaum, (John 2:12) at Jerusalem, (John 2:17, John 2:22) in his
labours in Judea, (John 3:22, John 4:2) and at Sychar. (John 4:8, John 4:27-33)
Supposing, as there seems reason to do, that these included some or all of the five
persons above named, we conclude that upon returning to Galilee they had left
Jesus, gone to their own homes, and resumed their former occupations, it being
probable that he had never yet told them they were to forsake all and follow him
without intermission. And it was natural enough that they should return to fishing
after being so long with Jesus, even as some of them sought food in that way after
his resurrection. (John 21:1) The training of the disciples for their work was very
gradual (see on "Matthew 10:1"). On the present occasion, finding the two pairs of

31. brothers engaged in their occupation as fishermen, Jesus calls on them to attend him
in his ministry, which they seem to have constantly done from this time forward.
Their immediate compliance with his demand (Matthew 4:20, Matthew 4:22) ceases
to be strange when we remember their former connection with him; and this is one
of the cases in which Matthew, Mark, and Luke, make statements which seem to
imply a previous ministry such as was afterwards described by John. We see also
from the fuller account of the circumstances given by Luke—for (Luke 5:1 ff.) it is
very unwise to assume two different calls, as Clark and others do-that a miracle was
wrought which made a great impression on Peter and the rest.—Omit 'Jesus,' as in
Matthew 4:12.
The Sea of Galilee has been well said to be "the most sacred sheet of water in the
world," for it is intimately associated with many of the most interesting events in the
life of our Lord. It is called in O.T. "the Sea of Chinnereth," or "Chinneroth",
( umbers 34:11, Joshua 12:3) perhaps from a town of that name on its banks.
(Joshua 19:35) In . T. times it was commonly called "Lake of Gennesaret", (Luke
5:1, Josephus, Strabo, etc.) as already in 1 Maccabees 11:67, "water of Gennesar,"
the name being probably derived from the plain on its northwestern shore (see on
"Matthew 14:34"). We also find in John (John 21:1, John 6:1) the name "Sea of
Tiberius," from the city which Herod Antipas built on the southwestern shore, and
named after the emperor Tiberius, and which is at the present day the only town
remaining near the lake.
The name "Sea of Galilee,"here and in Mark 7:31, John 6:1, was obviously taken
from the great district on the west. In Hebrew the term rendered 'sea' was also
applied to small bodies of water (as now in German a sea may be a small lake), and
this unclassical use of the term is adopted in Greek by Matt., Mark, and John, but
not by Luke, who says 'lake.' It is important to observe this usage; for many persons
think of the Sea of Galilee as a large body of water, when it is only a small lake,
twelve and a quarter miles long, and six and three-quarter miles in its greatest
breadth. Its surface is six hundred and eighty-two feet below the level of the
Mediterranean (compare on Matthew 3:6), so that from the hills on either side it
seems sunken in a great ravine. The range of mountains which bounds the whole
Jordan valley on the east, rise here just from the eastern shore of the lake (except a
bit of plain at the upper and lower extremities) to the height of nearly two thousand
feet. They are deeply furrowed by ravines, and have a barren and desolate
appearance. The mountains on the west curve round so as to give space for the lake,
and besides leaving the beautiful plain of Gennesaret on the northwest, present "an
alternation of soft grassy slopes and rocky cliffs." The warmth due to the great
depression, and the numerous and copious springs which break out on the western
side, produce a high degree of fertility, which attains its greatest richness in the
plain of Gennesaret. Down the ravines on this side, as well as on tile east, come
rushing winds, which often lash the surface of the lake to fury (see on "Matthew
8:24"). Around nearly all the western side lies a gently sloping beach, which
southward is roughly strewn with stones, but in the middle and northern part is of
smooth sand. The water is found, as described by Josephus, to be remarkably clear,
cool, and sweet; and the lake still abounds in choice fish, which doubtless led to the