Light in Galilee
A Light in Galilee
Image by Quang Nguyen vinh from Pixabay
Capernaum
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he returned to Galilee. He moved from Nazareth to settle in Capernaum by the lake, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali! The Way of the Sea, the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the nations!
“The people who live in the darkness
have seen a great light.
Those who live in the land of deep shadows,
a light has dawned on them.”
Image by יגאל דקל from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Some time after the devil tested Jesus, Herod Antipas arrested John the Baptist.1 When Jesus heard the news, he returned home to Galilee. He didn’t do so to avoid Antipas, since Antipas ruled Galilee.2 Rather, Jesus saw the end of John’s ministry as the signal to begin his own in earnest. And his ministry had to start in Galilee to fulfill Isaiah 9:1–2. So Jesus went first to his hometown of Nazareth in the tribal territory of Zebulun.3 Soon after, he moved to Capernaum, a fishing town on the Sea of Galilee in the tribal territory of Naphtali.4
In Isaiah, “the Way of the Sea,” “the other side of the Jordan,” and “Galilee of the nations” describe three regions making up the Northern Kingdom. Isaiah 8 predicts the Northern Kingdom’s destruction at the hands of the Assyrians. Isaiah 9 predicts a reversal of fortunes when a great light out of the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali would disperse the darkness of the disgraced northern tribes. This light would come in the form of a child born to rule on David’s throne in everlasting peace.5
Though Jesus frequently traveled during his ministry, he maintained his home in Capernaum for most of that time.
Jesus’s Message
From then on, Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent because the kingdom of heaven has come near!”
Edited from Image by Rich Aguilar from Creation Swap
When Jesus started preaching in Galilee, he adopted the same message John the Baptist had preached in Judea.6 In this way, Jesus announced himself as the King whose coming John heralded. With the beginning of Jesus’s ministry, God’s kingdom had come even nearer, making repentance all the more urgent.
Jesus’s entire message revolved around the coming of the kingdom. Though some relegate the kingdom to a future, temporary period in the history of this world, this defies Jesus’s clear teachings. The kingdom came during the lifetime of his disciples7 The pouring out of the Spirit served as the sign of the kingdom’s arrival.8 Jesus trained his disciples to prioritize growing the kingdom.9 The kingdom must be preached throughout the world before the end.10
The kingdom is not a single division of history. It’s the goal of all history, the costly pearl worth selling all we have to gain.11 It started small when the Spirit descended at Pentecost and will grow until it fills the earth.12 Then this earth will pass away to be replaced by the new earth, where God will reign over the citizens of the kingdom forever.13
Simon and Andrew
While walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake because they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, “Follow me! I’ll teach you to fish for people.” At once, they left their nets behind and followed him.
Image by Quang Nguyen vinh from Pixabay
During the Second Temple Period, the teaching and interpretation of Jewish law were controlled by religious leaders called rabbis. A rabbi’s responsibilities included training a group of disciples, followers who would live with, serve, imitate, and learn from the rabbi for a few years before becoming rabbis themselves. After moving to Capernaum, Jesus began to gather his own group of disciples. But while disciples usually chose to follow a rabbi, Jesus chose the disciples who would follow him.14
Jesus first called two brothers, Simon and Andrew, as they fished. Jesus commanded them to follow him. But his command came with a promise. Instead of fishing for fish, they would fish for people. As they lived with and imitated Jesus for a few years, they would learn to rescue people out of the kingdom of the world and bring them into the kingdom of heaven. Jesus would train them to inherit his ministry.
The brothers dropped their nets and immediately followed Jesus, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. They had met him before. Andrew had been a disciple of John the Baptist, who identified Jesus as the Messiah. Andrew then found Simon, and both went to speak with Jesus.15 They likely returned home to Galilee after John’s arrest. In their culture, no one would consider them crazy for dropping everything to become a disciple of the Messiah. They would have been crazy not to!
James and John
Continuing on from there, he saw another pair of brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father, Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them. At once, they left the boat and their father behind and followed him.
Image by Kyra Starr from Pixabay
Jesus continued his walk with Simon and Andrew following him. A little further down the shore, two other brothers, James and John, sat in a boat, mending their fishing nets with their father, Zebedee. They had finished fishing, but they couldn’t rest until they prepared the nets for the next trip by removing debris and patching holes. Jesus interrupted their work just as he had interrupted Simon and Andrew. And just like Simon and Andrew, James and John dropped everything and followed him.
Scripture doesn’t mention if James and John had previously encountered Jesus. Since John’s never named in the gospel of John, he may be the unnamed disciple in John 1:35–40. But that remains uncertain. Regardless, Simon and Andrew were their business partners, which likely means they also worked for Zebedee.16 Even if James and John had not yet met Jesus, they would have heard Simon and Andrew speak about their encounter with the Messiah. And their reaction to Jesus’s call indicates that the sons of Zebedee already believed in him.
The Good News
Jesus traveled throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and illness among the people. News about him spread throughout Syria, and they brought to him everyone who was sick—those who suffered from various diseases, debilitating pain, demon possession, epilepsy, and paralysis. He healed them.
Image by Greg Bulmash from Pixabay
Having established his base in Capernaum and called his first disciples, Jesus began traveling around Galilee to spread his message—the good news of the kingdom. In Jesus, God had returned to reestablish his reign over the earth. Generations of faithful Israelites had longed to see this time. Jesus proclaimed its arrival throughout Galilee and backed up his claim by healing those suffering from both physical and spiritual ailments.
Word of Jesus’s healing power spread far beyond Galilee. The Roman province of Syria included most of Israel, as well as a large area north of Galilee.17 People from all around brought their sick or disabled friends and relatives to him, and he healed them. His base of followers quickly grew.
- Matthew 14:1–4.
- See Herod’s Death.
- See Zebulun’s Future.
- See Gad, Asher, and Naphtali.
- Isaiah 9:6–7.
- See The Kingdom.
- Matthew 16:28.
- Matthew 12:28.
- Matthew 6:33.
- Matthew 24:14.
- Matthew 13:45–46.
- Daniel 2:34–35, 44.
- Revelation 21:1–3.
- Keener, Bible Background Commentary, Matthew 4:19–20; Wilkins, “Matthew,” 30.
- John 1:35–42.
- Mark 1:20; Luke 5:10.
- Carson, “Matthew,” 150; Hagner, Matthew 1–13, 80.