Matthew 4:12-17
Summary for Matt 4:12-17: 4:12–11:1 a Having been announced by John and the Father (3:13-17 b), and having obediently endured the testing in the wilderness (4:1-11 c), the Messiah was prepared for his ministry. He first confronted the Galilean Israelites with the message of the Kingdom. 4:12 d John had been arrested by Herod Antipas (see 14:1-12 e). Antipas was tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, where John was probably working at the time.• When Jesus heard ... he left Judea (near Perea, where John was arrested) and returned to Galilee: Jesus withdrew to avoid martyrdom before finishing his work of revealing the Kingdom. As in Joseph’s flight to Nazareth (2:22-23 f), an escape from danger can also be God’s providential direction and the fulfillment of prophecy (4:14-16 g).
4:13 h Capernaum was in Galilee, a district viewed negatively by the religious establishment in Judea and Jerusalem (see John 1:46 i; 7:41-42 j, 52 k). Many Judeans considered Galileans to be uncultured, with a lazy command of the language (cp. Matt 26:73 l), a factor sometimes thought to affect the accuracy of their teachings. Galilee also had a proportionately larger Gentile population than Judea did.
4:17 m Jesus’ message centered on the imminent arrival of the Kingdom of Heaven and the repentance that it necessitates (see Matt 3:2 n; 10:7 o).
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