INTRODUCTION
Jesus’ ministry is linked to John’s. When John is arrested, Jesus moves to Galilee and settles in Capernaum (4:12-13), and later John’s death leads to another withdrawal (14:13). Jesus removes Himself from harm’s way so that the kingdom of God can get its first foothold in Galilee.

THE TEXT
“Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying . . . .” (Matthew 4:12-25).

GALILEE OF THE GENTILES
As before, Jesus’ movements fulfill prophecy (cf. 2:15, 23). Jesus, the incarnate Word, “dwells” in Galilee (4:13), and Capernaum becomes a quasi-holy city. Jesus’ coming to the region of Zebulun and Naphtali is the dawning of light in a dark region, and fulfills the promise of Isaiah 9:1-2. Zebulun and Naphtali were among the first regions taken into Assyrian captivity (2 Kings 15:29), and were among the regions resettled by Gentiles (2 Kings 17:24-27; cf. Judges 18:7, 28). Though not a uniformly Gentile region, Jews regarded Galilee as only semi-Jewish. Eternal light settles in the backwater region that lies under the shadow of death. It is symbolically significant that Galilee is the land “by the way of the sea” (vv. 13, 15), because the sea represents the Gentiles.

FISHERS OF MEN
From Capernaum, Jesus begins proclaiming the kingdom (4:17). He immediately begins to gather assistants, calling the four cornerstones of a new Israel. Like Elijah calling Elisha from his plowing (1 Kings 19:19-21), Jesus calls Simon and Andrew, and then James and John, from their fishing. Like Elisha, these four leave their work and their families to follow Jesus. The shift from agriculture to fishing is important; while Elisha ministered among the landed Israelites, the disciples will fish in the Gentile sea.

In the Old Testament, “fishers of men” is connected with judgment. Prophets speak of Gentile nations invading the land to capture Israel and remove them from the land (Jeremiah 16:16; Amos 4:2). Jesus uses the image differently. The disciples are going to capture Jews and Gentiles from the sea of nations to gather them into the kingdom (cf. Matthew 13:47-50).

KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
Jesus’ main message throughout His ministry is that the kingdom of heaven has come near (vv. 17, 23). He is the herald that announces the coming of a new ruler. God is going to take charge of a world that has rebelled against Him; heaven is going to come back into harmony with earth, so that God’s will will be done on earth as in heaven.

To prepare for God’s arrival and the new order He is going to establish, the people must repent, or else face God’s terrible judgment. Verses 23-24 give us a portrait of the effects of God’s rule on earth. When God begins to reign, His truth will be taught in the synagogues, He will triumph over every kind of disease, He will put Satan to flight, and He will gather a new humanity from the four corners of the earth.