When he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled: 15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, 16 the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.” 17 From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew signals a turning point with a simple line: when Jesus hears that John has been arrested, “he withdrew to Galilee.” The movement is not presented as a retreat in defeat. It is a deliberate shift in location as the public phase of Jesus’ mission begins. Matthew shows Jesus refusing to let hostile rulers set the terms of His work. Instead, He goes where the next stage of the mission will unfold most fruitfully, and He establishes Himself in Capernaum rather than staying in Nazareth.
Capernaum matters for Matthew because it places Jesus on the Sea of Galilee in a region linked, in Israel’s older memory, with Zebulun and Naphtali. That northern area was among the first to experience devastation when foreign powers swept through the land in the centuries before Christ. Isaiah had spoken of that same region as a place of darkness, and yet promised that a great light would rise there, revealed by God’s saving action. By locating Jesus in that setting, Matthew is not doing geography for its own sake. He is teaching the reader how to interpret Jesus’ arrival: the light Isaiah promised is dawning because Jesus is now present and acting there.
Matthew’s quotation sharpens the point. The prophecy names “Galilee of the Gentiles,” and it describes people “in darkness” and “in a land overshadowed by death.” In its original context, Isaiah was speaking hope to a wounded region—one marked by conquest, loss, and the sense of being on the margins. Matthew hears that promise reaching its fulfillment when Jesus begins His work in Galilee. The location itself becomes part of the message: God’s saving initiative begins where many would not expect, among people who know what it is to live under the shadow of threat and suffering.
The phrase “Galilee of the Gentiles” also points forward. Galilee in Jesus’ day was socially and culturally blended compared with Judea, and it lay close to Gentile cities and regions. Matthew will insist that Jesus’ personal mission is first directed to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” yet he begins that mission in a place where the light, by its very setting, also falls outward toward Gentiles. Matthew hints early at what will become explicit later: the Messiah who restores Israel is also the one in whom the nations will place their hope, and the Gospel will finally be carried to all nations.
After the prophecy, Matthew gives the first summary of Jesus’ preaching: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The “light” that rises is the Gospel proclaimed by Jesus, calling for a real turning of the heart toward God. Repentance here is not mere regret. It is the beginning of a new relationship with God offered to those who respond. Matthew will also insist that this new relationship must bear fruit in a changed life, but the order matters: the renewed relationship comes first, and the moral transformation follows from it.
Matthew’s phrase “kingdom of heaven” can be misunderstood if it is heard as “a kingdom only in the afterlife.” It is a reverent way of speaking about God’s reign—God’s saving rule drawing near and taking hold. That reign is not yet complete in the world, but it is already truly beginning in Jesus’ own ministry, and His works will anticipate what God intends to bring to fullness. Matthew’s point is consistent: a new stage has begun, and Jesus’ first public message is that God’s saving rule has drawn near and demands a human response.
This line also sets the direction for everything that follows. Jesus will gather disciples, teach with authority, and confirm His message with deeds that reveal what God’s reign looks like when it arrives among real people. The dawn breaks first in Galilee, in a place long associated with darkness, to show that God’s light is not reserved for the religious center or the already-secure. It rises where it is most needed, and it begins by calling people to turn toward God because His reign has come near in Jesus Himself.
Lord God, turn our hearts toward you. Give us the grace to receive your reign with humility and to live in the light your Son brings. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Sources and References
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011), including NABRE notes on Mt. 4:12-17.
- The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The Gospel of Matthew, p. 13.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre, The Navarre Bible: St Matthew, commentary on Mt. 4:12-17 (pp. 57-58).
- José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al., eds., The Paulist Biblical Commentary (Paulist Press, 2018), commentary on Mt. 4:12-17 (pp. 917-918).
- Raymond E. Brown et al., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (1990), commentary on Mt. 4:12-17 (pp. 638-639).
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