12Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 15“Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 16the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.”17From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
18As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. 19And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” 20Immediately they left their nets and followed him.21As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
23Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.
Translation: But hearing that John had been delivered over, he returned into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, he came (and) dwelled in Capernaum by the sea, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali so that it might be fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah, saying, "Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, a way of sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and to the ones sitting in the region and shadow of death, to them a light has dawned." From that time, Jesus began to proclaim, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
But walking alongside the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, the one called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of people." And immediately, they left the nets, they followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. And immediate they left the boat and their father, (and) followed him.
And he was going about in all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, healing all disease and all sickness in the people.
Background and situation: Mark is the primary source. The parallel is Mark 1: 14-20. Matthew makes a significant addition to Mark, however, when he follows the report of John's arrest with Jesus moving from Nazareth to Capernaum, along with a citation from the prophet Isaiah.
Matthew also shortens Mark in 4:17. Mark has: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe the good news." Matthew eliminates the reference to time (kairos), and has simply: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Matthew repeatedly has "kingdom of heaven" where Mark has "kingdom of God." Nobody knows why.)
In Mark, James and John left their father in the boat "with the hired servants." Matthew leaves out the reference to "hired servants", which gives the impression that the Zebedee's were perhaps slightly less well-off than might be supposed from reading Mark.
As in Mark, the lection is preceded by Jesus' encounter with Satan in the wilderness. As soon as he comes out of his time of spiritual testing, Jesus hears that John the Baptist has been arrested. We know how John's arrest will end. As in Herod's slaughter of the innocents in chapter two, our thoughts are drawn to official state-sanctioned violence.
Taking up the reins of the movement: With John in jail, Jesus returns to Galilee. The NRSV translates anachoresin has "withdrew." "Returned" would be more accurate and would make more sense. To say that Jesus "withdrew" into Galilee gives the impression that he is hiding out under the threat of violence.
Just the opposite is true. Keep in mind: Going to Galilee means he is moving into the territory governed by Herod Antipas, the very ruler who arrested John. He is not hiding out--quite the contrary. He's going into the lion's lair! He is "returning" to the area to take up the reins of the peasant resistance movement in light of the imprisonment of John.
"Leaving Nazareth," Jesus "came to dwell" in Capernaum. Capernaum was the largest town on the Sea of Galilee, and had the largest harbor. Boats came and went regularly, plying their trade--and also spreading news throughout the region. It would have been an excellent "communications center." Word could travel swiftly from Capernaum throughout the entire region.
Jesus moves from Nazareth, which is south west of the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum, which is on the northwest shore--the territory of Naphtali, but not Zebulon. Matthew knew this perfectly well. In citing the prophet Isaiah regarding Naphtali and Zebulon, Matthew's purpose is not to say that the Isaiah passage literally prophesies the future. (If he is, his prophecy is off.)
One of the things Matthew is doing here is giving a hint of Jesus' later mission to the gentiles. For the present, Jesus sees his mission as being "to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (15:35) After his encounter with the Canaanite woman in chapter 15, that mission will broaden. Matthew gives a hint of that here. The light will indeed come to "Galilee of the gentiles."
Secondly, Matthew also changes the Isaiah text. The "toward the sea" in Isaiah 9:1-2 refers to the Meditteranean Sea. Matthew means "by the sea" to be the Sea of Galilee.
In Capernaum, Jesus proclaims, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." John had said these exact words in "the wilderness of Judea." Here, Jesus says them in "Galilee of the gentiles." Not only are John and Jesus in continuity, but the "kingdom of heaven movement" is spreading throughout the region.
But walking alongside the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, the one called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of people." And immediately, they left the nets, they followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. And immediate they left the boat and their father, (and) followed him.
And he was going about in all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, healing all disease and all sickness in the people.
"For they were fishermen": The Sea of Galilee is a large freshwater lake, about 7 miles wide and 13 miles "long." The shore is dotted with villages connected with the local fishing industry, among which Capernaum was foremost.
Fishermen of that day did not operate in a "free market" economy. The fishing industry was state-regulated for the benefit of the urban elite. These urban elites were Greeks or Romans who had settled in Palestine following their military conquests, or they were Jews well-connected with King Herod and his sons. Everybody else was poor.
Caesar and Herod benefited from the fishing trade in a variety of ways. For one thing, they sold the fishing leases which entitled local groups to fish in the sea. Fishing rights generally were awarded not to individuals, but to local "coops" based in kinship--like, for example, the brothers Simon and Andrew, and the Zebedee family.
In addition, there were taxes on both the fish product and on the processing, as well as tolls on shipping and land transport. Fisherman were at the bottom of a very detailed economic heirarchy, the main beneficiaries of which were Caesar, then Herod, then major tax collectors.
Jesus made a strong appeal to local fishermen. In fact, the known harbors of the Sea of Galilee in the first century strongly correlate with locations where Jesus either lived or traveled--Bethsaida, Capernaum, Gennesar, Magdala, Gadara and Gergasa. (The original name of Magdala, hometown of Jesus' girlfriend, was Tarichaeae, which means "processed fish-ville." It was only a few miles south of Capernaum.)
In addition to collecting taxes, the local tax collector (Matthew?) probably also sold fishing rights, and may have even supplied capital for certain fishermen to build nets or boats. Naturally, he would charge interest for this service. It's not for nothing that the subject of "debt" pops up all through the four gospels.
Were fishermen Jesus' base of political support? Put another way, were fishermen particularly responsive to Jesus' message because of the rigid state-control of their livelihood, and the economic oppression of high taxation?
Forming the new community: Jesus has just come out of the wilderness. He has heard the news about John, and deliberately steps into the leadership void caused by John's arrest. Before he articulates his own message in his signature speech, however, one thing remains to be done: the formation of a community--the "new community."
This "new community" is not based on family or economic ties--quite the contrary, in fact; its first four members left their families and their boat. The new community is the one based in Jesus. It will make a formal witness to Jesus' new vision for the world in the upcoming Sermon on the Mount (5:1). Subsequently, that "new community"--the ones living in communion with Jesus and each other--will be the face of that vision in the world.
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