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Bible Commentary / Bible Study
From the Commentary on the Whole Bible (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871)
Entry into Galilee (Mt 4:12-17).
12. Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison—more simply, "was delivered up," as recorded in Mt 14:3-5; Mr 6:17-20; Lu 3:19, 20.
he departed—rather, "withdrew."
into Galilee—as recorded, in its proper place, in Joh 4:1-3.
13. And leaving Nazareth—The prevalent opinion is that this refers to a first
visit to Nazareth after His baptism, whose details are given by Luke (Lu 4:16,
&c.); a second visit being that detailed by our Evangelist (Mt 13:54-58), and by
Mark (Mr 6:1-6). But to us there seem all but insuperable difficulties in the
supposition of two visits to Nazareth after His baptism; and on the grounds
stated in Lu 4:16, &c., we think that the one only visit to Nazareth is that
recorded by Matthew (Mt 13:53-58), Mark (Mr 6:1-6), and Luke (Lu 4:14-30). But
how, in that case, are we to take the word "leaving Nazareth" here? We answer,
just as the same word is used in Ac 21:3, "Now when we had sighted Cyprus, and
left it on the left, we sailed into Syria,"—that is, without entering Cyprus at
all, but merely "sighting" it, as the nautical phrase is, they steered southeast
of it, leaving it on the northwest. So here, what we understand the Evangelist
to say is, that Jesus, on His return to Galilee, did not, as might have been
expected, make Nazareth the place of His stated residence, but, "leaving [or
passing by] Nazareth,"
he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the seacoast—maritime Capernaum, on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee; but the precise spot is unknown. (See on Mt 11:23). Our Lord seems to have chosen it for several reasons. Four or five of the Twelve lived there; it had a considerable and mixed population, securing some freedom from that intense bigotry which even to this day characterizes all places where Jews in large numbers dwell nearly alone; it was centrical, so that not only on the approach of the annual festivals did large numbers pass through it or near it, but on any occasion multitudes could easily be collected about it; and for crossing and recrossing the lake, which our Lord had so often occasion to do, no place could be more convenient. But one other high reason for the choice of Capernaum remains to be mentioned, the only one specified by our Evangelist.
in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim—the one lying to the west of the Sea of Galilee, the other to the north of it; but the precise boundaries cannot now be traced out.
14. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet—(Isa 9:1,
2 or, as in Hebrew, Isaiah 8:23, and 9:1).
saying—as follows:
15. The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea—the
coast skirting the Sea of Galilee westward—beyond Jordan—a phrase commonly
meaning eastward of Jordan; but here and in several places it means westward of
the Jordan. The word seems to have got the general meaning of "the other side";
the nature of the case determining which side that was.
Galilee of the Gentiles—so called from its position, which made it the frontier between the Holy Land and the external world. While Ephraim and Judah, as Stanley says, were separated from the world by the Jordan valley on one side and the hostile Philistines on another, the northern tribes were in the direct highway of all the invaders from the north, in unbroken communication with the promiscuous races who have always occupied the heights of Lebanon, and in close and peaceful alliance with the most commercial nation of the ancient world, the Phœnicians. Twenty of the cities of Galilee were actually annexed by Solomon to the adjacent kingdom of Tyre, and formed, with their territory, the "boundary" or "offscouring" (Gebul or Cabul) of the two dominions—at a later time still known by the general name of "the boundaries (coasts or borders) of Tyre and Sidon." In the first great transportation of the Jewish population, Naphtali and Galilee suffered the same fate as the trans-jordanic tribes before Ephraim or Judah had been molested (2Ki 15:29). In the time of the Christian era this original disadvantage of their position was still felt; the speech of the Galileans "bewrayed them" by its uncouth pronunciation (Mt 26:73); and their distance from the seats of government and civilization at Jerusalem and Cæsarea gave them their character for turbulence or independence, according as it was viewed by their friends or their enemies.
16. The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in
the region and shadow of death light is sprung up—The prophetic strain to which
these words belong commences with the seventh chapter of Isaiah, to which the
sixth chapter is introductory, and goes down to the end of the twelfth chapter,
which hymns the spirit of that whole strain of prophecy. It belongs to the reign
of Ahaz and turns upon the combined efforts of the two neighboring kingdoms of
Syria and Israel to crush Judah. In these critical circumstances Judah and her
king were, by their ungodliness, provoking the Lord to sell them into the hands
of their enemies. What, then, is the burden of this prophetic strain, on to the
passage here quoted? First, Judah shall not, cannot perish, because Immanuel,
the Virgin's Son, is to come forth from his loins. Next, one of the invaders
shall soon perish, and the kingdoms of neither be enlarged. Further, while the
Lord will be the Sanctuary of such as confide in these promises and await their
fulfilment, He will drive to confusion, darkness, and despair the vast multitude
of the nation who despised His oracles, and, in their anxiety and distress,
betook themselves to the lying oracles of the heathen. This carries us down to
the end of the eighth chapter. At the opening of the ninth chapter a sudden
light is seen breaking in upon one particular part of the country, the part
which was to suffer most in these wars and devastations—"the land of Zebulun,
and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee and the
Gentiles." The rest of the prophecy stretches over both the Assyrian and the
Chaldean captivities and terminates in the glorious Messianic prophecy of the
eleventh chapter and the choral hymn of the twelfth chapter. Well, this is the
point seized on by our Evangelist. By Messiah's taking up His abode in those
very regions of Galilee, and shedding His glorious light upon them, this
prediction, He says, of the Evangelical prophet was now fulfilled; and if it was
not thus fulfilled, we may confidently affirm it was not fulfilled in any age of
the Jewish ceremony, and has received no fulfilment at all. Even the most
rationalistic critics have difficulty in explaining it in any other way.
17. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent; for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand—Thus did our Lord not only take up the strain, but give forth
the identical summons of His honored forerunner. Our Lord sometimes speaks of
the new kingdom as already come—in His own Person and ministry; but the economy
of it was only "at hand" until the blood of the cross was shed, and the Spirit
on the day of Pentecost opened the fountain for sin and for uncleanness to the
world at large.
Calling of Peter and Andrew James and John (Mt 4:18-22).
18. And Jesus, walking—The word "Jesus" here appears not to belong to the text, but to have been introduced from those portions of it which were transcribed to be used as church lessons; where it was naturally introduced as a connecting word at the commencement of a lesson.
by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishers—"called Peter" for the reason mentioned in Mt 16:18.
19. And he saith unto them, Follow me—rather, as the same expression is rendered
in Mark, "Come ye after Me" (Mr 1:17).
and I will make you fishers of men—raising them from a lower to a higher fishing, as David was from a lower to a higher feeding (Ps 78:70-72).
20. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
21. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of
Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship—rather, "in the ship," their fishing
boat.
with Zebedee their father, mending their nets: and he called them.
22. And they immediately left the ship and their father—Mark adds an important
clause: "They left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants" (Mr
1:20); showing that the family were in easy circumstances.
and followed him—Two harmonistic questions here arise: First, Was this the same calling as that recorded in Joh 1:35-42? Clearly not. For, (1) That call was given while Jesus was yet in Judea: this, after His return to Galilee. (2) Here, Christ calls Andrew: there, Andrew solicits an interview with Christ. (3) Here, Andrew and Peter are called together: there, Andrew having been called, with an unnamed disciple, who was clearly the beloved disciple (see on Joh 1:40), goes and fetches Peter his brother to Christ, who then calls him. (4) Here, John is called along with James his brother: there, John is called along with Andrew, after having at their own request had an interview with Jesus; no mention being made of James, whose call, if it then took place, would not likely have been passed over by his own brother. Thus far nearly all are agreed. But on the next question opinion is divided: Was this the same calling as that recorded in Lu 5:1-11? Many able critics think so. But the following considerations are to us decisive against it. First here, the four are called separately, in pairs: in Luke, all together. Next, in Luke, after a glorious miracle: here, the one pair are casting their net, the other are mending theirs. Further, here, our Lord had made no public appearance in Galilee, and so had gathered none around Him; He is walking solitary by the shores of the lake when He accosts the two pairs of fishermen: in Luke, the multitude are pressing upon Him, and hearing the word of God, as He stands by the Lake of Gennesaret—a state of things implying a somewhat advanced stage of His early ministry, and some popular enthusiasm. Regarding these successive callings, see on Lu 5:1.
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