WHERE DID JESUS ​​BEGIN HIS MINISTRY?

JESUS ​​BEGINS HIS MINISTRY IN GALILEE:

Luke chronologically describes the beginning of Jesus' ministry, beginning with a brief mention of his baptism by John in the Jordan River near Jerusalem (Matthew 3:13-17) and a description of his temptation by Satan during a 40-day, 40-night fast in the desert (Luke 4:1-13). After this ordeal, Jesus returned to Galilee, in northern Israel. There, he began his public ministry close to home, among the people he knew and had grown up with.

THE ARREST OF JOHN THE BAPTIST, TRIGGER FOR JESUS'S PUBLIC MINISTRY:

One of the great prophetic figures of Jesus' time, John the Baptist was like a father in faith to Jesus and a prophetic role model for his generation. It was he who publicly presented Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and publicly introduced him into his ministry through the symbolism of water baptism in the Jordan River.

For unknown reasons, Jesus did not begin his public ministry while the prophet John the Baptist was ministering in Palestine. According to the biblical account, he decided to begin his public ministry when he learned of John the Baptist's arrest. Thus, the Imprisonment of the prophet John the Baptist was the trigger that prompted Jesus to begin his ministry. LUKE 7:18-34, MATTHEW 4:12-24, MATTHEW 11:2-14, and MARK 1:14-20

IT IS WRITTEN: MATTHEW 4:12-17

When Jesus heard that John had been betrayed, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and settled in Capernaum, a seaside town in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 15 The inhabitants of Zebulun and Naphtali, the seaside region, the region beyond the Jordan, and Galilee of the Gentiles, 16 the people who were sitting in darkness have seen a great light; and upon those who were sitting in that region and in the shadow of death, a light has dawned. 17 From then on, Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” »

JESUS ​​ESTABLISHES HIS OFFICE IN CAPERNAUM:

According to the biblical account, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth, and when he wanted to begin his ministry, he left Nazareth and settled in Capernaum, a town on the Sea of ​​Galilee, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali. This fulfilled the words of the prophet Isaiah, recorded in Isaiah 8:23 and Isaiah 9:1-6.

Thus, throughout his public ministry, Capernaum was his residence, headquarters, and office, and it was also where he performed certain miracles.

ISAIAH 8:23

But darkness will not always reign over the land of trouble. If the past has shamed the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, the future will bring glory to the sea region beyond the Jordan, the land of the nations.

ISAIAH 9:1-6

2 (9:1) The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; on those who dwell in the land of the shadow of death, a light has shone. 3 (9:2) You have multiplied the people and given them great joy; they rejoice before you, as one rejoices at harvest, as one shouts for joy when the spoil is divided. 4 (9:3) For the yoke that was heavy on them, the staff that beat on their backs, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken them, as in the days of Midian. 5 (9:4) For every shoe worn out by battle, every garment worn out by war, rolled in blood, will be given over to the burning flame, to be devoured by the fire.

6 (9:5) For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

IMPORTANT TO KNOW:

According to the map of Palestine at the time of Jesus, the land of Zebulun was part of the province of Galilee, more precisely Lower Galilee. Zebulun and Naphtali were Jesus' residences; it was there that Jesus began his public ministry, precisely in the city of Capernaum.

AN IMPORTANT QUESTION:

Why did Jesus choose to begin his ministry in the territory of the tribe of Zebulun and Naphtali?

WHO ARE ZEBULOUN AND NAPHTHALI? (Isaiah 8:23-9:1)

According to Genesis, Naphtali (which means "My struggle") was the sixth son of Jacob and the second son of his third wife, Bilhah. Zebulun was the tenth son of the patriarch Jacob and the sixth son of Leah, his first wife.

The territory occupied by Zebulun and Naphtali is located in northern Palestine, around the Sea of ​​Galilee. These two tribes were among the ten that formed the northern Israelite kingdom after Israel's division into two kingdom. Originally, Israel was a single territory, a single country, a single nation, and a single kingdom. However, it later split in two, a division known as the "Schism of Israel."

The "Schism of Israel" refers to the division of the ancient kingdom of Israel into two distinct kingdoms: the Northern Kingdom, with Samaria as its capital, and the Southern Kingdom of Judah, with Jerusalem as its capital. This split occurred after the death of King Solomon around 931 BC, due to political and economic tensions. The Northern Kingdom included the ten northern tribes, while the Southern Kingdom included two: Judah and Benjamin.

GENEALOGY:

Jacob, later called Israel in the Bible, was the second son of Isaac and Rebekah. His twin brother was named Esau, and both were the grandsons of Abraham and Sarah. Thus, Abraham and Sarah gave birth to Isaac, Isaac and Rebekah to Jacob and Ezau, and Jacob gave birth to the twelve tribes of Israel, which today form the nation of Israel, or the Hebrew people.

According to biblical texts, Jacob was chosen by God to be the patriarch of the Israelite nation, the Hebrew people. From what is known about Jacob in the Bible, he had two wives, Leah and Rachel, as well as two concubines, Bilhah and Zilpah.

According to other commentators, Bilhah and Zilpah were two younger sisters of Leah and Rachel, whom their father Laban had offered as servants to his two eldest daughters upon their marriages. According to Jewish tradition, Bilhah's father was Laban and her mother was a concubine of her father.

The twelve sons of Jacob, Israel's name, formed the basis of the twelve tribes of Israel, listed in descending order: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin.

Jacob was known for his favoritism toward his children, especially Joseph and Benjamin, sons of his favorite wife, Rachel, for whom he had worked for at least 14 years as a dowry to obtain her as a wife. Thus, the tribes themselves were not treated equally in the divine sense. Joseph, although the younger son, received double his brothers' inheritance, being considered the eldest instead of Reuben. His tribe was later divided into two, named after his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. According to Genesis 35, Jacob also had at least one daughter, Dinah, whose lineage was not recognized as a tribe.

The sons of Jacob, who formed the twelve tribes of Israel, were descended from four different wives: Leah, Rachel, Bilhah, and Zilpah.

1. SONS OF LEAHA, FIRST WIFE: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

2. SONS OF RACHEL, SECOND WIFE: Joseph and Benjamin.

3. SONS OF BILHAH, HIS CONCUBINE, RACHEL'S HANDMAIDEN: Dan and Naphtali.

4. SONS OF ZYLPAH, HIS CONCUBINE, HANDMAIDEN OF LEAHAH: Gad and Asher.

FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT, FROM SHAME TO GLORY:

In Jesus' time, the reputation of Zebulun and Naphtali was so disastrous that their region was nicknamed "the crossroads of the pagans, the land of the wicked where darkness reigns." What shamed these two tribes of Israel was their inability to conquer their territories and assert themselves against the local pagans who lived there. Despite their courage, they were annexed in 732 BC and then deported by the king of Syria. The Roman army of Celtius then destroyed their city during the Jewish War against the Roman Empire.

As a result, Zebulun and Naphtali were despised by the other tribes of Israel, who considered them weak and worthless. Therefore, to say that someone came from Galilee, or worse, that they lived there in Galilee, was not a compliment; It was more of an insult. And Jesus. By settling in Galilee, more precisely in Capernaum, he agreed to mingle with these weak, abandoned Jews, without reputation, and exposed to all the winds of paganism, to finally bring value and light to their land.

According to Genesis 30:20, "Leah, Jacob's wife, said, 'God has given me a good gift

this time: my husband will live with me, for I have borne him six sons.' And she named him Zebulun." When Leah said, "Jacob will live with me, and the child will be called Zebulun," and during the announcement of the Nativity of Jesus Christ, the prophet adds, "We will call him Immanuel, God with us" (Matt. 1:23). This recalls the first two names of the Messiah: "God saves" (Yeshua, Jesus) and "God with us" (Immanuel).

Thus, Jesus' choice to live among these two tribes was not only a fulfillment of the prophet Isaiah's prophecy. Moreover, by referring to his two Messiah names, we understand that the Savior agreed to live among his people to remove the shame imposed on them by their enemies.

Jesus' presence in the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali confirmed that these two territories were divine prerogatives. Prophetically, they were thus presented as a future leader and a visionary territory, guarantor of Israel's salvation, for, as God's prophet had prophesied, it was in his territory that God would reside among his people and that this God would take human form to save them.

Despite his powerful prophecies concerning Zebulun and Naphtali, the inhabitants of his lands lived in disaster and were covered with shame, sadness, and darkness, but now, he will be covered with glory.

According to Isaiah 83, Jesus the prophet came from a family in Nazareth and later settled in Capernaum, Galilee. Recent archaeological excavations seem to attest that Nazareth was a simple farming town of about ten families.

It was an insignificant village in Jesus' time. Although historically documented, established, and later recognized between 600 and 900 BC, it was too small to be included in the list of settlements of the tribe of Zebulun (Joshua 19:10-16), which mentions 12 cities and 6 villages. Surprisingly, Nazareth is also not mentioned among the 45 cities of Galilee mentioned by the Jewish historian Flavius ​​Josephus, and its name is absent from the 63 cities of Galilee mentioned in the Jewish Talmud.

It seems that Nathanael of Cana's words, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:47), aptly characterise the insignificant presence of this site. Of course, many Judeans had never heard of Nazareth, as it was unknown to many Jews at the time of Jesus.

To say that Jesus lived in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali is like telling a Parisian that salvation comes from the depths of the village. And Pilate's inscription on the cross is ironic: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews," a king who came from nowhere. For the Galileans, Nazareth is a village that almost doesn't exist. For non-Galilean Jews, it's even worse: Nazareth means absolutely nothing to them, and has no meaning for them.

How ironic, then, that the universal Savior should come from a lost land, that of an almost forgotten tribe! How shameful to come from an abandoned city like Nazareth where there is nothing to look forward to, as Nathanael reminds us! What a strange love for dirty, impure, and disreputable people! Jesus agrees to mingle and live in Capernaum! How foolish to go and settle in Galilee.

JESUS ​​SETTLES IN CAPPAHARNUM: WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Even today, God can raise up great leaders from abandoned populations, or spiritual guides from under-regarded nations. By living in despised Galilee, Jesus teaches us that we can live in socially disadvantaged neighborhoods while still benefiting from many divine promises, and this will not prevent God from fulfilling His purpose for us.

A MINISTRY OF GREAT RENOWN:

We can see in Luke 4:14-15 that from the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, his fame spread throughout the region of Galilee, and he was glorified by all because he distinguished himself by his unique style of teaching.

He attracted the interest of many people, not only because of his unique way of teaching, which was different from that of his contemporaries, but also because he had become the solution for many suffering and sick people of the time. He thus appeared in this region as a new prophetic hope after the arrest of the prophet John the Baptist. He was thus perceived in the eyes of the general public as a savior and reformer of the system, which earned him great recognition from the beginning of his ministry.

LUKE 4:14-15

Jesus, moved by the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and his fame spread throughout the region. 15 He taught in their synagogues and was glorified by everyone.

NAZARETH REJECTED JESUS:

Luke had described Jesus' miracles and teaching in general terms, but now he gives a more detailed account, adding the reaction of the people of Nazareth, where Jesus grew up, and how they received his teachings in the synagogue. Early in his ministry, after teaching in parts of Galilee, Jesus returned to his hometown of Nazareth, where he taught in the synagogue. The bad news was that he would be rejected by his own people.

LUKE 4:16-30

14 Jesus, empowered by the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and his fame spread throughout the surrounding region. 15 He taught in their synagogues and was glorified by all. 16 He arrived in Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As was his custom, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. 17 They handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened it, he found the place where it was written: 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, 19 to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 Then he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture in your hearing has been fulfilled.” » 22 And they all bore witness to him, astonished at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is not this the son of Joseph?” 23 Jesus said to them, “You will no doubt repeat to me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself,’ and say to me, ‘Everything we have heard that you did in Capernaum, do it here in your own country.’”

24 But he added, “Truly, I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his own land.” 25 Truly, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up for three years and six months, and a severe famine was throughout the land. 26 Yet to none of them was Elijah sent, except to Zarephath in the region of Sidon, a widow woman. 27 Now there were many lepers in Israel in the days of Elisha the prophet, and not one of them was cleansed, except Naaman the Syrian. 28 When all the people in the synagogue heard this, they were filled with anger. 29 So they got up and drove him out of the city and took him to the top of the mountain on which their city was built, to cast him down. 30 But Jesus passed through their midst and departed.

WHY DID NAZARETH REJECT JESUS?

At first, the people received his words with enthusiasm, but later, divided by the influence of the chief priests and lawyers of the time, who exercised great influence over a large part of the people, some began to doubt, for they knew him as someone who had grown up among them and who also knew his earthly father, Joseph, his mother, and his brothers.

LUKE 4:22

They all bore witness to him, marveling at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They began to ask one another, "Is not this the son of Joseph?"

LUKE 4:24

But he added, "Truly, I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his own homeland."

ATTENTION:

The reason for their rejection and doubt in Jesus' ministry was that they had known Jesus since he was a child, which brought doubts to their hearts. The second reason given by Jesus himself was that no prophet is accepted in his own homeland."

TWO IMPORTANT ELEMENTS THAT MARK JESUS'S PUBLIC MINISTRY:

The Gospel of Luke begins with an overview of Jesus' ministry before delving into it in more depth. It mentions the two fundamental elements of his ministry: miracles (by the power of the Holy Spirit) and teaching (in synagogues). Luke also says that at first, he was received with enthusiasm (praise from all). This enthusiasm, however, quickly changed when Jesus returned to Nazareth, his hometown, to teach.

FIRST:

MIRACLES, HEALINGS, AND DELIVERANCES

In this scene of the deliverance of this man possessed by an unclean spirit described in the Gospel of Luke 4:31-37 in Capernaum, it is interesting to note that the demon recognizes Jesus. But the Lord silences him, refusing to accept the testimony of the demons. The people are amazed, and his fame spreads throughout the land.

LUKE 4:31-37

31 He went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught on the Sabbath. 32 They were astonished at his teaching, for he spoke with authority. 33 Now in the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon. He cried out in a loud voice, 34 “Ah! What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? You have come to destroy us. I know who you are, the Holy One of God!” 35 Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him.” And the demon threw him down in the midst of the assembly and came out of him without harming him. 36 They were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this? He commands unclean spirits with authority and power, and they come out!” 37 And his fame spread throughout all the surrounding regions.

SECOND:

His teaching was powerful, for the Gospels state that he spoke with great authority. And the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.

LUKE 4:31-32

31 He went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught on the Sabbath day.

32 They were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.

WHEN IN HISTORY DID JESUS ​​BEGIN HIS MINISTRY?

It is difficult to determine the exact period of Jesus' ministry, but it certainly falls during the reign of Pilate. We can be more precise by trying to determine the year of his death. According to the Gospel of John, Jesus died on the eve of Passover, the 14th of Nissan in the Jewish calendar. Since his execution took place on a Friday, the only two possibilities are Friday, April 7, 30 AD, or Friday, 33 AD, or Friday, April 3, 33 AD. The earlier date is the most likely, as 33 AD seems a bit late to scholars. According to historians, Jesus' ministry would have lasted from one to three years, before 30 AD.