Comparison of John's Gospel and Matthew's shows that Jesus ministered for about a year before John the Baptist's arrest. John had criticized Herod Antipas for having an adulterous relationship with his brother Philip's wife (Mark 1:14; Luke 3:19-20; 4:14). Jesus ministered first in Galilee (John 1:19-2:12) and then in Judea (John 2:13-3:21). Then He returned to Galilee by way of Samaria (John 3:22-4:42). Why did Matthew begin his account of Jesus' ministry with John's arrest?
John's arrest by Herod signalled the beginning of a new phase of Jesus' ministry. The forerunner's work was now complete. It was time for the King to appear publicly.
"In royal protocol the King does not make His appearance in public until the forerunner has finished his work. Matthew, emphesizing the official and regal character of Jesus, follows this procedure exactly."200
4:12-13 The word "withdrew"(NASB) or "returned"(NIV; Gr. anachoreo) is significant. Evidently Jesus wanted to get away from Israel's religious leaders in Jerusalem who opposed John (John 4:1-3; 5:1-16). It is unlikely that Herod Antipas would have imprisoned John if the religious authorities had supported John. Matthew used the same Greek word, paredothe("to be taken into custody"), later when he described Jesus' arrest (26:15, 16, 21, 23, 25; 27:3, 4). The religious leaders evidently played a significant role in both arrests.
To Matthew, Galilee had great significance for two reasons. First, it was the place where Isaiah had predicted Messiah would minister. Second, since it was an area where many Gentiles lived, it corroborated Messiah's influence over the nations as well as Israel.
Jesus moved the base of His ministry from Nazareth to Capernaum (v. 13). Matthew described it as he did in view of the prophecy that Jesus' residence there fulfilled (vv. 15-16). This town stood on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee (14:34). It was the town where Peter, Andrew, James, and John (the fishermen) and Matthew (the tax collector) worked (8:14; 9:9).
"If Joseph settled in Nazareth after the return from Egypt (2:22-23), Jesus now leaves Nazareth and moves to Capernaum (4:12-13), which becomes his own city' (9:1). He is thus poised to begin his public ministry."201
4:14-16 Jesus' move to Capernaum fulfilled Isaiah 9:1, part of a section of Isaiah's prophecy that describes Immanuel's coming. Matthew's quotation of this passage was a free one. Its point was that light had dawned in a dark part of Palestine. When Isaiah prophesied, Galilee was under the oppressive influence of the Assyrians. He predicted that Messiah would liberate the people living there. When Matthew wrote, Galilee was under Roman oppression. The darkness was also symbolic of the absence of religious, political, and cultural advantages available to Jews who lived in Jerusalem. "Dawned"(Gr. aneteilen) suggests that the light of Messiah's ministry would first shine brightly in Galilee (cf. John 1:9; 12:46).202
". . . From of old the Messiah was promised to Galilee of the Gentiles' (ton ethnon), a foreshadowing of the commission to all nations' (panta ta ethne, 28:19). Moreover, if the messianic light dawns on the darkest places, then Messiah's salvation can only be a bestowal of grace--namely, that Jesus came to call, not the righteous, but sinners (9:13)."203
"Matthew's story of Jesus' life and ministry possesses a clearly defined beginning, middle, and end and hence falls into three parts: (I) The Presentation of Jesus (1:1-4:16); (II) The Ministry of Jesus to Israel and Israel's Repudiation of Jesus (4:17-16:20); and (III) The Journey of Jesus to Jerusalem and His Suffering, Death, and Resurrection (16:21-28:20). In the first part, Matthew presents Jesus as the Davidic Messiah-King, the royal Son of God (1:1-4:16). To show that Jesus is preeminently the Son of God, Matthew depicts God as announcing within the world of the story that Jesus is his Son (3:17). As the Son of God, Jesus stands forth as the supreme agent of God who authoritatively espouses God's evaluative point of view."204
