St Matthew Chapter IV : Verses 12-16
Contents
- Matt. iv. 12-17 (Douay-Rheims text) & Latin text (Vulgate)
- Notes on text
- Additional Notes: the Kingdom of Heaven.
Matt. iv. 12-17
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Cum autem audisset Jesus quod Joannes traditus esset, secessit in Galilæam :
13 And leaving the city Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capharnaum on the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim;
et, relicta civitate Nazareth, venit, et habitavit in Capharnaum maritima, in finibus Zabulon et Nephthalim :
14 That it might be fulfilled which was said by Isaias the prophet:
ut adimpleretur quod dictum est per Isaiam prophetam :
15 Land of Zabulon and land of Nephthalim, the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles:
Terra Zabulon, et terra Nephthalim, via maris trans Jordanem, Galilæa gentium :
16 The people that sat in darkness, hath seen great light: and to them that sat in the region of the shadow of death, light is sprung up.
populus, qui sedebat in tenebris, vidit lucem magnam : et sedentibus in regione umbræ mortis, lux orta est eis.
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say: Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Exinde cœpit Jesus praedicare, et dicere : Pœnitentiam agite : appropinquavit enim regnum cælorum.
Notes
Note. From the fact that St Matthew places our Lord's visit to Galilee after the imprisonment of the Baptist, we know that the Evangelist has passed over several incidents which are related in the fourth gospel. Between the temptation of Christ and His visit to Galilee we must place the following events:—
1. The arrival of the deputation (from the Sanhedrin) to question the Baptist (St John i. 19-28)
2. The Baptist's testimony to Christ (29-34).
3. Jesus' meeting with His precursor (35,36)
4. The first calkl of St Andrew and St Peter, of Pjilip and Nathaniel (37-61).
5. Christ's first miracle at the marriage feast in Cana of Galilee (ii. 1-11).
6. His short visit to Capharnaum (ii. 12).
7. His visit to Jerusalem at the paschal season, and the first cleansing of the Temple (ii. 13-25).
8. Nicodemus’ interview with Jesus by night (hi. 1-21).
9. Christ’s ministry in Judea, during which His disciples baptized (hi. 22-24, iv. 2).
10. The dispute concerning purification between the Jews and the Baptist’s disciples, and the Baptist’s testimony to Christ (iii. 25-36).
11. Our Lord’s journey to Galilee through Samaria, and His conversation with the woman at Jacotfs well (iv. 1-42).
12. The welcome He received from the Galileans, and the miracle of the healing of the ruler’s son (iv. 43-54).
13. His discourse in the synagogue, and His rejection by the Nazarenes (St Luke iv. 15-30).
It has been suggested that St Matthew omits these incidents because they relate to our Lord’s first Judean ministry, which coincided with the closing days of the ministry of His Precursor, who was at that time more in evidence than our Lord Himself.
12. that John was delivered up, — i.e. into the hands of Herod, apparently by the Pharisees, since our Lord appears to have left Judea in order to avoid their hostility. Cf. When Jesus therefore understood that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus maketh more disciples, and baptizeth more than John (St John iv. 1).
Fuller details of St John’s imprisonment are given in ch. xiv. 1-12. As St John was not imprisoned until after the first Pasch of our Lord’s Public Life (see St John ii. 13, 22, 24, V. 1), we are justified in placing our Lord’s visit to Galilee in the autumn or winter between the Pasch of A.D. 27 and that of A.D. 28.
he retired into Galilee. The Greek verb (ἀνεχώρησεν) here translated “ retired,” is generally employed when there is some motive for retiring, e.g. some personal danger. The same verb is used of St Joseph’s withdrawal into Egypt in order to save the life of the Infant Jesus (ἀνεχώρησεν εἰς Αἴγυπτον).
13. leaving the city Nazareth. Those who hold that Jesus was rejected at His first and only visit to Nazareth take these words as meaning that He passed by this city without entering it, but the more general opinion is that Jesus visited Nazareth twice, and that these words relate to our Lord’s first visit, when He was rejected by the Nazarenes (see St Luke iv. 16-30).
Capharnaum Henceforth this was known as his own city (ix. 1). Here Jesus was living in the territory governed by Herod Antipas, the persecutor of the Baptist, but at least He would be less under the observation of the Pharisees, and at a moment’s notice could cross the lake and reach the dominions of Philip the Tetrarch. Capharnaum, being a populous city in a central position, was well suited for Christ’s abode.
in the borders of Zabulon, etc. This determines, within certain limits, the site of Capharnaum (now identified with Tell Hum) ; it was a maritime city in the north of Palestine, on the confines of the territory of the tribes of Zabulon and Nephthalim, which corresponded respectively to Upper and Lower Galilee.
14. That it might be fulfilled, etc.
15. Land of Zabulon and land of Nephthalim. This territory is defined by what follows — this land lay by way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, and was known as Galilee of the Gentiles. These northern districts were exposed to the attacks of the Canaanites, the Syrians, and the Assyrians (see 3 Kings xv. 20, also 4 Kings xv. 29).
beyond the Jordan. Before the Captivity, the land lying east of the Jordan was known as beyond the Jordan, but during the Captivity this expression was applied to the district west of the river. Isaias, however, wrote before the exile, consequently he cannot have used it in the second sense. The Hebrew preposition here translated “beyond” is often rendered “ on,” and probably it has this meaning here. This quotation is from Is. ix. 1.
Galilee of the gentiles. Upper Galilee. Josephus says “its northern parts are bounded by Tyre and the country of the Tyrians” (B.J., iii. 3. 1).
Verse 16. Note the Hebrew parallelism or poetic form : —
(a) The people that sat in darkness, hath seen a great light.(b) To them that sat in the region of the shadow of death, light is sprung up.
This prophecy is generally understood to refer primarily and literally to the deliverance of the Jews from the hands of the Assyrians, when, during the reign of Ezechias, the angel of the Lord slew 185,000 of Sennacherib’s army. It has a secondary application to their deliverance from spiritual darkness, when Christ, the Light of the world, rose upon them. The Galileans, i.e. the descendants of the tribes of Zabulon and Nephthali, were the first converts to Christianity, and they furnished the greater part of the apostles.
16. sat in darkness. In the inertness of sadness and despondency.
in the region of the shadow. This is an exact translation of the Vulgate, in regione mortis umbræ, but the Greek MSS. read, in the region and in the shadow of death (ἐν χώρᾳ καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου).
light is sprung up. “ They did not of themselves seek and find the light, but God shewed Himself to them .... the light of itself sprang up and shone forth : it was not they that first ran to the light. For, in truth, the condition of men was at the worst before Christ’s coming. Since they more than walked in darkness, they sat in darkness : a kind of sign that they did not even hope to be delivered. For, as persons not even knowing where to put a step forward, so they sat, overtaken by the darkness, not being able so much as to stand any more” (St John Chrys., Hom., xiv. 1).
From that time, — i.e. after John’s imprisonment, when our Lord dwelt at Capharnaum.
17. began to preach. He began to preach in Galilee, for He had previously done so in Jerusalem and on His journey through Samaria, but from the time of the Baptist’s imprisonment Christ preached more openly and more continuously, first throughout Galilee, and afterwards in Judea, so that His enemies brought this accusation against Him : He stirreth up the people teaching throughout all Judea, heginning from Galilee, to this place (St Luke xxiii. 5).
Do penance, for the kingdom, etc. Our Lord takes up the teaching of His Precursor, and, by so doing, confirms and approves it.
Additional Notes
17. The kingdom of heaven. St Matthew often employs this expression, which is interchangeable with the expression “ kingdom of God.”
This has sometimes a restricted sense, e.g. —
(а) The royal dignity : “ the Son of man coming in his kingdom ” (xvi. 28).(b) The subjects : “ The kingdom of heaven is likened to a man ” (xiii. 24).(c) The territory or chief : “ possess you the kingdom ” (xxv. 34).(d) The form of government : “ the kingdom of God is within you” (St Luke xvii. 21).
In other passages it embraces all these elements — king, subjects, realm, government, etc. “ The kingdom of heaven is at hand ” (St Matt. iv. 17. See also St Mark xii. 34). “ The kingdom of God, or of heaven, is heavenly in its origin, in its end, in its goods, in its King, in its laws, in its spirit, in its citizens, in its life.”
This kingdom is both external and internal.
I. External :
(a) In its incipient state : — the Jewish theocracy.(b) Its maturity in the present dispensation,(c) Its ultimate perfection in the other life.
II. Internal : for “ the kingdom of heaven ” lies within our own souls —
(a) in this life.(b) in the future life.
Notice, the expression of heaven is not the objective, but the subjective genitive. They denote not the place or the objects constituting the kingdom, but the ruler directing it. (Abridged from Maas’ St Matt., p. 31.)
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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