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Notice that all the Early Ministry of Christ was left out of the Gospel of Matthew. Many believe because Matthew resided in Galilee to be the reason for him beginning his account of Jesus' ministry at this point. Matthew in verse 12, covering what we have listed as His Early Ministry, simply says, "Now when He heard (presumably in Jerusalem) that John (the Baptist) had been arrested, He went into Galilee and leaving Narareth, He went and dwelt in Capernaum."
Sometime just before Jesus went to Capernaum (28 AD) John the Baptist was arrested by Herod Antipas, Ruler of Galilee, because he feared that John's popularity with the people might lead to rebellion. He imprisoned John in a fortress called Machaerus, east of the Dead Sea (Mark 1:14). Matthew Henry commenting on the arrest of John said, "The moon and the stars are lost when the Son arises."
Recognizing the arrest of John signified the growing resentment to His ministry, and having yet so much to do, Jesus went into Galilee, a providence far remote from Jerusalem, to find disciples in a most unlikely spot. Galileans were not noted for their scholastic ability but rather their ability to fight. But it was from these unlikely people that Jesus found his greatest followers.
He had been rejected at His home town of Nazareth where He probably would have made his headquarters, so He goes on the city of Capernaum, thus fulfilling what was spoken by the Prophet Isaiah. Matthew may have taken some liberty in applying what Isaiah said to this move to Capernaum. Isaiah, speaking of the people being "set free" from captivity in Babylon, is applied here to the Gospel of Christ that sets us free from captivity. Remember that Matthew was writing his Gospel to the Jews.
Matthew identifies Capernaum as being in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, actually it was in the area that was given to the Tribe of Naphtali by Joshua when the Promise Land was divided amongst the 12 tribes of Israel. It was located on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, west of the Jordan River.
Notice Matthew, being an "orthodox" Jew, speaks of Galilee as "Galilee of the Gentiles". The Galileans were once orthodox Jews but time and captivity had intermixed these people racially but they were, never the less, still devout Jews. Matthew considers them to be a lost people, who sat in darkness, but later he had to admit that they had seen "the light" and had accepted and believed in Jesus before the Judean Jews did. This, he says, was to their credit.
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