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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat_4:12-17
12Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; 13and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
15"The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles-
16The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light,
And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death,
Upon them a Light dawned."
17From that time Jesus began to preach and say, " Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Mat_4:12 The specific reasons for John's arrest are given in Mat_14:3-5.
Mat_4:13 "and leaving Nazareth" Jesus changed His place of residence because of the city's unbelief (cf. Luk_4:16-31). See Special Topic: Jesus the Nazarene at Mat_2:23.
▣ "and settled in Capernaum" This was the hometown of Peter and John. "Capernaum" meant "village of Nahum." Therefore, it may have been the traditional hometown of the OT prophet. It was located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.
Mat_4:13-16 Because of the concluding phrase of Mat_4:13, this was fulfilled prophecy (cf. Isa_9:1-2). Everyone expected the Messiah to minister primarily to Judea and Jerusalem, but the ancient prophecy of Isaiah was uniquely fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus (cf. Joh_7:41). The land of Zebulun and Naphtali were the first to fall to the Assyrian invaders and the first to hear the good news.
Mat_4:15 "beyond the Jordan" This idiom usually referred to the east side of the Jordan (the trans-Jordan) but here it referred to the west (the promised land). It all depends on where the person speaking was standing (or thinking).
▣ "Galilee of the Gentiles" Galilee was a mixture of both Jews and Gentiles (ethnç, LXX Isa_9:1), the majority being Gentiles. This Gentile area was looked down on by the Jews of Judea. God's heart has always been for the salvation of the entire world (i.e., Gen_3:15; Gen_12:3; Exo_19:5-6; Isa. 2:24; Isa_25:6-9; Joh_3:16; Eph_2:11 to Eph_3:13).
Mat_4:16 "The people who were sitting in darkness" This was either (1) a reference to their sin, (2) a reference to their ignorance, or (3) an idiom of derision because of their differences from the Jewish customs in Judea.
▣ "in the land and shadow of death" This was a metaphor for great danger (cf. Job_38:17; Psa_23:4; Jer_2:6).
Mat_4:17 "From that time" This phrase is used three times in Matthew (cf. Mat_4:17; Mat_16:21; Mat_26:16) and seems to be a purposeful literary marker of the main divisions of Matthew's presentation of Jesus.
▣ "Jesus began to preach and say, 'Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand'" This is similar to John the Baptist's message (cf. Mat_3:2). In the mouth of Jesus it takes on new significance. The kingdom is both present and future. This is the "already" but " not yet" tension of the new age (see Robert Stein, The Method and Message of Jesus' Teachings, pp. 75-79).
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▣ "repent" Repentance is crucial for a faith relationship with God (cf. Mat_3:2; Mat_4:17; Mar_1:15; Mar_6:12; Luk_13:3; Luk_13:5; Act_2:38; Act_3:19; Act_20:21). The term in Hebrew meant a change of actions (BDB 996), while in Greek it meant a change of mind. Repentance is a willingness to change from one's self-centered existence to a life informed and directed by God. It calls for a turning from the priority and bondage of the self (cf. Genesis 3). Basically it is a new attitude, a new worldview, a new master. Repentance is God's will for every human being, made in His image (cf. Eze_18:21; Eze_18:23; Eze_18:32 and 2Pe_3:9).
The NT passage that best reflects the different Greek terms for repentance is 2Co_7:8-12.
1. lupç, "grief" or "sorrow" 2Co_7:8 (twice), 2Co_7:9 (thrice), 2Co_7:10 (twice), 2Co_7:11
2. metamelomai, "after care," 2Co_7:8 (twice), 2Co_7:9
3. metanoeô, "repent," " after mind," 2Co_7:9-10
The contrast is false repentance [metamelomai] (cf. Judas, Mat_27:3 and Esau, Heb_12:16-17) vs. true repentance [ metanoeô].
True repentance is theologically linked to
1. Jesus' preaching of the conditions of the New Covenant (cf. Mat_4:17; Mar_1:15; Luk_13:3; Luk_13:5)
2. the apostolic sermons in Acts [kerygma] (cf. Act_3:16; Act_3:19; Act_20:21)
3. God's sovereign gift (cf. Act_5:31; Act_11:18 and 2Ti_2:25)
4. perishing (cf. 2Pe_3:9)
Repentance is not optional!