OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO PREACH THE NEWS OF THE KINGDOM

Mathew chapter 4 verse 12 - 17 says this;

12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,

    the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,

    Galilee of the Gentiles—

16 the people living in darkness

    have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”

17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

A political chill swept across the land when John the Baptist was arrested and imprisoned. 

John, in calling everyone to return to righteousness, told king Herod that it was wrong to marry his brother's ex-wife Herodias and because of this, Herodias took offence and instigated his arrest and imprisonment.

In the tense climate, Jesus moved further north to Capernaum near the Sea of Galilee where the town's larger population could help him be less traceable by the agents of the political powers.

In taking this step, the prophet Isaiah's writings in Chapter 9 verses 1 - 2 were fulfilled because the people in this area around the Sea of Galilee that corresponded to the lands of the tribes of Zebulun and the Naphtali did indeed see a great light.

The Lord Jesus criss-crossed the whole area proclaiming that the time had come for everyone to repent because the kingdom of heaven was at hand.

Amen.

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