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 cceptance and rejection is what Jesus experienced in the first year of ministry, as we have already seen in Jerusalem and Nazareth. Later when we come to the Sermon on the Mount, He will remind us that the religious leaders had rejected the prophets too! He was not alone. The self-righteous leaders rejected Jesus’ disciples just as Calvin, Luther and other great saints of the past have been rejected. Jesus was criticized by the religious leaders for His personal conduct and ministry. They had lied about Him and falsely accused Him. Shall we criticize Jesus because He rejected the religious leaders? In the end Jesus caused a religious split, just as Calvin and Luther did, and pointed us in the right direction. Was Jesus wrong to speak to the truth? Were the reformers wrong? Should we all still be Roman Catholics? Jesus came to earth for one purpose - to tell us the truth. He knew He would cause division (Matt. 10:35). Rather than being discouraged, Jesus “shakes the dust off His feet” against His critics (Mark 6:11) and proceeds with His divine mission.Back In Capernaum. The next section in our study in the life of Christ is found in Matthew 4:13-22. Jesus is not complaining about His rejection in Nazareth. Instead, He is focused on the ministry that God called Him to perform. We find Him returning to Capernaum to meet a group of men who had a great destiny that God wanted them to perform too!
. . . and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. (NASB) Matt. 4:13 Capernaum was located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee or the Lake of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1). The Sea of Galilee is actually a lake, since it is a body of water surrounded by land. Capernaum was in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, the land which had been given to Zebulun and Naphtali, who were sons of the patriarch Jacob.
Jesus went into a territory with a great heritage. Capernaum was a notable commercial city with a nearby east-west trade route. The city had a large fishing industry and was apparently the home of a high ranking official to King Herod. Rome had established a customs office as well as a detachment of soldiers in the city, and citizens from all over the Roman empire came through the city, both Jews and Gentiles. In older times the city was also known as “Galilee of the Gentiles” because of the large number of Gentiles who lived there. It was an ideal location.
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