John Imprisoned and Jesus Leaves Judea

28 – John Imprisoned and Jesus Leaves Judea; Matthew 4:12, Mark 1:14, Luke 3:18-20; 4:14, John 4:1-3

Matthew 4:12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee;

Mark 1:14 Now after John had been [a]taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, [b]preaching the gospel of God,

Luke 3:18 So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people. 19 But when Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the wicked things which Herod had done, 20 Herod also added this to them all: he locked John up in prison.

Luke 4:14 And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district.

John 4:1 Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), 3 He left Judea and went away again into Galilee.

Footnotes

a. Mark 1:14 Lit delivered up

b. Mark 1:14 Or proclaiming

Commentary

I listed these passages in the order in which they appear in the Bible, but I have a couple of chronological notes: the accounts in Matthew, Mark, and Luke skip from the temptation into Jesus’ departure to Galilee. That’s why Luke 4:14 says Jesus was traveling in the power of the Spirit, as a transition from the Spirit’s leadership in the wilderness. Also of note is Luke 3:18; John’s ministry was ongoing, and although Jesus was increasing, John had not yet decreased in fame. In fact, John was still so well-known that he had the ear of Herod, and his reproaches angered the king.

I know we have already studied the Herodian dynasty in a previous post, but I thought it might be worth reviewing some of the details here. Herod the Great was the ruler at the time of Jesus’ birth, and he is the king who ordered the baby boys of Bethlehem to be slaughtered. The male Herodian heirs who grew to adulthood were seven sons by five wives. You may remember that he ordered the execution of three sons (Antipater, Aristobulus, and Alexander) and one of his wives (Mariamne), so that would have left four eligible heirs, Philip (son of Mariamne of Simon), Antipas, Archelaus, and Philip (son of Cleopatra of Jerusalem). Before being executed, Herod’s oldest son, Antipater, had poisoned Herod’s opinion of the elder Philip. The territory at the time of Herod’s passing was therefore only divided three ways, leaving Antipas, Archelaus, and the younger Philip to rule various portions of Herod the Great’s kingdom. However, the elder Philip still holds a place in history as the first husband of Herodias (The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible Vol 3 pg. 132-133).

Herodias’ father was the late Aristobulus, whose name you may remember as being one of the sons executed by Herod the Great. That means, as the daughter of Philip’s half-brother Aristobulus, Herodias would have been Philip’s niece. Herod Antipas, to whom John refers in Luke 3:19, visited his half-brother Philip around A.D. 29 and fell in love with his niece/sister-in-law, and she, being ambitious, agreed to leave Philip and marry Antipas, as long as Antipas would agree to divorce his first wife, Aretas, whom he had married for political advantage in A.D. 14. So, if you’re counting offenses against which John the Baptist might have preached, Antipas has so far stolen a wife from his brother, has an incestuous relationship with his divorcee niece, and has divorced his first wife, on whom he cheated. John’s speech, shortly following the marriage of Antipas and Herodias, specifically condemns the offense of marrying one’s brother’s wife, a practice which is forbidden in Mosaic law (Lev 18:16; 20:21), except in cases when there were no heirs at the time of the brother’s death (Deut 25:5; Mark 12:19). However, not only did Philip have heirs, he was still alive! Even though John was right to speak out against this wickedness, Antipas, having dispensed with his conscience long before, could not have been expected to repent. Not only did he refuse to renounce his behavior, but he added to his sins by imprisoning John.

The imprisonment of John is one of the reasons cited for Jesus’ exit from Judea, and the other is that the Pharisees had heard Jesus’ ministry was growing beyond John’s. Bear in mind, however, the language may not indicate a causal relationship between these events and Jesus’ exit. Even though we might interpret Matthew 4:12 to mean, “When Jesus heard John had been taken into custody, it caused Him to retreat into Galilee,” the actual text only implies these two things took place around the same time. That said, both John’s incarceration and the Pharisees’ attention may have had bearing on Jesus’ decision to leave. Herod ordered John to be thrown in prison, and perhaps simultaneously the Pharisees began to train their eyes on Jesus. Remember that John had called the Pharisees a brood of vipers, so they must have been elated to see him relieved of his freedom. Recognizing Jesus’ ministry had the same potential, their efforts would have been redirected to discredit Him and see that He met the same end as John. Even though Jesus was willing to suffer as part of His mission, He knew He could reach many more people as a free man, so getting thrown in prison was a thing to be avoided.

Because of Jesus’ roots in Galilee, He may have been judged a political outlaw, even before He began to teach against the Pharisees. Galilee was a district in the northern part of Palestine and remained under the rule of the Herods during the first half of the first century. Herod resettled many Jews from Judea to cities in Samaria and Galilee, and this resulted in a heavily mixed population (Samaria was already the home of a mixed race, as we will see in the next study), further exacerbated by trade routes and prosperous fishing and agriculture industries. The word Galilee means “circuit”, “district”, or “cylinder”, prompting some elitist Jews to deride the mixed population by calling it “Galilee [circle] of the Gentiles [nations]” (Is. 9:1; Matt. 4:15) (Word in Life Study Bible pg. 1710). “Economic independence, political toleration, and religious freedom made the region a seedbed for revolutionaries against Rome. In fact, “Galilean” came to be used in a derogatory way in New Testament times to indicate revolutionaries and bandits” (The Word in Life Study Bible pg. 1711). This is just personal speculation, but this prejudice might have been part of the reason political rulers, such as the Pharisees, took notice of Jesus so quickly and expressed concern that His ministry might undermine their position. Jesus was predestined to be a revolutionary, if not in a way they had predicted.

See the next post here https://onthepath.online/2019/07/12/the-samaritan-woman/

Scripture References

Matt 4:12

Matthew 11:2 Meanwhile, John heard in prison about the works of Christ, and he sent two of his disciples

Matthew 14:3 Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,

Luke 23:5 But they kept insisting, “He stirs up the people all over Judea with His teaching. He began in Galilee and has come all the way here.”

John 1:43 The next day Jesus decided to set out for Galilee. Finding Philip, He told him, “Follow Me.”

John 2:11 Jesus performed this, the first of His signs, at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.

John 3:24 (For John had not yet been thrown into prison.)

Mark 1:14

Matthew 4:17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

Matthew 4:23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

Matthew 9:35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness.

Romans 1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God,

Luke 3:18

Luke 3:17 His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather the wheat into His barn. But He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Acts 20:2 After traveling through that area and speaking many words of encouragement, he arrived in Greece,

Romans 12:8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is giving, let him give generously; if it is leading, let him lead with diligence; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

Luke 3:19

Matthew 14:1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus

Matthew 14:3 Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,

Matthew 14:6 On Herod’s birthday, however, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod

Mark 6:17 For Herod himself had ordered that John be arrested and bound and imprisoned, on account of his brother Philip’s wife Herodias, whom Herod had married.

Luke 3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,

Luke 3:20

John 3:24 (For John had not yet been thrown into prison.)

Luke 4:14

Matthew 4:23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

Matthew 9:26 And the news about this spread throughout that region.

Matthew 9:31 But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout the land.

Luke 4:13 When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.

Luke 4:37 And the news about Jesus spread throughout the surrounding region.

John 4:1

Luke 7:13 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said, “Do not weep.”

Luke 7:19 So John called two of his disciples and sent them to ask the Lord, “Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?”

John 3:22 After this, Jesus and His disciples went into the Judean countryside, where He spent some time with them and baptized.

John 3:26 So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Look, Rabbi, the One who was with you beyond the Jordan, the One you testified about–He is baptizing, and everyone is going to Him.”

1 Corinthians 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with words of wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

John 4:2

John 2:2 and Jesus and His disciples had also been invited to the wedding.

John 3:22 After this, Jesus and His disciples went into the Judean countryside, where He spent some time with them and baptized.

John 3:26 So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Look, Rabbi, the One who was with you beyond the Jordan, the One you testified about–He is baptizing, and everyone is going to Him.”

1 Corinthians 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with words of wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

John 4:3

Luke 17:11 While Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee.

John 2:11 Jesus performed this, the first of His signs, at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.

John 3:22 After this, Jesus and His disciples went into the Judean countryside, where He spent some time with them and baptized.

John 4:47 When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Him to come down and heal his son, who was about to die.

John 7:1 After this, Jesus traveled throughout Galilee. He did not want to travel in Judea, because the Jews there were trying to kill Him.

Commentary

Is 9:1 Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—

Matt 4:15 Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—

Lev 18:16 Do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would dishonor your brother.

Lev 20:21 If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is an act of impurity; he has dishonored his brother. They will be childless.

Deut 25:5 If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her.

Mark 12:19 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.