Galilean Ministry

Something of the success of Jesus' early Judean ministry is apparent from the complaint of John's disciples that "all men come to him" (John 3:26), and from John's reply, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (ch. 3:30). In spite of Christ's apparent popularity and success His Judean ministry bore little fruit. Though the brief remarks of John constitute our sum of information of what took place during this period, it is clear that a considerable period of time was thus occupied. Evidently (John 3:22—24) John the Baptist and Jesus were both preaching in Judea during this time, and that the tide of popularity was gradually ebbing from John and flowing toward Jesus.

The rejection of Jesus by the Sanhedrin after the healing at Bethesda (John 5:16, 18) brought His work in Judea to a close and led to His departure for Galilee and to the formal commencement of His ministry there. Another contributing factor was the recent imprisonment of John the Baptist (Matt. 4:12 Mark 1:14 see on John 4:1). It is interesting to note that the imprisonment of John the Baptist coincide approximately with Jesus' rejection by the Jewish leaders and the close of His early Judean ministry, and that John's death came about a year later, shortly before the crisis that brought Christ's work in Galilee to a close. It was John's imprisonment, together with His own rejection by the Jewish leaders, that led Jesus to withdraw to Galilee and carry on His work there.

Being at some distance from Jerusalem, and thus less subject to the influence of the religious leaders there, the Jews of Galilee were more simple—hearted and open—minded. They were less under the control of religious prejudice than were their fellow countrymen in Judea. They were more earnest and sincere, and more ready to listen to the message of Christ without bias. In fact, their eagerness to hear what He had to say made it necessary at times for Him to go from place to place, lest enthusiasm rise to such a pitch as to be construed by the authorities as endangering the peace and security of the nation.