Jesus withdrew to Galilee, where his family had once sought refuge, once John had been arrested, for the sake of his safety, since his hour had not yet come, and he did not want to be restricted in his public ministry by the same authorities who had arrested John. The verb in Matthew 4:12 referring to Jesus’ departure, ana-cheireó, often has the meaning of fleeing danger.
When John is later murdered by Herod, Jesus withdrew to grieve (Matthew 14:13), and set his face to go to Jerusalem
(Luke 9:51).
The verb employed in Matthew 4:12 to refer to Jesus’ departure, ana-cheireó, often conveys the meaning of fleeing danger.
As John’s successor, Jesus knows that in Judea he would be in danger of suffering the same fate.1
In Galilee he would, at least for the time being, be protected from persecution by government agencies. When Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been arrested, he therefore fled to Galilee in order to initiate his public ministry there. When he later learns that he was murdered, he would withdraw from the public eye and begin his final journey to Jerusalem (see Matthew 14:13).2
Jesus is moving to the area where his predecessor had gained great attention. Jesus’ choice to go to the area where Joseph and Mary had to find shelter earlier can indeed be considered a form of withdrawal.3
12 Jésus, ayant appris que Jean avait été livré, se retira dans la Galilée.