John the Baptist had been imprisoned for challenging King Herod about his immoral marriage to his brother's wife (Luke 3:19-20).  John's message - "Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near" (Matthew 3:2) - had been temporarily silenced.  But the message was still true; so Jesus continued to proclaim it (Matthew 21:32). Instead of staying around the Jerusalem area with the danger of Herod's violence ... it was not God's time for Him (John 7:30) ... Jesus went back to the north of the country and made His base in Capernaum.  Matthew wanted his readers to understand that Christ's relocation was all part of God's plan, as prophesied in Isaiah 9:1-2.

Galilee, with its surrounding towns, was not considered to be a holy place, and particularly not Nazareth (John 1:46).  It was separated from Jerusalem and Judea by the despised Samaritan territory to the south, and bordered onto Syria in the north.  This province had been infiltrated by the pagan Roman army and Gentile traders, and was a spiritually dark place.  However, it was just the right place for Jesus to call His disciples and start His ministry as the 'Light of the world' as prophesied by Simeon (Luke 2:27-32).

Believers often wonder what God is doing when they find themselves shaken out of their comfort zones and placed in a spiritually dark place.  It should be no surprise.  The place where the light of Christ is needed will always be a dark place. It may be a prosperous city with hard working people or a multicultural place with good relationships, but without the light of Christ and repentance before Almighty God, it will always be spiritually dark (Isaiah 60:2).

Many workplaces may also be spiritually dark; empires where money, power and success have become idols.  And yet the message is the same: ‘Repent for the kingdom of God is near’.  Many may resist the message, but there will be some people who are longing to hear that God will forgive sinners and welcome all who repent.  They may previously have heard the same message from a godly relative or a believing teacher, and ignored it.  But the message is still true: and God may use you to deliver it to produce a harvest of righteousness (Hosea 10:12).