Jesus' Ministry in Galilee

The reference is Isaiah 9:1-2. The text leading up to it describes the fall of Israel to Assyria, but there remains hope for Israel as the mother of the faithful.

Isaiah 8:17-18, 21-22; 9:1

I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion....
They will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God, and turn their faces upward. And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.
But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

John said this first, preparing the way. John was arrested in 4:12, and Jesus picks up where he left off. The word cannot be chained.

Matthew 3:1-2

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

2 Timothy 2:8

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!

While Matthew speaks often of fulfilling Scripture, Mark only mentions it here and at the Lord's arrest in 14:49. Mark's placement, therefore, sets bookends on the time of Christ on earth.

Mark 14:49

Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled.

It's worth remembering Mark set out to capture that gospel proclaimed by Jesus--that's what we have in this book.

Mark 1:1

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

This is Mark's first mention of belief. Trusting the good news ("gospel") makes another appearance at the close of Mark.

Mark 16:12-16

After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them. Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Note also that Mark pairs the good news ("gospel") with the bad news of John's arrest. Mark makes a point in his gospel of the need to trust and rely on the Lord by presenting the gospel in the light of sacrifice.

Mark 8:35

Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.

Mark 10:29

Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel,

Mark 14:9

Truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.

Jesus' notoriety is spreading by word of mouth among the people. This is how the gospel always spreads. Contrast this method with official power or government proclamation.

We note Matthew says almost the same thing about Him after He raises a little girl who had been ill.

Matthew 9:26

And the report of this went through all that district.

Jesus made a habit of teaching in the synagogue. The assembly is the place for God's teaching, and Jesus is God's appointed Teacher, after all.

Jesus' Use of the Synagogue in Luke

Reference	Verse
4:16	And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.
4:44	And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
6:6	On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered.
13:10	Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.

Paul also made a habit of teaching in the synagogues.

Paul's Use of the Synagogue in Acts

Reference	Verse
9:20	And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God."
13:5	When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them.
13:14	but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.
14:1	Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.
17:10	The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue.
17:17	So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.
18:4	And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.
18:19	And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there, but he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.
19:8	And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.

The synagogue is where believers in God will be found. It's a great place to start teaching. In the absence of a synagogue, we see them begin to teach wherever they can find religious service.

Non-Jewish Starting Points in Acts

Reference	Verse
16:13	And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.
17:22-23	So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: 'To the unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you...."

We note this glory is often short-lived (see verse 28). It is a pattern that Jesus is typically received well at first, but controversy ensues.

Recall that "the two days" of verse 43 are the time He stayed with the Samaritans at their request in verse 40. His reception in Samaria is being contrasted with how His own will ultimately receive Him--a comparison that is borne out even in the Acts.

Acts 8:1, 4-8

And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles....
Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was much joy in that city.