PER037

A visit to Capernaum

After the wedding at Cana, Jesus the Messiah visits Capernaum with his family around 1 December 29. Only John reports this episode (John 2:12). He meets his disciples Peter, Andrew, James and John there and befriends Zebedee and Salome. This town later becomes the headquarters of his Galilean ministry. After this visit, he returns to Nazareth before joining John the Baptist at Aenon.

5 min Capernaum Jesus the Messiah Galilean ministry John’s Gospel disciples 4 verses 2 books

Resources

Biblical texts

Matthew
Matthew (King James Version) not cited in the book
Mark
Mark (King James Version) not cited in the book
Luke
Luke (King James Version) not cited in the book
John
John 2.12 (King James Version)

After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days.

Technical details

Bar chart for the year 29

Location: Capernaum in Galilee

Date: 1 December 29

Method: We continue with John

Note on the method: John alone gives us information about this period of Jesus the Messiah’s life before John the Baptist’s arrest

Journey from Cana to Capernaum

Jesus the Messiah went to Capernaum. He will return to Nazareth and then go to join John at Aenon.

Jesus the Messiah at Capernaum

Jesus the Messiah at Capernaum

Comments

John tells us here that, after the wedding, Jesus the Messiah and his family were invited to Capernaum for a few days. Peter and Andrew, like Philip, lived there although originally from (John 1.44), probably for work, and Zebedee and Salome, the parents of James and John (the Gospel’s author), owned a house in the area.

The distance between and Capernaum is about thirty kilometres, a day’s walk. They probably travelled all day on Sunday, 2 December 29.

The disciples seem to have wanted to invite Jesus the Messiah and his family to show him where they lived. They also wished to introduce him to their parents and friends.

This is probably when he befriends Zebedee and Salome (Luke 23.49).

We see that, before beginning his ministry in Judea, Jesus the Messiah already knew Capernaum and its surroundings, where he would minister after John the Baptist’s arrest.

This town would become the headquarters of Jesus the Messiah and his disciples, probably around autumn of the year 30.

Following this visit, according to John, Jesus the Messiah will return with his family to Nazareth, as we conclude. They will probably stop overnight in the village of and leave for Nazareth the next day.

We have no further details, except that in April 30 he will go to Jerusalem with his disciples, again according to John. Jesus the Messiah therefore seems to have kept in touch with his disciples.

After a visit to Nazareth, he probably left his mother and siblings to return either to Aenon near Salim or even to Bethany beyond the Jordan. We favour Aenon because of the detail in John 3.22-24.