John 2:12, Capernaum

12 After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.

In the other gospels we learn that Joseph took his family to Nazareth after their escape into Egypt, fleeing the homicidal actions of King Herod. Nazareth was a little town in the middle of nowhere in Galilee far away from Jerusalem. It was the perfect place for the Savior of the world to grow up unnoticed by the world. However, it was not the ideal location for Jesus’ base of ministry. So Jesus moves his family “down to Capernaum,” meaning at a lower elevation than Nazareth. His disciples come along as well.

Capernaum was a busy lakeside fishing town on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee with a population around 1500. It was also a crossroads of major trading routes. It offered Jesus a wider audience as all kinds of people—travelers and traders—passed through this city. More people would see Jesus perform signs in Capernaum and then move on, spreading word about this unusual and miracle-performing man.

Capernaum was also a major fishing port. Fishing business located there provided fish for the residents of Jerusalem. Peter, Andrew, James, and John were all in the fishing business and most likely lived there. It is also likely that John’s family sold their fish in Jerusalem, which would make sense because, as we will see later, John had connections in Jerusalem to get into the high priest’s house after Jesus was arrested.

We know from Matthew that Peter lived there with his wife and mother-in-law, and that Matthew lived there himself. Of Capernaum Jesus says in Matthew 11:23-24, “And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.” Unfortunately, Capernaum, like Jerusalem itself, would not respond positively to the Messiah who came to draw the world to himself.