The Galilee, the Rock and the Sons of Thunder

Transcript

uh we are uh gonna take a look at uh a x subject that I've always been interested x in it's kind of rattling around in my x head x you know about x you know the origins of Jesus where he x lived uh you know what what the Galilee x was like why did you know why did Jesus x come out of the Galilee why were all his x disciples for the most part from The x Galley what was so special about this x place x um that God kind of chose this area for x his son to grow up in you know why x Nazareth uh you know he was always you x know interesting to me and I guess the x biggest question is what did what did x his um you know his upbringing how did x that have an effect on him and x interactions in Nazareth then travels to x the to the Sea of Galilee how did how x did that all kind of fit together and in x the ministry of Christ so I'll hopefully x we can try to answer some of those x questions I think I finally find it x fascinating how you know locations in x geography affect uh people individuals x really you know kind of make make them x who they are so what we do in oftentimes x in a situation like this is we get a lay x of the land x um and uh it's it's always good to kind x of look at Maps anyways to kind of x figure out where we're at and what we're x dealing with as far as the geography of x a place is it mountainous is it flat is x there water around that type of thing so x we can start on the uh the right hand x side map of ancient Galilee and you can x see that that section there obviously if x we know uh our geography of Israel x Israel is on the coastline of the x Mediterranean Sea uh kind of a small x little sliver of land x um abutting the Mediterranean Sea and up x north you this is where we have the x Galilee and there's several towns that x you may be uh familiar with there x Capernaum magdala ganesara Tiberius x Nazareth of course name x um Haina you know all of these different x uh places visadia these are these are x places that we find in the Bible very x very easily uh and it's as we're going x to see the Galilee uh was the center x point of Jesus's Ministry the majority x of his teaching the majority of his x miracles took place in this area if we x look at the gospels you know obviously x not saying that he didn't travel to x other places he did but this was his x hometown this was the area that he knew x about uh the best you know be like me if x I was going to kind of start you know x preaching uh you know where would I x where would I do well I do it in an area x that I knew I knew the language I knew x the people I knew the culture so New x England would be you know probably a x good place to start instead of me saying x going down to say Alabama or something x like that these are two very different x places and as we're going to find out x the Galilee was very different from x Judea and particularly Jerusalem x um you know for a lot of different x reasons some of them are actually pretty x humorous as as we're going to see so x just let's let's just get a lay of the x land we're up north in the land of x Israel x um up on the border of what is today uh x Northern Israel bordering Lebanon the x Golan Heights which borders Syria so x this is the area that we're talking x about and x um you know we'll get into that a little x bit more uh so here's here's the thing x let's do this x um if you have any questions let's just x hold them to the end uh because uh you x know I I tend to be a little long-winded x here or already at seven 7 40. so um x and I also have a video hopefully a x multimedia presentation brother Jim x boyko loves those uh that kind of go x it's I think it's like eight or nine x minutes uh and it's pretty good so all x right anyways so take a look at these x Maps oh the other thing is this uh x Galilee is divided up into two areas the x upper and the lower Galilee all right x and again there's going to be x differences with that as well all right x let's go x so number one uh the Galilee was a x hotbed of political activity in other x words you know if you were really x interested in um you know in politics x and how things were going in Israel x particularly around the relationship x with you know Herod and his sons and x most importantly Rome in their control x of Israel x um the Galilee was the place for you you x know if you were uh if you were really x into violence against Greeks and Romans x uh x and wanted to kind of take that violence x uh to the Romans and to the Greeks the x Galilee was the place for you this x northern part of Israel had a history of x political autonomy x um and you know one one event that kind x of comes to mind is x um you know uh between Elijah and Ahab x and a lot of the people in the Galilee x uh looked at themselves like Elijah in x other words you know they were kind of x standing up uh for uh you know their own x political economy against the Ahab of x that modern day which was kind of the x political parties the Sanhedrin and x their relationship with Rome they looked x at them as the wicked King Ahab and they x were fighting against that x um fighting against the tyranny of Rome x fighting against the tyranny of the x Sanhedrin who down in you know Jerusalem x were always you know passing these laws x and so on uh that affected the Galilee x um and and you know that was you know x Jerusalem was the center of Jewish x culture and religion but you know it was x very far away from the Galilee you know x granted you could walk there or you know x ride a donkey or whatnot but it took x time and so it reminds me again yes of x um you know an incident in the in the x United States history which was the x American Revolution you know it took six x six weeks to cross the Atlantic during x that time and the you know in the 1700s x and you know things that Parliament did x over in England x you know really didn't affect the x Americans too much and even if they did x they didn't follow the laws anyways you x know like the Stamp Act you know the x British passed the Stamp Act to kind of x recoup some money from the French and x Indian war in the Americans Americans x are like nah you know we're not going to x follow that and this happened quite a x bit and so I I like to use that as an x analogy of the relationship between x Jerusalem the leaders of the Sanhedrin x scribes Pharisees uh Sadducees that type x of thing and this in the Galilee this x far away place x um that didn't you know wanted to do x their own thing they were fiercely x independent uh they the biggest thing x was they didn't want Rome sticking their x nose into their business x um you know when there was taxes x associated with this as well they all x they always hated paying their taxes x um and you know this the Zealot movement x that we that we know about during x um the war the Jewish Wars against Rome x you know the zealots played a big part x of uh you know of of this confrontation x we'll get into that a little bit more so x a nice picture here of the Galilee x brother Jason I think has been here a x few times x um I think he actually stayed in an x Airbnb and Jason you can uh kind of uh x you know I'm sure give us some x information on that how beautiful it is x I know the pictures you shared with me x were pretty cool x so um anyways all right so as we know x from scripture x um x the Galilee was the center of Jesus's x Ministry you know x the majority really of uh the major x events uh happened particularly around x teaching x uh like the Beatitudes Sermon on the x Mount that all happened up in Galilee x all of his uh you know a lot of the x famous Miracles and interactions that we x know about as well where did it happen x it happened up in the Galilee x um so an important area uh you know some x people say that you know the Galilee in x that area is a it's a beautiful place x it's one of uh one of the more beautiful x places in in the Middle East along that x Coastline and it's still you know a x place where tourists go and people you x know Pilgrim making pilgrimages to to x that area so uh it's still a very x important area even today x uh just from secular Israel it's x important because of the water source of x the Sea of Galilee x um but there's a tremendous amount of x Agriculture up in that area as well it's x really uh you know it's really you know x a lot of people can say you know it's x like almost like the Bread Basket of x Israel x um but anyways uh the Romans uh looked x at this area as like backwood right like x you this is a real Lawless area x um and the way they handled any x lawlessness really was in the tried and x true method of Rome violence right x violence brutality you know you couldn't x assemble up in in the Galilee you x couldn't kind of come together you know x if the Romans thought there were too x many people that break it up you know go x in there and you know kill a few people x beat a bunch of people up so you know x even though x the the galileans kind of felt that they x were autonomous and they were fiercely x independent they still had this reminder x uh of Rome they still had the reminder x that they were not free x they were not free to x excuse me practice their religious x beliefs the way in which they wanted to x uh they were not free to keep their own x money they were not free uh you know to x trade into practice uh the things they x wanted to do and so uh that was x obviously a cause of concern and so x you know we just mentioned this it's x really where uh x the Zealot movement began which was just x an incredibly violent x um reaction to the violence of Rome x um and so you know we we talked about x this if you saw my uh my presentation on x the fall of Rome of all of Rome fall of x Jerusalem in 80 70. there was a subgroup x of Fanatics within the zealots called x the Sakari and they were just kind of x just assassins and they killed any x Romans Greeks or any Jews who supported x them right so you can think about you x know as we kind of fast forward into x history after the death and Resurrection x the Ascension into Heaven by Jesus in x the beginnings the early stages of x Christianity x these political ideas in this fanaticism x about being Jewish uh really began the x Rebellion among other things right x really begin the Rebellion against Rome x beginning in uh 66 A.D and this is going x to last for four years you know x eventually you know through sheer x brutality in uh in a tremendous amount x of killing uh the Romans are going to x subdue the Jews during this time x all right so this is this is uh you know x kind of a list I would say of you know x how the Galilee was different from x Jerusalem you know what what made it so x different x and so number one uh there were a lot of x non-jews in the area okay you had x syrians in that area you had the you x know Lebanese people up in that area you x had some Samaritans as well x and we'll talk about that a little bit x uh you know you had you had Jews up in x this area too that were kind of x non-practicing Jews uh they would they x would use only an ethnicity and not in x religion right and so a lot of trade was x going on here a lot of the major x roadways would go through the Galilee x um and in some areas of the Galilee even x though it was backward people were x making a good living particularly x supplying food for areas down in the x south in Judea and in uh and in x Jerusalem x and so you know you had a mixed x population that mixed population x um x was not found down in Jerusalem and x other areas it was much more Jewish x um you know much more kind of uh x homogeneous down in the South where up x in the north you know you had all kinds x of different people coming and going x trading that type of thing not the trade x wasn't happening down in Jerusalem but x it was it was a different atmosphere x um kind of you know the best way to you x know and I know it can be a cliche but x think about x think about the American West right as x people moved West uh more and more x people moved West but it took a long x time for kind of law in order to get x there to x um you know to to you know to have the x sheriff there and all that other other x things kind of the infrastructure you x know think about that like the wild west x um x they were separated by the Samaritans we x know that the Samaritans were a group of x people x um that were transplanted by the x Assyrians after the defeat of the x northern tribes they were scattered uh x these 10 tribes of Israel were scattered x into the Assyrian Empire and into other x places and in their place the Assyrians x uh brought in uh different people from x all over Mesopotamia and other places x and uh they there was a tremendous x amount of hatred between the Samaritans x and uh the Jews that really began right x around the time of Ezra and Nehemiah as x the as the Jewish people returned from x uh their captivity in Babylon you x already had this mixed group of people x from other places they were non-jews but x they were practicing Judaism x are a form of Judaism uh and so you know x a tremendous amount of hostility so x think about this brothers and sisters x you have down in the South you have x Jerusalem the kind of the center of x religion and culture of the Jews and x then you kind of have a buffer x between Jerusalem and Judea of this area x where the Samaritans were it was like a x no-go Zone in fact Jesus went around the x area of the Samaritans a few times right x he also had good interactions with them x um and a couple different couple x different situations but uh you know the x Samaritans were a buffer between uh the x Galilee so you had the Galilee you had x the the Samaritans and then down in the x South he had Jerusalem and the Jews x which so that was kind of another way in x which geography in the politics of the x time are going to separate the Galilee x from uh the connection with Jerusalem x which I think is interesting that's x obviously going to play a part in you x know kind of the leaders of Jerusalem x looking at Jesus as a real threat to x them particularly because they came from x he came from the Galilee you know this x wild place where everyone kind of did x their own thing they wouldn't listen to x anybody x you know so the thing is we that kind of x you know I can make us laugh but you x know just again just kind of think about x uh you know the first kind of the x colonies the American colonies you know x they're coming over here and they didn't x want anyone telling them what to do they x wanted to do their own thing so x um the northern part traditionally uh x was controlled by herod's sons x uh different you know different uh sons x of Herod would control this Northern x Area while Judea and Jerusalem Jerusalem x actually had a a x um x a Roman Governor when we know one of the x Roman governors obviously Pontius Pilate x uh it was very difficult in some x instances for Rome uh to kind of control x the Galilee uh you know they would they x would put down these little rebellions x you know one you know a lot of different x prophets came out of this area as well a x lot of false prophets as well who said x that they were the Messiah and they were x going to start a revolution against Rome x you know this is why uh it's you know x the disciples and other people are x always asking Jesus you know are you x going to restore the kingdom of God at x this time because that was a major x political theme x um not just for Jesus in in his x disciples but really for the people x particularly up in the Galilee when is x the Messiah coming x you're going to get rid of these corrupt x leaders or corrupt leaders when are they x going to get rid of uh you know these x Pagan Romans stomping all over on land x taking our money x brutalizing us right these are some of x the things x um that really uh got people upset x completely understandable x we mentioned this before but the Galilee x was an agricultural hotbed a lot of good x Farmland up there uh they get because of x the mountains and so on they do get a x pretty good amount of rain uh during uh x the winter the winter months and of x course we know this there's excellent x fishing in the Sea of Galilee x um and you know the Sea of Galilee is x not a big it's not a big uh Lake you x know it's a it's a relatively small Lake x compared to other you know other Lakes x like me you know like you're on and x Michigan and stuff like that x um but think about all the great things x that happened in this little place x that's what I like to think about you x know this is like the Galilee this x little Backwater placement the things x that happened the things that were said x the things that were done changed the x world x change the world you know the gospel x message of God began here uh with with x his son so considered backward and x religiously lacked I think that was x that's pretty interesting right the the x uh the really you know very religious x Jews the scribes and the Pharisees the x Levites they all lived down in Jerusalem x that was the center of worship right the x temple x um you know the rituals of the law x following the law every every detail x every jot and Tittle of it uh the x galileans you know not so much they x would follow some things they would x follow other things remember you know x they had you know they had Pagan um x Pagan cities full of uh pagan people x Greeks you know other people syrians x worshiping their own Gods and so you x know it wasn't really super important x for them to keep the whole law not x saying that they didn't because we know x that there were synagogues up there x certain you know synagogues that were up x in the Galilee that Jesus went into x um but uh x you know but it it was LAX it wasn't as x strict as x um as down in uh Jerusalem x and then this last one is pretty funny x because you know I have a pretty thick x Boston accent myself the galileans were x made fun of for their very thick accent x right oftentimes it was so thick that x some of the people down in you know x Jerusalem couldn't understand them like x what what in the world are they saying x you know x um x so you know it would be like you know x you kind of you kind of feel for Peter x it would be like I would I would be by x you know I'd be sitting by the fire with x a with a group of people from say Texas x and they're all talking in their accent x and then I talk and they're like yo x hey this this guy is from a different x place and that's what happened to Peter x unfortunately you know he spoke and x they're like this guy is definitely a x Galilean just like if someone heard me x speak they would like oh this guy is x absolutely from the Boston area without x question x um so yeah so so think about that as x well so there are a lot of there were a x lot of interesting things about the x Galilee during this time but that was x that was one that was uh that was pretty x funny very thick accents I guess it x would probably be the same way those x those you know those of you that are x familiar with um you know Great Britain x right there's some there's people down x in London that have a very different x accent and you know a very thick x Scottish accent to me is almost x impossible to understand x uh and so that would that would be true x like a cockney accent a very thick x Cockney accent hello Governor right that x you know it can be very difficult to x understand as well so x all right x all right so we're going to take a look x at some um you know the Galilee in x scripture which is obviously uh you know x kind of the most important part here uh x you know what happened in the Galilee x Are there are there events that happened x in the Galilee that we cannot apply to x our lives well of course there are right x and so we'll cut we'll go through uh x some of them if this is not a x comprehensive uh uh Deep dive it's but x you know there are certain aspects of um x of Christ and his interactions in the x Galilee that I think are important to x our walk x um into our faith and how uh our x relationship with God and our x relationship with each other as well x first of all x the Galilee is mentioned about 67 times x in scripture okay not a whole lot but x you know it's mentioned 67 times x it's uh it's somewhat important you know x from from that nine of those times are x mentioned in the Old Testament so x clearly uh much more are uh you know is x mentioned in the New Testament obviously x because that's that's what Christ x started his ministry and that's where x the majority of his ministry is going to x take place but let's take a look at a x couple of these in um Kings the x ninth chapter x uh you know this it tells us that that x it was a gift the Galilee was a gift to x Hiram that uh x that Solomon gave in the 11th verse of x the ninth chapter x um x which is interesting now Hiram verse 11 x the king of tire had furnished Solomon x with cedar trees and fir trees and with x gold according to all his desire then x then King Solomon gave Hiram 20 cities x in the land of Galilee x well what it what was so what was x Hiram's reaction and Hiram came out of x tire to see the cities which Solomon had x given him and they pleased him not x and he said what cities are these which x thou has given me my brother and he x called them the land of Kabul unto this x day and if you look at your um x uh your margin it says displeasing or x dirty that's interesting so you know the x he so Hiram didn't like the area of the x Galilee you know it wasn't wasn't up to x withstandards these you know the the the x the uh the land that Solomon gave x um so okay that's that's interesting now x uh in Isaiah x and the ninth chapter x and this is certainly a direct x connection to Christ the ninth chapter x um verse one nevertheless the dimness x shall not be such as was in her vexation x when at first he lightly Afflicted the x land of Zebulon in the land of naphtali x and afterward did more grievously x afflict her by the way of the sea Beyond x Jordan in the Galilee of the Nations or x of the populace x verse 2 the people that walked in x darkness have seen a great light they x that dwell in the land of the shadow of x death upon them hath the light shine so x wow we have a a really nice connection x there right with with Christ and with x the land of the land of the Galilee the x Galilee is specifically mentioned and x then in the very next verse it talks x about the people that were walking in x darkness have seen a great light well x what was that great light well we know x that great light was the coming of the x Son of God the savior of the world x um and x you know Isaiah is really going to take x uh take this on in several of the x different Pro uh the Messianic uh x prophecies this idea of light and x darkness right God bringing forth his x son into a dark world to spread light uh x upon it to save it from its own x iniquities x um we know that all the disciples came x from there you know the rock Peter right x the sons of thunder uh all came from x here they all had jobs in here uh they x all had families we know that Peter x lived in uh Capernaum I believe his x mother you know his mother-in-law was x sick Jesus is going to heal her x um so yeah they you know they lived and x worked in this area they were they were x truly Galilean and so you know they x brought with them their upbringing in x their culture uh you know Jesus had this x kind of uh the same upbringing in in a x certain way he lived in this culture x right he knew the ins and outs of x Galilee what it meant to be a Galilean x think about the characters Jesus must x have must have ran into you know I run x into a lot of characters in my travels x as well you know assistant principal or x you know officiating wrestling that type x of thing you know you run into a lot of x different characters x uh so you know I think about that too x you know what was what was some of the x characters that Jesus ran into I mean we x have we haven't recorded for us right he x he ran into a lot of different people x that were really suffering they were x struggling x um x you know and he did his very best to try x to uh alleviate a lot of that suffering x but you know as we're going to see you x know people came from all over the place x um so yeah with that in mind let's look x at um x Matthew the fourth chapter x uh in verse 23 x . x and Jesus went about all Galilee x teaching in their synagogues and x preaching the gospel of the Kingdom x healing all manner of sickness and all x manner of disease among the people and x his Fame when thrown all Syria and they x brought into him all sick people that x were taken with diverse diseases x torments possessed with Devils lunatic x palsy he healed them all and they x followed and there followed him great x multitudes of people from Galilee and x from decapolis and from Jerusalem and x from Judea and from Beyond Jordan now so x let's think about this brothers and x sisters you know we we just talked about x how how Galilee was a Backwater but it x certainly doesn't sound like a Backwater x now that Jesus is teaching and preaching x is it people are coming from all over x the place they're coming up from the x north from Syria and from Lebanon coming x down into the Galilee what does it say x about the other uh about Jerusalem and x about Judea well instead of the galleons x coming going up you you know down to x Jerusalem and up to Jerusalem x the people from Jerusalem are going up x to the Galilee you know that was unheard x of it's almost like the old Switcheroo x uh you know no people aren't going down x to Jerusalem to worship people in x multitudes throngs of people are going x up into the Galilee to see this great x preacher the teacher the Healer x up in the Galilee you know it's I I x think that's kind of like a you know a x beautiful x um x you know a beautiful example of God x turning the world on its head x you know the wisdom of this world is x foolishness to God you know x Jerusalem really wasn't the center now x it was Christ Christ was the center of x of worship it was Christ that people x were coming to uh and this obviously is x kind of like a first red flag I would x imagine to the leaders of the Sanhedrin x and uh the scribes and the Pharisees x they're like whoa you know we got people x leaving Jerusalem x to go see this guy what's what's the x story right x um Peter talks about this as well in x Acts 13. x we'll look at a couple things in acts in x Acts 13 and verse 30. x um x speaking of this is uh this is Peter x um yeah this is Peter actually who is x this and Paul no no is Paul Paul's x talking now x um x and he says in verse 30 but God speaking x uh God raised him Jesus from the dead x and he was seen many days of them which x came up with him From Galilee to x Jerusalem who are his Witnesses unto the x people and we declare you glad tidings x how that the promises which were made x unto the fathers God has fulfilled the x same unto their children so on and so x forth and so x even Paul now recognizes the importance x of the Galilee right he he knew the x stories of Jesus growing up in the x Galilee and the disciples in this idea x of the Galilee being the center of x teaching and eventually Jesus and his x disciples are going to move are going to x travel to uh to Jerusalem we know that x Jerusalem is where Jesus is going to be x uh you know betrayed x and he is going to be crucified x and then lastly uh even you know even x the angels of God recognize x recognizes the importance of the Galilee x right and acts acts the first chapter x verse 11 and one that we know very well x uh you men of Galilee why are you x standing gazing up into heaven Jesus x this same Jesus was just taken up from x you into heaven shall come in like x manner as ye have seen him go into x heaven so you men of Galilee that was uh x that was the title that the angel gave x um to the disciples they were men of x Galilee you know that meant something x I'm a man of Galilee right I'm uh I'm a x New Englander you know I say that what x I'm a New Englander hearty New Englander x right there's a certain connotation well x uh I'm a southerner oh what does that x mean right I'm from California okay x uh that means something right so the you x know all of these different places x um you know have have an impact on you x as you grow up x um you know it's almost impossible not x to x you know there's certain things like x like you know say in Massachusetts that x are very unique to this place x um just like there's other things you x know in other places of the of the x country that you know are you are unique x to that part of the country x and that was the same in ancient Israel x Galilee was a very unique Place uh x mostly for bad stuff but x the the greatest event of mankind x happened in the Galilee and that's why x it's important x all right let's let's take a second now x uh to kind of talk about Nazareth x um on that right on the right hand side x you could see Nazareth kind of uh from x you know from a hill location kind of x looking down on Nazareth and you can see x that it's kind of it's an elevated area x it's x um it's in it's in kind of a mountainous x hilly area there are some flat stop x flat spots x but Nazareth really was a Backwater x you know it was a Backwater town and a x Backwater region x um you know Nazareth really during the x time of Christ only had about 400 people x they've done some excavation x archaeological excavation and Nazareth x was not a big place so it was kind of it x was a difficult life in a lot of x different ways you know that Jesus uh x you know most of the poor farmers x most of them were poor Farmers kind of x scratching out a living up in this uh x kind of poor poor agricultural land area x some were Tradesmen we know that Jesus x was a carpenter or a builder most likely x and he most likely you know worked not x necessarily in Nazareth but they're like x Tiberius was a bigger city uh there was x there was a couple others you know uh x that uh people went to to look for jobs x right for you know in Jesus's case you x know do you need something built is x there any building projects that are x going on x um in that area uh and so let's you know x let's look at John the first chapter x because Nazareth is directly mentioned x in this uh x in this year and I think it just x reinforces what we've been talking about x in the 46th x um actually in verse uh x yeah verse 45 Philip finds Nathaniel and x says unto him we have found him x of whom Moses and the law and the x prophets did right Jesus of Nazareth the x son of Joseph so what they're saying is x we've we've found the Christ we found x the we found the Messiah x right now this wasn't you you would x think like wow this is people would have x jumped at this opportunity you found x Messiah okay so who it is but people x were pretty leery about this because we x already talked about this there were a x lot of Messiahs during this time people x professing to be the the one the chosen x one who was going to bring about the x Kingdom of Israel and get rid of the x Roman Authority and so you know when um x when Philip finds Nathaniel and says x look we found the Messiah this is the x guy Jesus of Nazareth x you know Nathanael says Ken anything x good come out of Nazareth right so x Nazareth already has a reputation as x kind of being you know x you know kind of a crappy place right x can anything good come out of Nazareth x right just think about kind of like x wherever you live kind of think about x like a rundown town or a run-down City x that kind of has a reputation of not x being a great place uh you know just you x know what what what's there in Nazareth x you know and there may have been other x reasons too again you know most of the x Galilee was kind of looked down upon and x so you know Nathaniel is really this is x an example of Nathaniel kind of x harboring some of the prejudices x uh against the galileans against people x that lived in Nazareth ah they're all a x bunch of yokels they don't know anything x the Messiah is coming from Nazareth come x on that's silly talk x um and so okay so keep that in mind now x uh in Luke what do we got for time oh x boy yeah all right in Luke the fourth x chapter x um x you know this is uh in verse there's a x beautiful uh you know beautiful account x here in uh the fourth verse in verse 14. x uh in Jesus returned in the power of the x spirit into Galilee and they went out a x Fame of him throughout all the region x round about and he taught in their x synagogues x being glorified of all so he's starting x his ministry in where well in the x Galilee you know he this is the place he x grew up in it's the place he knew he x obviously traveled all around these x places he knew the roads into Capernaum x he knew all the spots he knew the area x around the Sea of Galley it most likely x had traveled there right and so he x returned in the power of the spirit x right he just had been tempted of the x devil he was in the wilderness for 40 x days he you know he's just he just came x out of a very intense x uh spiritual and physical x um x you know just event x and he he comes out of this and he is x ready he's ready to preach the kingdom x of God and where does he stop well he x went to the synagogues in and around x Capernaum but there is one event that's x mentioned even in this fourth chapter x and it is when he went to Nazareth he x went to his hometown he's going to x preach in there he's going to go into x the synagogue that he grew up in x right he has these beautiful words right x and there was the verse 16 and he came x to Nazareth x first uh where he had been brought up x and as his custom was wow he already had x a custom what was his custom he went x into the synagogue and he stood up to x read Jesus could read brothers and x sisters he could write we know that he x could write because he wrote in the x ground x um when the woman was caught in an x adultery so we could read and write that x was his very that was very uh very x special particularly in in the Jewish x religion and the Jewish culture they x were always pushing for the Jewish uh x you know boys to read x because reading you had to read the law x you had to know the law and so how would x you know the law well you had to read it x you could hear it spoken but to read the x law is very different it was very x important to the ancient Jews it's very x important to Jews now x to have uh to have the ability to read x this was something that a lot of people x did not have in the ancient world x Brothers as this is particularly x in the Galilee right so x uh and there was delivered unto him the x book of the prophet Isaiah x and when he had opened the book he found x the place where it was Isaiah 61 x the spirit of the Lord is upon me x because he hath anointed me to preach x the gospel to the poor x he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted x to preach Deliverance to the captives x and recovery of the sight to the blind x to set at Liberty them that are bruised x to preach the acceptable year of the x Lord x right now we could we could do a whole x class on this on these two verses here x brothers and sisters but you know he's x preaching the gospel to the poor there x are a lot of poor in the Galilee x there are a lot of people that needed to x be healed there were a lot of x Brokenhearted x a lot of captives x blind people that were Desiring Liberty x in the Galilee they were bruised they x were suffering x and so brothers and sisters the Galilee x was the perfect place for Jesus to begin x his ministry x they were suffering people they were all x poor people they were struggling people x but they were also a proud people x they didn't want Outsiders telling them x uh what to do and so you know x and he closed the book and he gave it x again to the minister and sat down and x he began to say and they were all x looking at him like whoa x this day x is this scripture fulfilled in your ears x and all bear him witnessed and wondered x at the gracious Words which proceeded x out of his mouth right and so x um but okay so that's great but he goes x on and he really kind of sticks it to x him now right he he starts telling the x truth hard truths that they don't unders x they don't want to hear this will surely x say unto me this proverb physician heal x thyself whatsoever We Have Heard done in x Capernaum do also here and in my country x and then he uses this example but I tell x you verse 25 of the truth many many x widows were in Israel in days of Elias x when the heaven was shut up three years x and six months in six months but unto x none of them was Elijah sent save unto x the surepta of the city of sidon unto a x woman that was a widow x so he's you know here are the here are x these Jews very confident in their x jewishness very confident that they were x the chosen people they had the Oracles x of God as Paul says in Romans x but Jesus says he used an example from x scripture and says that you're just like x the time of Elijah where Elijah was sent x not to not to Jewish people x but to a sidonian to a Phoenician woman x right and they we know the reaction to x them they totally rejected Jesus at this x point they tried to cast them off the x cliff right so that tells us that x Nazareth is kind of up in a mountainous x area and so x Nazareth his own Hometown rejection x right x all right so x um x all right we're doing good so a lot of x different major events right uh happened x during this time and let's just take a x take a look at uh you know a couple of x couple of these but in Luke 5 x verse one this is we're right here in x the in the fourth but let's look at it x um x verse 5. x he's at the lake the the Lake of x ganesarito the Sea of Galilee x um x and he saw two ships standing by the x lake but the fishermen were going out x and they were washing their Nets x and they entered into one of the ships x so he goes into the ship which was x Simon's and prayed him that he would x thrust out a little from the land x and he sat down and he taught the people x out of the ship x now when he had left speaking he said x unto Simon go out into the deep and let x down your nets x and you know Peter says man you know x look we've been out all night x we haven't taken anything and so he says x look go you know x because you're saying it go I'll go and x do it and when they had this done they x enclosed a great multitude of fishes in x their next break they're breaking so he x had to get his other partners and his x other ships to try to pull in this net x they had a massive amount of uh fish x um x to the point where these ships are x starting to sink and so this is great x you know again we could do a whole a x whole class or two on Peter himself and x these interactions with Jesus you know x Pete is such a wonderful character x it says in verse 8 that he fell down x at Jesus's knee saying x depart from me x for I am a sinful Man O Lord x uh it's it's just such a great story and x such a great you know uh reaction by x Jesus you know and Peter saw the power x of Christ and he knew he was so he was x So Unworthy of it x um but Jesus didn't depart in fact he x says Peter come with me I want you to x follow me I want you to be by my side x uh and sometimes we can feel as if we're x not worthy of the of of the mercy of x Christ and the goodness of Christ x uh but we are and he's by our side and x we should be walking with him just like x Peter walked just like the disciples x walked throughout Galilee x um x he he will never leave us or forsake us x and that's what we need to remember you x know as we go through our sufferings and x our trials and our tribulations just x like Peter did just like the disciples x did and so we're not going to at x all of these but you know the Centurion x servant I put both of these in there the x Centurion servant you know the Centurion x um x and you know I'm not worthy that you x should enter into my house but only you x know say say the word am I and you know x my servant will be healed x right the faith of a gentile Matthew 15 x up in the Galilee up in the northern x part of the Galilee the woman of Faith x the syrophoenician woman x right but you know even the dogs partake x of the of the crumbs that fall from the x table x right these two individuals show greater x faith x uh you know in all of Israel x um x crisis x okay uh x we got a 10 minute video that we're x gonna close with x the land of Israel is into x incredible Geographic complex x I'm Jack Beck I'm a Bible geographer and x I hear in the Holy Land in order to x explore all the geographical differences x that this land has to offer and I'm x doing it as a Bible teacher because in x order to best understand our Bible and x the stories that only fit in the place x of her we're going to go on a trip that x visits all sorts of different places in x this region we know that Nazareth was x nowhere spilled and no one expected the x Messiah to come from there but in God's x plan Nazareth turned out to be the x perfect place for Jesus to grow on I am x going to show you a way x to read you page ever have experienced x before we're going to make the Bible's x geography meaningful x thank you x this is hands down one of the most x iconic places in the Holy Land x to really appreciate it we need to get x out here on the lake and look back x across beautiful Shoreline that's Ground x Zero for Jesus ministry here this is the x Sea of Galilee x foreign x I can't think of a single person whom I x brought to this Lake who said oh that's x what I was expecting to see x they always look at it and wait x that's way smaller than what I was x expecting x we're looking at an inland Lake here x that's just seven and a half miles x across 13 miles from north to south and x 32 miles around it isn't much of a lake x it's got big stories but it's kind of a x tiny Lake x what I want you to know for sure and see x for sure is how very different this x place is the Nazareth x we move from a high mountain valley down x here under this sprawling Lake Country x with a beautiful agricultural Plains x surrounding it x we move from a place where we've got x creamy colored limestones to a place x where we have dark souls and black x boulders x and we move from a place that had a very x simple subsistence economy to a place x with a very complicated economy one that x involved both building and fishing in x agriculture and supportive international x trading even the manufacture of grinding x meals from the local basalt x this lake is completely different from x Nazareth it changes x and when Jesus comes into this space x people begin to think about him x differently x it's a place where expectations are x rising x all the archaeological sites in the Holy x Land the place I think I feel most home x might be this one x this is the home of Jesus x turn them and it's a place that I feel x at home because I'm among so many people x who are here because Jesus was here x at the time of Jesus there were maybe 12 x 1500 people who were living here x observant Jews who lived in work in x these homes around us x one difference between these observant x Jews in Capernaum and those that lived x up in Nazareth x folks here were accustomed to meeting x people from many different places and as x a consequence of that x heard a lot of new ideas and in fact x we're x that means Jesus got a hearing here that x he didn't get in other places x if Jesus had remained in Nazareth x there's simply no way that he would have x met either the large number of people or x the variety of people that were here in x Bible time x they came here for other purposes x some some of the synagogue and heard x Jesus x Jesus and what I love about x Mark is that Mark not only tells us what x Jesus said in this building but how x people responded to what he said x Jesus teaches with authority and not x like the teachers of the law in other x words Jesus quality of instruction is x better than the teachers of the teachers x in Jerusalem x that's what made him unique and that is x what was lifting expectations about x Jesus here in caperna x most of Jesus teaching centered in a x small two and a half square mile area on x the northwest shore of the Sea of x Galilee x at a nearby fishing Village called x magdala I want to show you another x synagogue in which Jesus likely taught x if I've been sitting in this room x listening to Jesus in the first century x I'd be sitting so close to him I could x see the color of his eyes x this is the synagogue in the town of x magdala x I find so striking about this is its x intimacy x the people who were sitting with Jesus x and he could see the problems the x physical emotional mental problems that x they had x out of love to demonstrate the authority x of his messages x he would do miracles x the point of that the kind of short clip x was the differences between Nazareth and x Capernaum Capernaum was almost like a x Cosmopolitan place if you could call it x that and there were a lot of different x people that were coming there for a lot x of different reasons and uh it was a x perfect place for Jesus to start x preaching the gospel very different from x Nazareth x um you know very different in a lot of x different ways so