Ep. 21: Turning point

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MATTHEW 4:23, MARK 1:35-39, LUKE 4:42-44

What an exhausting day that must have been for him. Yet, the following day, Jesus woke up very early, between three and six o’clock in the morning. It was not until some time afterwards that the disciples went out looking for him. After such a day, and with the prospect of starting his second journey through Galilee - this time in so far different circumstances - he knew that he had to gird himself in prayer. Thus also would they learn that he was not merely a worker of miracles, but that he, whose Word demons obeyed, lived a life, not of outward but of inward power, in fellowship with his Father and who soaked his work with prayer. But as yet, it seemed difficult for them to realise this.

They all wanted a repeat performance in Capernaum, more of what they experienced the day before. But this was the very reason why he had withdrawn here. He had come, not to attract the crowds and be proclaimed a King, but to preach the Kingdom of God. He was not to be the expected hero of Jewish legend but someone very different!

This second journey through Galilee, which the three Gospels connect with the stay at Capernaum, marks a turning point in the working of the Christ. As already stated, the occurrences at the ‘Unknown Feast’ in Jerusalem, formed a new point of departure. Jesus had fully presented his claims to the religious authorities and they had been fully rejected by the Scribes and the others. As a result. He separated himself from that ‘untoward generation’ and thus began his systematic persecution by the authorities when his movements were tracked and watched.

This is an extract from the book, Jesus : Life and Times, available for £10 here (Finalist for Academic Book of the year at 2023 CRT awards)