Jesus in the Galilee: Now Christianity Makes Sense

  

If ever I had respect for Jesus:

   We visited the Mount of Beatitudes in summer and it must have been 101 degrees outside.  With 80 % humidity it was like walking through glitter putty air.   And Jesus Preached on that hill.   IN the SUN.    With no AIR-CON to look forward to.    NOT even a cool evening breeze to Soothe His brow at end of day.

I can't imagine Jesus even walking up that hill, much less preaching for hours on it.   Without completely dissolving into sweat.   (If I can say that respectfully.)

It's the little things He has done for us that sometimes get you.   If he suffered even that for me, so we could be tight, I can suffer for Him, and go through whatever comes my way, right?   'Cause He loves me.   and He's so worth it!   


Galilee is like California.   

Much Greener.   Much Cleaner.   But it has that air that says, Anything's possible! and Just be yourself!    Relax.  

It's Pink oleander and pampus grass.   I could be up at Lake Cachuma.   I felt like I could finally breathe up there.   

I had been living in Jerusalem.    I had to remember, Jerusalem was where Jesus went to die, not where He lived. 

So Jesus, from my humble observations, started his life in a place that exuded FREEDOM.   Nature.   High Vistas.    Out-of-Bounds living.   Simple.   Hopeful Expectations.    Whispers on the wind.      ,,,Legendary... 


When I first came to Israel, I volunteered in the hill country of Judea.   A few months later, I was in the heart of Jerusalem.  

I walked on the streets of the Old City, down the Via Dolorosa and climbed to the top of the Mt. of Olives.  I was searching for an understanding of God.    But it wasn't until we were driving along the shores of the Sea of Galilee that I understood how special Jesus was in the light of His message.


In His day, He was a religious anomaly.    He kept the law but talked about doing only what He saw the Father do.  He upheld the law but also re-defined it's values.    He healed on the Sabbath and forgave adulteress women with a Go and sin no more.     He stood up for the weak and poor--and everyone's favorite--denounced Pharisee hypocrisy.  

Jerusalem is hard white stone and Galilee, bushing brambles and the lush greenery.   I was looked for Jesus' deeper message in the capital--the city of government and religious tradition.   But I found it in the area of his hometown.    The place of his roots.      

Nazareth in the Galilee is an area that reflects Freedom and Life. It's the most poignant backdrop for  an introduction of the New Covenant.    The Covenant that reflects the Love and Forgiveness of Elohim,   The Father.   I can only imagine Jesus's excitement as He saw His Father's plan unfold.

 It would now be meeting God as you walked on the water through wind and waves.    It would be multiplicity of provision--free food!    It would be POWER!   Over sickness and death and Hell and heartache! 

 It has begun.   He must have thought with the future in His eye.    Let's bring it!