Tag Archives: Capernaum

OPPORTUNISTIC FAITH

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OPPORTUNISTIC FAITH

“The next day, the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with His disciples, but that they had gone away alone.

“Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.” John 6:22-24.

Strange! How did Jesus get back to Capernaum when there was only one boat and He was not in it when the disciples returned from their impromptu picnic?

The crowd had obviously spent the night in the vicinity so that they could be on site when Jesus reappeared the next morning. They knew He must be there because He stayed on the mountain when the disciples set off across the lake. Now He had mysteriously disappeared. They waited in vain for Him to come. Eventually they returned to Capernaum, using the available boats moored nearby.

“When they found Him on the other side of the lake, they asked Him, ‘Rabbi, when did you get here?’ ” John 6:25.

Did He give them the slip in the night and walk back to Capernaum? It would have been a long overnight trip and He certainly would have been too tired to be up early and about His business again. They were curious to know how He had returned without a boat, but He didn’t answer them. He was not obliged to satisfy their curiosity. His response went straight to the point.

“Jesus answered, ‘Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs performed but because you ate the bread and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.’ “ John 6:26, 27.

These people were opportunists, and Jesus saw right through them. He ripped the cover off the most heinous of all motives for following Him, self-interest.

The book of Job, the most ancient of all the Old Testament writings, explores this “factory fault” in the make-up of all fallen human beings. Behind the scenes and unknown to Job, God boasted to the devil of Job’s righteousness. ‘Only because you mollycoddle him!’ the devil shot back. ‘Touch the possessions you have lavished on him and he’ll turn on you,’ he challenged. ‘Okay,’ the Lord replied, ‘You can take away everything he has but you can’t touch him.’

Satan let rip on Job and mercilessly stripped him of everything, including his children. In the midst of this devastation, Job responded with humble submission to the will of God. ‘What about his health?’ the devil hissed. Again, God agreed to let him afflict his body but not to take his life. ‘Then we’ll see what happens,’ He confidently declared.

Job was bewildered by this sudden turn of events but, in spite of his grief and confusion, he refused to “curse God and die” as his wife suggested. The process to understanding was painful, but Job passed the test. He was not as concerned about his loss as he was about God’s silence. He felt that God was angry with him and he could not understand His reason.

How tragic that we so often, with the whole Bible at our disposal and the Holy Spirit within us to interpret it, have fallen for the devil’s lie that salvation is all about us and that God is here to serve us. When things go wrong, many of God’s people turn on Him and demand an explanation.

This arrogant attitude undermines the very foundation of what God did for us in Christ. His love was the motive, not our need or even our worth yet often our attitude exposes our hearts. We think that God owes it to us. “Why me, God? What have I done to deserve this?” Job’s heart was right and had passed the test, even though he knew nothing of the reason for it.

Can God have the same confidence in you, that “though He slay you, yet will you trust in Him? “Or are you in it for what you can get out of it?

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

WE CAN TRUST HIM!

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WE CAN TRUST HIM!

“When evening came, His disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. But He said to them, ‘It is I; don’t be afraid.’ Then they were willing to take Him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.” John 6:16-21 (NIV).

“With Jesus in the boat…!” How often have you heard that message preached?

Why did John include this incident in his story? Remember that he was giving evidence that Jesus is the Son of God so that his readers would believe in Him. Every incident was a sign that His claims were true because His miracles authenticated who He claimed to be. Every sign pointed to some aspect of His person and work as the Messiah that gave clarity to what He came to do.

Mark added a detail to his account of this incident that makes it spring to life. “He was about to pass by them, but when they saw Him walking on the lake, they thought He was a ghost…” Mark 6:48c. If Jesus was walking on the water to go to them, why would He want to pass by them? It makes no sense unless there is something more to His intention than meets the eye.

We have to look for the use of this phrase somewhere else in Scripture to capture its meaning.

In Exodus 34, in response to Moses’ request, God was about to reveal His name to him. He had instructed him to bring another two stone tablets up the mountain with him because Moses had smashed the first two tablets in his anger against his people. While he had been up the mountain with God, they had persuaded Aaron to make them a calf-god out of gold which they were worshipping with undignified frenzy when he returned.

God promised to hide Moses in a crevice in a rock and reveal His name to him. “Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed His name, the Lord.

“And He passed by in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness…’ ” Exodus 34:5, 6.

Would His disciples have got the message? If they understood their Scriptures, they would surely have realized what Jesus was doing. He was making a very bold move to reproduce what He had done on Mount Sinai many centuries before, to reassure them that it was okay to trust Him because He was no phoney. A sign like that would have added to the weight of evidence they already had to convince them of His identity.

The outcome was equally startling. The moment Jesus stepped into the boat, they arrived at their destination. We could, of course, argue that they were so taken up with watching Him walk on the rough water that they did not notice how near they were to the shore. That could be true but John made a point of reporting that His presence in the boat contributed to their speedy and safe arrival back at Capernaum.

“Passing by” seems to be a euphemism for revealing Himself to His people; God to Moses on the mountain and Jesus to His disciples on the lake. He was not abandoning them but alerting them to the deep truth He wanted them to be sure of. Just as it was God on the mountain reassuring Moses that, in spite of His people’s rebellion and failure to believe in Him, He was still the gracious and compassionate God who would forgive them and reinstate them as His covenant people, so also Jesus, on the lake, was reassuring His disciples that He was God; that He was with them and would graciously forgive and receive His people if they would put their trust in Him.

Their fear turned to relief when they realized who He was and they gladly assisted Him into the boat. The stormy lake lost its terror for them and, before they knew it, the boat scraped the shore and they were safely home after a very eventful day.

Jesus was slowly building a case for who He was. The disciples still wavered and doubted until the resurrection. From that moment on, nothing could shake their confidence in Him as their Lord and God.  With the same power of the Holy Spirit in them that had energized Him, they set out to turn the world upside down, but it took them a long time to get there.

We are also on a faith journey. Every incident in which Jesus is “passing by” strengthens and reassures us that He is who He said He is and we can trust Him.

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – HE SAW THEIR FAITH

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HE SAW THEIR FAITH

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” Mark 2:1-1

What did Jesus value in people? To what did He respond in people’s actions and attitudes towards Him? There were different responses in this story. The house was crowded with people, curiosity-seekers, people who loved being entertained by His miracles, those in need, those who learned from His teaching and, as always, the Pharisees who were both spies and critics.

Into that crowd came 5 people, four friends who carried a fifth, a paralytic lying on his sleeping mat; not through the door but through the roof. What did Jesus recognise immediately in these men that caused Him to respond? They were determined, persistent, persevering, committed, creative and confident in their approach to Jesus. They refused to allow anything to stop them from getting the paralysed man to Him.

Is it any wonder that He responded so promptly to the situation? To have people take so much trouble and effort to reach Him meant that they were not going to stop until they got what they wanted. Why does Jesus value this kind of attitude? It means that they had so much confidence in Him that they would do whatever it took to bridge the gap between their friend and Him.

What does this mean in today’s terms? We don’t have to overcome physical obstacles to reach Him but there is still a heart attitude that will bring us close to Him. What is it that hinders our confidence in His ability and His will to meet our need? How determined and persistent are we to overcome every obstacle between Him and us?

It doesn’t matter if the issue is our need or the needs of a friend. He values the attitude that recognises His heart for people and will stop at nothing until we have touched His heart. It is not God’s reluctance that we have to overcome but our reluctance to accept His unconditional love.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – WEIGH UP THE EVIDENCE!

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WEIGH UP THE EVIDENCE!

“He went down to Capernaum, a village in Galilee. He was teaching the people on the Sabbath. They were surprised and impressed – His teaching was so forthright, so confident, so authoritative, not the quibbling and quoting they were used to.

“In the meeting place that day there was a man demonically disturbed. He screamed, ‘Ho! What business do you have with us, Jesus? Nazarene! You’re the Holy One of God and you’ve come to destroy us!’ Jesus shut him up: ‘Quiet! Get out of him!’ The demonic spirit threw the man down in front of them all and left. The demon didn’t hurt him.

“That set everyone back on their heels, whispering and wondering, “What’s going on here? Someone whose words make things happen? Someone who orders demonic spirits to get out and they go?’ Jesus was the talk of the town.” Luke 4:31-36.

Just look what you missed, people of Nazareth!

The citizens of Capernaum were a more receptive lot, it seems. At least they didn’t write Jesus off because they thought they knew His pedigree. They saw something more in Him than just the son of Joseph and Mary. They recognised a confidence and an authority in His teaching that set them thinking.

But there was something more than just His words that caused a stir, at least in the spirit world. A demon was there who seemed quite comfortable in the presence of the people of Capernaum until Jesus showed up. This evil spirit occupied a man who, over the years had obviously made space for him in his life by habitually believing his subtle lies and living his dirty life until the demon unobtrusively took up residence and begun to control him.

Jesus’ presence in the synagogue blew his cover. Speaking through his host, he blurted out, ‘Jesus, this is my turf and you are intruding. You might look like an ordinary guy from Nazareth, but I know who you really are – God’s Holy One – and I can’t stand being near you! Is it time for you do us in?”

Jesus didn’t answer him. He had no cause for discussion with a demon! His words were terse and commanding: ‘Shut up and get out!’ That’s all. Here was another confrontation with the demonic realm. His victory over the devil in round one had equipped Him to evict the squatters wherever they identified themselves in His presence. His unconditional submission to the Father put Him in a position to deal decisively with the opposition.

The residents of Capernaum were unwittingly being confronted with the evidence that they were to weigh up and decide for themselves who this man was and what to do about it. First there were His words – His teaching that impressed them as authoritative and believable because He seemed to know what He was talking about. Then there was His action – throwing out a demon they didn’t know was there! They had never seen this happen before.

What if the people if His own village had been patient enough to watch and listen? Perhaps they might have been more tolerant of their “village kid”, Jesus. Perhaps they would have been convinced that this “son of Joseph and Mary” was actually the Son of God.

And what of us? Jesus is not interested in winning a popularity contest. He has only one question to ask of us, ‘Who do you say that I am?’ On our answer hangs the direction of our lives. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” brings us into the realm of a partnership with Him to throw out all the “squatters” and set the world back on the course of restoration and eventual perfection.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – TRUTH!

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TRUTH!

“All who were there, watching and listening, were surprised at how well He spoke. But they also said, ‘Isn’t this Joseph’s son, the one we’ve known since He was a youngster?’

“He answered, ‘I suppose you’re going to quote the proverb, “Doctor, go heal yourself.” Do here in your hometown what we heard you did in Capernaum. Well, let me tell you something: No prophet is ever welcomed in his hometown. Isn’t it a fact that there were many widows in Israel at the time of Elijah during those three and a half years of drought when famine devastated the land, but the only widow to whom Elijah was sent was in Sarepta in Sidon? And there were many lepers in Israel at the time of the prophet Elisha but the only one cleansed was Naaman the Syrian.’  Luke 4:22-27.

‘Hey Jesus! Aren’t you treading on thin ice? That’s not the way to win friends and influence people!’

What was He thinking? Was that the way to cash in on His popularity? Why antagonise the people of His own hometown when He had the opportunity to gain a strong following from the ones who already knew Him?

But Jesus was not interested in popularity. He was continually sifting people’s hearts – looking for followers who would stick with Him through thick and thin because they believed in Him and were convinced that He was the Son of God. He purposely said things to offend, not to be offensive but to expose their reactions.

He knew that “familiarity breeds contempt”. Because He was so well known to them, they would not examine the evidence but write Him off because He was “just a village kid.” They knew His parents and there was nothing special about them.

But there was an even deeper offense that Jesus raised in His examples – Gentiles! This was always a flashpoint for them. It was the Gentiles who had been their undoing throughout their history – they were surrounded by them and their forefathers had persistently followed their ways and their gods. They had failed to exterminate the Canaanites from the Promised Land. God had warned them that, if they did not, they would be a “thorn in their sides” and they were.

It was the Gentiles who were causing their suffering now, and any mention of them, and especially God’s kindness to them, was like a red rag to a bull. Jonah’s bad experience came from his effort to escape from having to take a message to Nineveh that he knew would result in God’s mercy to THEM if they repented and he was not prepared for that! The people of Nazareth were just like Jonah.

“That set everyone in the meeting place seething with anger. They threw Him out, banishing Him from the village, then took Him to a mountain cliff at the edge of the village to throw Him to His doom, but He gave them the slip and was on His way.” Luke 4:28-30.

That didn’t turn out very well, did it? Out on His ear the first time He preached at home. Where did it all go wrong? His fellow-villagers were so blinded by familiarity that they were not prepared to examine the evidence. And they were not the only ones. Wherever He went, there were those who rejected Him because they believed they were right.

It’s this arrogant assumption that we are right that robs us of the wonder of exploring, evaluating and embracing truth wherever we find it. Jesus kept saying, “Look at the evidence,” and His opponents kept insisting, “You are wrong; we are right!” And they killed Him because they believed they were right.

When He walked out of the tomb, who had egg on their faces?