Today, we're going to be examining the personal presence of Jesus in Galilee
and regions to the north.
We're going to do so especially considering His personal identity,
as well as His preaching ministry.
We begin in the city of Cana where Jesus performed His very first miracles.
In locating the biblical Cana, archaeologists have identified two
possible places. The first one is Khirbet Kana and the other is Kafr Kenna.
We're going to be looking at both. We begin to see Jesus’ power over the natural
world here in Galilee. The town of Cana is where He worked His first miracle
turning the water into wine at the wedding feast of John chapter 2. It was
also where He performed this second miracle, healing the nobleman's son in the
city of Capernaum about 20 miles away to the northeast. But Jesus remained
in Cana when He performed His healing miracle, demonstrating not only His power
over disease and illness, but also His ability to work miracles at a distance.
We know that changing the water to wine at the wedding feast is the first
miracle that Jesus ever performed, despite the fact that some early Christian
writings speak about miracles He allegedly did in His youth. In the early centuries
of Christianity, there were some stories that were circulating about Jesus that
are nowhere found in the New Testament. And, some of those stories are found in
different books that were written, one of which is called the Infancy Gospel of
Thomas, and in that book there are stories about Jesus and His boyhood. And,
in that book there are some alleged accounts of His performing miracles. Some
of those miracles included His taking some clay and fashioning some 12 doves,
then causing them to miraculously fly. There are also stories about maybe His
brother James being bitten by a snake, and then Jesus healed him in some way.
And then there were some stories about Jesus striking some children dead who
made Him mad. Now, those stories
really are to be rejected for a lot of reasons. One is that they're
not consistent with things that we read about in the New Testament. They are also
documents that were written after the fact. Many of them date to about the
second or 3rd century A.D.
And then they also are inconsistent with the character and
the nature of Jesus. So for this reason, these claims really have to be dismissed
and as the gospel according to John states, changing the water to wine was
Jesus' first miracle or sign.
These signs that Jesus performed not only affected the people in the
circumstances of the moment, but they also produced the recognition that Jesus
was the Son of God. The first city associated with biblical Cana is
Kefr Kenna, located about four miles northeast of Nazareth. The tradition
identifying it as the site of Cana, dates back to the Crusades. Walking through the
streets, you can see vendors selling Cana wine. There's a Franciscan church building,
which the order acquired in the late 19th century. The Franciscans
believe that beneath their church lie the remains of the ancient house at
which Jesus changed the water to wine. In fact, the church's said to house one of
the original water pots used in the miracle. Not far away is a Greek Orthodox
Church, housing to water pots that are claimed to be a part of the original six
used by Jesus. However, there is no evidence to support this claim and there
are other places in the city that also claimed to have the original water pots.
Often in these ancient cities, we find ourselves confronted with artifacts that
date to a later period-- sometimes much later-- but which are then pressed into
service with claims of being very items that are a part of the biblical account.
Throughout church history there have been a number of items that were
allegedly able to be traced back to Jesus and the apostles. Many of these
claims can be dismissed outright, simply because there isn't enough evidence to
make a determination one way or the other.
The challenges of substantiating these claims are considerable, if not
insurmountable. There was a problem with early relic hunters who would try to acquire
items with a great deal of zeal, but without any kind of scientific or
critical analysis. There's also the problem of competing claims when it
comes to relics. It's been said with some exaggeration that if we were to gather
together all the pieces of the one true cross, we would have enough wood to build
a bridge.
And if we were to gather together all the nails used in the crucifixion of Jesus,
we would have enough metal to build a battleship. Cana was also the home of Jesus'
apostle Nathaniel, as we're told in John chapter 21. Nathaniel was the one who
famously asked, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" He is often identified with
Bartholomew in the New Testament lists of Jesus' apostles. This is why the modern
city of Cana houses a church building dedicated to Nathaniel. While tradition
identifies Kefr Kenna as the traditional Cana of Galilee, recent excavations and
archaeological finds have led a number of scholars to consider a different
location: Khirbet Kana, which is located just a few miles to the northwest. The
remains of this city reveal the presence of what may be an ancient
synagogue atop the hill. And in addition, coins from the Hasmonean period-- before the
life of Jesus-- have been found, along with pottery shards bearing Aramaic script-- a
biblical language was spoken in first-century times.
Also, there have been identified wall foundations, cisterns, and even burial
sites. The first century Jewish historian Josephus mentions Cana of Galilee as a
stronghold and his headquarters for a time during the Jewish-Roman war in the
A.D. 60s and 70s.
Certainly this site at Kherbit Kana, fits this description better than Kefr Kenna
and it's the stronger candidate for the site of biblical Cana. Not only were the
people of northern Israel witness to the power of Jesus, but they also were
blessed by His preaching. About 20 miles away from Cana is the so-called Mount of
Beatitudes; a serene area located on the northwest of the Sea of Galilee. It was
in this region that Jesus was believed to preach His Sermon on the Mount of
Matthew chapters five, six, and seven. From this area, one could see Capernaum in the
distance,
a place Jesus frequently visited in His ministry travels. And across the tip of
the sea,
we can see today's famous Golan Heights. While we're not certain of the exact location where
Jesus delivered the sermon, it would take a wide open space like this
to accommodate the large crowds that came to hear Him. On that particular
occasion He spoke on things like personal holiness, a dependence upon God,
and even how to pray to the Father. His teachings were so broad in scope and
remarkable in content, that the Bible tells us in Matthew 7:28-29,
"The people were amazed at His teaching. For He taught as one having authority
and not as the scribes." Jesus' preaching went right to the heart of where people
live. Whether He was in one-on-one conversation with the woman at the well
or with Nicodemus, He went right to where people struggled, right to where their
greatest problems or issues were. But at the same time He could mesmerize crowds
of thousands of people with His revolutionary teaching.
Jesus began His Sermon on the Mount with the famous statements that are known as
beatitudes. The word beatitude is based on the Latin term "beatus" which
means blessed. Jesus commenced His sermon by describing the characteristics
of the blessed person. Here, near the shore of the Sea of Galilee, is the
Church of the Beatitudes an octagonal structure, built in 1938. The eight sides
are meant to correlate to the eight beatitudes spoken by Jesus and the text of
the eight are found in Latin in the stained glass windows inside. Finally,
Jesus' personal identity was affirmed in the strongest terms north of the Sea of
Galilee, in the famous Caesarea Philippi. This town was originally called Pontius
and was located near a cave called Pan's grotto. In this particular cave, worshipers
would come and offer sacrifices to a wide range of Greek deities. Herod the Great built a
temple honoring Caesar Augustus, situated just in front of the mouth of this cave.
When Herod Philip-- Herod the Great's son-- took power, he established this city as
the capital of his territory and he named it Caesarea also in honor of
Augustus. The name Caesarea Philippi distinguishes this Caesarea from the city
of the same name on the Mediterranean coast. This name persisted until the
Romans put down a Jewish rebellion, when the name reverted back to Pontius. Today,
it is known by the very similar sounding Banias.
Because of the Greek population of this area,
Philip allowed many pagan shrines to be built in this precinct. One of the most
famous was a small shrine to the Greek god Pan in a grotto or cave carved into the
rock face. It is believed that this face may have been used in the Old Testament
period as a site for a shrine to Baal. The Greek god Pan was associated with
nature and fields, with shepherds and with flocks. It was believed that he was
born in one of the caves that surround Caesarea Philippi and that his father was
the Greek god Hermes. When Jesus and His apostles came into the region of Caesarea
Philippi, it was in this center of idolatrous worship that Jesus asked the
famous question, "Who do men say that I am?" to which Peter responded, "You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God." When Peter made that statement, he was really
affirming something about Jesus and His identity as Savior and
Messiah. He was also affirming something about the Father above. That Jesus is the
Son of the living God. It was based upon this bedrock truth that Jesus would then
make His statement that is promised to build His one true church. As we think of Jesus'
work in these three areas, how should His power, His preaching, and His personal
identity affect our lives?
In John 2, we are told in Jesus' miracle of turning water to wine manifested His
glory and caused His disciples to believe in Him. God has never asked for
individuals to believe in Him or in the Son without ample reason to do so. We
ought to be encouraged that the Lord expects us to use our minds to examine
the evidence provided for our benefit and to believe because of the truths
that we see. Christianity is a faith that is a logical and a rational faith because
of the evidences that we have from the standpoint that we have eyewitness
accounts of the events that took place. When you look at the reliability of
scriptures and when you look at the fact that we have fragments and so many
manuscripts from the New Testament that date back as early as the early second
century, I think you can see that our faith is not based upon some blind leap.
It's based upon evidence. The Bible knows nothing of blind faith, as the events at
the wedding feast prove. You when I have every reason to know that Jesus is the
Son of God sent for our salvation. In fact, John 20:30-31 tell us
that Jesus perform many miracles and signs, but the ones John recorded are so that
readers-- just like you and me-- can be convinced beyond a doubt of Jesus'
identity. In John 20:30-31, John says that he's recorded these particular miracles
so that we can believe that Jesus is who He says He is: the Lamb of God, the word
that became flesh. He has proven it with miracles, given us evidence on which to
base our faith, on which to base our trust, that Jesus can deliver the
promises that He's made to us. One of the things that we learn from this lesson, is
just how significant the role was that Jesus played as preacher and teacher. These
early audiences should be praised for their willingness to hear the words of
the Savior to allow Him to help them live a godly life and point them toward
Heaven. Today, you and I need to be just as willing to let
Jesus teach us. We need the words of the Savior to sink deeply into our hearts as
He helps us to live and walk the narrow path of life. Finally, Peter's confession
should capture our attention. How do we regard Jesus? Just as a good man? An
effective teacher? Or is He really the Messiah-- the Son of God Himself? Without
doubt, the New Testament proclaims that He is the Christ and Savior. In the
region of Caesarea Philippi, the real truth that offers humanity hope was
proclaimed by Jesus' great friend and apostle. This carpenter from Nazareth is
is the Son of God and Savior of the world.
Whenever people ask, as Pilot did, "What shall I do with Jesus who is called the
Christ?" the true answer has to be based upon His personal identity. It's because
He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. It is because He is the master
preacher and teacher. It is because He used Heaven's power to show compassion
and blessings to other people. It is because He was willing to go to the
cross for all of humanity that Jesus deserves to be loved, to be revered, and
to be obeyed as the Master come to lead us to Heaven.
You know, it's amazing when you see the paganism in first-century Israel. It's amazing when
you see the Roman gods and the pagan gods that had been there and you think
about Jesus' teaching occurring not only in the context of Judaism, but also in
the context of Roman polytheism and Greek polytheism. And He says-- in one of those
places where pagan temples are carved right into the mountain-- he says to Peter who says,
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." He says, "On this rock I will build my
church and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it." He is asserting His
authority is God and His singularity-- the singularity, the oneness of God-- and
no other God being in existence. The New Testament shows Jesus as the epitome of
what it means to be a preacher. He can talk to individuals. He can go to
festive events like the wedding feast. He holds private discussions with His
apostles. And yet He could also address thousands of people at the shores of the
Sea of Galilee. In every case, it seems as if He recognizes there's a teachable
moment and He shares God's Word to help those people become the persons that God
created them to be. That is what makes Him so effective as a preacher.
At the same time, the New Testament shows us just how much His world like our own
needs the Gospel. Israel was filled with people who didn't always honor the God
of the Bible. I suppose I always thought that Jerusalem and Israel was filled with
a consistent set of beliefs, but when we read about Jesus' discussion in Caesarea
Philippi, that's just not true. He was in the center of idolatry and He was still
in jurisdictions of Jewish leaders. Their world, I guess, was as diverse as ours and
it needed the gospel just as much as ours does today.