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Tag: capernaum

The Lame Walk a Sign from God
A Sign of Faith in Capernaum

~A.D. 27 – Jesus in Galilee

“Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?
Gospel of Luke 5:43 LSB

“But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the paralytic—

“I say to you, get up, and, picking up your stretcher, go home.”
Good News of Luke 5:44

Of course, a paralyzed man obeying Jesus’ command to ‘get up and walk’ is a miracle to the man who can now stand up and walk AND a sign of God to those who witness it!

Who can say such a thing to one born handicapped?

And immediately he rose up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. And astonishment seized them all and they began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying,

“We have seen remarkable things today.”

But this was a sign to the Jews.

Luke records [5:17]:
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And it happened that one day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem, and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing.
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After having healed others as well Jesus answered the Prophet John who had been baptizing in the wilderness of Judea with Good News sent by his messengers:
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“Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. 

Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.” - Gospel of Luke 7:22b-23, LSB
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But of course, these signs from the LORD God to the Jews were done by JESUS the Messiah.

These signs for the Jews where witnessed in regions of Roman Syria AND that had been years ago.

It’s about two decades later that Paul and Barnabas will enter Lystra.

A.D. 30’s – The Apostle Peter

We are Beggars in the House of God

But when Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him, he said, “Look at us!” – Acts 3:4

And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. And leaping up, he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

And all the people saw him walking and praising God; and they were recognizing him, that he was the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. – Acts of the Apostles 3:

More recent signs from God
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Keep in mind that Luke's two-part account of these events is recorded for a Roman-Hellenist world after A.D. 60, 
+ some thirty years after Jesus' resurrection [~A.D. 30],
+ perhaps twenty-five years after Saul's encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus,
+ about seven years [~A.D. 40] after the Apostle Peter baptizes a Roman Centurion in Caesarea Syria.
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No Longer Paralyzed: Walking in Lydda

And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Rise up and make your bed.” Immediately he rose up. – Acts 9:

And all who lived at Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
Acts of the Apostles 9:35 LSB

The Gospel of an Angel to Cornelius

Roman Caesarea [pictured] where Peter baptized Roman believers who received the Holy Spirit!

And what had Peter heard from the angel of God?

“Get up..”

ἀνίστημι – anistēmi

It’s a command of some significance — a command by faith also used by Peter and the Lord Jesus. And it is part of what the Apostle Paul is about to say to the lame man in Lystra.
- to rise, stand up
  1. of persons lying down, of persons lying on the ground
  2. of persons seated
  3. of those who leave a place to go elsewhere [of those who prepare themselves for a journey]
  4. of the dead
GOD’S signs have many witnesses among the gentiles by the time Barnabas and Saul enter Lystra.

~A.D. 48 –

In Lystra The Lame Walk!

Acts of Faith in Lystra 14:

And at Lystra a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked.

This man listened to Paul as he spoke, who, when he fixed his gaze on him and saw that he had faith to be [made well] said with a loud voice,

“Stand upright on your feet.”
Acts 14:10 of Paul commanding a lame man in Lystra

And he leaped up and began to walk.

And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the Lycaonian language,

“The gods have become like men and have come down to us.”
Acts of the Apostles 14:11b – LSB

In fact, these Lycaonian pagans were partially right.

For the Gospel of Paul and Barnabas would reveal that the One God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ sent his only Son down to us for redemption of sins for those who have faith to believe — even pagan gentiles.

“Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?
Gospel of Luke 5:43 LSB

Acts of the Apostles in Lystra — To be continued…
November 17, 2022
James and Jesus: Brothers – 6
Although we took an initial look at the identity of the letter writer in Witness of a Converted Brother, before we ask ourselves about the conclusion of James’ letter, I would like to go back to take a look at the relationship between James and Jesus.

James, Bond-servant of his Brother

Ἰάκωβος θεοῦ καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ
James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
James 1:1a Greek; NASB

Picture James and Jesus after the resurrection. What a humble relationship the author James states here.

First and foremost, he is a bond-servant, δοῦλος, doulos or slave.

Slaves were common in the Roman empire. They served men of importance at many levels: kings, the rich, military leaders, land owners, regular citizens to whom one owed money. Slaves were not uncommon in Judea and servitude required the self-control of humility.

If the relationship between James and Jesus is one of a bond-servant to his master, James acknowledges that as a servant of God he serves Jesus as his lord. The risen brother (actually, half-brother) of James is God in the flesh!

James and Jesus of Nazareth

Surely by now Mary has told Jesus’ brothers and sisters what she had held in her heart: this son is the Son of the Living God by the Holy Spirit!

Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, aren’t they all with us? So where does he get all these things?” And they were offended by him.
Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his household.” And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
Matthew 13:55-58 CSB

James was always the younger brother. Joseph had died, then Jesus assumed his role as head of their household. Later Jesus would leave Nazareth over controversy related to His teaching to live in nearby Capernaum.

He traveled throughout Israel for three years prior to His crucifixion and resurrection. James, as the elder brother, would have cared for his mother, brother and sisters.

What was it like to grow up with Jesus?
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Much of the commentary to follow is best read as historical fiction from a probable first-person narrative of James, half-brother of Jesus, based on the scriptures linked.
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Although the risen Christ anoints James as head the church of Jerusalem, he would have traveled there many times.

James and Jesus would have been known as Galileans, Nazarenes and familial brothers, not Judeans or leaders of Jerusalem. But now he is one of more than five hundred witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection. James accepts the difficult call to lead the church in Jerusalem.

Though we have no sermon, but only his letter to the churches, his personal witness of Jesus must have been subject of much preaching.

“What was it like to grow up with the Lord Jesus,” so many believers must have asked?

Humbly, James would have confessed, “I did not believe.”

The Child James and Jesus

{Hear James’ voice in his later good news to the church.}

The physician Luke interviewed our mother Mary and many others in order to tell us about Jesus, before His recent miraculous and powerful earthly ministry of only three years. Our mom now retells a story I will share with you of when Jesus was a young man and I was just a small child.

Luke 2:

[Jesus] grew up and became strong, filled with wisdom, and God’s grace was on him. Every year our parents traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. When he was twelve years old, they went up according to the custom of the festival. Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, and they had to return to Jerusalem to search for him. (They sent us back to Nazareth with relatives.)

After three days, they found him in the temple sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

(I remember when they came back to us in Nazareth.)

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people.

In the Synagogue of Nazareth

A few years later Dad died, and Jesus watched over all of us. When we grew older I heard my brother teach in our synagogue. but I did not believe in Him. Of course, I too worshiped in the synagogue on the Sabbath Jesus read from the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah.

Luke 4:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me…
Luke 4:14 from Isaiah 61:1

Then my brother Jesus said: “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”

My own brother, yet I could not believe the words He proclaimed to all of us, we who witnessed the Lord in the flesh. They all spoke well of my brother. We all wondered what Jesus meant.

“Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” What does your brother mean by this?

Then He said: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ referring to a local rumor of a miracle He was said to have done nearby.

Jesus said they resented that He did not prove himself in our hometown, using familiar illustrations of the prophets Elijah and Elisha doing miracles outside of Israel.

Then the crowd turned. I didn’t know what to think, but I still didn’t believe Jesus and I too would have loved to have seen proof.

Everyone in our synagogue was enraged. They got up, drove Jesus out of town to the edge of the cliff, intending to hurl him over it.

I thought of the words of Judah after Joseph’s brothers had thrown him into the pit. A few of us helped Jesus to quickly escape the angry Nazarene worshipers.

Capernaum and Jesus Preaching Nearby

Jesus had already become very popular in Galilee before Nazareth rejected Him. Although I had not seen any yet, many attested to miracles my brother worked in nearby towns. That is why some had said, “do a sign for us here in your hometown.”

People now followed Jesus into towns and everywhere He went.

Hillside near Capernaum where Sermon on the Mount may baye been preached

Matthew 4:

13 He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea…

From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Matthew 4:17

We heard reports of my brother’s teaching many times as people traveled through Nazareth from here or there. Merchants of the fish markets and others also told us that Jesus had preached things like, “blessed are the poor,” and “blessed are the humble.”

Teaching, Preaching, and Healing

23 Now Jesus began to go all over Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 Then the news about him spread throughout Syria. (That’s what the Romans now call the region near us.)

… 25 Large crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.

James and Jesus, a family visit

Jesus lived in Capernaum, but He traveled mostly. When word came to us where to find Him, we often followed the crowds to see my brother. Mom delighted to see and hear Him, when we could. But me… I still didn’t fully believe all the reports we heard.

We heard that some Scribes and Pharisees had come up from Jerusalem to see Jesus. So we traveled alongside the crowds to see Jesus.
- Ruins of Capernaum
- Gottlieb painting Christ preaching in Capernaum
I sent a messenger to push through the crowds to speak to our brother.

Luke 8:

20 He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.”

21 But he replied to them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear and do the word of God.”

We waited for Jesus to finish, listening to Him. Jesus preached many of the sayings we had already heard. And finally, we managed to meet our brother, who kissed and embraced us all. Then we stayed with Him, returning to Nazareth the following day.

I met with Jesus other times too, but of course I could not follow Him because of my responsibilities to our family.

Jerusalem

Jesus had said to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.

I won’t get into politics since it’s so complicated. But next I would like to tell you where my brother stood on some of the controversies in Jerusalem.
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To be continued... James and Jerusalem
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May 16, 2019
Interrupting Jesus 6 – Jesus of Capernaum
Who are you, really?

I was raised in Cortland, Ohio U.S.; therefore you might call me: Roger of Cortland. Yet is that really who I am? No, of course not. I now live somewhere else and who I am or what I do is not related to where I live.

We often make a mistake in looking back on the Person of the Son of God, the Messiah, simply as Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus was known by that because of where Joseph and Mary raised Him after they fled from Bethlehem of Judea under the threat of Herod before they returned to Galilee after Herod’s death. In fact, the Gospels reveal that Jesus of Nazareth had resettled in Capernaum.

Capernaum, by the sea of Galilee is about a nine hour walk from Nazareth. {I encourage you to look at a satellite map of the area behind this link.}

Think in terms of Capernaum and Galilee as part of the occupied area of the Roman Empire with no identity as Israel. This context of daily life of Jesus in Capernaum and surrounding areas would be more accurate of the secular Roman culture than to see only through the lens of a few Bible verses and traditional maps in your Bible. (Is our own 21st c. culture really so different?)

The Synagogue in Capernaum was important to Jews, but the town and area are ruled by Rome (as was Jerusalem).

During the Israelite/Iron period (1200-587BC) there was a break in the population, which was restored in the 5th C BC (the period of the returns of the exiles to Zion). It was designed according to that period’s urban design of straight lines, which was built in parallel to the main Roman imperial highway, that crossed the village on the northern side. Capernaum grew larger at the time of Jesus (early Roman period, 1st C AD), and a synagogue was built in the center of the village. [source: Capernaum history]

Jesus of Capernaum, the Son of Man, taught in the towns nearby like Chorazin and Bethsaida-Julius where Scribes and Pharisees studied the Law and the Prophets. Jesus of Nazareth, as He was known, also taught on the hillsides near Capernaum. Most of these places where the teachings of Jesus were heard and miracles witnessed were near Capernaum. We can be certain that Roman officials tracked every move of this popular leader of the crowds. Certainly Centurions would listen to every word for the first sign of another insurrection against Rome.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Matthew 5

Matthew 8

When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. ²And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” ³And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Word of miracles gets around quickly. Crowds followed Christ Jesus because of the miracles and His teaching . Jesus taught everybody with ears to hear: Judeans, Galileans, Samaritans, Jews, Gentiles… and even Roman occupiers who traveled with the crowds to keep things under control.

Now a Roman officer asks Jesus for a miracle! (What an interruption to what Jews thought the Messiah would do only for Israel.)

⁵When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him,

⁶“Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.”

⁷ “I will come and heal him.”

⁸ “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

¹⁰When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him,

“Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. ¹¹I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, ¹²while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

¹³And to the centurion Jesus said,

“Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.”

And the servant was healed at that very moment.

You may not be a Jew. You may not even be a Christian (one of those who follow Christ Jesus, such as those to whom our Lord turned to note the faith of this Centurion.) Like the Roman soldier you probably live in far-away places from Capernaum (like Cortland or L.A., London, Rio, Addis Ababa, Beijing or Delhi).
- Do you have the faith to interrupt the Son of God, Incarnate in the Person of Jesus, with your plea to heal a loved one of yours?
- Do you have the humility of the Roman Centurion to tell Christ Jesus, “I will take you at your word and trust that by your Authority that You will do what you say?”
- Will you recognize that this lowly, first century Son of Man was sent to a cross to be sacrificed for your sins and for mine?
- Do you, dear foreign friend, have the faith of a Roman Centurion?
Ask Christ Jesus, though the Holy Spirit of God, to come into your eternal life with the healing of your sin.
August 26, 2015