Take a Walk

Read Matthew 4:12-17.

Rachel on "The Jesus Trail," 2012 - The route Jesus likely took from Nazareth to Capernaum

It's a long walk from Nazareth to Caperanum. It's about forty miles, and an average hiker today can make the trip in about 2 1/2 days, give or take (depending on your pace and how many souvenir shops you stop at along the way). So what Matthew describes in a few words actually took Jesus quite a while to do.

Jesus is on the move. He's relocating from Nazareth to a fishing town on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. It's a strategic move in many ways; a lot of people will come through Caperanum and being along the seashore will give Jesus access to many other cities and towns. Nazareth was a nowhere place, as evidenced by Nathaniel's dismissive attitude toward it (see John 1:43-46). And so, Jesus relocates following his baptism, so that his ministry becomes centered in Capernaum (which still proclaims itself as "the town of Jesus").

At the entrance to the Capernaum site, 2017

I'm intrigued by the walk itself, though. Matthew doesn't give us any indication that Jesus traveled with anyone else, though undoubtedly he passed people along the way. Maybe, like on many hikes, he joined up with some folks for parts of the walk, but I imagine that much of this trip was made in solitude. Jesus has a lot on his mind and in his heart. His friend John has been put in prison (and will be executed). He has just gone through one of the most trying experiences anyone could ever go through, the temptation in the wilderness, and that took place after he had been baptized by his friend and relative John. At that baptism, he had heard the voice of his heavenly Father: "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Much has happened; there is much to ponder. And so, I imagine, in those two and a half days (or however long it took Jesus), he was thinking, praying, planning, dreaming and preparing for what was to come.

What this tells me is this: Jesus only had about three years to do all the ministry he came to do (bringing in the Kingdom of God, contrary to what we might think, was not an easy or quick task!). After his baptism, it would have been natural for him to head right into preaching, healing and such. A good, modern consultant would have told him to waste no time. Start changing things now! Get it done! Yet Jesus took time to prepare, to go through the forty days of temptation, to walk from Nazareth to Caperanum, to always pray and move intentionally rather than quickly. Jesus would fail most of our modern "get it done" tests and he would frustrate many of our contemporary church members (who want what they want right now). Jesus took time. Jesus prepared well.

So should we. Maybe, when a difficult decision lies ahead of us, when a season of ministry is coming that is going to be tough, when life takes a wrong turn—maybe what we need to do then rather than rush in and try to fix it or make it "better" (how often do we usually make it worse instead?)—maybe we need to just take a walk. Spend some time in prayer. Let God work in us and in the situation. We need to make room for him to do so and, more importantly, to prepare us for what is coming. And we can do that by taking a walk...just like Jesus did.

Capernaum, Synagogue - 2017