I was doing some bedtime reading when I came across this passage from Dr. George O Wood that woke me up entirely:
“Jesus originally left Nazareth and adopted a new hometown of Capernaum because Nazareth was a small place tucked in the hills, off the beaten path, while Capernaum was a major city located on the northeastern shore of the Lake of Galilee. It was a city thriving with commerce through which passed a major road. Jesus took the long climb from 650 feet below sea level up the to the hill top town of Nazareth, a small town with a precipice overlooking what we now call the valley of Armageddon. With Him were His disciples – quite an entourage for a small village.” (Fearless, Dr. George O Wood)
The change in elevation is what struck me first. See, I’d already spent the week sitting in Mark 6, thinking deeply about the lessons, the changes in location and the responses of the people Jesus interacted with in this chapter. I knew that the people of Nazareth were about to reject Jesus. While no one enjoys rejection, it cannot be lost on us that in Nazareth, the rejection was deeply personal. Jesus was ostracized by His own family and friends. Nazareth was His community and they didn’t want anything to do with Him.
I think on this a bit more and I realize that Jesus was fully aware of the rejection before it happened. Still, He hiked all the way to Nazareth knowing full well it was a mostly moot point. When I read about the change in elevation, I looked it up; Nazareth sits 1138 feet above sea level. That means Jesus climbed 1788 feet of elevation on foot to bring the gospel to a community that He knew would mostly reject it. Somehow His perseverance motivates me in my own tedious proclamation of the gospel, know what I mean?
The other ah-ha moment I had in this text is the bit about Nazareth having a view of the valley of Armegeddon. Even though I’ve been to Nazareth, the city is built up and I didn’t notice it’s proximity to the vast valley. But imagine with me, growing up as Jesus, with the site of your final battle in full view every day of your upbringing.
At first I thought, how encouraging! Jesus could go for a walk and remind Himself of the victory on the other side of His humanity. Being sovereign (whether from birth or by some measure of maturity) He would have known exactly what was going to happen down there. God knows the end from the beginning, yes?
Then I started to wonder, Jesus was fully man. Perhaps the looming shadow of such a battle was pressureful? Maybe He looked out over that prophetic valley and languished over everything that had to happen between now and then. (This is where I started to thank God for not showing me the full story before the appropriate time; He knows full well that I’d be overwhelmed and stress-paralyzed.)
Perhaps the Nazareth view of the valley was both for our Savior: encouraging and intimidating, depending on the day. One thing I know for sure: even in childhood, Jesus was not able to escape the daily confrontation of His future commitments. It seems to me that He may have been raised in view of the valley on purpose: He began with the end in mind.
What’s the takeaway here?
Like Jesus, we live more Kingdom-focused when we keep the end in mind.
What is our end?
Right relationship with God. Eternity with Him forever. Every human gets to make this choice and we make it daily through our words and actions. We live out our decision well when we can keep the Kingdom in clear focus. The world will creep in, cloud our vision and corrupt our motives. This is all the more reason to continually redirect our thoughts towards eternity: day after day, year after year.
Lord, we are amazed again at Your humanity in step with Your divinity. Over and over, You pursued people who would reject You. You made Your way uphill toward those who would have so little to do with You. You went after the one and we are grateful because we are the one. Additionally, we learned more about the view from Your hometown; how You lived with the final battle ever before You, we’ll never know. Yet You did. You set an amazing example for us. Please help us keep the end in mind as we live for You today. Amen.