Fleeing Through Northern Galilee 

When Jesus and his group of apostles and evangelists began to make progress, the Jewish rulers became very uncomfortable with them and voted to bar them from the Jewish synagogues. The Sanhedrin ordered that all synagogues be closed to Jesus and his followers. By this time, it was known that the Jewish rulers wanted to arrest Jesus, and they had even asked Herod Antipas to assist them in taking Jesus into custody.

Knowing of the Sanhedrin’s intention to arrest Jesus, his followers began to be more vigilant in protecting him. Despite receiving regular updates from a messenger service, Jesus narrowly escaped arrest in Capernaum. His apostles quickly fled with him to a waiting boat, and they rowed away just in time to avoid the approaching soldiers. Jesus parted so quickly that he was not able to speak with his mother and family, who had traveled to Capernaum to see him.

Landing their boat in Kheresa, Jesus, his twelve apostles, and several evangelists set out on a tour of northern Galilee. They had time to teach on the way to the Phoenician coast, where they could preach and teach without interference from the civil ruler, as Philip the Tetrarch promised not to interfere with their ministry. This allowed the situation in Galilee to calm down while Jesus and his followers shared the gospel of the kingdom with many all along the way.

We know Jesus rarely was in a hurry, but circumstances surrounding his hasty departure from Capernaum in May of 29 CE were due to the heightened awareness of his imminent arrest and all of his followers more actively trying to protect him. Jesus wanted to visit with his family, who had made the trip to see him, but he was unable to see them because he was rushed out the back door to the lake and an awaiting boat to escape all of the approaching guards. Mary had arrived with the impression that she could convince Jesus to come home with her and the rest of the family.

We can be sure that Jesus allowed this escape to happen and avoided arrest on this occasion for his own reasons. At a later time, Jesus chose to go directly into Jerusalem, knowing that he would be arrested. Jesus was well aware that his teachings were creating trouble with the Jewish leaders wherever he went. All of the synagogues had been closed to him by this time except the synagogue at Hebron.

Leaving his family in such a hurry because of his imminent arrest was hardly a good experience for Jesus or for his family. Mary was crushed and it was made worse by the pressure that the Pharisees were putting upon her to influence Jesus to come home and give up his teaching ministry.

Soon after landing their boat near Kheresa on this eventful Sunday, Jesus and the twenty-four went a little way to the north, where they spent the night in a beautiful park south of Bethsaida-Julias. They felt safe there as they were entering another region under a different ruler who was not opposed to Jesus' activities in his domain. This ruler, Philip, the brother of Herod, had become a half-hearted believer in Jesus and sent word that the Master was free to live and work in his domains without fearing arrest.

Even Herod Antipas experienced a change of heart and, upon learning that Jesus was sojourning across the lake in the territory of his brother Philip, sent word to him that, while he had signed warrants for his arrest in Galilee, he had not so authorized his apprehension in Perea, thus indicating that Jesus would not be arrested if he remained outside of Galilee; and he communicated this same ruling to the Jews at Jerusalem.

Before retiring for the first night, the Master called his followers around him and discussed with them the plans for their projected tour through Batanea and northern Galilee to the Phoenician coast. Jesus knew fleeing from Capernaum at this time would allow time for the situation to calm down in Galilee. The preaching tours were always strategically planned and organized to cover areas where the group had not taught before so they could bring the good news of Jesus' message to as many people as possible. Even when they passed through areas where they had already visited, it served to reinforce what the people had already learned.

Jesus delivered a speech on this occasion to teach his followers about the famous scripture passage on the topic of why the heathen rage. It seemed like a timely subject since all of the Jewish leaders were plotting to have him arrested and killed. He intimated that prophecy was being fulfilled, by explaining the quotes in this way: “You should all recall how the Psalmist spoke of these times, saying, `Why do the heathen rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers of the people take counsel together, against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, 'Let us break the bonds of mercy asunder and let us cast away the cords of love.’

Jesus continued, saying: “The heathen are not without excuse when they rage at us. Because their outlook is small and narrow, they are able to concentrate their energies enthusiastically. Their goal is near and more or less visible; wherefore do they strive with valiant and effective execution. You who have professed entrance into the kingdom of heaven are altogether too vacillating and indefinite in your teaching conduct. The heathen strike directly for their objectives; you are guilty of too much chronic yearning. If you desire to enter the kingdom why do you not take it by spiritual assault even as the heathen take a city they lay siege to? You are hardly worthy of the kingdom when your service consists so largely in an attitude of regretting the past, whining over the present, and vainly hoping for the future. Why do the heathen rage? Because they know not the truth. Why do you languish in futile yearning? Because you obey not the truth. Cease your useless yearning and go forth bravely doing that which concerns the establishment of the kingdom."

In this speech, Jesus drew attention to the fervent determination of those who strive for their goals with focused energy. He contrasted this with the vacillating and indefinite conduct of his followers, highlighting their chronic yearning and lack of decisive action. He emphasized the need for his disciples to take bold, spiritual action and urged them to move beyond regretting the past, lamenting the present, and merely hoping for the future, encouraging a proactive and resolute approach to fulfilling their commitment to the kingdom.

We know that Jesus always picked the best positive and loving parts of the scriptures to reinforce his lessons to the apostles and all of those who heard him teach. On this occasion, he chose the following: “Today you see the Psalmist's words fulfilled before your eyes. But you shall not see the remainder of his prophecy fulfilled, for he entertained erroneous ideas about the Son of Man and his mission on earth. My kingdom is founded on love, proclaimed in mercy, and established by unselfish service. My Father does not sit in heaven laughing in derision at the heathen. He is not wrathful in his great displeasure. True is the promise that the Son shall have these so-called heathen (in reality his ignorant and untaught brethren) for an inheritance. And I will receive these gentiles with open arms of mercy and affection. All this loving-kindness shall be shown the so-called heathen, notwithstanding the unfortunate declaration of the record which intimates that the triumphant Son `shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’

“The Psalmist exhorted you to serve the Lord with fear'—I bid you enter into the exalted privileges of divine sonship by faith; he commands you to rejoice with trembling; I bid you rejoice with assurance. He says, 'Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish when his wrath is kindled.’ But you who have lived with me well know that anger and wrath are not a part of the establishment of the kingdom of heaven in the hearts of men. But the Psalmist did glimpse the true light when, in finishing this exhortation, he said: Blessed are they who put their trust in this Son.'”

At about this time, Jesus' followers believed he was the Messiah, and some had even declared their belief that he was the Son of God. Jesus began to realize that their concepts of the Messiah may never be entirely aligned with his spiritual mission to reveal the loving nature and character of the heavenly Father to all of mankind. Knowing his mission would never meet their expectations, he understood his followers were headed for great disappointment, even before telling them that he was about to leave and return to his place on high.

Jesus always positively taught his followers, such as saying, "You ought to do this, and you ought to do that" clearly defining the art of living based upon a love for God and willingness to please him, rather than portraying his divine wisdom as obligatory rules for living. Jesus revealed God’s desire that we live spontaneous and dynamic spiritual lives.

Jesus finished his lesson to his followers with the following: “In all that you do, become not one-sided and overspecialized. The Pharisees who seek our destruction verily think they are doing God’s service. They have become so narrowed by tradition that they are blinded by prejudice and hardened by fear. Consider the Greeks, who have a science without religion, while the Jews have a religion without science. And when men become thus misled into accepting a narrow and confused disintegration of truth, their only hope of salvation is to become truth-coordinated—converted.

"Let me emphatically state this eternal truth: If you, by truth coordination, learn to exemplify in your lives this beautiful wholeness of righteousness, your fellow men will then seek after you that they may gain what you have so acquired. The measure wherewith truth seekers are drawn to you represents the measure of your truth endowment, your righteousness. The extent to which you have to go with your message to the people is, in a way, the measure of your failure to live the whole or righteous life, the truth-coordinated life.”

In this final lesson, Jesus underscored the importance of avoiding one-sidedness and overspecialization in life and urged his followers to embrace truth coordination, aligning their lives with righteousness and the wholeness of truth. By embodying this completeness, others would be drawn to seek the truth they exemplified, and this would be a measure of their success in living a truth-coordinated life.