Woes, Comfort, and a Thunderbolt

The Johannine Thunderbolt

Matthew 11:20-30

It was the custom of Old Testament prophets to proclaim the terms of the covenant between God and Israel in two parts. First came the statements of what God would do if Israel stayed true to God's word: If they obeyed Him, they were promised peace and prosperity and a long life in the land of milk and honey. On the other hand, the prophets warned what would happen if Israel abandoned the rules of the covenant: The land of milk and honey would spit them out and they would be led into captivity by a strange people.

We don't find a lot of this pattern reproduced in the Gospels. Blessings and warnings about the New Covenant are not often found side by side. But Matthew, ever mindful of Old Testament patterns and prophecies, has provided us a stellar example in his Gospel, in chapter 11, verses 20 through 30.

The Curses

Matthew places warnings first, in stark terms: WOE to you, Chorazin! WOE to you, Bethsaida! It will be better even in foreign cities on judgment day than it will be for you! And Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will descend to Hades, for you ignored miracles that would have caused even Sodom to repent!

The Blessings

Matthew almost immediately follows these curses with perhaps the most serene and promising words of Jesus in the entire New Testament:

"Come to me, all who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

The Thunderbolt

Theologians have called this word and the words that led up to it the "Johannine Thunderbolt," for its similarity to passages in John's Gospel, especially verse 27:

"All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal him."

On these verses and others, the fathers of the church built the doctrine of the Trinity.

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Was Jesus in the Golan Heights?

Golan was an important city in Old Testament times, some 17 miles east of the Sea of Kinnereth (Galilee). Around 80 BC it was destroyed by one of the priest-kings of the Maccabee era, and it never regained its former status. However, the high ground between Golan and Galilee inherited its name as the Golan Heights, or simply "The Golan." Today the Heights are mapped to extend to Mount Hermon far to the north, but for the purpose of this article I'll be considering only that land east of the Sea of Galilee.

Did Jesus Ever Visit the Golan Heights?

Approaching Sussita (Hippos) in the Golan Heights

The answer to the question is YES, more than one visit. Jesus' first encounter with the people of the Golan Heights was across the Sea of Galilee by boat, when in the Autumn of AD 28 he was met by two demon-oppressed men on the eastern shore, one of whom who was afflicted by a whole legion of demons.

Jesus' encounter was probably below the city of Sussita (Aramaic for Horse), also called Hippos (Latin for Horse), near the southerly end of the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus and his disciples remained near the shoreline for less than a week, likely doing some fishing for food. The steep slopes remind us of the swine who rushed into the sea, although there are no steep cliffs at water's edge.

Here's a view of Sussita from above. Jesus did not climb up into the city on the heights itself, but its residents came down to Jesus to ask him and his disciples (politely) to leave the area. Sussita was a Roman colony, one of the ten cities of the Decapolis, and this business of casting out demons made them uncomfortable indeed. Jesus complied with their request, but this was not to be Jesus' last visit to The Golan.

Fast forward to April 17, AD 29. This was the day of Passover, but in Jerusalem there was an arrest warrant out for Jesus, who was looking for some respite for himself and his disciples. Instead of travelling to Jerusalem, he elected to travel by boat again to the eastern shore of the lake, not so far south as Sussita this time. He and his disciples climbed up into one of the lush, grassy valleys of The Golan to rest for a while.

But the residents of Galilee had seen them depart, and they followed them along the shore and up into the Heights. Jesus ended up celebrating Passover by feeding some 5,000 men plus their families, starting with five loaves of bread and two fish.

Location of Gamla, northeast of the Sea of Galilee

Still looking for that much-needed vacation, Jesus went farther this time, walking to the Great Sea (the Mediterranean) and its port cities of Tyre and Sidon. Even that far away, one of the local women found Jesus and pestered him until he cured her daughter. Rested, Jesus and his disciples returned by an easterly route, passing through the area of Gamla, in the territory of Herod Philip.

One of the springs in the Golan Heights

Turning south from there, Jesus bypassed Bethsaida and continued down the eastern shore until he was again in the territory of the Decapolis, although none of the  Ten Towns themselves were situated quite this far north in The Golan.

Nevertheless, Jesus picked up a crowd again from Bethsaida on the north shore and even from as far away as Capernaum on the northwest shore. Jesus was in a mostly "desolate" place, where there was no village that was large enough to support a market where they could buy food.

But, of course, this was Jesus. His disciples came up with seven loaves of bread and a few fish, and again Jesus fed a multitude of 4,000 men plus women and children. The people were satisfied and the disciples collected seven baskets of leftovers.

Altogether therefore, Jesus visited The Golan at least three times. It is may be that he and his disciples were there a fourth time, even as far as ancient Golan itself on the eastern edge of the heights, 17 miles from the sea of Galilee.

Although there were not significant towns or cities besides Sussita on The Golan, there were always small villages scattered on its rich farm and pasturelands. Jewish outposts were always here or there, and some of them were large enough to boast of a synagogue, such as the one above. (This one is from the 7th century AD, built on the ruins of another synagogue of the 6th or 5th century.)

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Throw Jesus Down the Cliff Again?

Jesus Returns Again to Nazareth.

But They Don't Try to Throw Him Off the Cliff.

So, What's Different This Time?

What's the deal?

In the summer of AD 27, Jesus had gone to visit Capernaum after a wedding in Cana. Deciding to change his residence to the house of Peter's mother-in-law in Capernaum, he stopped at his childhood home in Nazareth during an evangelistic tour of Galilee. While there, he preached in the synagogue where the people attending took offense at him. They had heard of the healings Jesus had been doing, and it seems that they wanted Jesus to stay in the Nazareth area to become their local country doctor. But Jesus was moving on, and some roughnecks in the synagogue tried to throw Jesus down the cliff. Jesus just walked away from them (Luke 4:16-30).

So, he actually went there again?

Yes. Much later, in the late autumn of AD 28, Jesus returned to Nazareth on another evangelical tour. His preaching was scoffed at again, and doubts reigned about his healing powers, but no one tried to toss Jesus down the cliff this time. There was no sign of the angry ruffians from his first visit. What changed? (Mark 6:1-6a.)

Was someone there to protect Jesus?

It looks like that may be the case, and there are some clues in the Bible verses that support that idea. In Luke's story of the first visit, Jesus arrives in Nazareth apparently alone, and "in the power of the Spirit" fresh from his baptism and 40 days in the desert (Luke 4:14).

For the second visit, Mark is explicit in saying that his disciples were "with him" (Mark 6:1). And the listeners who were astonished by his preaching said, "Aren't his sisters here with us?" (Mark 6:3b). I would suggest that the ruffians in the synagogue would be less likely to cause a ruckus, for I cannot see a circumstance where Jesus' disciples would simply let their teacher be thrown down the cliff. And with his sisters there as witnesses, perhaps they may have been shamed into refraining from inciting violence.

The Real "Cliff" at Nazareth

 

And where were Jesus' four brothers?

It seems that four able-bodied construction workers ("carpenters") would be a strong deterrent against violence. Even if none of Jesus' brothers (all older than he) yet believed in him, if they allowed their younger brother to be bullied, they would lose honor in the town and be seen as pantywaists.

I propose that Jesus' brothers (from Joseph's first marriage) were absent from Nazareth during Jesus' first visit, perhaps gainfully employed in the active construction work under way in the nearby Roman city of Sepphoris. And then at his second visit, it is probable from Mark's text that Jesus' brothers were in town, or at least nearby.

In the company of Jesus' disciples, his brothers, and yes, even his sisters, there was plenty of motivation for the town ruffians to refrain from messing with Jesus.

Why Did Jesus Heal Few in Nazareth?

Mark 6:5 relates, "He could do no miracles there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them" (Mark 6:5 NASB). This verse has troubled theologians for centuries. Jesus didn't have the power to heal them?

The answer lies in Jesus' healing practices. In most every case, Jesus healed those who came to him asking for healing. (One exception was at Bethesda, where he asked, "Do you want to be healed?") But in Nazareth there was little belief or confidence, and even less respect for his ministry.

Jesus could not heal many there because few came forward to be healed. Simple.

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