“After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum” (Luke 7:1 ESV).
The fishing village of Capernaum was strategically located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. The major highway carrying trade between Egypt and Damascus called the “Via Maris” (“Way of the Sea”) passed through Capernaum. It was the little town of Capernaum that Jesus chose as his home base during his early ministry. Indeed, the sign on the entry gate to Capernaum today reads, “Capernaum: The Town of Jesus.”
In this chapter from Luke’s gospel, a group of Jewish elders came with a most unusual request, they wanted his help on behalf of a Roman officer and his deathly ill servant. This shows the crossroads of culture that Capernaum was in those days, as the Jewish elders expressed concern and gratitude for this Roman patron who had paid for the construction of their synagogue. So Jesus went with them to heal the Roman officer’s servant.
What a different relationship Jesus had with the Jewish elders and Romans living in Capernaum and their counterparts in Jerusalem. Jesus healed the Roman soldier’s servant at the request of Capernaum’s elders, who described the Roman as a lover of the Jewish people. While in Jerusalem the Jewish elders hated their Roman rulers, and yet, they conspired together to crucify Jesus.
I suppose Jesus could have remained in Capernaum. For that matter, he could have remained in heaven. But he didn’t. Jesus came down from heaven and down from Capernaum and went up to Jerusalem to be crucified.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we pray that Jesus would be welcome in our city just as He was in Capernaum. Yet, we are thankful that He went to Jerusalem to die for our sins. For without His sacrifice we would be lost. Strengthen us to tell the people of our city about Jesus. Go before us Lord, to open their ears to the gospel. In Jesus’ name, amen.