Cairo: Jesus in Egypt & God's Unusual Leaning
God seldom gives us all we need to understand, but He always gives us what we need in order to obey. The story of Jesus in Egypt as a boy offers a...
3 min read
Wayne Stiles
:
Jul 21, 2019 10:00:02 PM
It’s hard feeling embarrassed about where you grew up. Maybe your family had problems. Perhaps your hometown or church seemed nothing special. You’re not alone. Three of Jesus’ disciples felt that way too.
(Photo: Plain of Bethsaida. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)
The slopes near the site of Bethsaida offer some of the most beautiful scenery in the Galilee. In the spring, wildflowers burst open to drink in the sun, and the surrounding meadows paint the whole area a bright green. From certain vantage points, I have looked at the Sea of Galilee from Bethsaida and observed no modern distractions.
Most modern maps, signs, and tourists point to the site of et-Tell as biblical Bethsaida. If so, then this was the place in which Jesus performed miracles.
Peter, Andrew, and Philip had this as their hometown. A hometown that rejected Jesus. But God would still use the boyhood home in the lives these men.
God can use your lousy hometown too.
Perhaps it was in this area that the historian Josephus led his Jewish army in combat against the Roman forces of Sulla during the first Jewish Revolt (AD 66-70). Because the marshy plain around Bethsaida made quick maneuvering difficult, Josephus’ horse fell and wounded him.
Herod the Great bequeathed Bethsaida to his son, Philip. Although the village became an official city with a new name, Julias, the Scriptures never refer to Bethsaida by that designation.
On my first visit to et-Tell, I saw a number of basalt ruins with houses honeycombed together. The archaeologists working that day had suspended from trees makeshift sifters by which they separated the dirt from any archaeological finds.
(Photo: Bethsaida houses of fisherman and vine grower. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)
The archaeological remains in Bethsaida are sketchy and remain a source of conflicting views on the validity of the site. Even though most road signs point to et-Tell as biblical Bethsaida, there just isn’t enough evidence to make it conclusive.
(Photo: Bethsaida /et-Tell aerial. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)
Bethsaida finds its place in the Scriptures as one of the three primary locations—in addition to Capernaum and Chorazin—where Jesus performed miracles (Luke 10:13).
Even though the city of Bethsaida didn’t respond to Jesus’ miracles, God still used the town in the lives and ministries of the apostles.
(Photo: Fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)
The names of Jesus’ disciples Andrew and Philip are Greek in origin, and these Jews, along with Simon Peter, grew up in Bethsaida (John 1:44).
The Greek influence imposed by Herod Philip no doubt affected the disciples who grew up there.
Writing Scripture. Bringing people to Jesus. Meeting Jesus. Not bad for a lousy hometown.
It’s easy to feel embarrassed when the place you came from dropped the ball. But God never wastes anything in your life. He can turn a hard past into an opportunity for ministry.
He can make you more effective and equipped for those in the same boat.
Tell me what you think: How has the Lord used your embarrassing past for good? To leave a comment, just click here.
Click here to leave a comment.
God seldom gives us all we need to understand, but He always gives us what we need in order to obey. The story of Jesus in Egypt as a boy offers a...
Roads are often built for one reason, but God uses them in our lives for another altogether. The Appian Way in Rome proved this so in the life of the...
Two gardens in the Bible, Eden and Gethsemane, provided the settings for two choices that brought opposite results. The Bible wildly contrasts these...