It was late at night. My wife and I had already gone to bed. Then something most remarkable happened. The Lord spoke to us. It is always awesome and wonderful when we realize we are hearing from our Saviour. During his ministry on earth, He told us that His sheep would hear His voice and another they would not follow. He also let us know that He was sending us His Holy Spirit who would teach us and lead us into all truth. And it was this same Holy Spirit that was speaking to us that evening.
We had both been Christians for several years. And we had learned that, indeed, the Father does speak to His children. He speaks to us in many different ways. And however His Word comes to us, it always brings light, comfort and understanding. It is always something special to hear from the Comforter, to know that He cares. It is awesome to know you are in the presence of the Creator of this vast universe as He bathes you with his love. Truly His Word is worth more than gold or precious gems.
That evening He gave a puzzling instruction to us by His still small voice as he told us, “Flee into Galilee.”
I had no idea what He meant. Neither did my wife. I lay there and pondered the brief message, Flee into Galilee, as I drifted towards sleep. I knew that the names of places in scripture often have symbolic meaning, such as the New Jerusalem that comes down out of Heaven mentioned by the apostle Paul. But this had me puzzled. Sleep soon overcame my bewilderment.
The days following held some special surprises as I began my quest to grasp what God had told us. I have learned through experience that we only gain insight as God gives it, so my search through the Bible with the help of a concordance was a prayerful one. And insight was gained. Perhaps not the complete understanding Christ had for me, but certainly enough to make a real impact on my life.
Flee into Galilee. I knew He wasn’t telling us to pack our bags and fly to the Middle East. No, he was leading us into a closer walk with Him. He was speaking of a place in the Spirit.
As I searched the scriptures, I was reminded how so many of Jesus’ disciples were Galileans. His faithful apostles and the hundred and twenty in the upper room were Galileans. The five hundred who witnessed His ascent into Heaven were called men of Galilee by the attendant angel. And Christ, before giving His commission to preach the gospel in all the world, sent word to his disciples to go into Galilee where He promised they would see Him.
At last it began to sink in. If we are to fulfill Christ’s commission, we need to depart for Galilee where He meets with us and shares His plans for reaching those in need of His unconditional love. We must be in the spiritual condition Galilee represents. Though we may love Him and truly call Him Lord, it is from Galilee that we can be certain of bearing a truly effective witness.
What is this place called Galilee? Certainly it is a place of complete submission to Him. Christ cannot live where we are not dead to ourselves. His true disciples, such as those in the upper room, had at least one trait in common. They all wanted the Lordship of Jesus in their lives; they were holding nothing back. And if we are to have meaningful fellowship with Him, we need to be like those early Galileans. For only if a servant is yielded to his master is He of use to his Kingdom.
Galilee is a place of giving and self-sacrifice. The Sea of Galilee, fed by the Jordan River, is full of crystal clear water teeming with life. As the Jordan flows in, it gives sustenance to the magnificent sea. Then it issues back out as the Galilee in turn gives of itself. The Jordan continues flowing and brings the same water to the Dead Sea . . . dead because it has no outlet . . .dead because it never gives. It keeps the nourishing waters of the Jordan unto itself and, in so doing, loses all hope of bringing forth life.
Galilee is a place of simplicity, free from self-righteousness and pretense. Christ was and is a Galilean. Galilee was at the crossroads of ancient trade routes and the Jews living there were often of mixed blood. They must have been looked down upon by their more cosmopolitan kinsmen in Jerusalem. After all, Jerusalem was the center of Jewish culture and religious practice. Galilee was rural countryside — provincial, the sticks.
The ministry of Christ in Jerusalem was met with ridicule and fierce opposition. Few there seemed to appreciate His message. He was so rejected in Jerusalem that He ceased to minister there, returning only to be crucified. Jerusalem was the host city for religious facade; a place where tradition was stacked onto ritual and ritual onto tradition as the Word of God was made void in the hearts of men. It was where the pious and prideful, so certain of their religious favor before God, were drained of compassion and the quality of mercy was not strained. It was the city where the Prophets before Him had been beaten and killed. It was the place of His own crucifixion.
By contrast, the humble Galilee offered not much more than a few fishermen, long since stripped of any worldly pretense. Knowing they were in the presence of a Power much greater than they had encountered before, they might well have said with Peter “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” They knew their condition and had no mask for their unworthiness. In short, they were prime material for the Kingdom of God, wide open for the gospel of love found at the beautiful feet of Jesus.
As I pondered these things, I knew I had glimpsed something of what the Lord meant when He told us to flee into Galilee. One further insight, however, served to bring the whole matter into much sharper focus.
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