Will we tell our story?

Today, friends, was a big day!

Sure, everyday in the Holy Land is big, but today was especially impactful as it hit some of the most iconic and important sites in the Bible. Starting in modern day Nazareth, and ending on the shores of the Mediterranean, our small cadre wrestled with the underlying question of “What does it mean to really believe in and follow Jesus?” as we traversed four of the most poignant and easily recognizable settings of Jesus’ time, not from the outside, but sitting in the text.

One of the things that we have learned while in Israel is that most ancient Biblical towns, cities, and villages often have modern day counterparts right next to them as a result of the Zionist movement of the late 40’s, which encouraged Jews to migrate back to their homeland after it’s declaration as an official state in 1948. In this tradition, the Modern Nazareth is a bustling sandstone community with advertisements for the latest line of sunglasses, Disney themed children’s toys, and even an auto-body shop named “Pimp My Car”. Historically in the bottom of a bowl-like basin, the current iteration of Nazareth has crawled up the sides, and spilled out over the edges. It was to the oldest part of the city, to an ancient cliff side outside of the bowl, that our first lesson took us. Overlooking a small inlet in the center of the Jezreel valley, we read Matthew 2: 19-23, and discussed Joseph’s (the father of Jesus) decision to move to ancient Nazareth. We learned that it was a miniscule village of only 200 people in the time of Jesus, and that when Matthew said that it would be foretold that Jesus would be a Nazerite, this could actually be a clever play on the words of the prophet Isaiah, which said that Jesus would be a “root of the house of David”, as the word Nazareth means “House of the Root”. This small agrarian town was populated by Jews who were seeking the security of solitude without losing their Davidic heritage.

We then read in Luke 4:16-30 about Jesus’ return to Nazareth, and the events which led to him being driven to the edge of the cliffs to be stoned, before he “walked away through their midst”. It was on these very cliffs that we considered the possibility that, in lieu of a miraculous escape (which would have been a clear sign of his divinity, though he had just refused to show one earlier) Jesus may have simply walked away as the crowd didn’t have enough evidence to kill him, and was unwilling to be wrong in their accusation. We concluded this time with the sobering thought that you either accept Jesus for who he is, or you are among those who throw him off the cliff.

We then traveled to Tel Megiddo, a place which means “a rallying of troops”. (All names in Hebrew mean something, if you haven’t already noticed) This Tel, or hill made the destruction and rebuilding of civilization after civilization in the same spot, has 27 layers. This historic obsession with conquering Megiddo is due to the fact that it is one of, if not THE most important places in Israel’s history, as it is the tactical keystone of controlling the land. We, sitting in the shade on the top of the Tel, read in 2nd Chronicles about my namesake, King Josiah, and about his incredible life. We learned about his sweeping reform of the nation of Israel after stumbling upon the book of the Law, and how his life tragically ended in battle on that very hill upon which we sat. We sat wide eyed as Matt drew parallel after parallel, and showed us that in fact Jesus is the better Josiah (AMEN), and that the battle of the end times would begin at Megiddo as well!

Megiddo was also one of Solomon’s four Chariot Cities, places we learned that King Solomon amassed huge numbers of Egyptian horses and chariots. Solomon is known as being the wisest king in history, however, along with his many wives and huge wealth, Megiddo and his other chariot cities were in direct contradiction with Deuteronomy 16: 14-20, which forbid the king from having many wives, chariots, or riches. We concluded that, for all of Solomon’s wisdom, he disobeyed the law of the Lord, and ended his life worshipping pagan gods and sacrificing children. His security was not found in the Lord, it was found in his possessions. We then, if we want to be wiser than Solomon, have only to obey!

We then traveled to Mount Carmel, or “God’s Vineyard”, and learned about the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal in an entirely new light. While the lesson brought new insights about numerous aspects of the land and culture surrounding the Israelite people and pagan worship during that time, the resounding message was that in order to have boldness, like the kind Elijah displayed in 1 Kings 16-18, you can’t confuse what you see with what is true, and ultimately, you have to believe God is who he says he is.

We ended the day standing at the edge of a rock shelf, looking out at an odd looking structure jutting out from the mainland and into the Mediterranean. We were standing in a town known as Caesarea Maritima, and looking at the remains of a palace of King Herod, which he had built on an artificial peninsula made with ancient cement! This city was the most booming metropolis of Jesus’ time, and was one of the largest port cities in the world, filled with entertainment, technological advancement, luxury, and all of the goods of the ancient world flowing in and out. And this city was right next to Nazareth!

We read chapter after chapter of the book of Acts, hearing story after story about evangelism. Both Peter and Philip began huge gospel movement by boldly proclaiming their stories in Caesarea Maritima. Paul, in Acts 23, was held prisoner in Herod’s palace for proclaiming the gospel here. This was a place of evangelism!

Matt finished the talk by telling us that he knew of one other person who had been to Caesarea Maritima. We waited expectantly as he looked each of us in the eyes and said,

“You.”

He told us that God has brought us, like Phillip the evangelist and like Peter and like Paul, to this city. And that like them, we have a story of life. Not of bios, or biological life, but of zoe, which is life as God intended; true life. And like men with a great story in a port city, we too will be leaving for home soon. And we will have to make the decision: Will we tell our story? And this ultimately depends on whether or not we truly believe that Jesus is who he says he is, and decide to follow him.

Today has been a big day. I can’t wait for tomorrow.

Josiah Shipp