The Galilean Campaign

The Galilean campaign represents the last three years of the life and ministry of our Lord, Jesus of Nazareth. Without a doubt Galilee was the largest prefecture in Palestine It was divided into different sections that were all governed by the family of Herod the Great.

That the ministry of Jesus, the Christ, did not begin on the sea of Galilee isn’t debatable, for Nazareth was his home town.  But his ministry grew and developed as his result of his move to Capernaum, and the call of four fisherman, who happened to be business partners. 

One has only to mark the year of his journeys by charting his trips per the Sea of Galilee. That Galilee is a recurring theme in his life is to read with divine control of minutia, details that fashioned his life. He turned the pursuit of these fishermen from that of fish into the pursuit of men; for God.

Sea of Galilee in modern times

Wherever they went as a management team to supplement and complement the ministry of Jesus; Galilee always represented home. It represented, seeing and recognizing people that they knew, and seeing issues of life through the eyes of Jesus of Galilee. Thus, Galilee represents what we thought we knew before we met,and it is also the place where we have come to know what he means to us, since he has been taken from us.

This brings us to the testimony of the men he had chosen to be his witnesses, with the exception of Luke, they were all there during his passion; with the exception of his betrayer.But there are three synoptics and I find myself responding two or three times to a text, especially of his passion, trial, and execution. This is no duplication. They were all individuals in their own right. For sometimes it is easy for one to become trapped in roles that the characters are playing. The Romans, as the Greeks, had invented their own gods, and they all had the failings of their creators, how convenient!

To observe that Judah imitated the characteristics of men given to regicide and deicide should be beyond the calling of all men. But this appointment of Jesus of Nazareth, a Galilean, who was set up to be killed by their Roman Prefecture is yet a case study in itself. The roles have been meticulously tailored to meet the test of all time. Each of these men have maximized their role to the point that nothing can be added to the encounter.

What is also striking about this encounter is that the Synoptics are not a chronological diary of the three year ministry of Jesus of Nazareth; that fits neatly into an orderly time frame. But this ministry was founded and based in Galilee, the sea of Galilee to be exact; within the confines of the two ships.

His first year of ministry was with four fishermen whose ship had been commandeered for his ministry. But his trips, especially his Gentile ministry, was all tied to the sea of Galilee, even to the feeding of the nine thousand!

His ministry to the Greek cities, founded by Alexander, the Great, were also accessible from the sea of Galilee. There was also Tyre and Sidon, modern day Lebanon, but even though he was a minister sent to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel," his sea of Galilee ministry created a real demand among the Gentiles for the messiah of Israel. This ministry was refined and enlarged later by one of his most controversial apostles; Saul of Tarshish.
But the Galilean campaign is a journey only of about thirty six months packed with the most powerful ministry we yet try to emulate.

These views are extremely important to Gentiles because their development in the household of faith represents some sixteen to eighteen letters of the New Testament. So while Israel was sulking over the divine choice of their given messiah he was received generously in their quarters. In Saul's gospel, it is stated as, The Mystery of Godliness, "He was proclaimed among the Gentiles.believed in throughout the world, then taken up in glory" Without a doubt the Galilean campaign will afford you a closer look at the meaning of urban ministry taken to city, by city, by means of the sea of Galilee to crowds that loved him even though he was on the wanted list in Judea and even Galilee.

To be realistic this Galilean witness to the Gentiles is noteworthy and part of the Lucan account of the interaction of Jesus of Nazareth with in predominately Gentile cities. There is also a very able discussion recorded of the Samaritan dialog and current history that could not keep them from the Saviors love. Jesus was definitely a reformer, and he was born free of the invisible chains of love and hate that bind each and every one of us from birth.

The Galilean campaign is also a political diary which records the heartbeat of Palestine by the people responsible for the day by day operation. You’ll enjoy and challenged by the Galilean campaign as it will enlarge your understanding of the ministry and the life and times of Jesus of Galilee from a historical and always spiritual perspective but a response to another witnesses’ testimony to the same incident. This is especially true of the trial of Jesus and his interaction with Pilate.

There are indeed view points, some responsible, others irresponsible, of this trial. But I have tried to remain faithful to their description of their representative roles. It is a historian’s responsibility to examine drama before and how the characters have prepared for it. This is true of their attire and their facial expression as they recite the lines they have been given. Pilate is a Prefect but he is also a soldier and has a cohort under his command. His enduring question to Jesus is, "Are you the King of the Jews?"

Every Roman governor had the responsibility of collecting taxes, instituting consensus, keeping the subjects manageable, and minting currency. The senators ruled the provinces under the senate with assistance from three to four legions. The emperors were careful not to place too many men at the disposal of their governors but they could always petition their superiors for aid and assistance as the opportunity afforded legions but since the civil war Rome made sure that no general or senator managed large armies that could be used against Rome.

Nevertheless the task before is to understand the ministry of our Lord and how he designed this deliverance to serve common people. I consider the testimony of the eye witnesses primary to the reconstruction of these times for nowhere else can one find more reliable evidence. We are informed that there are points or customs that cannot be verified in Roman or Judaic customs but we are accustomed to bearing biblical assumptions that are verified centuries later.

This is the nature of the faith necessary for scientific research where man represents the final act of creation. Fortunately rationalism are but the gloves we wear as we examine the testimony of time in space and darkness. That is why, the Bible testifies of “ that those who come to Him must believe that He is and is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him.”

Due to the fact that there are three evangelist writing similar or same type layouts of the life and ministry of the Lord, they are called synoptics. The gospel of John is a different eyewitness account written some sixty years later. Outside of the Bible witness there is the testimony of history, namely, Josephus and Trajan writing during the Christian persecution on how to differentiate between true and false faiths when questioning. The way these repetitions of incidents and how these themes are developed in their texts and how they impact on the writer to re-examine the data with sociological, political, and historical notations to broaden the descriptive view.

The views noted here include a recognition of both Jew and Gentile in the divine universal plan of salvation. These evangelists in their accounts, especially the Lucan and the Johannine accounts do much to explain and lift the curtain in this area.

Area map of Ancient Sea of Galilee

The Lucan account has detailed exposition of the Galilean ministry that I used for organizational purposes , the three year plan first utilized by Prof. Stalker ln his biography. The ministry of Jesus is divided into a three year plan. The first year is the year of obscurity, the second the year of popularity, and the third and final year, the year of opposition.

Since I have focused on the heart of this ministry it moves us to Galilee, and the Sea of Galilee, which is the modus of operandi for this ministry. There are withdrawals from Galilee to the Eastern shore, to the western shore. Then to Phoenicia, Decapolis,Scythopolis, what is noted that his ministry was closely related to the ebb and flow of the Sea of Tiberias .

It took some reading, actually years to note how the ministry of Jesus was related to the Sea of Galilee, then the first four disciples he calls are fishermen there, actually partners in a sea worthy business; he asks them if he can use their boats as he teaches a crowd along the shore. They accept and he agrees to aid their fishing skills also. These four men and their two boats compromise the first year of formal ministry for the Lord with aides.

These men will also constitute his inner circles they minister around the lake. Of course, as he gains more notoriety he is encompassed by the temple cult to witness and assess his lifestyle. He is also joined by Herodians political party which is the political lobby group for the governor. Actually, at this point in time the whole of Galilee, with the exception of Judea, is governed by the family of Herod the Great. The time sequences are not arranged as such so as led, I have taken what was given to me to share as the heart of his life of power.

Finally, because the Gospel accounts are important revelations of the roles and dialogs that direct their encounters, I have revisited these dialogs that constitute his arrest and trials. It is here that it is revealed the command that he has, not only of his life, but the circumstances that direct him too. It is here we realize his strength and the command he has over life and death. Truly He is Lord!