"A great prophet has appeared among us!"

We just returned from a four day trip to the Galilee (In NT times a region including but not limited to the Sea of Galilee). It was both inspiring and exhausting! More than once I wistfully wished Isaiah the prophet's vision might come true "speedily and in my day." "The rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain" (Isa 40:4). We clambered down cliffs (at the Arbel), ascended the high place of Dan and plodded along the precipices of the Banias River gorge before finishing the day on the summit of a volcanic cone on the Golan Heights called Mt. Bental ("son of the dew"). Thankfully, we ended each day at a nice guest kibbutz called En Gev on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee. A good supper and a night's rest can do wonders!

The single most powerful impression from my Galilee trip this time (I've visited the area about seven times previously) was reflecting on how Galilee must have shaped and spoken to Jesus of Nazareth. As I sat on "Jumping Mountain," the local name for a high precipice just on the outskirts of Nazareth that offers a splendid view of the Jezreel Valley below to the south, I could see several sites that were connected with some of the great prophets of the past.

Most notable were the dynamic duo, Elijah and Elisha. This blog will focus on the former. Clearly visible on the skyline was a site called Muhraqa, the highest point on the Mt. Carmel ridge that juts out into the Mediterranean on its western most extension. Up there, where we had been on the previous day looking toward the Nazareth ridge where I now sat, Elijah single-handedly took on the 450 prophets of Baal and his female consort Asherah in an epic power encounter. Which deity could make it rain? Baal or Yahweh (The Lord)? Seemingly, Elijah had triumphed with a spectacular display of the Lord's power over nature. Elijah had the false prophets executed and then ran before Ahab's chariot some 18 miles to the palace of Ahab at Jezreel. I could see the course of this super human feat right there before my eyes with Jezreel just off in the distance, almost directly across from where I sat. Too bad they didn't have stop watches in those days; Elijah's time was certainly a record never since achieved!

At any rate, the story goes on to make clear that Elijah was quite mistaken to think that a divine "fireworks" display was all that was needed to turn the nation back to the Lord. Jezebel snarled and snapped at Elijah threatening to end his life by the very next day! (1 Kings 19:2). Elijah, completely spent, collapsed before this threat. He "was afraid and ran for his life" (19:3). He fled all the way to Beersheva and then, leaving his servant there, he went a day's journey out into the forbidding desert of the Negev. He was overcome with a sense of complete failure and wanted to end his life then and there. The Lord, however, had other plans. He sent an angel to feed him and allowed him to get some much needed rest. After another nourishing meal, he was miraculously enabled to make a pilgrimage of 40 days and 40 nights to Mt. Sinai where Israel had initally pledged allegiance to the Lord God of Israel after the Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 19 and 24).

On that spectacular mountain, the Lord's presence was preceded by a powerful wind, an earthquake and fire. But, says the sacred historian, the Lord was not in the wind, earthquake or fire (1 Kings 19:11-12). Rather, Elijah heard "a gentle whisper." This was the profound truth that Elijah needed to grasp. People aren't typically converted by "power evangelism." They are brought to the Savior by the working of the Holy Spirit in their inmost being. To be sure, sometimes the Spirit of God performs convincing demonstrations of the power of God to unbelieving hearts and it is instrumental in their conversion. But most often, it is the secret, mysterious work of the Spirit (cf. John 3:8) in the human heart that brings about new birth.

I think Jesus thought often about that story. Jesus did perform mighty deeds and wonders among the people. One miracle in particular, was performed at a little village that now lay within my view. I could make out where the village of Nain had once been, nestled on the north side of Mt. Moreh. It was the village in which a little boy, the only child of a widow, was brought back to life by the Master. The response of those who witnessed it is recorded in Luke's Gospel (Note that only Luke records this miracle. Dr. Luke was fascinated by Jesus' power to heal the sick, cast out demons, and, yes, even raise the dead): "A great prophet has appeared among us" (Luke 7:16). Of course they were absolutely right, a great prophet had indeed arisen; the problem was they didn't grasp that he was much more than a great prophet. As Luke makes clear, Jesus is also "the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). There is a giant leap between affirming that Jesus is a great prophet and that he is the Son of God. Miracles per se can't span this gulf; only the Spirit of God can instill this confidence. It's like Jesus told Simon Peter after he made his great confession at Caesarea Philippi, a place we also visited on this trip. "Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven" (Matthew 16:17).

As I stood at Korazin and Capernaum on the last day of our trip, the words of Jesus echoed in my mind: "Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes . . . "And you, Capernaum . . . If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to his day." (Matthew 11:21-23). How tragic to actually see with one's eyes the works of God and still fail to really know him.

Jesus understood this. But he didn't succumb to self-pity nor did he think he must be a success as the world measures success (even pastors and evangelists sometimes fall into this deadly deceit). He knew his sheep would hear his voice and respond (John 10:2-4, 14-16). His mission would entail that he lose his life, but in a quite different sense than Elijah contemplated. His was not a death in despair (as Albert Schweitzer once claimed) but a death to end all death (Hebrews 2:9, 14). I think Jesus appreciated Elijah's courageous stand for Yahweh in his day. But I also think Jesus was very much aware of Elijah's shortcomings ("a man just like us," James 5:17). As a youngster, I wonder if Jesus stood on "Jumping Mountain" and, looking out over the Jezreel Valley, reflected on the life and exploits of Elijah.

There were other prophets that Jesus pondered about as he grew up in his home town of Nazareth. But let's save those for our next blog. Until then, keep listening for the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit!