Capernaum
Yesterday, I was rewatching The Chosen for the… I don’t know, but it has been several, times, and I got to thinking about how much actually happened in this small town with less than 1,500 people. I grew up in a small town, but even that town is much larger than that in terms of population. Everyone probably just about knew each other by name, their stories, and yet this is the town where Jesus begins and does much of His ministry. It is there that He gathered Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew (Matthew 4:18-22, 9:9). Nearly half of the disciples were from this small town. It is here that He heals the paralytic, the Centurion’s servant, Jairus’s daughter, Peter’s mother-in-law, and the woman bleeding for 12 years. He also delivers a man from a demon and does the coin in the fish’s mouth miracle (Mark 1-2, 5; Matthew 8, 9, 17).
The story repeats itself everywhere the Lord is involved. He chooses the places and people that are overlooked and basically says, "I see you, and I know you." That is so powerful to me.
I was studying this town and found on Wiki that in the French language, the word capharnaüm actually means a place of disorderly accumulation of objects. Not only does the Lord choose the places that are overlooked, but also the ones that are a bit disorderly and wild. Creation itself was once formless and void (Genesis 1:2). Can you imagine that? And He brought about form and life from that. That is incredible! This story shows the transformative power that He has with us as well. To be lost is to be in the chaos, wandering day to day, with no objective, but for the next moment, without hope for the future, there is no purpose. He came to show us our purpose. To teach us our purpose. To give His life for us and to show us a life worth giving all of our wants up for to follow. That is who He is. Nothing can compare or compete with that kind of love.
But it is important to note that He eventually says, "Woe to you, Capernaum." Because they had seen so much, He said that if the miracles done in them had been done in Sodom, it would have remained to this day (Matthew 11:23). They were given a huge privilege and gift; the presence and physical manifestation of God working right in their streets, and yet they took it for granted. To give them some grace, it is easy to judge them for lack of understanding, but miracles and healings still happen today, proving that He is still at work in our midst, yet we often miss them too. It makes me wonder: if Jesus were to show up in our chaotic lives and preach a sermon today specifically for us, how many of those reading this would go out of our way to show up and listen?
This piece, I hope, shows that Jesus will step right into our chaos to offer us life, but we still have to choose to truly receive Him and be changed by Him.