It is quite common, in religious circlesthroughout the world today, to say thatJesus Christ was a Jew.

It is true that Jesus was born of Mary,who was of the tribe of Judah, and He wasborn in Bethlehem in the land of Judea.Further, He was crucified in Jerusalem,which was also in Judea. So, whenever wespeak of Jesus, in relation to some namesof geographical locations, Bethlehem,Jerusalem and Judea are the ones mostoften associated with Jesus. This is thereason so many people say that: "Jesuswas a Jew."

However, there are two other placesthat are closely associated with the lifeand ministry of Jesus Christ. These placesare seldom mentioned in the pulpitstoday, but are mentioned many times inthe Bible. They are: the city of Nazarethand the land of Galilee.

“Now when Jesus was born inBethlehem of Judaea in the days ofHerod the king, behold, there camewise men from the east to Jerusalem.”

(Matthew 2: 1)

By this we know Bethlehem of Judeawas the city of Christ's birth. After thewise men departed, Joseph was told totake Christ to Egypt:

“And when they were departed,behold, the angel of the Lordappeareth to Joseph in a dream, say-

ing, Arise, and take the young childand his mother, and flee into Egypt,and be thou there until I bring theeword: for Herod will seek the youngchild to destroy him.When he arose, he took the youngchild and his mother by night, anddeparted into Egypt:”

(Matthew 2:13-14)

After the death of Herod, Joseph wastold to take the child to Israel.

“But when Herod was dead, behold,an angel of the Lord appeareth in adream to Joseph in Egypt,Saying, Arise, and take the youngchild and his mother, and go into theland of Israel: for they are dead whichsought the young child's life.And he arose, and took the youngchild and his mother, and came intothe land of Israel.But when he heard that Archelaus didreign in Judea in the room of hisfather Herod, he was afraid to gothither: notwithstanding, beingwarned of God in a dream, he turnedaside into the parts of Galilee:And he came and dwelt in a citycalled Nazareth: that it might be ful-filled which was spoken by theprophets, He shall be called aNazarene.”

(Matthew 2:19-23)

So, after being protected from Herod inEgypt, God directed the path of the Christ

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Jesus ChristThe Galilean

by Sheldon Emry

child to the land of Israel, into a citycalIed Nazareth. This was in fulfillment ofthe prophecy that Christ would be called aNazarene. My Bible's marginal referencesays that "Nazarene" means "a branch" or"separated one."

The prophet, Jeremiah, was inspiredto write a prophecy about the coming ofJesus Christ:

“Behold, the days come, saith theLord, that I will raise unto David arighteous Branch, and a King shallreign and prosper, and shall executejudgment and justice in the earth.In his days Judah shall be saved, andIsrael shall dwell safely: and this ishis name whereby he shall be called,TUE LORD OUR KIGUTEOUSNESS.”

(Jeremiah 23:5-6)

This prophecy was repeated in chapter33 of Jeremiah:

“Behold, the days come, saith theLord, that I will perform that goodthing which I have promised unto thehouse of Israel and to the house ofJudah.In those days, and at that time, will Icause the Branch of righteousness togrow up unto David; and he shall exe-cute judgment and righteousness inthe land.In those days shall Judah be saved,and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: andthis is the name wherewith she shallbe called, The Lord our righteousness.For thus saith the Lord; David shallnever want a man to sit upon thethrone of the house of Israel;”

(Jeremiah 33:14-17)

This is the same prophecy given inchapter 23 of Jeremiah, however, here it isrelated to the fulfillment of the reign ofJesus on David's throne.

It is easy to see that the followingprophecy of the Branch refers to theremoval of Israel's sins and the establish-ment of the Kingdom of God upon theearth:

“Hear now, O Joshua (the Hebrewword translated "Joshua" is literally"Jah saves") the high priest, thou, andthy fellows that sit before thee: forthey are men wondered at: for, behold,I will bring forth my servant theBRANCH.For behold the stone that I have laidbefore Joshua; upon one stone shallbe seven eyes: behold, I will engravethe graving thereof, saith the Lord ofhosts, and I will remove the iniquity ofthat land in one day.In that day, saith the Lord of hosts,shall ye call every man his neighbourunder the vine and under the fig tree.”

(Zechariah 3:8-10)

This prophecy is found again later onin Zechariah:

“And speak unto him, saying, Thusspeaketh the Lord of hosts, saying,Behold the man whose name is TheBRANCH; and he shall grow up out ofhis place, and he shall build the tem-ple of the Lord:Even he shall build the temple of theLord; and he shall bear the glory, andshall sit and rule upon his throne;and he shall be a priest upon histhrone: and the counsel of peace shallbe between them both.”

(Zechariah 6: 12-13)

These verses speak of a throne and apriest. We know from other propheciesthat Christ is both King and Priest. If thisprophecy is speaking of Christ, thenChrist is the BRANCH. The fulfillment ofJesus being the Branch came about by His

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being an inhabitant of the city ofNazareth, and thereby being called aNazarene.

In the second chapter of Luke, we findanother account of the birth of Jesus, withadditional information about his earlylife.

“And it came to pass in those days,that there went out a decree fromCresar Augustus, that all the worldshould be taxed.”

(Luke 2:1)

Then we read the story of Joseph andMary coming to Bethlehem; the Christchild being born, and of the events follow-ing Christ's birth:

“And when eight days were accom-plished for the circumcising of thechild, his name was called JESUS,which was so named of the angelbefore he was conceived in the womb.And when the days of her purificationaccording to the law of Moses wereaccomplished, they brought him toJerusalem, to present him to the Lord;(As it is written in the law of the Lord,Every male that openeth the wombshall be called holy to the Lord);”

(Luke 2:21-23)

Following the law of Moses they wentthrough the ritual consecration of Jesus inthe temple at Jerusalem, which, at thattime, was the temple of Israel.

“And, behold, there was a man inJerusalem, whose name was Simeon;and the same man was just anddevout, waiting for the consolation ofIsrael: and the Holy Ghost was uponhim.”

(Luke 2:25)

Then follows the story of Simeonprophesying over Jesus. Anna, the

prophetess, also prophesied over theeight-day-old Christ child, in the templeat Jerusalem.

“And when they had performed allthings according to the law of theLord, they retumed into Galilee, totheir own city Nazareth.”

(Luke 2:39)

Nazareth was the home city of Jesus'parents, Mary and Joseph.

“And the child grew, and waxedstrong in spirit, filled with wisdom:and the grace of God was upon him.”

(Luke 2:40)

Christ's parents went to Jerusalemevery year at the feast of the passover:

“And when he was twelve years old,they went up to Jerusalem after thecustom of the feast.”

(Luke 2:40-42)

Then Mary and Joseph left, thinkingJesus was in another part of the caravan.Missing Him, they returned and discov-ered Him teaching in the temple. Exceptfor once a year when they went toJerusalem, and for a short period of timewhen, at the age of twelve, Jesus taughtin the temple; apparently, all of His grow-ing up years were spent in the city ofNazareth, in the land of Galilee.

We read earlier that Jesus was to livein the city of Nazareth to fulfill theprophecy that He was to be a Nazarene.Going on in chapter 3 we read:

“In those days came John the Baptist,preaching in the wilderness of Judea,And saying, Repent ye: for the king-dom of heaven is at hand.”

(Matthew 3:1-2)

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This verse does not give the location ofJohn except to say that he was in Judea.We know from other Scripture that Johnwas at, or near, he Jordan River duringmost of his ministry and preaching ofrepentance.

John's ministry was to baptize, hismessage was the Kingdom of Heaven.According to this and other accounts inthe Gospel, Jesus came to be baptizedwhen He was about thirty years old.Where did He come from?

“Then cometh Jesus from Galilee toJordan unto John, to be baptized ofhim.”

(Matthew 3:13)

Jesus was taken to Nazareth as a littlechild, so that He would be called aNazarene. Except for the once a year tripto the temple in Jerusalem, He was still inGalilee when He was thirty years of age.He was, by common knowledge, aNazarene (or Galilean), from Nazareth ofGalilee.

“Then was Jesus led up of the spiritinto the wilderness to be tempted ofthe devil.”

(Matthew 4:1)

No specific location is given here,except that it was in the wilderness. Sincethe temptation happened immediatelyafter Jesus' baptism in the river Jordan, itpossibly occurred in the hills of Judea orGalilee. At least part of the temptationmay have taken place in the temple atJerusalem, as Matthew 4:5 illustrates.

Immediately after the temptation weread the following in verse 11:

“Then the devil leaveth him, and,behold, angels came and ministeredunto him.

Now when Jesus had heard that Johnwas cast into prison, he departed intoGalilee.”

(Matthew 4: 11-12)

So, it appears that immediately afterthe temptation, if Jesus was in Judeawhen this happened, He went back toGalilee which was His home.

“And leaving Nazareth, he came anddwelt in Capernaum, which is uponthe sea coast, in the borders ofZabulon and Nephthalim:That it might be fulfilled which wasspoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,The land of Zabulon, and the land ofNephthalim, by the way of the sea,beyond Jordan, Galilee of theGentiles;The people which sat in darkness sawgreat light; and to them which-sat-inthe region and shadow of death lightis sprung up.”

(Matthew 4:13-16)

Zabulon and Nephthalim are cities inGalilee. The point I am making in thisstudy is that Jesus spent almost all of Hisministry in Galilee, away from Judea andJerusalem. Jesus left Nazareth in order tofulfill a prophecy, found in the ninth chap-ter of Isaiah:

“Nevertheless the dimness shall not besuch as was in her vexation. when atthe first he lightly afflicted the landof Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,and afterward did more grievouslyafflict her by the way of the sea,beyond Jordan, in Galilee of thenations.The people that walked in darknesshave seen a great light: they thatdwell in the land of the shadow ofdeath, upon them hath the lightshined.

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Thou hast multiplied the nation, andnot increased the joy: they joy beforethee according to the joy in harvest,and as men rejoice when they dividethe spoil.For thou hast broken the yoke of hisburden. and the staff of his shoulder,the rod of his oppressor, as in the dayof Midian.For every battle of the warrior is withconfused noise, and garments rolledin blood; but this shall be with burn-ing and fuel of fire.”

(Isaiah 9:1-5)

In other words, there was somethingthat was to come upon the Israel peoplethat was different than regular battles. Itwas to be something related to burningand fuel of fire. Here is what it was:

“For unto us a child is born. unto us ason is given: and the government shallbe upon his shoulder: and his nameshall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,The mighty God, The everlastingFather, The Prince of Peace.Of the increase of his government andpeace there shall be no end, upon thethrone of David, and upon his king-dom, to order it, and to establish itwith judgment and with justice fromhenceforth even for ever. The zeal ofthe Lord of hosts will perform this.”

(Isaiah 9:6-7)

Jesus, the Christ, was to come to thisspecific land of Galilee, Zabulon andNephthalim, as a burning fire or a greatlight. This was prophesied over 500 yearsbefore Christ's birth.

“And leaving Nazareth, he came anddwelt in Capernaum, which is uponthe sea coast. in the borders ofZabulon and Nephthalim:That it might be fulfilled which was

spoken by Esaias [Isaiah] the..prophet. saying,The land of Zabulon, and the land ofNephthalim, by the way of the sea,beyond Jordan, Galilee of theGentiles;The people which sat in darkness sawgreat light: and to them which sat inthe region and shadow of death lightis sprung up.”

(Matthew 4:13-16)

Where was Jesus Christ to becomerevealed as the light of Israel? Was it inJerusalem? Most people would say: yes.Reading on in chapter four, let's see whatMatthew had to say:

“From that time Jesus began topreach, and to say, Repent: for thekingdom of heaven is at hand.And Jesus, walking by the sea ofGalilee. . . .”

(Matthew 4:17-18)

Where did Jesus beginpreaching

the Gospel of the Kingdom?

In Galilee, fulfilling the prophecy thatHe was to become the Light of Israelthere.

“And he was there in the wildernessforty days, tempted of Satan: and waswith the wild beasts: and the angelsministered unto him.Now after that John was put inprison, Jesus came into Galilee,preaching the gospel of the kingdomof God,And saying, The time is fulfilled, andthe kingdom of God is at hand: repentye, and believe the gospel.”

(Mark 1:13-15)

Mark gives the same account of thetemptation and events followng it, as

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recorded by Matthew. We have here, adouble witness, that the very beginning ofthe preaching of the gospel of the king-dom, by the Light of Israel was in Galilee.

“And Jesus, walking by the sea ofGalilee, saw two brethren, Simoncalled Peter, and Andrew his brother,casting a net into the sea: for theywere fishers.And he saith unto them, Follow me,and I will make you fishers of men.And they straightway left their nets,and followed him.And going on from thence, he sawother two brethren, James the son ofZebedee, and John his brother, in aship with Zebedee their father, mend-ing their nets: and he called them.And they immediately left the shipand their father, and followed him.And Jesus went about all Galilee,teaching in their synagogues, andpreaching the gospel of the kingdom,and healing all manner of sickness,and all manner of disease among thepeople.”

(Matthew 4:21-23)

Here we see that Christ's discipleswere, also, from Galilee. The followingverses from the gospel of John tell of JesusChrist's title, "Jesus of Nazareth."

“One of the two which heard Johnspeak, and followed him, was Andrew,Simon Peter's brother.He first findeth his own brotherSimon, and saith unto him, We havefound the Messias, which is, beinginterpreted, the Christ. And hebrought him to Jesus. And when Jesusbeheld him, he said, Thou art Simonthe son of Jona: thou shalt be calledCephas, which is by interpretation, Astone.The day following Jesus would go

forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip,and saith unto him, Follow me.Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the cityof Andrew and Peter. Philip findethNathanael, and saith unto him, Wehave found him, of whom Moses in thelaw, and the prophets, did write,Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

(John 1:40-45)

Here is the first time that Jesus wasgiven a title, which included the name of acity. That title is "Jesus of Nazareth." Ifyou look in your concordance, you will findthat Jesus is called "Jesus of Nazareth"nineteen times in the New Testament. Hewas never called "Jesus the Jew" or "Jesusof Jerusalem," yet that is what we hearHim called almost all of the time.

As I was making this study, I wasamazed at how seldom the word"Nazareth" is used in relation to Jesus.Probably because if investigated we find itmeans "offshoot" or "The Branch." This isproof, of course, that Jesus was the fulfill-ment of the prophecies as given.

In John 2, after His baptism, it isrecorded:

“And the third day there was a mar-riage in Cana of Galilee; and themother of Jesus was there:And both Jesus was called, and hisdisciples, to the marriage.And when they wanted wine, themother of Jesus saith unto him, Theyhave no wine.”

(John 2:1-3)

Then follows the account, of Jesusturning the water into wine. Continuingon we read:

“This beginning of miracles did Jesusin Cana of Galilee, and manifested

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forth his glory; and his disciplesbelieved on him.”

(John 2:11)

Jesus began His miracles in Galilee. It,also, says, in these verses, that He "mani-fested forth his glory." In other words, Hemade known that He was the Light ofIsrael. This was to be made known where?In Galilee! It was because of this that thedisciples believed on Him. He was fulfill-ing the exact prophecies of the Messiah tocome.

Let's read more of chapter 4 ofMatthew, where Jesus went about all ofGalilee, teaching and preaching thegospel of the Kingdom, and healing thosewho were sick:

“And his fame went throughout allSyria: and they brought unto him allsick people that were taken withdivers diseases and torments, andthose which were possessed with dev-ils, and those which were lunatic, andthose that had the palsy; and hehealed them.And there followed him great multi-tudes of people from Galilee, and fromDecapolis, and from Jerusalem, andfrom Judaea, and from beyondJordan.”

(Matthew 4:24-25)

Where did the people of Jerusalem,Judea, and beyond Jordan have to go tohear and see Jesus? They had to go toGalilee because that was where Jesuswas.

“And seeing the multitudes, he wentup into a mountain: and when he wasset, his disciples came unto him:And he opened his mouth, and taughtthem. . . . “

(Matthew 5:12)

Then follows the well-known sermonon the mount. Where was this sermongiven? On the mountains of Galilee! Thesermon takes up the next three chapters,and then, in chapter 8, we read this:

“When he was come down from themountain, great multitudes followedhim...And when Jesus was entered intoCapernaum, there came unto him acenturion, beseeching him. . . . “

(Matthew 8:1& 5)

Capernaum was in Galilee, on thenorth end of the Sea of Galilee.

“And when Jesus was come intoPeter's house, he saw his wife's moth-er laid, and sick of a fever.And he touched her hand, and thefever left her: and she arose, and min-istered unto them.”

(Matthew 8:14-15)

Where was Peter's house? In Galilee.Following this occurance, we read of themiracle of the calming of the storm on theSea of Galilee..“And he entered into a ship, and passedover, and came into his own city.And behold, they brought to him a mansick of the palsy, lying on a bed. . .“

(Matthew 9:1-2)

We are then given more miracles ofhealing that took place in His own city ofNazareth in Galilee.

“But the Pharisees said, De castethout devils through the prince of thedevils.And Jesus went about all the citiesand villages, teaching in their syna-gogues, and preaching the gospel ofthe kingdom, and. healing every sick-

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ness and every disease among the peo-ple.”

(Matthew 9:34-35)

The Pharisees are mentioned a num-ber of times in the Bible. We have alreadyseen that there were synagogues in thearea of Galilee, including Nazareth. Therewere Pharisees all over this land — theywere not necessarily only in Jerusalem.

“And when he had called unto him histwelve disciples, he gave them poweragainst unclean spirits, to cast themout, and to heal all manner of sick-ness and all manner of disease.”

(Matthew 10:1)

Christ was still in Galilee when Hegave these instructions to His apostles,which we read in part:

“These twelve Jesus sent forth, andcommanded them, saying, Go not intothe way of the Gentiles, and into anycity of the Samaritans enter ye not:But go rather to the lost sheep of thehouse of Israel.”

(Matthew 10:5-6)

The command to the disciples to go tothe lost sheep of the house of Israel wasgiven in Galilee.

“And it came to pass, when Jesus hadmade an end of commanding histwelve disciples, he departed thence toteach and to preach in their cities.”

(Matthew 11:1)

The disciples were chosen fromGalilee, so, their cities were in Galilee.

“Then began he to upbraid the citieswherein most of his mighty workswere done, because they repented not:Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto

thee, Bethsaida! for if the mightyworks, which were done in you, hadbeen done in Tyre and Sidon, theywould have repented long ago in sack-cloth and ashes.But I say unto you, It shall be moretolerable for Tyre and Sidon at theday of judgment, than for you.And thou, Capernaum, which artexalted unto heaven, shalt be broughtdown to hell: for if the mighty works,which have been done in thee, hadbeen done in Sodom, it would haveremained until this day.”

(Matthew 11:20-23)

If you look at a map, you will find thesethree cities (Chorazin, Bethsaida and

Capernaum) at the north end of the sea ofGalilee. Therefore, Jesus was still about75 miles from the city of Jerusalem — stilldoing all of His ministry outside of thiscity.

“At that time Jesus went on the sab-bath day through the corn; and hisdisciples were an hungred, and beganto pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.But when the Pharisees saw it, theysaid unto him, Behold, thy disciplesdo that which is not lawful to do uponthe sabbath day.”

(Matthew 12:1-2)

In verse 9, after Christ rebuked thePharisees, we read:

“And when he was departed thence, hewent into their synagogue:”

(Matthew 12:9)

We hear hardly any preachingthat explains that Jesus' min-istry was in Galilee, not inJerusalem.

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Because of this, whenever we see theword "Pharisee," we think of Jerusalem. Itwas true that Jesus was in Jerusalem,once every year, and He was taken captiveand killed in Jerusalem. But, so far, when-ever He has done any preaching it hastaken place in Galilee. Christ was about75 miles from the city of Jerusalem mostof the time.

“The same day went Jesus out of thehouse, and sat by the sea side.And great multitudes were gatheredtogether unto him, so that he wentinto a ship, and sat; and the wholemultitude stood on the shore.And he spake many things unto themin parables. . . . “

(Matthew 13:1-3)

Again, the parables were preachedwhere? On the shore of the Sea of Galilee!Now, some may be a little confused bysome parts of this chapter; for example,the following verses:

“And it came to pass, that when Jesushad finisbed these parables. hedeparted thence.And when he was come into his owncountry, he taught them in their syna-gogue, insomuch that they were aston-ished, and said, Whence hath thisman this wisdom, and these mightyworks?”

(Matthew 13:53-54)

It seems as if Jesus left Galilee andwent to His own country. However, all itreally means is, He physically left the Seaof Galilee. These parables were all taughtwhile Christ sat in a ship on the sea. Hethen went into His own country, whichwas Nazareth, about 50 miles away.Looking at a map, Nazareth is about halfway between the Sea of Galilee and theMediterranean Sea. So, He was still inGalilee. He ran into problems there:

“Is not this the carpenter's son? is nothis mother called Mary? and hisbrethren, James, and Joses. andSimon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all withus? Whence then hath this man allthese things?And they were offended in him. ButJesus said unto them, A prophet is notwithout honour, save in his own coun-try, and in his own house.And he did not many mighty worksthere because of their unbelief.”

(Matthew 13:55-58)

If you do not read the rest of this, youmight think that Jesus did not do any mir-acles in tlis own country of Galilee. Whatit really means is, that He was unable todo miracles in his own city of Nazareth.But, He did minister in all the rest ofGalilee. In chapter 14, Herod had Johnkilled, and Jesus heard about it while Hewas still in Galilee. Then, we read in verse13:

“When Jesus heard of it. he departedthence by ship into a desert placeapart: and when the people had heardthereof, they followed him on foot outof the cities.And in the fourth watch of the nightJesus went unto them, walking on thesea.”

(Matthew 14:13 & 25)

Jesus apparently-went into a desertedarea near the Sea of Galilee. Followingthe miracle of Jesus walking on the sea isanother miracle (here Peter, also, tried towalk on the Sea of Galilee.

“Then they that were in the ship cameand worshipped him, saying, Of atruth thou art the Son of God.And when they were gone over, theycame into tbe land of Oennesaret.

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And when tbe men of that place hadknowledge of him, tbey sent out intoall that country round about, andbrought unto him all that were dis-eased;And besought him that they mightonly touch the hem of his garment:and as many as touched were madeperfectly whole.”

(Matthew 14:33-36)

We see here that additional preachingwas done in Gennesaret, on the other sideof the Sea of Galilee.

“Then came to Jesus scribes andPharisees, which were of Jerusalem,saying,Why do thy disciples transgress thetradition of tbe elders? for they washnot their hands when they eat bread.”

(Matthew 15:1-2)

The Pharisees came from Jerusalem totry and rebuke Jesus. This, also, hap-pened in Galilee.

“Then Jesus went thence, and depart-ed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.”

(Matthew 15:21)

This is the first time, since the begin-ning of His ministry, that we find Jesusleft what was called Galilee and went toTyre and Sidon. These cities are about 50miles north and west of Galilee which iseven further away from Jerusalem.

“And, behold, a woman of Canaan (anon-Israelite) came out of the samecoasts, and cried unto him, saying,Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son ofDavid; my daughter is grievouslyvexed with a devil.But be answered her not a word. Andhis disciples came and besought him,saying, Send her away; for she crieth

after us. But he answered and said, Iam not sent but unto the lost sheep ofthe house of Israel.Then came she and worshipped him,saying, Lord, help me. But heanswered and said, It is not meet totake tbe children's bread, and to castit to dogs.”

(Matthew 15:22-26)

As you might know, non-Israelites areoften referred to as dogs in the Bible. Heis saying; I am Israel's bread and it is notmeet to take the children's bread and castit to non-Israelites.

“And she said, Truth, Lord: yet thedogs eat of the crumbs which fall fromtheir masters' table.Then Jesus answered and said untoher, O woman, great is thy faith: be itunto thee even as thou wilt. And herdaughter was made whole from thatvery hour.”

(Matthew 15:27-28)

The above passage demonstrates theprinciple which is in the Old Testamentprophecies: non-Israelites who believe inJesus Christ can also partake of the breadJesus Christ at the table of Israel. Theycan become Christians and have theadvantage that Israel was promised tohave.

“And Jesus departed from thence, andcame nigh unto the sea of Galilee; andwent up into a mountain, and satdown there.And great multitudes came untohim....”

(Matthew 15:29-30)

We are told here that Jesus leftGalilee. Keep in mind that Jesus' ministrywas in Galilee. He had become so wellknown by His preaching and miracles

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that even the Pharisees from Jerusalemcame to Galilee to try to trap and rebukeHim. After this, Jesus left Galilee andwent in among some non-Israelitish peo-ple, where He then demonstrated thatnon-Israelites can come under the bond ofthe covenant by belief in Jesus Christ.

Christ still has not gone to Jerusalem.It almost appears that the non-Israeliteswere more important to Him than the peo-ple in the city of Jerusalem.

After performing more miracles inGalilee, Jesus moved on:

“And he sent away the multitude, andtook ship, and came into the coasts ofMagdala.”

(Matthew 15:39)

“The Pharisees also with theSadducees came, and temptingdesired him that he would shew thema sign from heaven.”

(Matthew 16:1)

“When Jesus came into the coasts ofCaesarea Philippi, he asked his disci-ples, saying, Whom do men say that Ithe Son of man am?”

(Matthew 16:13)

If you look at a map you will see thatCaesarea was on the Mediterranean,across from Galilee, over 50 miles north-west of Jerusalem. Jesus had come closerto Jerusalem, but was still some distancefrom it.“And they said, Some say that thou artJohn the Baptist: some, Elias; andothers, Jeremias, or one of theprophets. He saith unto them, Butwhom say ye that I am?And Simon Peter answered and said,Thou art the Christ, the Son of the liv-ing God.

And Jesus answered and said untohim, Blessed art thou, Simon Bagona:for flesh and blood hath not revealedit unto thee, but my Father which is inheaven.And I say also unto thee, That thouart Peter, and upon this rock I willbuild my church; and the gates of hellshall not prevail against it.”

(Matthew 16:14-18)

I should mention in passing that this isnot the rock upon which the CatholicChurch is founded. This Rock is the Rockof truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Sonof God. His church will be built upon thatRock.

“And I will give unto thee the keys ofthe kingdom of heaven: and whatsoev-er thou shalt bind on earth shall bebound in heaven: and whatsoeverthou shalt loose on earth shall beloosed in heaven.Then charged he his disciples thatthey should tell no man that he wasJesus the Christ.”

(Matthew 16:19-20)

All of this revelation goes into greatdetail that Jesus is the Christ, theMessiah of Israel who was to come. Thiswas all done through Jesus' ministry inGalilee, and prior to His going toJerusalem.

“From that time forth began Jesus toshew unto his disciples, how that hemust go unto Jerusalem, and suffermany things of the elders and chiefpriests and scribes, and be killed, andbe raised again the third day.”

(Matthew 16:21)

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The first mention of Jesus goingto Jerusalem was when He toldHis disciples that He must gothere so that He could be killedby the Pharisees.

Apparently, Jesus' ministry hadbecome so well known that the Phariseesfrom Jerusalem went to Galilee to try andtrap Him.

“The Pharisees also with theSadducees came, and temptingdesired him that he would shew thema sign from heaven. He answered andsaid unto them, When it is evening, yesay, It will be fair weather: for the skyis red.And in the morning, It will be foulweather to day: for the sky is red andlowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can dis-cern the face of the sky; but can ye notdiscern the signs of the times?A wicked and adulterous generationseeketh after a sign; and there shallno sign be given unto it, but the sign ofthe prophet Jonas. And he left them,and departed.”

(Matthew 16:1-4)

This was the second time Jesus hadspoken these words to the JewishPharisees, as recorded in Matthew. Thefirst instance is in the twelfth chapter ofMatthew:

“Then certain of the scribes and of thePharisees answered, saying, Master,we would see a sign from thee.But he answered and said unto them,An evil and adulterous generationseeketh after a sign; and there shallno sign be given to it, but the sign ofthe prophet Jonas: .For as Jonas was three days and threenights in the whale's belly; so shall

the Son of man be three days andthree nights in the heart of the earth.The men of Nineveh shall rise in judg-ment with this generation, and shallcondemn it: because they repented atthe preaching of Jonas; and, behold, agreater than Jonas is here.”

(Matthew 12:38-41)

The word "generation" used here isfrom the Greek word "genea" whichmeans "origin," it could, also, be translat-ed "race." So, what Jesus was saying wasthat an evil and adulterous RACE seekethafter a sign; and there shall no sign begiven it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.In saying this to them, Christ is sayingthat they are a race different from Israel.They were not Israelites to whom Christwas speaking. In fact, many of us believethat those Pharasees were Edomites.Therefore they were not the covenant peo-ple, but instead the enemies of Israel, justas their descendants are today.

The Israelites in Galilee believed theteachings and miracles of Jesus. ThePharisees would believe none of it. That iswhy Jesus told them they would receiveone sign which they would have to believe.That sign would be His death and resur-rection.

Jesus spent His life and ministry wit-nessing to Israel in Galilee. Only Hisdeath and resurrection was accomplishedin Jerusalem, as a sign which the Jewshad to believe.

“And after six days Jesus takethPeter, James, and John his brother,and bringeth them up into an highmountain apart, And was transfig-ured before them: and his face didshine as the sun, and his raiment waswhite as the light.”

(Matthew 17:1-2)

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Then, in verse 5, they heard the voiceof God which said:

“...This is my beloved Son, in whom Iam well pleased; hear ye him.And when the disciples heard it, theyfell on their face, and were soreafraid.”

(Matthew 17:5-6)

As we can see in the following verse,the transfiguration took place in Galilee.

“And while they abode in Galilee,Jesus said unto them, The Son of manshall be betrayed into the hands ofmen:And they shall kill him, and the thirdday he shail be raised again. And theywere exceeding sorry.”

(Matthew 17:22-23)

Following the transfiguration, theteaching regarding this event took placein GaIilee.

“And when they were come toCapernaum, they that received tributemoney came to Peter, and said, Dothnot your master pay tribute?He saith, Yes. And when he was comeinto the house, Jesus prevented him,saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? ofwhom do the kings of the earth takecustom or tribute? of their own chil-dren, or of strangers?Peter saith unto him, Of strangers.Jesus saith unto him, Then are thechildren free.Notwithstanding, lest we shouldoffend them, go thou to the sea, andcast an hook, and take up the fishthat first cometh up; and when: thouhast opened his mouth, thou shaltfind a piece of money: that take, andgive unto them for me and thee.”

(Matthew 17:24-27)

The tax gatherers, of whom is spokenin these verses, came to Jesus inCapernaum, which is in Galilee. Jesuswas a resident of Galilee, and, thereforenot subject to the tax of the stranger. Thisis another proof that Jesus was a citizen.The tax gatherer apparently did not knowJesus, and assumed he was a stranger.

Here is another explanation thatmakes sense: Jesus spent at least part ofHis early years, possibly most of the time,from twelve years of age until his earlytwenties, in England.

There is a legend, substantiated withwritings, that Jesus went to England withJoseph of Arimathea, who was His uncle(Mary's brother). We know from historicalevidence that Joseph of Arimathea was anofficial in the Roman government, incharge of mining operations. This sameevidence tells us Joseph had tin mines inEngland, and traveled back and forthbetween England and Galilee quite often.

It would be logical to assume, there-fore, that Joseph would take his nephew,Jesus, with him; especially since itappears that Jesus' earthly father,Joseph, died sometime when Jesus was ayoung boy. This is probable, because we donot read of Christ's father after thegospels.

Perhaps another clue can be found inthe following poem by William Blake,1757-1827

The Glastonbury Hymn

And did those feet in ancient timeWalk upon England's mountains green?

And was the Holy Lamb of GodOn England's pleasant pastures seen?

And did the Countenance Divine

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Shine forth upon our clouded hills?And was Jerusalem builded here

Among those dark Satanic mills?Bring me my bow of burning gold!

Bring me my arrows of desire!Bring me my spear! O clouds unfold!

Bring me my Charlot of Fire!I will not cease from mental fight,

Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand,Till I have built Jerusalem

In England's green and pleasant land.

So, if Jesus did spend His early yearsin England, that would explain why thetax gatherers came to Him to collect thehead tax on aliens. However, Jesus toldPeter that He was not an alien, that Hewas free because He was a citizen. This isanother indication in the gospel ofMatthew that Jesus was from Galilee.

“And it came to pass, that when Jesushad finished these sayings, he depart-ed from Galilee, and came into thecoasts of Judaea beyond Jordan;And great multitudes followed him;and he healed them there.”

(Matthew 19:1-2)

Jesus was now healing people inJudea, although still not in Jerusalem.

“And Jesus going up to Jerusalemtook the twelve disciples apart in theway, and said unto them,Behold, we go up to Jerusalem: andthe Son of man shall be betrayed untothe chief priests and unto the scribes,and they shall condemn him to death.And shall deliver him to the Gentilesto mock. and to scourge. and to cruci-fy him: and the third day he shall riseagain.”

(Matthew 20:17-19)Jesus repeated that the final thing to

happen to Him (His death and resurrec-tion) was to take place in Jerusalem. Johnrecorded what were apparently annualvisits to the city of Jerusalem, duringpassover. These annual visits were the

only other times that Jesus went toJerusalem.

“This beginning of miracles did Jesusin Cana of Galilee, and manifestedforth his glory; and his disciplesbelieved on him. After this he wentdown to Capernaum, he, and hismother, and his brethren, and his dis-ciples: and they continued there notmany days.And the Jews' (Judeans') passoverwas at hand. and Jesus went up toJerusalem,And found in the temple those thatsold oxen and sheep and doves, andthe changers of money sitting:And when he had made a scourge ofsmall cords, he drove them all out ofthe temple, and the sheep, and theoxen; and poured out the changers'money, and overthrew the tables; Andsaid unto them that sold doves, Takethese things hence; make not myFather's house an house of merchan-dise.”

(John 2:11-16)

It is possible, from reading theseaccounts, that Jesus overthrew the tablesof the money changers everytime He wentto Jerusalem. It is possible because thisoccurance is told of several times, inslightly different ways, in the fourgospels.

Most Bible scholars insist that Christdid this only once, just before His captivi-ty and death. But, here it appears He didthis shortly after performing His first mir-acle in Cana of Galilee. This would haveoccurred during the first year of His min-istry, instead of during the third.

In any case, one thing that He did,when He went to Jerusalem for thepassover, was to throw the money chang-

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ers out of the temple. This was the onlyact of wrath or physical violence recordedof Jesus in all of the gospels.

Speaking of Nicodemus we read inchapter three of John:

“There was a man of the Pharisees.named Nicodemus. a ruler of theJews:The same came to Jesus by night, andsaid unto him, Rabbi, we know thatthou art a teacher come from God: forno man can do these miracles thatthou doest, except God be with him.”

(John 3:1-2)

Nicodemus is admitting that Jesusmust be from God. Then follows Christ'swell-known conversation with Nicodemusconcerning the kingdom of heaven.Moving ahead to verse 22, we read:

“After these things came Jesus andhis disciples into the land of Judaea;and there he tarried with them, andbaptized.”

(John 3:22)

At this point Jesus was in the land ofJudea with his diciples. Other times, dur-ing the passover, He apparently wentthere alone.

“He left Judaea, and departed againinto Galilee. And he must needs gothrough Samarla.”

(John 4:3-4)

We see here that Jesus went back toGalilee, this time from Jerusalem.Following the story of the Samaritanwoman, we read:

“Now after two days he departedthence, and went into Galilee.”

(John 4:43)

After this we read of His miracles, andthen in the fifth chapter we read:

“After this there was a feast of theJews; and Jesus went up toJerusalem.”

(John 5:1)

Then follows the recording of moremiracles in Jerusalem. Again, it seemsthat this trip to Jerusalem would haveoccurred each year, only during the feastdays. The temple in Jerusalem was stillthe legal temple for Israel. Jesus was ful-filling the law by going to the temple.However, it appears that during the restof the year, Jesus was in Galilee. I do notwant you to think that Jesus never wentto Jerusalem. He went there in order tofulfill the law.

Jesus came to Jerusalem with his dis-ciples at the time that He would be put todeath. This is what happened:

“Then they sought to take him: but noman laid hands on him, because hishour was not yet come.And many of the people believed onhim, and said, When Christ cometh,will he do more miracles than thesewhich this man hath done?The Pharisees heard that the peoplemurmured such things concerninghim; and the Pharisees and the chiefpriests sent officers to take him.”

(John 7:30-32)

The Pharisees attempted to captureJesus in Jerusalem, but each time theyfailed.

“Then came the officers to the chiefpriests and Pharisees; and they saidunto them, Why have ye not broughthim? The officers answered, Neverman spake like this man. Thenanswered them the Pharisees, Are ye

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also deceived? Have any of the rulersor of the Pharisees believed on him?”

(John 7:45-48)

The Pharisees were afraid that theirown soldiers had believed Jesus. This isevidence, apparently, that none amongthe high rulers in Jerusalem believed onJesus. This, again, verifies that Christ'sfollowers were all Galileans.

“But this people wbo knoweth not thelaw are cursed. Nicodemus saith untothem, (he that came to Jesus by night,being one of them,)Doth our law judge any man, before ithear him, and know what he doeth?”

(John 7:49-51)

Nicodemus was, in effect, standing upfor Jesus, saying: You cannot condemnHim until you hear Him. Now read whatthey answered:

“They answered and said unto him,Art thou also of Galilee? Search andlook: for out of Galilee ariseth noprophet. And every man went unto hisown house.”

(John 7:52-53)

In other words, as soon as anyone(even someone of Jerusalem) implied theymight in some way believe in Jesus, thePharisees immediately looked at him andasked; are you a Galilean? Again, proofthat practically-everyone who believed inJesus was a Galilean. The Phariseesrebuked Nicodemus by accusing him ofbeing a Galilean. They would even accuseone of their own people of being aGalilean, if he showed any sign of beingfriendly to Jesus.

“And when they drew nigh untoJerusalem, and were come toBethphage, unto the mount of Olives,

then sent Jesus two disciples,Saying unto them, Go into the villageover against you, and straightway yeshall find an ass tied, and a colt withher: loose them, and bring them untome.”

(Matthew 21:1-2)

Christ rode on the ass to fulfill theprophecy that He would come intoJerusalem lowly and riding on an ass.Continuing in Matthew, we read:

“And the multitude said, This is Jesusthe prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.”

(Matthew 21:11)

We see here that the people ofJerusalem, when they saw Jesus, recog-nized Him and called Him "the prophet ofNazareth of Galilee."

“And Jesus went into the temple ofGod, and cast out all them that soldand bought in the temple, and over-threw the tables of the moneychang-ers, and the seats of them that solddoves,And said unto them, It is written, Myhouse shall be called the house ofprayer; but ye have made it a den ofthieves. And the blind and the lamecame to him in the temple; and hehealed them.”

(Matthew 21:12-14)

So, here again, Jesus overthrew thetables of the moneychangers, this timeriding in on an ass. Earlier we read, thatHe apparently went in just before thepassover and overthrew the tables of themoneychangers.

Jesus performed miracles in the tem-ple just before His captivity and death.Passing through the chapters that con-cern Jesus' teachings, we come to

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Matthew 26 which describes the LastSupper.

“And when they had sung an hymn,they went out into the mount of Olives.Then saith Jesus unto them, All yeshall be offended because of me thisnight: for it is written, I will smite theshepherd, and the sheep of the flockshall be scattered abroad.But after I am risen again, I will gobefore you into Galilee.”

(Matthew 26:30-32)

Jesus was in Jerusalem about to beput to death. What was He telling His dis-ciples? He told them that as soon as Hisexecution was accomplished, He would goback to Galilee.

Jesus was taken captive by thePharisees at night, then tried the nextmorning.

“And the whole multitude of themarose, and led him unto Pilate.And they began to accuse him, saying,We found this fellow perverting thenation, and forbidding to give tributeto Caesar, saying that he himself isChrist a King.And Pilate asked him, saying, Artthou the King of the Jews?And he answered him and said, Thousayest it. Then said Pilate to the chiefpriests and to the people, I find nofault in this man.And they were the more fierce, saying,He stirreth up the people, teachingthroughout all Jewry, beginning fromGalilee to this place.”

(Luke 23:1-5)

Notice, in verse three, that Jesus didnot say He was "king of the Jews." Hemerely agreed that Pilate had called Himby that title. Note, also, that even the

Pharisees admitted to Pilate that Jesus'ministry began in GaIilee and then cameto Jerusalem.

“When Pilate heard of Galilee, heasked whether the man were aGalilaean.And as soon as he knew that hebelonged unto lIerod's jurisdiction, hesent him to Herod, who himself alsowas at Jerusalem at that time.”

(Luke 23:6-7)

Many often wonder why Pilate sentJesus to Herod. It was because Herod wasthe ruler of GaIilee:

“Now in the fifteenth year of the reignof Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilatebeing governor of Judaea, and Herodbeing tetrarch of Galilee. . . .”

(Luke 3:1)

Jesus was a citizen of Galilee and,therefore, under the jurisdiction of Herod.Herod, of course, found no fault in Christand sent Him back to Pilate. The finaltrial had to be in Jerusalem because itwas in Jerusalem that He was accused ofcommitting the crime of saying, He wasthe Son of God. We do the same thingtoday, of course; the trial is always heldwhere the crime is committed.

So, the apparent crime, that Jesus wasaccused of committing, occurred inJerusalem. However, He was, as evi-denced here, a citizen of Galilee.

“Now Peter sat without in the palace:and a damsel came unto him, saying,Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.But he denied before them all, saying,I know not what thou sayest. . .And when he was gone out into theporch, another maid saw him, andsaid unto them that were there, This

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fellow was also with Jesus ofNazareth.And again he denied with an oath, Ido not know the man. And after awhile came unto him they that stoodby, and said to Peter, Surely thou alsoart one of them; for thy speechbewrayeth (or betrayeth) thee.”

(Matthew 26:69-73)

Here we find that the speech of theGalileans was, apparently, different fromthat of the people of Jerusalem. Peter wasrecognized as a Galilean by his speech.This incident is again related in the twen-ty second chapter of Luke:

“And about the space of one hour afteranother confidently affirmed, saying,Of a truth this fellow also was withhim: for he is a Galilaean.”

(Luke 22:59)

Consider this if you will:

The people who were holding Jesuscaptive were saying: this man is aGalilean, we can tell by his speech and,therefore, since he is a Galilean, he mustbe a follower of Jesus. I believe it is plainwhat this means, that ONLY Galileansfollowed Jesus Christ and that ALLGalileans followed Jesus Christ. Have youever thought of the implications of this —that none in Jerusalem were His follow-ers? Even His captors said: here is aGalilean — we can tell by His speech. Iwonder how many descendants of thoseGalilean Israelites, today, can be recog-nized by their speech as being differentfrom the New York Jews, who are descen-dants of the Pharisees. I think a lot ofthem can. The same racial difference stilIprevails. One can still tell the Israelitesfrom the descendants of the Pharisees.

Jesus was then taken before Pilate,condemned, turned back over to thePharisees, and crucified.

In Luke 23, we find Jesus on the cross:

“And all his acquaintance, and thewomen that followed him fromGalilee, stood afar off, beholdingthese things.”

(Luke 23:49)

After Christ's death, Joseph came andclaimed the body and buried Him. Thenwe read:

“And the women also, which camewith him from Galilee, followed after,and beheld the sepulchre, and howhis body was laid.And they returned, and preparedspices and ointments; and rested thesabbath day according to the com-mandment.”

(Luke 23:55-56)

His body was cared for by the womenfrom Galilee, according to the custom. Inthe twenty-eighth chapter of Matthew, isa description of the events following theresurrection and the discovery, of theempty tomb:

“And the angel answered and saidunto the women, Fear not ye: for Iknow that ye seek Jesus, which wascrucified.He is not here: for he is risen, as hesaid. Come, see the place where theLord lay.And go quickly, and tell his disciplesthat he is risen from the dead; and,behold, he goeth before you intoGalilee; there shall ye see him: lo, Ihave told you.And they departed quickly from thesepulchre with fear and great joy; and

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did run to bring his disciples word.And as they went to tell his disciples,behold, Jesus met them, saying, Allhail. And they came and held him bythe feet, and worshipped him.Then said Jesus unto them, Be notafraid: go tell my brethren that theygo into Galilee, and there shall theysee me.”

(Matthew 28:5-10)

Where would Jesus first appear to HisGalilean disciples after His resurrection?Not in Jerusalem or Judea, but in Galilee.In concluding the book of Matthew, weread:

“Then the eleven disciples went awayinto Galilee, into a mountain whereJesus had appointed them. .And when they saw him, they wor-shipped him: but some doubted.And Jesus came and spake unto them,saying, All power is given unto me inheaven and in earth.Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,baptizing them in the name of theFather, and of the Son, and of theHoly Ghost: Teaching them to observeall things whatsoever I have com-manded you: and, lo, I am with youalway, even unto the end of the world.Amen.”

(Matthew 28:16-20)

Isn't that something! Jesus, theGalilean gave the great commission to HisGalilean disciples in Galilee. Isn't itstrange that today, when we think ofJesus and His ministry we, almost invari-ably, think of the city of Jerusalem? Yetvery little took place in Jerusalem, exceptJesus' death and resurrection, and a cer-tain amount of healing in the temple.

Following the resurrection, the book ofActs begins the story of the church. In

chapter 1, after Jesus told them of thethings pertaining to the kingdom, we readof the ascension:

“And while they looked stedfastlytoward heaven as he went up. behold.two men stood by them in whiteapparel;Which also said. Ye men of Galilee.why stand ye gazing up into heaven?this same Jesus. which is taken upfrom you into heaven. shall so come inlike manner as ye have seen him gointo heaven.”

(Acts 1:10-11)

The messengers who stood beside thedisciples, as Jesus ascended into heaven,called those believers "ye men of Galilee."

“Then returned they unto Jerusalemfrom the mount called Olivet. which isfrom Jerusalem a sabbath day's jour-ney.”

(Acts 1:12)

The disciples went back to Jerusalemas instructed by Jesus in verse 8, whereHe told them:

“But ye shall receive power, after thatthe Holy Ghost is come upon you: andye shall be witnesses unto me both inJerusalem. and in all Judrea, and inSamaria, and unto the uttermost partof the earth.”

(Acts 1:8)

Their ministry, after Jesus' death andresurrection was to begin in Jerusalem. Inthe second chapter of Acts, the discipleswere in the city of Jerusalem, beginningwhat we call the church age.

“And they were all filled with the HolyGhost. and began to speak with othertongues, as the Spirit gave them utter-ance. . .

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Behold. are not all these which speakGalileans?”

(Acts 2:4 & 7)

Who spoke in other tongues (or lan-guages)? The first Holy Ghost Christianswere Galileans. The next time that some-one tells you that Jesus' disciples were allJews, tell him to read Acts 2:7; that hemight see for himself that the discipleswho were given the baptism of the HolyGhost, were all Galileans.

The early church began in Jerusalem,and then in Judea and Samaria, and laterspread to the ends of the earth. It was car-ried by Galileans. In Acts, chapter ten, weread about Peter and Cornelius inCaesarea:

“Then Peter opened his mouth. andsaid. Of a truth I perceive that God isno respecter of persons:But in every nation he that fearethhim. and worketh righteousness. isaccepted with him.The word which God sent unto thechildren of Israel. preaching peace byJesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)That word, I say, ye know, which waspublished throughout all Judrea, andbegan from Galilee, after the baptismwhich John preached;”

(Acts 10:34-37)

The above is verification by Peter thatthe ministry began in Galilee.

“How God anointed Jesus of Nazarethwith the Holy Ghost and with power:who went about doing good, and heal-ing all that were oppressed of thedevil; for God was with him.And we are witnesses of all thingswhich he did both in the land of theJews. and in Jerusalem; whom theyslew and hanged on a tree:”

(Acts 10:38-39)

So, Galilee is remembered for theteaching and the healing, and Jerusalemis remembered for the crucifixion, thedeath and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Jesus is called "Jesus of Nazareth"seven times in the book of Acts, includingActs 22:8, where Jesus speaks to Paul inthe first person and says of himself, "I amJesus of Nazareth."

Isn't it strange that all we hear fromthe churches today is that Jesus is a Jew?Yet He is called a Galilean, a Nazareneand Jesus of Nazareth scores of times inthe New Testament. The thirteenth chap-ter of Acts contains the last mention of theword "Galilean" in the New Testament. Inthis case Paul has been converted and ispreaching:

“Then Paul stood up, and beckoningwith his hand said, Men of Israel, andye that fear God, give audience. . . .”

(Acts 13:16)

“And when they had fulfilled all thatwas written of him, they took himdown from the tree, and laid him in asupulchre.But God raised him from the dead:And he was seen many days of themwhich came up with him from Galileeto Jerusalem, who are his witnessesunto the people.”

(Acts 13:29-31)

From that phrase, in verse twenty-nine, we would almost-assume that onlyGalileans saw Jesus after His resurrec-tion; during the forty days that He taughtthem. The manner in which the word"Galilee" is used here would imply thatJesus showed Himself only to Galileansafter His resurrection.

Today, of course, there are not anyGalileans in the world. Doyou know any-

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one who is of the Galileans? Perhaps thereason you do not is because there was achange of name.

“Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus,for to seek Saul:And when he had found him, hebrought him unto Antioch. And itcame to pass, that a whole year theyassembled themselves with thechurch, and taught much people. Andthe disciples were called Christiansfirst in Antioch.”

(Acts 11:25-26)

Here we see they lost their name ofGalileans (by which they were known byall during Jesus' lifetime and ministry),and, instead, they were called CHRIS-TIANS.

Today, where would these Israelitedescendants of Galileans be found? Theywould have to be among the people calledby their new name, CHRISTIANS!Galileans, not Jews, became Christians!

It is important we realize theteaching that Jesus was a Jew,and that the disciples wereJews is spurious.

Perhaps the enemies of Christ havebeen able to fool us by not ...pointing outthe true meaning or identity of the wordGalilean.

(1) First of all, Jesus' home wasNazareth of Galilee, so He was called aNazarene. His childhood was spent inGalilee for the most part. The exceptionswould be His annual passover visits toJerusalem, the time when he was twelveand was left behind in the temple, and,possibly, the time he spent in England(according to tradition, not Scripture).

(2) Until He was a young man of thir-ty, He, apparently, spent most of his life inGalilee. He was baptized in Jordan ofJudea; He was tempted in the wildernessof Judea, but He began preaching inGalilee. His first miracle was in Galilee.

(3) He was prophesied by Isaiah to bemade manifest to Israel in Galilee, whichHe was. Israel believed on Him in Galilee.He chose His disciples in Galilee. WhenHe went to Jerusalem once a year, He didperform some miracles and healings andsome teaching, but He, also, performedthe only act of rage recorded in the Biblein Jerusalem when He cast out the mon-eychangers out of the temple.

(4) The Pharisees, in derision, calledone of their own by the name "Galilean,"when he spoke favorably of Jesus. Jesusspoke of Jerusalem only as the place ofHis death and resurrection. When He toldHis disciples of that death and resurrec-tion, He told them afterwards that Hewould see them in Galilee.

(5) While He was held captive, Hisenemies suspected Peter of being a follow-er simply because Peter was a Galilean.The others of His followers who watchedH~m die are identified as Galileans. AfterHis resurrection He told the women thatHe would meet His disciples in Galilee,which He did.

(6) At His ascension into heaven theangels called His disciples, "Ye men ofGalilee." At Pentecost, all of the discipleswho spoke in tongues were identified asGalileans and as Jesus' witnesses.

Yes, the witnessing did begin inJerusalem, but the witnesses were identi-fied as Galileans. Some may ask: why didthe witnessing begin in Jerusalem? Whydid Jesus testify, witness and perform

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some miracles in Jerusalem? Also, whydid the Galilean disciples begin their min-istry in Jerusalem? The answer is foundin the fifteenth chapter of John. Thischapter is part of a long teaching dis-course by Jesus Christ to the disciples,before His captivity and death. Speakingof why He had come to Jerusalem, Jesussays, among other things:

“If I had not come and spoken untothem, they had not had sin: but nowthey have no cloak for their sin.”

(John 15:22)

It was necessary (in God's mercy andrighteousness), that Christ testify, wit-ness, perform miracles, and carry out Hisdeath and resurrection in the presence ofthe enemies of Israel (the JewishPharisees), so that they would have "nocloak (or excuse) for their sins." They hadto witness the sign that Jesus Christ saidthe Pharisees would be given; that is, Hisdeath, three days in the tomb, and Hisresurrection.

However, other than these events inJerusalem and, of course, the casting outof the moneychangers from the temple,Jesus spent His time in Galilee, as aGalilean. He testified to Galileans, Hisfollowers were Galileans, and He wasreferred to as a Galilean.

I do hope and pray that this informa-tion can be used by you to help you under-stand, that when you are told that Jesuswas a Jew, and that His disciples wereJews, there is no basis in Scripture forthis claim.

Study the origin of these people--whothey were and where they carne from--andwhat Jesus did during His earthly min-istry and where He did it. May God usethis study to give us a better understand-ing as we worship Jesus Christ, theGalilean.

Pastor Emry_______________

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