Contemplative Bible Reading

Matthew 4:12-16 (New Living Translation)

12 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he left Judea and returned to Galilee. 13 He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah:

15  “In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali,
beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River,
in Galilee where so many Gentiles live,
16  the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light.
And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow,
a light has shined.”

How many hometowns did Jesus have?

• Bethlehem
• Egypt
• Nazareth
• Capernaum

Do all these count?

In the above verses we learn that Jesus moved from Nazareth to Capernaum. This fulfilled a prophecy about how “a light” would come from that area.

If we go back and review all the prophecies that were fulfilled by Jesus, we find that many don’t make any sense. How could the Messiah be from here and there and that other place as well? The New Testament reveals the answer. It was a bad riddle or something like that.

Funny that this all works. I suppose we should “think out of the box” concerning prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled.