Few went to Nazareth unless they had to go there. The city sat off the beaten path and high on a hill. Yet it was the perfect placefor the boy Jesus to grow up in safe seclusion, away from the grasp of any who might seek to harm Him.
Years later, at the beginning of His ministry, Jesus moved His bas of operations from the sleepy town of Nazareth to the bustling Capernaum by the Sea of Galilee. Matthew notes how this move fulfilled “what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet” (Mat 4:13-14). While several cities along the shore could have fulfilled this prophecy, it seems that Jesus’ selection of Capernaum had more deliberate purposes.
A thriving fishing village, Capernaum straddled the international highway that stretched from Syria to Egypt. By choosing Capernaum, Jesus selected a city that enjoyed a constant flow of people who could carry His message to many places. And that’s just what happened. As Jesus preached in Galilee, “news about Him spread throughout all Syria.” (Mat 4:24). Not only did travelers take the news north into Syria, but they also took it by other roads into “Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan” (Mat 4:25).
In our lives and ministries, we must not merely exist but also live strategically. What represents the best use of our time for God’s glory? In what location or vocation can we best serve the Lord? Sometimes, these answers require a major shift as was the case with Jesus. But sometimes, we simply need to change our thinking and ask ourselves, Is the kingdom of God really the goal of my life?