Going Back to Galilee: Encountering Jesus Again

"Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'" 

-Matthew 28:16-20

Why would Jesus send the Eleven Disciples to Galilee? On the surface, it doesn't make sense. Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection both happened in the province of Judea, which is 180 kilometers to the south. Christ's ascension back up into heaven also happened in Judea (Acts 1). Everyone was already there. The majority of Jesus' appearances after his resurrection -including to a group of women, to Mary Magdalene, to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, to most of the disciples, and to Thomas, all according to Luke 24 and John 20- also happened in Jerusalem in Judea. So why is it that, during the 40 days between Jesus' resurrection and ascension, he made it a point to bring the Eleven Disciples all the way up north for a random road trip to this mountain in Galilee?

WHERE DID YOU LAST POWERFULLY ENCOUNTER JESUS?

Here's the answer: I think it's because Galilee was where they had already spent so much time with Jesus, and it's the place where they had first learned to follow him. This mountain might have even been the last place where the disciples got a real glimpse of Jesus as more than just a man: according to some commentators, this mountain could be the same one where Jesus had been transfigured before their eyes (with his face shining like the sun and his clothes as white as light) back in Matthew 17. If that's true, then it's at this same mountain that Jesus chooses to reveal more of himself to them: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me" (Matthew 28:18).

WHY TO GO FORWARD, YOU SOMETIMES NEED TO GO BACKWARDS

Sometimes in our walk with God, the path forward is to go backwards. Like a slingshot: you pull back in order to have the power to go forward. Our spiritual life can be like that. Maybe you’re reading this and you’re tired, and you’re worn out. Maybe you have some family issues you’re dealing with, or you’ve got a bad situation going on at work; maybe there’s a lot of little things that need your attention and you’ve been pulling some late nights to be able to deal with everything; and in pretty much every way, you’re just tired right now. That’s okay. That happens to all of us. So when that happens, the path forward in our spiritual life is often to go to the last place where you powerfully encountered God, so that you can know and encounter him all over again. Maybe the path forward is to drop by the old neighbourhood and see how everyone’s doing, and to remember how God saved you when you were in your old way of life. Maybe the way forward is to rediscover the places, disciplines, relationships, communities, and ministries that first encouraged you to walk with God in a powerful way, and to rediscover the sense of purpose and excitement you had when you began. And once you’ve done that, once you’ve gone back to your own Galilee -the place where you powerfully encountered Jesus-, knowing Jesus means focusing your attention on him and remembering him for who he is. In Galilee, the disciples are finally ready to know Jesus as he really is.

KNOWING JESUS AS HE REALLY IS

Only when the disciples went back to Galilee were they really ready to know Jesus as the one who holds all authority in heaven and on earth--a statement of divinity, since only God has all authority. The disciples went back to Galilee because what was true for them is also true for you and for me: Before you can help other people to know Jesus, you must know Jesus. And to know Jesus means knowing him personally as the one who holds all authority in heaven and on earth.

I'll finish with this quote from John Piper, a faithful pastor and author, and founder of Desiring God Ministries, whose God-glorifying impact I believe will last until long after you and I are both gone.

“[Jesus has] all authority. He has authority over Satan and all demons, over all angels, over the natural universe, over natural laws; over stars, galaxies, planets, meteorites; authority over all molecular and atomic reality: over atoms, electrons, protons, neutrons, quantum physics, genetics, over every chromosome; authority over all plants and animals great and small; over every beat of the heart, every breath of the diaphragm, every electrical jump across a million synapses in our brains; authority over all nations and governments: congresses and legislatures and presidents and kings and prime ministers and courts; authority over all armies and weapons and bombs and terrorists; authority over all industry and business and finance and currency; authority over all entertainment and amusement and leisure and media; over all education and research and science and discovery; authority over all crime and violence; over all families and neighborhoods; and over the church, and over every soul and every moment of every life that has been or ever will be lived. There is nothing in heaven or on earth over which Jesus does not have authority, that is, does not have the right and the power to do with as he pleases… The scope and the magnitude of the authority of Jesus is infinite, because Jesus is one with God the Father. The Father has given him all authority not because the Father can give up being God, but because Jesus is God. And when deity shares infinite authority with deity, he neither loses nor gains anything, but remains infinitely full and triumphant and all-sufficient. This is the lofty claim. Our Lord, Jesus Christ, has all authority in heaven and on earth, because our Lord Jesus is God.” -John Piper, "The Lofty Claim"

Do you know Jesus in this way? Are you amazed by him? If not, then go back to the place or the people or the authors where you last encountered him, whatever that means for you, and dig deeper. I pray that you and I would be a people who know Jesus, and that in knowing Jesus, we would seek to make him known.

-Sean