“Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” (Matthew 28:7 NIV)
Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” (Matthew 28:10 NIV)
“But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’” (Mark 16:7 NIV)
I was rereading the account of the resurrection of Jesus in Matthew 28 and came across a detail I had read many times but hadn’t paid much attention to. Both the angel at the tomb and Jesus Himself told the women to tell the others to “go to Galilee” to meet Jesus. Why would they need to make the 80-mile trip through hilly terrain from Jerusalem to Galilee to see Jesus?
After all, Jesus appeared to them:
“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together [in Jerusalem], with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them….” (John 20:19 NIV)
And:
“A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them….” (John 20:26 NIV)
Two unnamed disciples also had a long walking conversation with Jesus:
“Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them…” (Luke 24:13–15 NIV)
Obviously, Jesus wasn’t limited to appearing to people only in Galilee, so why the call to go to Galilee?
I did some online research that was very helpful to me. The first article explains four earthly reasons Jesus would have called His followers from Jerusalem to Galilee:
“First, all of the disciples (except Judas Iscariot, who was now dead) were from Galilee (Acts 1:11). It was where Jesus first called them. Nazareth, where Jesus grew up, was in Galilee (Galilee was a region, and Nazareth was a city in that region). Galilee was where Jesus began His public ministry, spent the majority of His ministry, and did the majority of His miracles. In other words, Jesus closed in the same place He began.
“Second, it would have been difficult for Jesus and the disciples to ‘openly’ meet within the confines of Jerusalem, given that virtually everyone in the city knew Jesus and the disciples (including those who sought His death in the first place).
“Third, tied to the above, we are told in (1 Cor. 15:6) that at some point during His Resurrection, Jesus ‘was seen by over five hundred brethren at once.’ …[I]f this meeting ‘was’ in Galilee, it seems logical to conclude that a gathering of this size would have been difficult or impossible to do in Jerusalem without drawing undue attention.
“Finally, we are told in (1 Cor. 15:7) that after Jesus was ‘seen by over five hundred…. He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.’ This James was Jesus’ ‘half-brother’ (Mt. 13:55–56) (Mk. 6:3) (same mother [Mary], different father [God the Father vs. Joseph]). Since Jesus and His family were from Galilee (Nazareth in Galilee), and His family certainly still lived there, it seems logical to assume that Jesus’ appearance to James would have been while in Galilee (another reason for the gathering in Galilee!).”
The second article explains the spiritual reasons:
“What is the significance of returning to Galilee? Galilee is the place where everything began. They are to return there, to return to the place where they were first called. In Galilee, Jesus had walked along the shores of the lake as the fishermen were casting their nets. There He had called them, and there they had left everything and followed Him (Mk. 1:16–20; Mt. 4:18–22).
“To return to Galilee means to reread everything on the basis of the cross and its victory, fearlessly: ‘Do not be afraid.’ To reread everything—Jesus’s preaching, His miracles, the new community, the excitement and the defections, even the betrayal—starting from the end, which is a new beginning, from this supreme act of love.”
So, today, I believe our invitation is to return to “the place where everything began”—to see every moment of our lives through the lens of His resurrection and the power of His resurrection within us.
It may mean returning to the place where you first encountered Jesus for yourself. Perhaps the visit is simply an opportunity to remember, or perhaps Jesus has more He wants to show you about that event in your life.
It may mean returning to a painful place in your life, but now seeing it anew in the light of the supreme act of love demonstrated through His resurrection. Perhaps this visit is an opportunity to remember and rejoice in the healing God has brought there. Or perhaps Jesus wants to revisit that place with you and help you find full healing, full forgiveness, and full freedom.
It may mean returning to places in your life where the community of faith has journeyed with you day in and day out. Maybe there weren’t extreme highs or lows, but rather a daily walk of faith, love, service, and worship lived out together in community. Perhaps Jesus wants to lovingly remind you of the gift of family, friends, and faith—and of His ever-present nature throughout it all.
“Returning to Galilee” may mean different things to each of us, but I pray that we will each sense the Spirit’s leading, the Lord’s grace and mercy, and the Father’s presence in our own Galilee.
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Thank You for the gift of salvation and the promise of eternity with You. Thank You for giving Yourself for our sins, rescuing us from the present evil age, and giving us a future filled with hope. Thank You for calling us to remember and return to the places where we have recognized Your presence, while remaining open to the new places and ways in which You reveal Yourself to us.
Today, help us remember and rejoice in all You have done in our lives. Help us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. We ask this in Jesus’ name. AMEN.
“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Galatians 1:3–5 NIV)
“And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” (Hebrews 12:1–2 NIV)