44 – Bread

In the morning some boats came north from Tiberias harbor and stopped at Magdala. Some of the people who had been with Jesus the day before, got into the boats at Magdala, and sailed north to Capernaum where they expected to find Jesus. But Jesus had the boat moored off the shore of Gennesaret.

Originally the town was named Chinnereth. It was named after the lake that is in the shape of a harp (kinnor means harp). In ancient times it was a fortified town, in what was originally part of the territory of Naphtali. It had been conquered and destroyed by Egypt around 900 BC. But at this time there was only a village near the ruins of the old town.

The village was now called Gennesaret, as was the fertile, spring-watered plain that produced everything from wheat to grapes.

Many folks that lived in this area recognized Jesus (after all it was just over two miles west of Capernaum). News traveled fast in these small areas so it came as no surprise that the news of Jesus’ presence brought many more folks as the morning wore on. Here Jesus described himself as the “Bread of Life”, “Manna (God’s bread) from heaven”.

After spending time teaching, Jesus walked back to Capernaum. As Jesus walked a Pharisee questioned him about his disciples’ violation of the Sabbath restrictions of eating without taking the time to be ritually clean. But Jesus pointed out that it was the priorities of the Pharisees that were out of alignment. When they put temple offering above taking care of one’s parents it was a violation of God’s Law, and God’s love, and therefore an injustice. Jesus explained that love was a higher priority then ritual.

Once in Capernaum Jesus continued to teach on the theme of Bread while in the synagogue. But when Jesus hinted that God was not planning a military campaign but rather to “attract” folks to believe, they decided not to follow Jesus any more. They figured that he could not be the Messiah. They were looking for an earthly kingdom.
DAB