Stepping Up

The time will come when when it s your turn to step up to the plate.

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: "Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned." From that time Jesus began to proclaim, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." - Matthew 4:12-17

I never participated in school sports.  I didn't have the talent, though I did enjoy neighborhood games and sports in gym class.

But school teams are different.  They have a hierarchy.  The teams are made up of kids from multiple grades, so that each year, the senior players would graduate out and the younger ones would need to step up to lead the teams.

The experience of playing together is something that should not be easily dismissed.  The team bonds.  The players get to know one another, and they learn who can be a leader and who plays a supporting role.

I am sure that Jesus got to be known as a potential leader early on as a member of John's team.

So, when John was arrested, it was his turn to step up.

I wonder how much Jesus knew about what was to happen.

Did he know John would be arrested?  We assume he knew everything, but what a burden that would be.  Imagine what every day would have been like with Jesus knowing John would be beheaded, or that Judas would turn on him.

It would have been such a difficult thing to do to ignore that knowledge and pretend everything would be all right.

So, maybe Jesus only knew what was written in Scripture, and how it was going to come about was uncertain.

That would mean we do have a say in what  happens in our lives.  We can choose to step up or let the opportunity pass us by.

The moment Jesus said yes to the call, he knew it would lead to death, but he may not have known much more than that.

Jerusalem would be the place, so if he wanted to get his ministry done, he needed to stay away, at least until he was ready.

And that would be the next time he had to step up.

More to come...