A very rare reading which is included in all four Gospels? What makes this event so important to the writers? Well, this account includes fulfilled prophecy: Jesus would bring the Good News to Galilee (Isaiah 9:1,2).
Now Galilee was a fertile & densely populated region of about three million people. It was a mixed society of Gentiles & Jewish peoples. If you look at a map of Israel at the time Jesus lived you will see that Jerusalem is found in Judea in the south, Nazareth and Cana are in Galilee in the North, and Samaria sits in between the two regions. Jesus grew up in the Galilee area, so it was more difficult for Him to preach there because they people were too familiar with Him & His family. This was a superficial familiarity that lead them to make assumptions about Jesus without ever really knowing Him.
However, everyone was in Jerusalem during the feast - Passover - since it is a requirement that all Jewish people travel to Jerusalem for Passover. There, they saw all the things that Jesus did. Do you remember what He did during Passover? He cleared the temple, predicted His resurrection, and performed many miracles. These eye-witness accounts lead people to look at Jesus differently.
How about you? Do you know of Jesus or do you know Jesus? Have you made assumptions on who He is based on second hand or superficial knowledge? Have you taken the time to get to know Him personally? If not, I invite you to spend some time today seeking Him out.
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