The controversy of Messiah from Galilee

GOSPEL THOUGHTS

*Lenten Season: Fourth Week : Saturday*

*Gospel : Jer 11:18-20*

*First Reading : Jer 11:18-20*

*Responsorial Psalm : Ps 7:2-3, 9bc-10, 11-12*

*The controversy of Messiah from Galilee*

*1) Messianic Prophesies*

Micah 5:2 says The Messiah was expected to come from Bethlehem, the city of David and not Galilee.

Isaiah 9:1-2 – Interestingly, this passage prophesies that *Galilee of the Gentiles* would see a *great light*. 

This is actually fulfilled in Jesus’ ministry, showing that Galilee does have a role in the Messiah’s mission.

*2) Prophetic Expectations vs. Perceived Reality*

The people knew the Messiah was to come from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), David’s city. 

Since Jesus was widely known to be from Nazareth in Galilee, they assumed He could not be the Messiah.

But they did not know or failed to understand that Jesus was in fact born in Bethlehem.

*3) Prejudice Against Galilee*

Galilee was seen as a backwater region, spiritually and culturally inferior to Jerusalem and Judea.

When Nicodemus tried to defend Jesus, the Pharisees snapped: *Search and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.* (John 7:52)

Yet ironically, several prophets did come from that region (e.g., Jonah), and Isaiah prophesied that Galilee would see a great light (Isaiah 9:1–2), which Matthew 4:12–16 confirms as fulfilled in Jesus.

Prejudice can blind us to God's work in unexpected people and places. 

Galilee, the so-called *place of darkness,* became the first to witness the light of Christ.

*4) The Danger of Superficial Religion*

The religious leaders and many in the crowd were zealous about the Scriptures, yet missed the living Word standing before them. 

Their focus on technical details kept them from seeing the deeper truth.

There is a warning here for us: Knowledge of Scripture without openness to the Spirit can lead to blindness.

True discernment requires humility, listening, and a heart open to God’s surprising ways

*5) Divine Mystery in Hiddenness*

The controversy reveals a deeper divine principle: *God delights in hiddenness.*

The Messiah wasn’t born in a palace or raised in a religious center, but in humility, obscurity, and rejection. 

This echoes the theme of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53—unrecognized and misunderstood.

*6) Final Thought*

The controversy over Jesus being from Galilee is more than a geographical misunderstanding. 

It is a spiritual mirror, showing how easily we miss God when we cling to our expectations, biases, and superficial understanding. 

But it also reveals a comforting truth: God can raise the Savior of the world from Galilee—from humble, unexpected beginnings.

Today the same Messiah in my life may come from my own place, my own parish, my own surroundings, my own culture, my own traditions 

The same Messiah can come from other insignificant place, culture, tradition, family, parish, ward and another Country

Am I able to recognize and accept Such a Messiah in my mission and Life??

*Think about it*

*God bless you and your family. Praying for you and your dear ones*

*Fr Maxim DSouza*

*Jeppu Seminary*

*Mangalore*