John 2:12

After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples; and there they abode not many days.

Capernaum ... was a principal city on Lake Galilee and a scene of many of our Lord's most notable deeds. Of this city, he said:

Thou Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted unto heaven? thou shalt go down unto Hades: for if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in thee, it would have remained until this day (Matthew 11:23).

This curse upon Capernaum has been literally fulfilled, the very site of the place hardly being known today. The fact that the mighty deeds and preaching of Christ himself were ineffective there leads to some reflections on the subject of evangelism.

EVANGELISM

Many evangelists, especially young ones, seem to believe that given the proper methods, reinforced with zealous and attractive personnel, just about any city or province may be taken for the Lord. Such determination and zeal are commendable so long as it is remembered that, in the last analysis, each community, and every person, has the final word on whether or not it or he will serve the Lord, and that no method, personality, system, or anything else can win the whole world for Jesus Christ, bind it in golden chains, and lay it at the Redeemer's feet, the insurmountable obstacle being what it has ever been, the stubborn will of sinful and unregenerated people.

Take the case of Capernaum: It must be admitted that Jesus was an effective and powerful evangelist, being himself none other than the glorious Head of our holy religion. Moreover, his helpers had the rank of apostles, being capable, industrious, diligent, and intelligent persons; and they knew the territory, five of them having been brought up in the suburbs of Capernaum. Yes, and Jesus got the community's attention. He raised Jarius' daughter from the dead, and Jairus was the ruler of the synagogue (Mark 5:22). He healed the centurion's servant, and the centurion commanded the Roman military presence in the city and was doubtless the richest man in the whole area, having built the Jews a synagogue (Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-5). Also, the Lord cured the son of the king's personal representative in that town, called "a certain nobleman" (John 4:46ff). If such deeds did not get the total attention of Capernaum, nothing could have done it. Add to all this the impassioned preaching of the Son of God, and one is forced to the conclusion that there is no way that Capernaum could have been won for the Lord. Who can doubt this? The intangible factor in evangelism is the people themselves, every individual one of them, each having the power to oppose the heavenly will if he so decides. Are there such places as Capernaum today? You'd better believe it.

Illustration: A large dog food company had a convention in a great city for hundreds of their salesmen; and, with the great auditorium overflowing with salesmen, the president of the company made his presentation.

"Look at this," he said. "This beautiful golden can with the red label holds thirteen ounces of pure protein; it will make your dog's coat silky, his teeth white, and his disposition adorable. It has all the vitamins and minerals added and costs only 39 cents a can; why can't you go out and sell a billion cans of it?"

Pausing dramatically to let the import of his tremendous message sink in, he was dumbfounded and the convention propelled into a near riot, when, from away up in the balcony, somebody shouted, "The dogs don't like it!"

That is the way it is, alas, with the gospel of Christ. As long as people prefer to commit fornication and drink liquor rather than serve the Lord, many a loving message of faith and salvation shall fail of its intended fruit.

His mother and his brethren ... This is the first mention of Jesus' brothers in John; and it is clear from John 7:5 that they did not yet believe in him. Regarding the question of whether or not these were sons borne by the mother of Jesus, reference is made to my Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 13:55-56. It is the conviction of this writer that there is no good reason for understanding "brothers" in this passage in any unusual manner.