Galilee - The California of Israel?

Now for some of that very interesting info I came across studying Luke. It never would have occurred to me to question why Jesus began his ministry in Galilee. It was home, he already was there, etc. It seems there were other good reasons for starting out there. William Barclay says Galilee was incredibly fertile and supported a large population. The Galileans were famous for accepting new ideas and revolutionary changes. Basically, Galilee was jammed full of open-minded folks who understood the context of everything Jesus said. I suddenly started imagining Jesus speaking to the multitudes in California today. No wonder the orthodox types had a problem, especially once you threw in Jesus' radical message. Here's what Barclay says:

Galilee was an area in the north of Palestine about fifty miles from north to south and twenty-five miles from east to west. The name itself means a circle and comes from the Hebrew word Galil. It was so called because it was encircled by non-Jewish nations. Because of that, new influences had always played upon Galilee and it was the most forward-looking and least conservative part of Palestine. It was extraordinarily densely populated. Josephus, who was himself at one time governor of the area, says that it had 204 villages or towns, none with a population less than 15,000. It seems incredible that there could be some 3,000,000 people congregated in Galilee.

It was a land of extraordinary fertility. There was a proverb which said that, "It is easier to raise a legion of olive trees in Galilee than to bring up one child in Judaea." The wonderful climate and the superb water supply made it the garden of Palestine ...

The Galileans themselves were the Highlanders of Palestine. Josephus says of them, "They were ever fond of innovations and by nature disposed to changes, and delighted in seditions. They were ever ready to follow a leader who would begin an insurrection. They were quick in temper and given to quarreling." "The Galileans," it was said, "have never been destitute of courage." "They were ever more anxious for honor than for gain."

This is the land in which Jesus began. It was his own land; and it would give him, at least in the beginning, an audience who would listen and kindle at his message.