November 11th,
2011
We began the day by boarding a boat and sailed on the Sea of
Galilee. It was such a smooth ride and
beautiful scenery. We pushed off from Tiberius
and sailed north to the area where Jesus would have done ¾ of his earthly
ministry. It was incredible to see the shoreline
from the vantage point that Jesus and his followers would have seen. To be in the area that the disciples fished,
that Jesus walked on water and so much more!
Words cannot fully describe the feeling. Once back on shore, we saw the Jesus
Boat. It is called this because it a
boat that was discovered in the sea and dates back to the time of Jesus. No one knows if Jesus used this boat or who
it belonged to, but it is one similar to what Jesus would have used.
We left there and went up a short distance to the Mt. of Beatitudes. This is a traditional site where Jesus might
have given the Sermon on the Mount. I
can see why too. It was beautiful up
there. The mountain side looked over the
Sea of Galilee and had a great view. It
would have been the perfect place to go up and rest, have a picnic or preach (Matt.
5,6,7)! It was away from the cities, yet
close enough to walk and enjoy the day.
We then traveled to St. Peter’s Primary. This again, is a traditional site where Jesus
reinstated Peter (John 21). This of
course would have been after the resurrection as Peter and the others were
fishing again and Jesus had made them breakfast over an open fire. Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved
him. Of course this echoes Peter’s
denial of Jesus three times outside of Caiaphas’ house. That is however not the only significant part of the
questions. In Hebrew tradition, to
repent, means you try to go back to the original site of where you sinned or
turned from God and repent and go the other way or change your ways. So, here, by the sea, we find Jesus asking
Peter 3 times next to an open fire, similar to the one he stood by in the courtyard
of Caiaphas. So Jesus wasn’t simply
asking Peter if he loved him, but he was reinstating and inviting Peter to
fully repent. Awesome!
We then traveled to the city where Jesus spent a great deal
of his time, Capernaum. We saw the basic
and foundational ruins of the house of Peter’s Mother in Law (Mark
1:29-30). It was just a short, short
walk to the synagogue. The current visible
synagogue is located on the foundation of the one that stood during Jesus’
day. This ancient synagogue still had a
Moses seat. This is where the most
important person or honored guest would have sat during worship. It is the most important seat because it was
located closest to Jerusalem and the temple.
It was incredible then to think of Jesus not only sitting in the seat,
but then standing and declaring he was the awaited Messiah.
After lunch we went down to the Jordan River just south of the
sea. The water was a little chilly and
we could easily see small fish and even a beaver or some type of mammal. I was honored and excited to have Pastor Rick
baptize me in the Jordan River. The very
same river John the Baptist called people to repentance and baptism in. And of course the one that Jesus was baptized
in. Beyond Incredible! It was crowded at the river that day. Just as I imagine it was when Jesus was
baptized. Many people coming to see and
hear John the Baptist, and then see him baptize Jesus and him start his
ministry. What a day!!
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| On the Sea of Galilee |
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| Jesus Boat |
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| looking toward the shore |
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| Church on the mt. of Beatitudes |
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| Sermon on the Mt. |
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| Peter's Primary |
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| Sea of Galilee |
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| Peter's Primary |
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| Synagogue at Capernaum |
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| ruins of Capernaum |
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| the Moses seat |
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| dark rocks are the original foundation of synagogue |
