Capernaum and River Jordon

The city of Capernaum was built on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, about two miles west of the Jordan River. This ancient town is not mentioned by name in the Old Testament, but is referred to as our Lord's own city, where it became the center of His Galilean work and ministry. Jesus traveled there from Nazareth, to the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali, and called his first disciples, Andrew, Peter, and the two sons of Zebedee (Matt 4:13-22). He taught in their synagogue (Jn 6:24-59), and it was here that Peter found the coin from the mouth of the fish, upon the command of Jesus, to pay the tax-gatherers (Matt 17:24-27). He resided for a time at Peters house in Capernaum, teaching and healing the sick (Lk 4:31-41). Once He had left, He rebuked the city for their unbelief (Lk 10:15).

Recently there have been excavations that have uncovered the 2-story synagogue. Today, near the synagogue, there is an octagonal Byzantine church with a mosaic floor built upon the site believed to be the house of Peter.

This seems to be the only photo we have that shows "bus five," the group we traveled with up to Cairo. I think we're sitting in the ruins of the synagogue.

Recent excavations beneath the church has revealed houses dating back to the first century. Some believe that one of these houses could very well be the house of Peter.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, after having heard about the River Jordan all my life, but it looks like any little stream in the Midwest. This is the spot where I dipped my hand into the water, made a sign of the cross on my forehead, and prayed. Lutherans don't rebaptize, but many in our group did go into the water and prayed with our pastor. People who do wish to be baptized can rent a gown--not sure if they also rent clergy.

I think this group was Chinese and they were singing beautiful hymns by the water.

It was nearing dusk after a time in the gift shop, so we boarded the bus after a busy day and returned to the ship and the moon over the Sea of Galilee was the prettiest sight I've ever seen--but the bus was moving to fast to get a good photo. When we docked on Wednesday, we were in Ashdod, ready to go to Jerusalem.

Haifa, Sea of Galilee, Mount of Beatitudes

Tuesday was an exciting day--we are in Israel! Haifa is Israel's third largest city (250,000 people, 5 religions) and our gateway to Israel. In Roman times, the country was divided into Judea, Samaria, and Galilee, which comprised the whole northern section of the country, and was the largest of the three regions. Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, ruled Galilee as tetrarch. The Galilee area was the home of Jesus during at least 30 years of his life. The first three Gospels of the New Testament are mainly an account of Jesus' public ministry in this province, particularly in the towns of Nazareth and Capernaum. Galilee is also cited as the place where Jesus cured a blind man.



The Sea of Galilee is about 1-1.5 hour drive from Haifa. It was a beautiful spot, and we enjoyed our visit at a kibbutz for lunch.



The Sea of Galilee is fed by the Jordan River, rainfall and springs on the northern side. It's actually a lake, the Kinneret and is 13 miles long and 7 miles wide. Storms come up quickly and violently, especially from the Golan Heights to the east.

Where we ate lunch after our boat ride on the Sea of Galilee.

We had the joy of seeing whole families dressed for Purim, the festival of Esther--aren't the kids adorable?

The "Sermon on the Mount" is recorded in Matt 5-7 and Luke 6, but we don't know exactly where it was. One possibility is Mt. Eremos, between Capernaum and Tabgha. Tabgha is the traditional location for the calling of the disciples. The mountain is topped by a Catholic chapel built in 1939 by the Franciscan Sisters (Antonio Barluzzi, architect). The woman in the foreground was the oldest in our group--98 years old, and planning to attend her sister's 100th birthday party later this year.



I think this is the Church of the Loaves and Fishes at Tabgha. A church was first built here in the 380s, was enlarged, and in 1982 was replaced by the modern building.