March 15 - 27, 2009
We saw a lot on this day, including: The Jesus Boat Museum in Ginosar / Wooden boat ride on the Sea of Galilee / Mt. of Beatitudes / Shoreline where several Bible stories likely took place / St. Peter's Fish lunch / Mt. Arbel / Baptisms in the Jordan River
I personally started the day by losing my camera. Luckily our first site was right next to our hotel, so I was able to run back and find my camera. Then I joined the group at the Jesus Boat Museum, described here:
Two brothers, Moshe and Yuval Lufan, discovered the Galilee boat, known as "The Jesus Boat", on the muddy shores of the Sea of Galilee between Ginosar and Migdal in the winter of 1986. Members of Ginosar (a Kibbutz - which is like a commune), the Antiquities Authority, and many volunteers took part in the archaeological dig which lasted 12 days and nights. As the boat was being exposed to air it was disintegrating so they had to work very fast.
The discovery of this Galilee Boat caused a stir throughout the world, especially after it was conclusively dated to the first century A.D. – the time of Jesus and the Great Revolt of the Jews against the Romans. The boat, made of twelve different types of wood, is now on exhibit at Kibbutz Ginosar. It is 9 meters long, 2.5 meters wide, and 1.25 meters high. It may have functioned as a ferry boat, but its measurements also suit those used by ancient fisherman employing a seine, or dragnet, "cast into the sea" as described in Matthew 13:47-48. NOTE: They don't claim it was a boat that Jesus ever used, only that it is a boat from His time.
There is a great video of the discovery of the boat at the Jesus Boat
link above. You should check it out sometime.
The cafe at the museum had 3 computers we could use for free, so this was the only place I ever
checked my e-mail while we were away. Check out the Hebrew keyboard.
Mt. Arbel in the morning
The Sea of Galilee
Israel's chief source of water, the Sea of Galilee (also known as Lake Tiberias/Kinneret) lies 696 feet below sea level. It is fed and drained by the Jordan River. It is 13 miles long and 6 miles wide, and since Biblical times has been famous for its abundance of fish. Many of Jesus' disciples were fishermen here, and he did much of his preaching by its shores. Today this beautiful area is one of Israel's most popular tourist areas.
she was pregnant. We should have guessed by that beautiful glow!
They put up both flags and played both National
Anthems. It was very
moving to be able to salute the flag after being away from America for awhile.
I have a video of it here but it doesn't show it very well.
Teaching: Pastor Mark Martin - "How to Weather the Storms of Life"
He taught on Mark 4:36 which is the where Jesus calms the storm on the sea. Jesus' time He spent with the disciples was a continuous cycle of teaching followed by testing. This storm on the sea was one of those times of testing. The disciples came to Jesus to wake him up and asked, "Don't you care?" They were so scared and felt abandoned - assuming He did not care that they were in danger. Of course this was not the case - He had it all under control. Pastor Mark elaborates on this with 3 Things You Can Always Count On:- God loves you.
- God has a plan for you - he has set out works that you were created to do.
- God will supply everything you need. (Pastor Ken likes to say, "God will meet our every need, but not our every greed.")
God never changes. He has chosen to love us by His will, not because we are particularly loveable or because we do certain things.
Crowd shots during the teaching.
visit later that day. This is just below
the Mount of Beatitudes.
Our boat landed at the Church of the Loaves and Fishes,
but I did not get a picture of it.
This name is given to the traditional site where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. It is not certain that this is the location but it is a reasonable theory. Amir, our tour guide, said the acoustics of the area had been tested and were found to be especially good for speaking to a large crowd from high up the hillside.
When He saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. Then He began to teach them, saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Blessed are those who mourn, because they will be comforted.
Blessed are the gentle, because they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, because they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, because they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of Me. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Matthew 5:1-12
It was very steep here so the men lined up to aid the women
as we came down. Such gentlemen!
super fast or laid around like this - that's all I ever saw them do.
More info regarding the "reinstatement of Peter" mentioned
above. At the Last Supper, Jesus told the disciples that he prayed for
them that their strength would not fail. Peter replied like this: But
he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to
death.”
Then He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before
you will deny three times that you know Me.” Luke 22:33-34
Then during all the terrible goings-on during the night before the crucifixion,
when Jesus was arrested and scary things started to happen, Peter ended up
doing the very thing he thought he wouldn't do. Then
he began to curse and swear, "I do not know the man!" And
immediately a rooster crowed.
75) And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, " Before a
rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." And he went out and wept
bitterly. Matthew 26:74-75
So, when Jesus died, Peter carried a lot of guilt. After Jesus rose
from the dead He began spending time with the disciples again. During a
time when Jesus was not among them, a group of the disciples decided to go
night fishing on the Sea of Galilee. They didn't catch anything but the
next morning saw a man standing on the shore. He told them to cast their
net on the right side of the boat. When they did, they were not able to
draw it in because of the multitude of fish. Peter then recognized Jesus
and jumped out of the boat to swim to shore, while the others brought the boat
in. They cooked the fish on the shore and had breakfast together.
This was the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was
raised from the dead.
Now we get to the part where Peter is reinstated:
So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon
Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”
He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love
Me?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”
He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love
Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love
Me?”
And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep. Most assuredly, I say to you, when you
were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you
are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you
where you do not wish.” This He spoke, signifying by what death he
would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow
Me.” John 21:1-19
See how Jesus asked him 3 times if he loved Him? This allowed Peter to make up for the three denials. It also shows that Jesus' heart for us is to focus on reaching out to others. I think this is a great lesson.
teeming there, as a warm underground spring flows into the sea here.
This is right near the steps shown at left and would have been a likely
spot to find fishermen casting and cleaning nets - as Jesus found
Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John when he called them to
become disciples. This is directly in front of the steps shown at left.
Amir called it the "Swedish Hippie" statue.
bananas are in the blue bags, I guess the bags help them ripen or something.)
Next we enjoyed a St. Peter's Fish lunch. Well, everyone but Chris, that is. He took a lot of teasing for being the ONE person who ordered pizza.
but I made a special exception here.
are buried here.
The purple flowers are wild Irises
on Mt. Arbel. We are now on top of the cliffs I keep taking
pictures of from the hotel.
Views from the top.
This is believed to be the "the mountain" where Jesus would
sometimes go to pray when he was in the Galilee.
It is definitely where I would go, it was very beautiful up there.
Tradition tells us that Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, is buried here. Caves here were occupied by the Jewish zealots fighting Herod in 39 B.C. There appears to have been a thriving Jewish community on these hills during the Roman and Byzantine times. Jesus could have visited this synagogue, the remains of which have been dated by a coin found from 106-73 B.C., indicating the synagogue was built prior to Jesus' time.
First Pastor Ken talked about when Jesus got the news that his cousin John the Baptist had been beheaded, which is described in Matthew 14:13 - 15. Jesus wanted to go off by Himself for awhile but the crowds followed Him. Matt 14:14 tells us that "He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick." Even in His own troubled times when He wanted to be alone, He was moved by compassion and gave to the people.
This is when the feeding of the 5,000 took place - the dividing of the loaves and fishes. Matthew 14:15 tells us how the disciples saw the problem and brought it to Jesus, telling Him how to solve it: "When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food."
Jesus answered by telling them to go take an inventory and to bring what they had to Him. This is also what we should do in our lives - don't try to tell Jesus how to solve your problems; instead take inventory of your life and give it all to Him. He will bless it and use it for your good and His glory.
be a fairly rare flower, judging by the reaction of those
in the know.
in the rocks who were not pleased by his stumbling upon them.
Baptism site located on the Jordan river, near where
it comes out of the Sea of Galilee.
This site was donated by Chuck Smith, the founder of
the Calvary Chapel network of churches. They have nice
changing rooms and little seating areas for the baptisms.
The white robes are for modesty - although they turned
pretty transparent when wet! (In case you are wondering,
the water was COLD!!!)
Here I am going in for my turn. Eric opted out - he took pictures for me instead.
