Capernaum
Town where Jesus chose his first disciples among the humble local fisherman. Jesus did most of his teaching and miracles during his three year ministry on earth in the town of Capernaum.
In Scripture:
Jesus makes his home in Capernaum: Matthew 4:12-17
Jesus teaches in the synagogue: Mark 1:21-28
Jesus cures Peter’s mother-in-law: Mark 1:29-31
Paying the temple tax: Matthew 17:24-27
Jesus calls Matthew: Matthew 9:9-12
Jesus condemns Capernaum: Matthew 11:20-24
Jesus heals a centurion’s servant: Luke 7:1-10
Jesus cures a paralysed man: Mark 2:1-12
“I am the bread of life”: John 6:22-59
Synagogue site
Jesus taught and worshipped (Mark 1:21, Luke 4:31) at this site. It's pretty fascinating to realize that you are walking where Jesus walked and you're sitting among structures whose stones were present to hear his voice.
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| Dates from the fourth to fifth century AD. Primary hall of the synagogue and a prayer hall immediately to its east. |
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| Not a working synagogue of the era, but a Christian monument designed to mark the importance of the building beneath it. |
Building was destroyed in the seventh century AD, but many of the beautiful reliefs incorporated into its architecture are preserved throughout the grounds.
Low black, stone walls were the homes of first-century Capernaum, farmers, fisherman, tax collectors and Roman soldiers that lived together. There homes were built using basalt, the local stone with a volcanic past that accounts for the black color.
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| Homes shared walls to reduce materials needed. (Apartment concept) |
Peter’s House
One home is set apart from the others and denotes a home used for worship. A church was built above the remains of Peter’s house (Matt. 8:14). |
| Church is designed to look like a ship sailing on the Sea of Galilee which the town borders. |
Today an ultra-modern Catholic church, perched on eight sturdy pillars, hovers protectively over an excavation site. It is believed to have been the site of Peter’s house, where Jesus would have lodged.
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| A window in the floor of the church looks down into the single room of the insula compound identified as Peter’s home. This single room expanded into a larger house church by the fourth century AD. Early Christian visitors left behind messages scrawled in the plaster walls. These ancient graffiti make reference to Jesus and to Peter. |
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| Statue of Peter with the inscription: Thou Art Peter and Upon This Rock I Will Build My Church. Matthew 16:18 |
Tabgha (Heptapegon)
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| Olive tree in church courtyard |
Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes is modeled on and built over an earlier Byzantine church.
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| Byzantine Christians built the church along the shoreline to recall a major event in Jesus’s life: the feeding of the five thousand (Matt. 14:13-21; Mark 6:32-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-13) |
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| The current church preserves a number of colorful Byzantine mosaics, including the famous one of the basket of bread and fish located in front of the main altar. |
Mount of Beatitudes
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The Mount of Beatitudes, believed to be the setting for Jesus’ most famous discourse, the Sermon on the Mount, is one of the most beautifully serene places in the Holy Land.Within sight are the scenes of many of the events of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, including the town of Capernaum 3km away, where he made his home. Just below is Sower’s Cove, where it is believed Jesus taught the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1-9) from a boat moored in the bay.
The exact site of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-7:28) is unknown. Pilgrims commemorate the event at the eight-sided Church of the Beatitudes, built on the slope of the mount and accessible by a side road branching off the Tiberias-Rosh Pina highway.
The Mount of Beatitudes is also understood to be the place where Jesus met his apostles after his Resurrection and commissioned them to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:16-20).
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| Overlooking the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, it offers an enchanting vista of the northern part of the lake and across to the cliffs of the Golan Heights on the other side. |
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| Chapel has eight sides, each with a stained-glass window dedicated to one of the eight Beatitudes presented in Latin. |
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| The floor of the chapel around the altar features the seven virtues championed throughout the Sermon on the Mount (justice, charity, prudence, faith, fortitude, hope, and temperance). |
The eight Beatitudes line the walkway to and from the Church of the Beatitudes.
View from the Bus - Golan Heights
The Golan Heights soil is more fertile and lush due to volcanic ash than other areas in Israel. The vineyards in Golan Heights produce some of the best Israeli wine. As we drove through the region, you're met with countless mango, banana and olive tree groves. |
| Banana plants. The plant is covered for protection from birds and insects and to keep the bananas green for export. If left uncovered, they will turn yellow and spoil before they’re exported. |
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| Mango trees dotting the mountainside. |
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| Olive tree grove in the foreground. Mango trees in the background. |
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| Mango tree grove. We were told that Israel has created a new hybrid Mango that’s sweeter and doesn’t have the stringy fiber of traditional mangos. As a lover of mango, I'm anticipating their debut in a U.S. grocery store. |
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| View of the Sea of Galilee from our hotel room balcony. 70% of the water in the Sea of Galilee comes from the Golan Heights mountains. |
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| This photo is overlooking the U.N. Camp in Israel. The path visible to the left of the of camp in the background is the natural border between Syria and Israel. Needless to say, tensions can run high in this part of the country. |
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| A military intelligence base atop this hill overlooks the Israeli - Syrian border. |
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| Speaking of tensions, these yellow signs dot the Golan Heights area and are a constant reminder of the past Syrian occupation of this land. These signs are warnings of landmines. Cattle typically roam these treacherous lands and somehow manage not to trip the mines. It must be bovine instinct. |
Another constant reminder of wars past are the abandoned Syrian military barracks from past occupation of what today is northern Israel.
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| Former Syrian military bunker in the middle of a farm field. |
The country of Israel has a surprisingly diverse landscape for such a small country. It has tree covered mountains and lush valleys in the Golan Heights region in addition to the desert found in the southern part of the country.
Banias (Caesarea Philippi)
Near Caesarea Philippi, a city of Greek-Roman culture known for its worship of foreign gods, Jesus announced he would establish a church and gave authority over it to the apostle Simon — whom he renamed Peter.
Jesus asked the disciples, “who do you say I am?” as they entered the region of Caesarea Philippi. Simon (Peter) declared, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Because of Simon’s stellar confession, Jesus gave him the name Peter, “the rock,” like the cliff that formed the backdrop for the pagan sanctuary at Caesarea.
In reply, Christ declared: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:13-20)
In reply, Christ declared: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:13-20)
Situated 40km north of the Sea of Galilee, the region of Caesarea Philippi was the furthest north Jesus took his disciples.
During Jesus’s days, gentiles lived here and worshiped their pagan deities at the base of the cliff.
Jesus calls his disciples: Matthew 4:18-22; 9:9; Mark 1:16-20
The miraculous catch of fish: Luke 5:1-11
Jesus calms the storm: Mark 4:35-41; Matthew 8:23-27; Luke 8:22-25
Jesus walks on the water: Matthew 14:22-33; Mark 6:45-52
The Sermon on the Mount: Matthew 5:1-7:28
The Parable of the Sower: Mark 4:1-9
The feedings of the crowds: Matthew 14:13-21; 15:32-39; Mark 6:30-44; 8:1-9; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-14
Paying the Temple tax: Matthew 17:24-27
The Sea of Galilee has changed comparatively little since Jesus walked on its shores and recruited four fishermen as his first disciples.
A heart-shaped lake set among hills in northern Israel, it is one of the lowest-lying bodies of water on earth (some 210 metres below sea level).
This freshwater “sea” is smaller than most people expect, just seven and a half miles long and thirteen miles wide at its widest part. Its other names include the Sea of Tiberias, the Lake of Gennesaret and (in Hebrew) Lake Chinnereth or Kinneret.
Fed mainly by the Jordan River and drained by it, the lake has served as Israel’s chief water reservoir, but its usefulness has been limited by a falling water level.
Jesus made the fishing town of Capernaum the centre of his itinerant ministry in Galilee, using the lake, its boats and its shores to spread his Good News. He calmed a storm, he walked on the water and probably even swam in the lake.
Because it lies low in the Great Rift Valley, surrounded by hills, the Sea of Galilee is prone to sudden turbulence. Storms of the kind that Jesus calmed (Mark 4:35-41) are a well-known hazard for Galilee fishermen.
With little warning, mighty squalls can sweep down the wadis (valleys) around the lake, whipping its tranquil surface into treacherous waves.
Such storms often arrive in mid-afternoon, as the heat of the rift valley (averaging 95 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade) sucks down the cool air of the heights.
In 1986, during a severe drought when the water level dropped, the remains of an ancient fishing boat were found in the lakebed. It was old enough to have been on the water in the time of Jesus and his disciples. Dubbed the Jesus Boat, it is now on permanent display at the lakeside Kibbutz Ginosar.
The remains were 8.3 metres (27 feet) long, 2.3 metres (7.5 feet) wide and 1.3 metres (4.3 feet) high. This size would have enabled it to carry up to 15 people.
Extracting it safely presented a huge challenge to excavators. Conservation of its waterlogged timbers took 11 years.
In 2000 the vessel — officially known as “The Ancient Galilee Boat” — went on permanent display near where it was discovered.
The waterlogged timbers had the consistency of wet cardboard. Because evaporation would cause them to collapse, the boat had to be sprayed with water day and night and shaded from direct sunlight.
Then, working around the clock for 11 days, excavators and volunteers released the boat from its muddy surroundings and encased it in a polyurethane foam “straitjacket” to hold it together.
The 11-year conservation process included replacing the water in the wood cells with a synthetic wax that penetrated the cellular cavities of the deteriorated timber.
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| Colorful cliff is actually the southernmost ridge of Mount Heron, the highest mountain in the region. During biblical times the cave was the exit point for a powerful spring. The spring now discharges its water below the cave into the pool that’s visible and signifies the start of the Hermon Stream, one of the three tributaries that join to become the Jordan River. |
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| The Hermon River Springs are referenced in Matthews 16 |
During Jesus’s days, gentiles lived here and worshiped their pagan deities at the base of the cliff.
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| Shortly after the last book of the Old Testament was written (in the Hellenistic era), this became a place of pagan worship Gentiles worshiped the Greek god Pan, whose idol stood in one of the niches cut into the cliff face. Pan is the half-man, half-goat deity associated with shepherds. |
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| As time passed, other deities were honored here and other temples came to line the cliff face even Caesar Augustus |
Sea of Galilee
Jesus calls his disciples: Matthew 4:18-22; 9:9; Mark 1:16-20
The miraculous catch of fish: Luke 5:1-11
Jesus calms the storm: Mark 4:35-41; Matthew 8:23-27; Luke 8:22-25
Jesus walks on the water: Matthew 14:22-33; Mark 6:45-52
The Sermon on the Mount: Matthew 5:1-7:28
The Parable of the Sower: Mark 4:1-9
The feedings of the crowds: Matthew 14:13-21; 15:32-39; Mark 6:30-44; 8:1-9; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-14
Paying the Temple tax: Matthew 17:24-27
A heart-shaped lake set among hills in northern Israel, it is one of the lowest-lying bodies of water on earth (some 210 metres below sea level).
This freshwater “sea” is smaller than most people expect, just seven and a half miles long and thirteen miles wide at its widest part. Its other names include the Sea of Tiberias, the Lake of Gennesaret and (in Hebrew) Lake Chinnereth or Kinneret.
Jesus made the fishing town of Capernaum the centre of his itinerant ministry in Galilee, using the lake, its boats and its shores to spread his Good News. He calmed a storm, he walked on the water and probably even swam in the lake.
With little warning, mighty squalls can sweep down the wadis (valleys) around the lake, whipping its tranquil surface into treacherous waves.
Such storms often arrive in mid-afternoon, as the heat of the rift valley (averaging 95 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade) sucks down the cool air of the heights.
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| Photo from the stern of the boat as we explored the Sea of Galilee |
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| The waters of the Galilee were some of the calmest that I've ever experienced. It was a very peaceful and serene body of water during our visit. |
In 1986, during a severe drought when the water level dropped, the remains of an ancient fishing boat were found in the lakebed. It was old enough to have been on the water in the time of Jesus and his disciples. Dubbed the Jesus Boat, it is now on permanent display at the lakeside Kibbutz Ginosar.
Extracting it safely presented a huge challenge to excavators. Conservation of its waterlogged timbers took 11 years.
In 2000 the vessel — officially known as “The Ancient Galilee Boat” — went on permanent display near where it was discovered.
Then, working around the clock for 11 days, excavators and volunteers released the boat from its muddy surroundings and encased it in a polyurethane foam “straitjacket” to hold it together.
The 11-year conservation process included replacing the water in the wood cells with a synthetic wax that penetrated the cellular cavities of the deteriorated timber.
Mount of Olives
In Scripture:
King David flees over the Mount of Olives: 2 Samuel 15:30
King Solomon builds pagan temples: 1 Kings 11:7-8
“Glory of the Lord” stops on Mount of Olives: Ezekiel 11:23
Splitting of mount prophesied: Zechariah 14:3-4
Jesus enters Jerusalem: Luke 19:29-44
Jesus foretells his Second Coming: Matthew 24:27-31
Jesus prays before his arrest: Matthew 26:30-56
Jesus ascends into heaven: Acts 1:1-12
King David flees over the Mount of Olives: 2 Samuel 15:30
King Solomon builds pagan temples: 1 Kings 11:7-8
“Glory of the Lord” stops on Mount of Olives: Ezekiel 11:23
Splitting of mount prophesied: Zechariah 14:3-4
Jesus enters Jerusalem: Luke 19:29-44
Jesus foretells his Second Coming: Matthew 24:27-31
Jesus prays before his arrest: Matthew 26:30-56
Jesus ascends into heaven: Acts 1:1-12
Until the destruction of the Temple during the Siege of Jerusalem , the Mount of Olives was a place where many Jews would sleep out, under the olive trees, during times of pilgrimage.
In Jewish tradition, the Messiah will descend the Mount of Olives on Judgement Day and enter Jerusalem through the Golden Gate in the centre of the eastern wall of the Temple Mount also known as the Gate of Mercy, or the Beautiful Gate.
For this reason, Jews have always sought to be buried on the slopes of the mount. The area serves as one of Jerusalem’s main cemeteries, with an estimated 150,000 graves. |
| Jewish people wrap the deceased body and place it in the ground. The tombs don’t contain the body and are placed over the grave as markers. |
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| We were curious to see if we would run into this guy on the Mount after seeing him showcased in a Netflix show called Scam City. He's a notorious pickpocket thief, but he's still on the Mount peddling maps and preying on tourists. |
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| Motzie getting an inconspicuous photo with the infamous con man. I made sure that she didn't have any money on her in his vicinity. :-) |
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