We woke up to the sun rising over the Sea of Galilee. After breakfast we went to the mountainside next to the Sea of Galilee where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5). A church has been built there to reflect the Beatitudes. As we sat outside the church we read the Beatitudes with our group. We walked through the church and then stood on the hillside, looked down on the Sea of Galilee and imagined Jesus teaching the crowds of people.
Israeli Warfare
As we traveled down the road we saw Golan Heights and the area missiles were launched from Lebanon. Israel planted eucalyptus trees alongside both sides of the road so Syria could not see them as they were driving. We saw many yellow warning signs posted on the fences: Beware of mines. From 1948 – 1967 schools were underground because Syrians were shooting every day. The Arabs main desire is for land. Our guide said something quite profound: “Only someone who participated in war can appreciate peace.” Reflection: we can substitute other words in the place of war and peace – sickness and health; death and life; unemployment and employment.
Jordan River, Caesarea Philippi, Capernaum
We crossed the Jordan River where it was about 12 foot wide. Jordan means “descend from Dan.” We walked along the spring from which the Jordan River begins. We saw remains of altars built by Jeroboam.
Jesus is the living water, and he usually spoke to people next to a water source. At Caesarea Philippi Jim read from Matthew 16:19 about the keys of the kingdom of heaven being given to Peter and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. We walked up to a spot where Jesus stood to preach, and the gates of Hades was explained as the entrance of the stream that had come out of a temple to Pan. We enjoyed a great Israeli lunch in a restaurant in Caesarea Philippi
We went to Capernaum, the place where Jesus came to pray. This is where Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law. We saw remains of structures that were built over what tradition calls Peter’s home. We saw the remains of a synagogue, which would have been built after the temple was destroyed. The stairs into the synagogue were always narrow and wide, causing people to slow down and look down as they entered this holy place.
We saw the place where Jesus multiplied the 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread in John 6 so that there were 12 baskets of leftovers after everyone had eaten. A church has been built in this site with a mosaic floor, picturing the 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread by the altar. We had a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, sang a few praise songs, and Jim read from John 6 – the story of Jesus feeding the crowd with 5 loaves and 2 fish.
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