Walking where Jesus walked

NEWS alert: Jeff texted and said he found the Penguins so I could stop blogging lol. Thank you everyone for your encouraging comments and following along with me. Very often throughout the day I think- Yournamehere would love this.

Today was an incredible, heart moving day. At 8:30 am sharp, we arrived to explore Capernaum. One of Jesus’s first disciples Peter lived in Capernaum and so this special place was a base for Jesus’s ministry. Our first stop was an actual view of the ruins of Peter’s mother in laws house. This is the place of the very first home church. People were not going to a place where miracles happened, but a place to gather together to worship and study the word. A modern synagogue is built over the site, with a glass floor allowing us to stand in faith with the congregation of 2000 years ago. So many miracles happened in Capernaum but in the end Jesus cursed this place for their unbelief. Our hearts began to beat more quickly thinking about what Jesus did and more importantly what Jesus is still doing today!

As we walked the narrow streets, other tourists helped us to better envision how busy the streets would have been when Jesus walked them. Especially, since in faith, many people would lay their sick in the streets in hopes Jesus would walk by and heal them. Understanding context is everything when reading scripture.

Next we went to the Mount of Beatitudes. It was lightly raining as we walked through the beautiful gardens, individually reading the eight ‘Blessed are the’ verses on our way. At the top is an eight sided Church, built on the slope of the mountain. Just below is the Sower’s cove where it is believed Jesus taught the Parable of the Sower from a boat. The Mount of Beatitudes is also understood to be the place where Jesus met his apostles after his resurrection and commissioned then to make disciples of every nation.

One of the highlights of my day was taking a boat ride out on the Sea of Galilee and stoping to praise and worship. Oceans by Hillsong was the first song to play and already only a few days into the trip I know my faith has been made stronger just as the lyrics say.

After the boat, we explored the mystery of the 2000 year old ancient Galilee boat. To whom did this boat belong? To Jesus and his disciples, fighters of the Migdal battle or fisherman from the sea of a Galilee. The recovery of this boat in 1986 was remarkable to watch. Although unlikely it was Jesus’s boat, it did allow us to imagine Jesus and his 12 disciples sitting on it. It was so small, no wonder they were afraid of the storms on the water. With God there are no coincidences, 12 types of wood grown in Israel comprise this ancient sea boat. I will never read the verse go out and become fishers of men the same again.

The ancient town of Magdala was another destination. It is here that Jesus taught the multitudes and healed the afflicted, including a woman who made her home town famous, Mary Magdalene. The Magdala synagogue was discovered in 2009 when a wealthy business man bought the land to build a hotel. All building stopped and the Magdala Synagogue was discovered only 30 cm beneath the surface. This is the oldest synagogue excavated in Galilee and one of 7 first century synagogues in Israel. A small mosaiced room in the synagogue was likely where the Torah scrolls were stored, and is a place a Jesus would have taught during his public ministry. Just close your eyes and hear His words with me.

One of the most special parts of the day was praying in the Encounter Chapel, modeled after the structure of the Magadala 1st century synagogue. This synagogue was built to honour the women in the bible and so this chapel has a beautiful mural painting of the encounter between Jesus and the hemorraghing woman. Thank you Lord that where the gospel is preached women flourish then and now.

An astonishing day of discovery, ended at the Yardenit Baptism site on the Jordan River. Our group celebrated 3 baptisms, including my Mom and took in the sites and celebrations of hundreds of others around us doing the same.

Although I have been in awe since the first moment I arrived in Israel. Today my heart and mind made deeper connections with the instructions of Jesus’s teachings and the steps that will bring us all closer to God.

[Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind - Matthew 22:37]Baca lagi