The morning started out with a great breakfast of fresh fruit, yogurt, grains and some herring. Jesus ate fish for breakfast (John 21:9)
After breakfast we boarded the bus and traveled to Mt. Arbel. This is a beautiful place overlooking the Sea of Galilee and the villages of Jesus’ Galilee ministry. This was also the location of a major battle between Herod and the Galilean Zealots who lived in caves in the sheer rock cliffs of the mountain.
After taking in the view and hearing the drama of the Zealot’s battle, our tour leader John DeLancey called us under a Carob Tree. He explained how he had camped at this location in his early days in Israel. He shared with us this was a celebration of his 25th anniversary and made a vow of recommitment to his wife. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSGi6hZkJ5g
From the mountain we descended toward the Sea of Galilee to see the place where Jesus shared his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). There is a beautiful garden and a church at this location. The garden has beautiful Bougainvillea bushes. Looking down the hill there is a natural amphitheater where a person can speak and be heard by several thousand people. Today there is a banana grove in this bowl. We were told to view the banana trees as people standing in the valley. Pictures are at my photo album - https://plus.google.com/u/1/photos/115544123164287975321/albums/5761026986035271169?authkey=COqExoL17_GkVw
From here we traveled uphill to the ruins of Chorazin. Jesus had words of condemnation for Korazim (Matthew 11:21; Luke 10:13) Here we saw the ritual bath (mikvah) and the Synagogue.
Then we traveled to the town of Capernaum where Jesus spent much of his ministry (Mt 4:13; 8:5; 17:24). There are extensive ruins here including a white synagogue. Although this synagogue was built after the times of Jesus, there is a visible foundation that could date to Jesus’ times. We also walked in the chapel with a glass floor which looks down to the ome of Peter where his mother-in-law was healed.
We drove a short distance to Tabgha and the chapel of multiplication where Jesus multiplied two fish and five loaves to feed 5,000 people (Mt 14:15-21). There are seven springs in the area so it is also called the Heptapegon.
From there we traveled to Kibbutz Ginnosar for lunch, to view the Jesus Boat, and for a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. The Jesus boat was discovered during a drought in the area when the level of the sea was low. Tow amateur archeologists found a nail, which was attached to wood. Further investigation found there was a boat completely buried in the mud. The museum shows the steps take to preserve the wood and keep it from falling apart. The boat is on display in the museum. It is made of 12 kinds of wood (mostly repairs).
One of our group members, Christian Stillman wrote “The Jesus Boat Book: Living Proof of a Modern Day Miracle in Galilee.” Christian shared the story of the boat and the people who discovered the boat.
From here we boarded our boat for a ride on the Sea of Galilee. We were able to see the ancient Biblical cities. We also saw the sailboats out on the beautiful day on the lake. Windsurfing is a popular sport in Israel. On the boat we sang songs and enjoyed the cool breeze.
From Ginnosar we traveled through Tiberias to the Jordan River, a location called Yardenit where we held a baptismal service. I assisted John as we baptized 14 people. This is a beautiful section of the Jordan with emerald green waters. There were muskrats and catfish swimming in the river.
We went back to our Kibbutz to swim in the Sea of Galilee and eat dinner. Jamie Cowan, a Rabbi Chelsea knew in Richmond, Va, ate dinner and spoke during devotions with our group. Jamie now lives in the Jezreel Valley.
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