Israel 2015 day 4

Friday, May 29 Sea of Galilee: Dinner and overnight in Tiberias MOUNT OF BEATITUDES Once known as Mt. Eremos, this hill is located between Capernaum and Tabgha.

The "Sermon on the Mount" is recorded in Matthew 5-7 and Luke 6. The alleged discrepancy between Matthew's version being on a hill and Luke's being on a level place is easily reconciled with observation of many level places on the Galilean hillsides. Scripture gives no indication of the exact location of this event, but the Byzantines built a church to commemorate it at the bottom of the hill.

The current Roman Catholic Franciscan chapel was built in 1938. It is not on the site of the former Byzantine site but further up the hill to provide a better view of the site. The building which was constructed by the noted architect Antonio Barluzzi is full of numerical symbolism. Rectangular clerestory windows with texts of the beatitudes encircle a towering dome. The interior walls are simple, in grey marble, but the interior of the dome glitters with gold mosaic against a blue background. The mosaic floor is

decorated with symbols of the various Christian virtues. In front of the church, the symbols on the pavement represent Justice, Prudence, Fortitude, Charity, Faith and Temperance.

We sat in an arbor not far from the church and Pastor Reeder talked about Christ being a Man of the Word & of Prayer. We sang Amazing Grace.

Three Major Sermons by Jesus recorded in the Bible  Kingdom Manifesto (Sermon on the Mount)  Upper Room Discourse (Jerusalem)  Olivet Discourse (Mount of Olives) Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him…

Matthew 5 The Beatitudes: This is the evidence of the Kingdom not the merit required to enter the kingdom.

2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “ Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “ Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “ Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “ Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “ Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 “ Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 “ Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness 'sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “ Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

13 “ You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

14 “ You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven Salt and Light: Restrain sin. Glory to God Salt: Purify, penetrate, preserve, flavor.

Light: projects God's Glory In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Doxa: Blessed: grace given to / Bless-ed: power to give blessing Primacy of Peter Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial Luke 7:31-34,60-62“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you (plural:all ya'll) like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you (singular) that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” 33 Peter said to him, “ Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.” 34 Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”60...And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” 62 And he went out and wept bitterly.

John 21:1-18 Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples 1 After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “ We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “ Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “ No.” 6 He said to them, “ Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. 7 That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. 8 The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off. 9 When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “ Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.”

11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “ Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “ Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.

13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. 14 This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Jesus and Peter: Humiliation & Restoration 15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “ Simon, son of John, 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.” 16 He said to him a second time, “ Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “ Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “ Simon, son of John, 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 everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “ Feed my sheep.

18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.”

Smell of a charcoal fire...

Satan preys against Church leaders… beware!

CAPERNAUM: Kfar Nahum means “Nahum’s Village” and may have been named for the prophet of the same name. In existence from the 2nd century B.C. to the 7th century A.D., Capernaum was an important town in the time of Christ because it was located on the Sea of Galilee (and had access to the fishing industry there) and because it straddled the International Highway , which went from Mesopotamia to Egypt, at one of its narrowest points. Thus Capernaum controlled trade along this important highway. It was the

headquarters for Jesus’ Galilean ministry which covered a period of 1820 months. Here Jesus healed many: the man with the unclean spirit, Peter’s mother-in law, the centurion’s servant, the palsied man let down through the roof, the woman who had the issue of blood, the blind and dumb demoniac, the man with the withered hand, the nobleman’s son, and Jairus’ daughter.

In the ruins of Capernaum we find a Synagogue built on top of the one in which Jesus taught. It would have originally had two levels. After he was run out of Nazareth Capernaum became his new hometown. The Mountain, the house.... Peter, Andrew, Philip... Healed Peter's mother in law. Among the ruins we see the symbols of the Temple: incense scoop, menorah & shofar. Interestingly the Ark of the Covenant is depicted on wheels rather than being carried on poles as prescribed in Exodus 25:14.

Synagogue seating in the round. Bet Kennessett House of Gathering... Became "little temple after destruction of Jerusalem temple. Peter’s mother-in-law’s house appears to have been their home base for ministry. It is situated between the synagogue and the Sea of Galilee. . Eight sided modern Church suspended upon an eight sided Byzantine church built around Peter’s Mother-in law’s house. For three years this was his home base and would make forays out into the Galilee. Three trips to Jerusalem.

SEA OF GALILEE The Sea of Galilee is 13 miles long, 7 ½ mile wide at its northern end, 130-157 feet deep, 32 miles in circumference, and 650 feet below sea level, more properly described as a lake than a sea. In the Bible it is called the Sea of Kinnereth, the Lake of Gennesaret, the Sea of Tiberias, and the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee is fed by the Jordan River, rainfall and springs on the northern side. It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth and the second lowest lake in the world after the Dead Sea, a saltwater lake. The Sea of Galilee lies on the ancient Via Maris which linked Egypt with the northern empires. The Greeks, Hasmoneans, and Romans founded flourishing towns and settlements on the lake including Gadara, Hippos and Tiberias.

Josephus reported a thriving fishing industry at this time, with 230 boats regularly working in the lake. Much of the ministry of Jesus occurred on the shores of Lake Galilee. In those days, there was a continuous ribbon development of settlements and villages around the lake and plenty of trade and ferrying by boat. The Synoptic gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke describe how Jesus recruited Simon and Andrew and John and James of his apostles from the shores of Lake Galilee. One of Jesus’ famous teaching episodes, the Sermon on the Mount, was given on a hill overlooking the lake, while many of his miracles also recorded occurred here including his walking on water, calming a storm, and his feeding five thousand people (in Tabgha).

In 1986 fishermen from Kibbutz Ginnosar found an ancient wooden boat believed to be from Jesus’ time found in the Sea of Galilee.

We enjoyed a boat ride back from Ginnosar to Tiberius. Pastor Reeder taught, we sang and out in the middle we enjoyed a few minutes of quiet time with the LORD thinking about Jesus sailing these waters. (without the occasional jet ski of course)

Afterward we enjoyed delicious lunch at the Pagoda Restaurant with beautiful views of the Sea of Galilee.

Incredible view of Mt. Hermon from the Sea of Galilee Psalm 133:1-3 Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.

The Gospel Seed is glorious but it's potential is based on the quality of the soil.

The villages of Chorazin and Bethsaida were near Capernaum during Jesus’s time. In the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, Bethsaida was destroyed by two earthquakes and never rebuilt. Archeologist have determined the city lay on a 100-foot rise simply called et-Tell (“the mound”), one and a half miles north of the Sea of Galilee, just east of where the Jordan River flows into the lake. The Sea of Galilee may have included a series of estuaries leading off a large lagoon just north of the present day coast (today it is the Bethsaida plain), and that the flow of the Jordan River, along with a series of earthquakes, caused the north shore of the Sea of Galilee to recede (the water level of the Sea of Galilee was higher during biblical times). As a result, Bethsaida, which had originally been built on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, came to be situated to the north.

Furthermore, of all the candidates for Bethsaida, only et-Tell was occupied in the Roman period (37 BC-324 AD). The Bethsaida Excavation Project is excavating the 21-acre mound, one of the largest ever discovered on the Sea of Galilee. The remains of the once flourishing Jewish town of Chorazin is now a national park, under the care of the Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority.

Matthew 11:20 Woe to Unrepentant Cities (had been in the heart of JESUS ministry) 20 Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.

21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

It is bad enough to reject the glory of God revealed in nature... How much more those who lived and worked alongside him. Earthquakes in second and third century.

You do not "take CHRIST"; you follow HIM! Mark and Harry talked about the benefit of bring 25 seminary students to experience this trip.

A strong Southern woman, who knows her own strength, will seek out a man of that much greater strength ~Harry Reeder

Dinner tonight is the beginning of Shabbat Shabbat observation is a complex process and the laws (or halacha) are derived from various commandments in the Bible, explained by the Oral Law & Tradition and have been updated in every generation to include the challenges of modern inventions and pressures.

In Jewish religious practice a day does not run from midnight to midnight but from sunset until nightfall the following day. The Sabbath is very holy; so religious practice is to observe the Sabbath for a few minutes longer. So in practical terms the Sabbath is observed from just before sunset on Friday to just after dark on Saturday – a total of around 25 hours.

This is the weekend so the hotels fill up on Friday; with people having a weekend away either privately or in the context of work or social groups. Often there are large groups of extended family celebrating a family occasion.

Shabbat Elevator/Lift – As mentioned it is forbidden to press electrical switches and so calling and selecting a floor in a regular elevator is impossible. The solution is an elevator that travels automatically, from floor to floor stopping for a minute or so on each one. It can be a slow process and there is often a line to get in.

Candle lighting – The beginning of the Shabbat is marked with candle lighting so there is normally a central place in the hotel where all those who want to light candles do light.

Food – Friday night and Shabbat lunch are traditionally the most important meals of the week in honor of the Sabbath. As mentioned there is a prohibition of cooking fresh food on the Sabbath this impacts the menu with some traditional Sabbath foods and at breakfast you will notice there are no fresh cooked eggs, toast etc. The coffee machine will be covered but coffee will be served.

The traditional greeting is Shabbat Shalom (literally: Have a Peaceful Shabbat.) After the Shabbat is finished then use Shavua Tov – Have a good week!

Tomorrow: Upper Galilee and Golan Heights.

Tel Dan & Caesarea Phillipii Pictures from Chorizin View of Syria (60 km to Damascus)