Who do you say that I am

Day 5: Sea of Galilee Boat ride, Dan, Caesarea Philippi, Mt. Bental, Qatzrin

Sea of Galilee (Boat ride) We started our day singing the national anthem aboard a boat on the Sea of Galilee, and that was just the beginning of boat activities: Praise music, Israeli dancing, and observing the actions of a fisherman throwing a new over the boat’s side as would have happened in Jesus’ day. A highlight was being able to stand on the boat and look to the other side, contemplating on image of Jesus crossing “to the other side” from the Galilee area.  After we came back to shore, we got to see the model of a 2000-year-old boat was found in Magdala.

Tel Dan:  Not to be skipped in the summary of the day’s events, a quick game of hacky sack took place just as we arrived. (West has enjoyed dominating in hacky sack over the last several days). As we walked towards Dan, we paused at the city gate, making note of the importance of city gates biblically. Walking through the rocks, we stopped again overlooking a synagogue area. Excavations found some items thought to be used on the sacrificial altar.  At the conclusion of the tour through Dan, we found the gate of three arches, dating back to 1800 B.C.

Caesarea Philippi:

Incredible locations today, but this was easily my favorite. The significance of words that Jesus spoke in this area become much more meaningful when standing here. As we walked down into the remains of the city, a large cave, considered by the residents at the time to be the gates of hell opened up on the cliff side. Sacrifices to other gods were thrown into the cave to appease the Greek god Pan. Along the cliff wall, niches that once were dedicated to foreign god worship still protrude, with slight inscriptions still noticeable. It was in the district of Caesarea Philippi that Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:13)…”Peter answers, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’  Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven  And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:15-18)  So much more powerful now to read the words of Christ, “the gates of Hades will not overcome it” in the area where the cave noted as the gates of hell, where sacrifices were thrown, existed. And Christ said that the gates of Hades will not overcome. Today, Caesarea Philippi is an uninhabited city, no longer a place of worship of foreign gods.

Mt. Bental:
From the top, we had a panoramic view of the border of Israel and Syria. Stark difference between the fertile, green groves in Israel to the land in Syria. This location was not of biblical significance, but gave us a framework for current day politics. The site has abandoned bunkers last used in 1973, but can also be activated within 24 hours to be a military outpost.

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Qatzrin:

To get an even better visual idea of the homes and community in the time of Jesus, we visited replica of a Talmudic Jewish village. Sitting inside one of the houses, we read the story of the paralytic (which actually occurred in Capernaum), but to sense what it would have been like to be crowded into a home, listening to Jesus, and interrupted by the four men bringing their paralyzed friend for healing.

Walking here in Galilean area, the life of Jesus is being brought to life for us visually. Tonight we head to a fish dinner, and our last night stay in this area. Tomorrow, on to Jerusalem!