The Triangle of Influence

We began the morning with group devotions by the Sea of Galilee. With the waves of the sea slapping the rocky shore in the background, I wondered how many times Jesus and his disciples gathered for moments like this. What kind of words did He have for them? What were they thinking? Did they even know they were being influenced?

After a quick drive to the bottom of Mount Arbel, we wasted no time pacing up the trails. With the soreness from the Masada hike still fresh in our group’s legs, this challenging hike quickly loosened us up and had our blood pumping. God provided a refreshing breeze and cloud cover as we wound up the side of the mountain, stopping periodically for a rest. Upon one reprieve, we stepped inside a shepherd’s cave full of dust and animal dung. Knowing that our Savior left His place in heaven to be born into the squalor similar to that in which we were standing was a sobering thought. After nearly an hour’s worth of hiking, we reached the top of Mount Arbel and spent time seeking God’s will with the Sea of Galilee glimmering in the mid-morning sun.

One of the most significant aspects of being on top of Mount Arbel was viewing the triangle in which Christ concentrated his ministerial efforts. Carpernum, Chorizan, and Bethseida, along with the Sea of Galilee, were in clear view from our perch on the mountain top. This served as a great object lesson of how Christ would have moved throughout the region.

Once we came off Mount Arbel, we took a closer look at from where Christ would have called his disciples. We stopped quickly at Tabgha, an ancient fishing hole in the sea, to view where Christ potentially could have called out, “I will make you fishers of men.” Next, we stopped in Chorizon to see how Christ and His disciples would have impacted this town. The 2,000 people that lived here during Christ’s day would have been highly devout Jews who may not have accepted so easily that Jesus was who He said He was (Matt. 11:20-24). It is astounding to think that a handful of men from such ordinary places turned the world upside down by simply following Christ!

The next stop was Capernaum. We stepped inside the synagogue to see where Christ and the pharisees would have stood. Here Christ would have spoken the truth of the texts to the greatest scholars of the area. The synagogue with an adjacent school was an impressive sight. We again learned of community within the Hebrew culture as we viewed the dwelling places of the town’s people, including Peter’s, close to the synagogue. With such a scholarly setting within a close knit community, it was clear to see that this place was all about discipleship.

The last official stop for the day was Areamos Topos. Here, we studied the synagogue and other dwellings more closely as they related to the community of that day. We were able to see olive presses and grape presses, which gave a reminder how Christ was crushed for our sins!

Today was a good look at how Christ influenced His area for the Gospel. We were drawn to ask this to ourselves, “Do I influence anyone for Christ, and do I have the influence of other disciples of Christ in me? These are great questions to contemplate as we seek to emulate Christ!