Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing

Our 7th day of adventure began very early with a 4:45 a.m. wake up call, followed by a quick breakfast in the restaurant of the Ein-Gev Holiday Resort nestled right on the banks of the Sea of Galilee. As we had arrived in the dark the night before, and were departing in the dark this morning, everyone was curious about the scenery around us! No complaints about our weary eyes however as new discoveries about Jesus and his life here await us!

The early morning departure was due to a marathon race being held in the city today. The roads were going to be shut down at 6 A.m., and if we had any aspirations of exploring the region we had to leave before then. Eager for what he has in store for us today, our driver Mayor hit the gas.

As we drove to our first destination, our ever-entertaining tour guide Ronan described the four micro-climates of the small region of Galilee, which goes from 600 feet below sea level at the Sea of Galilee to 3000 feet above sea level in the mountains of Zebulun and Naphtali.

Our first stop was in the city of Nazareth. While Nazareth is one of the most popular cities to Christians, there is not as much history in the town as in surrounding areas. The name Nazareth means Shoot of the House of David, which makes sense because Jesus spent his first 30 years growing up and living there. Nazareth sits in a valley, and the center of the city is shaped like a basin, making for very fertile land.

We exited the bus and entered a site called Nazareth Village. This tourist attraction was built about 25 years ago as a way to educate those interested in learning more about life in Nazareth during the time of Christ. Our guide Daniel explained, however, that while constructing the replica, workers unearthed actual remains from a farm dating to the time of Jesus. What began as an idea of recreation turned into an actual archeological find.

At Nazareth Village, archeologists then uncovered an ancient wine press. This wine press was carved out of stone, similar to a modern day hot tub. Grapes would be placed into the press, and the young women would dance around barefooted stomping out the juice from the grapes.

The remaining sites at the village were recreations, but gave us all a true vision of what life must have been like during the time of Jesus in this village. Jesus lived only a 5 minute walk from this site, so chances are very, very high He walked the same paths we walked today. Goosebumps! On our tour we were introduced to “Hannah” and “Nathaniel”, a brother and sister who taught us the arts of carpentry and weaving. Olives and olive oil were a big industry in Galilee, and a replica of an olive press sat in one of the stone buildings.

The tour concluded in a replica of the synagogue, where an actor read from the scroll from the Book of Isaiah.
Leaving Nazareth Village we began our journey through the Jezreel Valley, which contained the biggest crossroad through the region during the time of Jesus. Many Biblical battles were fought in this valley, as well as three modern-day wars in 1917, 1948 and 1967.

The bus rolled up to our next destination, Mt. Precipice. You can read about this specific site in Luke 4, as the author recounts Jesus’s visit back to his hometown. Jesus taught in the synagogue and read from the scroll.
“The Spirit of the LORD is on me because he has anointed me to preach good new to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor.”

After this reading from Isaiah 61, Jesus said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Thus proclaiming himself as the Messiah, the people were furious, and meant to throw Jesus from the cliff at Mt. Precipice. Scripture tells us Jesus simply walked through the crowd and left the region.

As a prophetic act, several of the men in our group stood at the edge of the cliff, and walked through the crowd, walking out their spiritual leadership.

Our next stop was Tel Megiddo, the amazing hilltop site of the kingly palaces of Ahab and later Solomon. A ‘tel’ is an artificial mountain, or rather a hill that through centuries is built layer upon layer on top of previous civilizations.

Tel Megiddo was a tremendous site situated on the top of the hill overlooking the valley. The city gate stands intact, leading to the entrance of the city. It was easy to picture the city leaders sitting at the gate, conducting business. Finds there include a horse stable with stone troughs, many storerooms, and a grain silo with steps leading down and up.

The greatest find at Tel Megiddo is an amazing underground water system. In ancient times, the people of this city got their water from a spring sitting outside the city. This made for a dangerous situation if they were under attack. King Ahab and his men came up with a brilliant water system. They dug a huge hole into the hill, reaching all the way to the ground level. Then they dug parallel to the ground all the way to the well, and then hid the entrance to the spring. This enabled them to retain their water supply even in the middle of attack.

Our final stop of the afternoon was unscheduled but much welcomed as we had been in the rain and cold most of the day. Bet Alfa is a 5th century synagogue that was discovered in the 1920’s. Immigrants who were farming the land discovered a stone mosaic, which led to unearthing most of the synagogue. The mosaic itself was, according to experts, unprofessional to say the least, and was contracted to an artist who knew nothing of Jewish tradition. Hence some of the Hebrew words are misspelled, Hebrew letters are upside down, and in a blaring mistake, a picture of the Greek sun god surrounded by the Zodiac signs sits as the highlight of the mosaic. Apparently, the church leaders allowed themselves to be talked into allowing these symbols, as they were the popular symbols of that day. A good lesson to remember today as well, as popular modern-day culture can taint Christian values.

Our afternoon ended with an unexpected but highly welcome treat – sunshine! As we arrived back at Ein-Gev to the first signs of the sun in days, jetlag and weary eyes could not stop many of us from storming the beach! The view of the Sea of Galilee and the surrounding hills is breathtakingly beautiful. Though relatively small, the sea and countryside is lovely. Hillsides covered in lush landscapes, speckled with neighborhood houses sit as backdrops to the water. Most in the group gathered at the beach, taking in the view – and a few pictures – allowing the reality of where we are actually sink in. This is the very place Jesus walked, swam, ate, taught, preached, and performed miracles. Here, he walked on water, calmed the stormy seas and fed five thousand.

May Jesus be as real for us all today as he was to those to whom he ministered here at this beautiful place all those years ago. May he calm the storms of our lives and feed our hungry spirits as we seek to know Him better and love Him, deeper.

-Karen Coolidge, M. Div. Student

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