Day 07 - Coast: Mt. Carmel, Caesarea Maritima, Mt. Precipice, Tabgha

Our day started with Libby's parable regarding where dangers are. We are made to live in God's word. When we journey away from God's word, that is where the dangers lie.

We started traveling to the first site and received some news. We have been anticipating the arrival of the rest of our family but it was revealed to us that our friends from Uganda would not be joining the trip. We are saddened but know God has a larger plan and when He is ready to invite them to the land, they will obey the call.

Today we are moving into the New Testament. We arrived in Caesarea and were greeted by the remains of Greek and Roman statues. We are still in the Promise Land but now these statues start to show up. Each new statue erected would be to a Greek or Roman god. Bacchus (or Dionysus) was the god of the grape/wine, revelry, theater/frenzied creativity. To get in the spirit of Dionysus is to be drunk and to be “one with him” was fornication. This became popular with the housewives to the point it had to be outlawed. Straining to hear the teachings and scripture readings, it was clear we had left the desert. The distractions of crowds and "normal life" added a layer of noise to our learning.

We sat in an amphitheater next to the Mediterranean. We reflected on the history from previous days. When Herod the Great built a city, he built it from scratch. Winston Churchill said, “before you build something, you shape it. Once it's built, it shapes you.” The worldview behind this city is Hellenism. It is the Greco-Roman worldview. It is the Western worldview. The imprint here is Rome.

Back in 333 BC, Alexander the Great traveled East. He conquered Persians and the Eastern world, including India and part of Egypt. More than a conqueror, he was a missionary. This was during the Golden Age of Socrates and Aristotle. Alexander was born into the Renaissance and believed Greek culture was better than everything. It was a gift to the world to Hellenize them. As he conquered, he left 100 soldiers, a general, money, and instruction to build a mini-Athens.

Hellenism is Humanism. Pythagoras believed that man was the measure of all things. With that as the foundation, the human mind becomes the standard for what is true, the body is what is beautiful, and what can be created is how individual success is measured.

This couldn't be more opposite of who the Jews were and their worldview. What is evil to a Hellenist is weakness, imperfection, disability, and getting old. If you fell into one of those categories, you were marginalized. It elevates the strong, the rich, the beautiful, the celebrity. Alexander brings Hellenism and in each of these mini Athens there are four distinguishing things.

First is a theater. This is for more than entertainment. This is where Greek philosophy and worldview are propagated. The comparison was made between their theater and our Western church but to a Jew, this was foreign.

Second is a stadium where they introduced the world to sports. We’re familiar with the Olympics. It puts the spotlight on the best of the best, all done in the nude. It’s another opportunity to show off the body that is beautiful. Jewish boys had never seen this and were mesmerized by it. The details are unknown but it is said they uncircumcised themselves to participate

Next are temples, they would be built to worship gods like Dionysus, Zeus, Apollo, and later Caesar. These were major money makers. Every city wants to be a Vatican or a Rome. The world center for the worship of Dionysus or Apollo to have the masses come to visit and worship. Greece is moving from being a republic to being an empire, a close example is Nazi Germany.

We interrupt the city building with a brief detour through the rise of Caesar Augustus. He is the first emperor. He called himself son of god, Pontifex Maximus (Pope), and lord of lords.
To better set the scene, we have to review Julius Caesar. Julius has legions, military might, and is for the little person. He conquered nations, and brought home slaves and glory. After crossing the Rubicon River, Julius was going back to Rome with a purpose. He was going to make himself emperor. On the Ides of March, forty senators assassinate Julius. Three days later, Mark Anthony held up the bloody clothes of Julius and performed a week-long funeral. On the second day there is a comet that slowly ascended across the sky for a week. They say this was Julius ascending to heaven.

After his death, Mark Anthony and Octavian fought it out with those who murdered Julius. The senators lost. Mark Anthony and Octavian split the empire. Octavian stayed in Rome. Mark Anthony went to Egypt. The Eastern and Western sides of Rome battled it out in 36 BC. Octavian won and changed his name to Caesar Augustus. During this, he reminds everyone of his dad. Octavian didn't care about money he gained from his late father, only that the whole world thought Julius was god and that made him the son of god. Temples are going up everywhere to worship Caesar Augustus, son of god, lord of lords, savior of the world. Herod built three Temples to Caesar Augustus. Remember, Herod gave his loyalty to Mark Anthony but pleads with Augustus to remember his amount of loyalty, not where it was.

Back to the regularly scheduled programming.
Finally, the Gymnasium was the Greco-Roman academy. School would be 90% physical training and 10% academics, all done in the nude. Again, why would you cover the beautiful body? In our modern times, as Christianity is pushed out, don't be surprised we are returning to the Greek ways. In the Greek mindset, what is beautiful is holy. To the Jew, what is holy is beautiful.

Alexander believed once the world saw Hellenism, everyone was going to love it. When the Romans came, they super-sized the Greek view. Greeks were intellectual, for instance, they chose not to have a back to the stage so they could interpret what they’re seeing beyond the stage. Romans want to manipulate what they see. If there's a murder, they had a slave play that part so there's real blood. In stark contrast, Jews are so shy and this would be shameful.

We also reviewed the several groups of Jews at this time. The Herodians loved Herod. They were secular Jews and loved Hellenism. The Sadducees were priests. They didn’t necessarily love what was happening but loved money and were becoming wealthy aristocrats. The Pharisees were separatist and believed in purity through separation. They immersed themselves in Torah but when it came to action, they were pacifist. The Essenes were opposite of the Sadducees. They sought the desert and gave up comforts to walk out the Torah. Lastly, the Zealots. They were Pharisees but saw it as their responsibility to defend others. Their aggressive response to Rome came to a head during the First Jewish-Roman War in 66 AD.

Herod was caught between two tsunamis. This city, Caesarea, was dedicated to Roma and the emperor. Remember, Rome is not exporting anything. It's all imported. Through roads and cities they were capitalizing and were unifying the empire. Rome was masterful in propaganda. They put Caesar's titles on gates and coins. Rome wanted unity in their empire. Their goals were to have all agree to their worldview that brought peace (through war - coerced) and to pay their taxes.

Exploring the area, we saw again how Herod accomplished what others said couldn’t be done. He had a swimming pool full of freshwater that was filled from aqueducts 12 miles long. He built forms, poured concrete, and created a 23 acre harbor that could hold 300 ships. This was huge. Before this, there was one harbor in Athens and one in Alexandria. It created a new market for the smaller ships that would not have been able to make the long journey. Josephous said the king triumphed over nature.

It’s easy to think this was a bad man who did bad things, but through this port, the Gospel is going to go to the ends of the earth. Paul and Peter used what Herod built to spread the Gospel. Big events happened here. We reflect on the story of Peter’s dream and the all of Cornelius, Acts 10:1-48. We learn this is not just about what can be eaten but moreover, we can sit with the “unclean”. Paul and Agabus, Acts 11:27-30. God put a mission on Paul’s life to take this gospel to the Greeks and gentiles. They were calling Jews to change their mindset. They were to be the light to the nations and set on a hill, but were becoming nationalistic. They needed help to see things in a different way. That's why God sent Paul. We are still challenged with the thought of us and them and need to go back to Abraham’s covenant to be a blessing to all nations.

We moved to the stadium and learned about the Romans and how they found the Greek games mundane so they added animals and made it a bloodsport. They added chariot racing and divided the stadium into smaller sections for gladiators. Morning would start with animal to animal, move to gladiators against animals (groups or individuals), and end with Gladiator vs Gladiator.

We reflected on what sports mean to us now. We’re fans of it, some of us played it, we put our kids in it, and maybe coached. Is there a danger in it? Are there ways this works against discipleship? It easily becomes an idol; tournaments and games on Sundays, your identity is now based on your ability, you have to earn praise and love. Teams can build community but also create rivalries and draw tribal lines.

There were so many stories of Christians courageously becoming martyrs, even accounts of peace and smiling as the lions were released. It is not an end we desire but chutzpah we hope to have in that situation. We walked the length of the arena, remembering those who have bravely come before and our brothers and sisters, who to this day, experience persecution.

Our next hike was challenging. It started with a quick exit off the bus because we were dropped off at the edge of a roundabout. We journeyed up Mount Carmel and took breaks recalling stories of the area, (Saul and Jonathan, 1 Samuel 31, Elisha and the Shunammite Woman, 2 Kings 4:8-37) and connected the dots between why some believe Jesus is Elisha and John the Baptist is Elijah.

On our hike up, we passed an Olive tree Grove with a tree that was probably 1000 years old. We are grafted into the story like a branch is grafted to a tree. God is our gardener.

Once we reach the summit, we open our Bibles to First Kings. Our story takes place after Saul, David, and Solomon. There was a civil war that split the land North (Israel, urban, highly connected) and South (Judah, rural, isolated, disconnected). 1 Kings 18:1-2 Ahab married Jezebel who brought Baal into the land. There are multiple types of Baals, we focussed on the Rain Baal. In Israel, there are only two seasons, rainy and non-rainy. They believed Baal and Asherah went into hibernation together and needed to be woken up by imitating their relationship. Baal is providing "the rain" and Ashera is receiving it. In a severe crisis, like famine or war, their worship wake up call could be as extreme as child sacrifice. The teaching continues with 1 Kings 18:16-39. Elijah is going for revival, to call his people back to repent. Elijah gave his blood, sweat, and tears so his people would know God.

Discipleship is not being comfortable. Jesus calls us to take up your cross and follow me. He came to bring the judgment day. We call it Good Friday. That’s when God's fire and wrath for all sin came down and consumed Christ. He bore it. Jesus became the mikvah of God; head, heart, hands, feet. Look at the Baals in your life and don't dance between them.

Our final stop was on the edge of the Sea of Galilee. Here, we will study and walk Jesus’s ministry. Mark 1:14-15, Jesus came with a message. He came to preach the Good News that the kingdom of heaven is here. Repent and believe it.

Mark 1:16-17, we stood where it is believed Jesus called Simon and Andrew. It is where the cold springs and warm water mix that the sardines are plentiful. These are the first steps of Jesus we have followed. Jeremiah 6:16/Matthew 11:28-29. When the Messiah comes, he will teach us the ancient paths and how to walk it. A disciple is someone who parks their life behind Jesus and learns to walk and he walks. You do this and you will find rest for your soul. There were hundreds of rabbis. They are not only looking at these texts and trying to walk it, they have the guts to have people behind them, trying to follow them. The only difference is people would pick their rabbis like a student picks a college, however, Jesus chose his disciples. Jesus chose them because he believes they can become like him. Rabbi Akiva said it is a sin to tell someone to believe in God before you tell them how much God believes in them. A disciple has a passion in their gut, not just to know what Jesus knows, but to become who Jesus is. He has called us to be like him.

Matthew 14:22-33, does walking like Jesus, include this? Peter walks on water until he doubts himself. This is what keeps us from being disciples. The other 11 disciples don't even get out of the boat. John 21, after rejecting 3 times, Peter goes back to fishing. A voice told him to throw his nets on the other side. He realizes who is calling to him and swims to shore where Jesus has a meal prepared. He is commanded to "Feed my sheep" but really is told to "Be like me."

We ended our day being challenged to look in the mirror or ask yourself, “am I a disciple of Jesus Christ?” Take this further than is He your Lord/Savior/friend. Is he your rabbi? If he is, you are His disciple and you have a passion in your heart to become like Him.

- O'Connors