Israel Study Tour with Ancient Paths Study Tours

June 24 - July 6, 2022

Subscription options are no longer available for this tour.

Help support our friends in Israel in their time of need.

Day 08 - Galilee: Mount Arbel, Migdal, Chorazin, Capernaum

Stretching: A theme for our group has been wineskins (Mark 2:21-22), asking ourselves if we have new wineskins to stretch our theology, stretch our understanding of the Church, and stretch our understanding of who we are as Christians and what we can do in Christ.

 

The Hike: A practical way we were stretched as a group today was in the hike up and down Mount Arbel this morning (picture). This very technical hike for many of us led us to many fears and moments of hesitation: another day in extreme heat, heights, mental hurdles, etc. Rod reminded us after we all successfully navigated a steep downhill on the rock face that Jesus will send us into storms at times- but it will be to stretch and disciple us. We see this in Mark 6:47-50- sending his disciples out onto the Sea of Galilee alone when a storm picks up.

 

Mount Arbel: When the storm picks up in that story, the disciples are wondering where Jesus is. When we are in challenging seasons, we wonder the same. The mountain we climbed this morning is believed to be the place where Jesus was praying for his disciples as he watched them struggle on through the storm on the Sea of Galilee (Mark 6:46). Jesus sees us and is interceding for us always. Luke 6:12 tells us that Jesus went out to the mountainside to pray and spent the night praying to God. This could be that same mountain as well. The next day, Jesus went out and chose his disciples. So he was prayerful and reliant upon God in his selecting of his followers. We learned this is contrasted with the cultural practice of students and disciples picking their rabbis - but Jesus selects His disciples, so that in John 15:16, Jesus can say, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you.” In choosing fisherman, Jesus also fulfills a prophecy in Jeremiah 16:16, that He will send for many fisherman. After leaving a beautiful view on the mountaintop of where Jesus probably did 80% of His ministry (picture), we headed to lunch to enjoy some yummy falafel (picture).

 

Migdal Synagogue: On the way to lunch, we stopped at a temple that was just discovered in the last decade or so. It is located in Magdala, a fishing town on the Sea of Galilee, home to Mary Magdalene. The temple was from the the Second Temple period, which makes this find very significant, confirming on elf the oldest synagogues ever found in Israel (picture). We had a meaningful conversation, where our wineskins were probably all stretched, surrounding women in ministry, Jesus affirming and elevating the marginalized, such as women, and had some healthy dialogue unpacking our roles in these areas today.

 

Chorazin: We visited this site of this ancient village which was the backdrop of some dialoguing and stretching around topics on the end times. The hope in eternity is what we saw in these ruins: a community and village where we are known, we have a place, and we are living in fellowship with others and with the Father.

 

Capernaum: We ended our day in this well known Biblical location, which was where Peter’s mother-in-law’s house was, the synagogue of Capernaum, which was owned and ran by Jairus, and other well known parts of the Gospels. Our wineskins for “church” were stretched here. All week we have been invited by Rod and Libby to chew on, “who are you?” and “what are you doing here?” Today, we talked about, “who is the Church?” and “what are we, as the Church, doing here?” Even our “wineskin” of Jesus was stretched today to see Him not just as our Lord, Savior, and Father, but now, as a our Rabbi too. After Jesus joined the disciples in the boat and calmed the storm in Mark 6, vs. 52 tells us the disciples were amazed, but also that their hearts were hardened and that they did not understand. In Capernaum, our group all shared we are still on the journey of learning more about who we are, who Jesus is, what He is teaching us as our Rabbi and what is the church. Because Jesus is patient, restorative, and redemptive, he is loving when we like the disciples don’t understand and when our hearts are hardened. This is a walk with our Rabbi who will never leave us and has promised us eternity through faith in Him.

 

Mike Harwood

 

Upcoming Signature Tours

With 30 years of experience creating trips for other ministries, we've prepared our own signature study tours featuring some of our favorite itineraries and compelling teachers! If you've never been on a GTI Study Tour, take a moment to learn more about what you can expect.

GTI Signature Germany Study Tour
Sep 11-19, 2024
Learn More

Turkey / Greece Signature Study Tour
Sep 15-25, 2024
Learn More

Egypt / Jordan Signature Study Tour
Mar 5-17, 2025
Learn More