Day 04 - Galilee: Chorazin, Mount of Beatitudes, Tabgha, Capernaum, Mount Arbel, Ancient Boat (Ginosar), Galilee Boat Ride

Every day has been amazing so far but today seemed to have authenticity and particular sincerity about it. We first visited Capernaum which means Village of Nachum. Here we were given the picture and understanding of an insula; a village grown from the family of a patriarch or father and the significance of this picture in scripture. In Genesis 12:1 Abraham leaves insula, in Joshua 24:15  he says “for me and my insula, we will serve the Lord.” We learned the significance of the bleeding woman going without insula for so many years (Mark 5:25) and in Ephesians 2:19 God inviting us to insula with Him. We were given insight into the idea that only the father knows the time of the bride groom goes to his bride and what the means for the second coming of Jesus. 

We then entered the synagogue ruins and stood in the place Jesus once taught. Most of the places we visit, you can’t know for sure the exact place of Jesus, but this one is certain. Jesus would have been in this place. It’s hard to convey the feeling of waking in the footsteps of Jesus. 

We then traveled to the place known as the mount of Beatitudes. In Matthew 5-7 Jesus delivers this hallmark of the Christian faith. One of the most moving things was hearing the people from our group from North Coast Church reading this sermon that Jesus taught. Here we were on a mountain overlooking Galilee, like the one Jesus might have occupied and learning about Jesus’ upside down kingdom which values weakness, sacrifice, grief and exclusion. We also learned that with Christ we can be deeply satisfied in the midst of our circumstances. 

Next we hiked to mount Arbel and learned from Pastor Paul about prayer. Jesus often retreated to the mountains and places of solitude to pray. Here we learned that effective prayer it about relationships, it connects intimately with God’s word, and it is persistent. The top of Mt. Arbel felt like the top of the world. 

Our final stop was the Sea of Galilee. We boarded a boat and set off on to the water. Upon looking at the Sea of Galilee it’s hard to imagine a storm there, but we quickly realized how fast the wind whips while out on the water.  Here, Pastor Paul taught us from Mark 4:35, when Jesus calms the storm.  We read how Jesus’ words have agency. His words have power over creation and ultimately our faith lesson is that He can be trusted. Pastor Paul encouraged us to to fear not our circumstances, but to fear the One who has power over over them. Psalm 111:10 says that fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. 

We ended our time together with what can’t be described as anything other than a party. We laughed and sang and danced together. What a delight to see people from all ages and abilities come together and express the joy of life for one reason and one reason only. We love Jesus.