Day 06 - Mount Arbel, Chorazin, Mount of Beatitudes, Capernaum, Tabgha, Ancient Boat, Galilee Boat Ride

Mount Arbel

Mount Arbel is a mountain in The Lower Galilee near Tiberias in Israel, with high cliffs, views of Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights, trails to a cave-fortress, and ruins of an ancient synagogue. Its vertical cliff towers magnificently over the Sea of Galilee and looks out towards the Golan Heights and Mt. Hermon.

Dug into the slopes of Mount Arbel are caves which were the hideouts for the Jews who fought against the Greeks and Romans. These were extended in the 17th century by the Druze, but the original caves are documented to date back to the Second Temple Period.

Josephus writes about the Roman conquest of some of the last Hasmonean rebels who dwelt in the cliffs of Mount Arbel. As well as the cliffs, Arbel houses an ancient synagogue, the ruins of which can be seen today. Interestingly, this it the only synagogue in the world in which the ark does not face Jerusalem.

Josephus offers a grisly account of Arbel in his Antiquities (14:423–425). One of Herod’s soldiers grew irritated with the inaccessibility of the enemies holed up in the caves. Lowering himself in a basket, the soldier jerked out some of the cave dwellers with a grappling hook and shoved them over the cliffs.

• Capernaum, the Cove of the Sower, the Mount of Beatitudes, Tabgha—these and other places dot the shoreline.
• At the foot of the cliffs of Mount Arbel also lay the village of Magdala, the hometown of Mary of Magdalene.

Additionally, this is the place where Jesus had arranged to meet the disciples in Galilee after his resurrection. They went to a high mountain and worshiped him, although Matthew notes that some doubted. Jesus gives them some instructions and reassurance. This event has become known as the Great Commission.

Chorazin

We had the opportunity to hear a word from Rich, the General Manager of GTI. He shared a message on preparing for the “bridegroom” and relationships with Jesus and others. Chorazin or Korazim (Hebrew: כורזים; also Chorizim) was an ancient village in the Roman and Byzantine periods, best known from the Christian Gospels.

Chorazin, along with Bethsaida and Capernaum, was named in the Christian gospels of Matthew and Luke as cities and apart of the settlement pattern in Jewish Galilee. In the center of the village is a magnificent synagogue built of basalt stones, which served as the center of Jewish life. Romans invaded in 60 AD to take over and destroy it. Excavations continue today and open up more and more history to share.

Tabgha

Tabgha is an area situated on the north-western shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. It is traditionally accepted as the place of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes and the fourth resurrection appearance of Jesus after his Crucifixion.

The Feeding of the 5000

Matthew 14:13-21: When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.
Matthew 15:32-39: And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.
Mark 6:30-44: But he answered them, 'You give them something to eat.'
Mark 8:1-10: His disciples replied, "How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?"
Luke 9:10-17: And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.
John 6:1-15: There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?

Tabgha, whose name is an Arabic adaptation of the Greek name Heptapegon (“seven springs”), is located on the north-western shore of the Sea of Galilee. It houses an ancient mosaic of the fish and loaves, next to a large rock which some speculate is where Jesus stood when he blessed the fish and loaves.

Dan, our guide shared that the springs are hot saltwater and routed to the southern Jordan River. If it flowed into Sea of Galilee it would threaten the water supply and fish. Tilapia (St. Peter's fish) is the main fish caught in this area.

Mount of Beatitudes

Matthew Chapter 5 - 7
Pastor Randy shared amazing history and the intentional geographic location of the Sermon on the Mount. Shalom- means more than hello or goodbye. It means living with peace even in the midst of chaos.

The Mount of Beatitudes is a hill in northern Israel, in the Korazim Plateau. It is the traditional site of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and feeding of 5000.

Overlooking the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, it offers an enchanting vista of the northern part of the lake and across to the cliffs of the Golan Heights on the other side. Within sight are the scenes of many of the events of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, including the town of Capernaum 3km away, where he made his home. Just below is Sower’s Cove, where it is believed Jesus taught the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1-9) from a boat moored in the bay. The Mount of Beatitudes is also understood to be the place where Jesus met his apostles after his Resurrection and commissioned them to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:16-20).

The sermon indicated how Jesus’ followers, described as “the salt of the earth”, should live so that they would be in right relationship with God and with others. “For I tell you,” he said, “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Capernaum

We entered Capernaum where a large part of Jesus Ministry occurred, known as the “town of Jesus”. We learned that Capernaum is owned by Franciscan, Vatican and not Israel. Pastor Randy shared history of these times. Jesus taught in the synagogue — where his teaching made a deep impression on the local people because, unlike the scribes, he taught with authority. (Mark 1:21-22)
Jesus healed many people of illness or possession by the devil, including Peter’s mother-in-law and the daughter of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. Dan, our guide shared the synagogue was erected in the 4th or 5th centuries, this impressive structure with ornately carved decorations is the largest synagogue discovered in Israel.

Its white limestone, carted from a distant quarry, contrasts with the local black basalt of the synagogue Christ knew. That original synagogue was built by a Roman centurion, the same centurion who had his servant healed after a declaration of faith that amazed Jesus (Luke 7:1-10).
This was also the home of the first disciples Jesus called — the fishermen Peter, Andrew, James and John, and the tax collector Matthew (who as Levi collected taxes in the customs office).

Excavations found first century “house of Peter” where Jesus lived for at least 3 years, built as a round rather than rectangular structure to bring attention to the focal point of the home.

The next part of our journey included an historic boat across the Sea of Galilee. They raised the American Flag next to the Israeli flag. We all sang the National Anthem together. Joey, one of our GTI leaders, shared the story of Peter walking on water. We were reminded that God wants our heart and to be obedient to His will. When we lose focus, Jesus is there to rescue and refocus our eyes on Him. Dan taught us all a local Israeli dance. Everyone joined in on the fun.

We then had the opportunity to get baptized in the Sea of Galilee. What a blessing. A great time was had by all.