Day 5 – Wednesday, November 11: Arbel, Jordan River (Optional Baptism), Magdala, Capernaum, Sea of Galilee Boat Ride
Today was a day of focusing primarily on the life and ministry of Jesus! We spent the entire around (and on) the Sea of Galilee. The weather was once again perfect…sunny and warm, with afternoon temps in the low 70s. We left the hotel this morning at 7:35. We read from Mathew 4 as drove to Arbel.
Mt. Arbel
The drive to the trailhead that leads to the top of Mt. Arbel was a short one, only 5 minutes. Arbel is a mountain on the west side of the Sea of Galilee. Fourteen (14) in the group choose to hike the challenging trail that ascended to the top (up 1,100 feet in elevation), while the others drove around the back side and walked to the top from the visitor center. Even though it was a little hazy today (in comparison to yesterday), the view of the lake from the top was spectacular. As we all gathered on top, we read from Matthew 5 (the “Beatitudes”). While there is a traditional Catholic location for the Mt. of Beatitudes, perhaps the lower slopes of Arbel served as the location where Jesus about the kingdom. The kingdom proclamation of Jesus was His “go-to” message throughout His ministry! We also learned about “Beit Sepher,” “Beit Talmud,” and “Beit Madrash” – the three stages of Hebrew learning. Jesus would extend the same invitation to His disciples as other rabbis would have – in Hebrew: “Lech Acharai!” (“Come, follow me”). Additionally, while we can’t know for sure, it could have been the top of this cliff where Jesus met His disciples after His resurrection and shared the “Great Commission” (Matthew 28).
Yardenit/Jordan River Baptism
Next, we drove to the southern end of the lake where the Lower Jordan begins. Here, thirteen in the group reaffirmed their faith in baptism in the Jordan River at a place called Yardenit. Pastors Corey and John officiated the baptism. Jesus Himself was baptized at Bethany Beyond the Jordan located further south across from Jericho (John 1). The experience was special for all of us! While the water level was back to normal (since the summer).
Kinneret Cemetery
From the southern end of the lake we now drove north along the southwestern shoreline of the lake. We included an extra stop at the Kinneret Cemetery. This is where an early Jewish pioneer woman named “Rachel” is buried. Shlomo shared about her life. She was an Ukrainian Jew who wrote poems, some of which were put to songs. She died in 1931. He photo is on the front of today’s 20 shekel bill.
Magdala
From here we drove north of Tiberias to the Plain of Genesseret where we visited the ancient city of Magdala. This was a large Jewish city in the days of Jesus. We saw a modest 1st century synagogue here. Although the city is only mentioned once (the end of Matthew 15), Jesus must have taught here. We also saw a few mikvot (ritual baths) in another area of the excavations. We then visited the chapel here on the grounds of Magdala. Here, we saw the mural depicting the the healing of the woman with a bleeding issue (Luke 8), and other paintings of the four of the miracles Jesus did. We also enjoyed singing a few songs together under the great-acoustical rounded ceiling. We sounded like a heaven choir!
“We spent the entire day around on even the Sea of Galilee, with a focus upon Jesus! It was another great weather day, with perfect temps. We began the day with a great view from the top of Arbel of the Sea of Galilee, while we ended the day with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee!”
Capernaum
Our last archaeological site of the day, Capernaum, is located on the NW corner of the lake. This Jewish town served as Jesus’ “home base” for His Galilean ministry. In the late 4th/early 5th century synagogue we recalled the stories from Mark 1, 2; Luke 7,8; and John 6. We also saw the Byzantine church, octagonal in shape, that dates to about the same time period. This ancient church surrounds a 1st century house structure suggested, by tradition and archaeology, to be Peter’s house. Down on the lakeshore, we ended with Mark 9. Serving in Christ’s kingdom requires a heart of humility and servanthood.
Ancient Boat / Sea of Galilee Boat Ride
Our last stop of the day was back to Nof Ginnosar where we embarked on our boat ride. Before our hour-long sailing, we saw the ancient boat from the 1st century that was discovered in 1986 in the shallow waters of the Sea of Galilee.
Being out on the water in our own boat was inspirational! We enjoyed singing along to a few worship songs. The storm from the Gospels (Mark 4, Mathew 14) were shared. Jesus cares for us, especially when we encounter the “storms” of life. Sailing to Tiberias at dusk (with a nice sunset) was beautiful! David picked us up as we docked, driving us back to our hotel. It was a great day of focusing upon Jesus!
Day 6 – Thursday, November 12: Hippos/Sussita, Chorazim (with optional walk to Capernaum), Upper Galilee & “Hill 713”
