Thursday, Oct 8 Day 5 Ministry Foundations-to Galilee (HOUSING @ EN GEV)
- Sepphoris
- Nazareth Village
- Nazareth precipice
Well, it seems like the days are going a bit to fast! Already done with day 5 – but day 5 was spectacular. This morning we packed up our things and loaded them into the bus for our Journey north. I had the opportunity to sit next to Tim Hatt and gain knew understanding from his perspective after having been here last year. Actually, it was nice just to hang out with him.
Sepphoris – Educational piece
- Sepphoris (Zippori, or “birdy”) was a major Roman and Byzantine city, the capital and heart of the Galilee province. It included a network of colonnaded paved streets, markets, residential houses, public buildings, bathhouses, theater, synagogues and churches. The richness of its mosaic floors, architecture and other findings indicate that the city was wealthy.
- It was a major Jewish town at the Byzantine times, and for some time the center of the Jewish administration in the Holy Land.
- The ruins of the ancient city are located in the western Lower Galilee, 2 miles north-west to the old city of Nazareth. The ruins of the ancient city is located on the top and sides of a hill The site is accessed from the main road from Acre to Nazareth, through the modern Moshav of Zippori.
- According to some scholars, the city (identified as Kitron or Kattah) was part of the region of the tribe of Zebulun, but was not captured. The Mishna tells us it was fortified by a wall during the Israelite conquest.
The reality is, I had never heard of this city before.. But, precisely during the time when Jesus was growing up as a young boy to his late 20’s this city was being built. Now of course we know Joseph was a carpenter and that he raised his boy in the trade. Nazareth was a small town of 300 people and there were undoubtedly many other carpenters in Nazareth. How much work could there be in a small town for many carpenter’s? Probably not enough to keep them all busy. Carpenter as I learned is a bad translation of what the Greek word really means, but because it encompasses that of a number of trades, in English it works – just not that well. Really, the primary work of a “Carpenter” in the day of Jesus was stone worker – much like our modern day brick layers. In actuality, “Carpenters” were really a jack of many trades. That being said, while Jesus was growing up, the most modern city of his generation was being built and He would have undoubtedly worked there simply because it was so close and because the Romans paid well.
So, we toured this excavation site and imagined the real possibility of Jesus laying these stones.
Nazareth Village – Educational Piece
- Nazareth Village offers you exactly what you come to the Holy Land for: to touch the time of Jesus, see its sights, hear its sounds, and even breathe in its aromas.
Located on a pastoral patch of farmland in the modern city of Nazareth, a tour of Nazareth Village provides an authentic experience of the land of the Bible.
You are greeted by costumed “inhabitants” (the staff actually did grow up in Nazareth), and feel Jesus’ teachings come alive along the Parable Walk. You can see women spinning, drawing water and baking bread, and men tilling the soil or harvesting, and herding sheep and goats.
At the olive oil press you’ll learn that the word “Nazareth” comes from the Hebrew for a new shoot of an olive tree, the “branch” of Isaiah 11:1. An entire house has been reconstructed, along with a synagogue of the type in which Jesus preached in this very town (Luke 4:16-28). Nazareth Village is a truly unique way to immerse yourself in the Bible.
This was a tour and it was well done. The educational piece from above really describes exactly what we did.
Nazareth Precipice – Educational Piece
- Nazareth, where Jesus spent most of his life, has over the centuries held fast to the most famous story to come out of those years – Jesus’ synagogue sermon and its aftermath, when admiration for him turned to rage (Luke 4:16-39).
The site of the synagogue where Jesus preached has been marked for centuries, and so has the hilltop – Precipice Mountain –where the people of the city pursued Jesus. Mary, was also here, frightened at the thought of what might happen to Jesus, until she saw he had emerged unharmed.
- A road leads to the top of Precipice Mountain; on the way you’ll see a church marking the site where Mary is said to have watched fearfully. At the top of the mountain, where the cliff plunges to the Jezreel Valley below, is where you will enjoy the most magnificent panorama you may ever see.
Entering Nazareth, you get the sense that this is nothing like the days of Jesus. The Arab Muslims control the entire area and the city is vast. When Jesus was living here there were maybe 300 people in the town. But, one thing man has not had a dramatic impact on is the Jezreel Valley. And from the top of this Mountain you can see it and some of the most Biblically historical locations on the globe.
Sea of Galilee
After we left Nazareth, we headed West to the Sea of Galilee. We settled into an amazing village on the East side of the lake right under the Golan Heights. Across the lake we can see Tiberias, Arbel, Madalla, Gennesaret, and Capernaum all lit up against the back drop of the Galilee mountain range. It is breathtaking!
We went and had the absolute best meal of our trip! I can see why Jesus wanted to spend so much time here.
Well, again – It was a long day. Tired and off to bed.
Tomorrow’s escapades:
Friday, Oct 9 Day 6 Ministry Training/Expanded Outreach-Galilee (HOUSING @ EN GEV)
- Bethsaida
- Korazin
- Capernaum
- Walk down Mount of Beatitudes to seashore of Galilee
Pursuing Breakthrough 