Sea of Galilee

Friday was another day of struggles to be cheerful and content in our circumstances. We started the morning by visiting a small museum where a fishing boat was discovered on the Sea of Galilee. According to the construction and shape of this boat along with some items found near it, scientists have dated it to be about 2000 years old, making it possible that it was in action during the days of Jesus's ministry on the Sea of Galilee. We watched a couple of movies on how the boat was discovered by two brothers several years ago when the water level of the Sea of Galilee was low and they were walking along the shore searching for a treasure. We learned how they used over 65 tons of chemicals over a 9 year period to allow the wood to dry for the first time in 2000 years so that this boat could be on display.

Kids in front of the fishing boat found recently on the shores of the Sea of Galilee

From there we took a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee with a a Christian tour guide who played worship music and stopped the boat so that we could all worship together. It was a beautiful day and a treat to be on a boat, let alone on the Sea of Galilee where Jesus spent so much of His time teaching.

Boat ride on the Sea of Galilee

We drove to Tabgha, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, to the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes. This is where Jesus's miracle of multiplying the loaves & fishes took place (Matthew 14:13-21). It is believed that the rock under the altar is where Jesus placed the food when He blessed them. There's a beautiful mosaic depicting the loaves and fish on the floor that is popular as it's recreated on many of the tourist items. Unfortunately, our youngest was having fun blowing out the lit prayer candles, so Mom needed to remove her from the church at this point.

Mosaic of the loaves and fishes

We walked down the road to St Peter's Primacy, which is where it is believed that Jesus made His third appearance to the disciples. The fishermen had an unsuccessful morning fishing and were bringing in their nets when Jesus told them to cast them on the right side of the boat, and their nets were so full they had to drag them onto land, where Jesus had prepared breakfast for them (John 21:1-14). The rock floor of the current church is believed to be where Jesus cooked them breakfast and is called the "Mensa Christ," which translates into "the table of Christ." After breakfast Jesus questioned Peter three times on his love for Him, which coincides with the three times that Peter denied knowing Christ. Then Jesus told Peter to lead the church. This event is remembered by a statue, outside St. Peter's Primacy, of Jesus commissioning Peter (John 21:15-19). After we saw these sites we spent a bit of time reading Scripture and skipping rocks from the shore. The children had to get along this whole day and it was dragging on it us at this point especially being in such historic places. 

Mensa Christi where Jesus cooked disciples breakfast when he appeared to them after His resurrection.

Statue of Jesus telling Peter, "Feed My sheep" (John 21:15)

Skipping rocks on the Sea of Galilee

Dad and G stacked some stones

Heart shaped rocks on the beach outside St. Peter's Primacy

Our next stop was Capernaum, where Jesus made His home during His ministry (Matthew 4:12-17). There are a wealth of Biblical events that took place here including Jesus healing Peter's mother-in-law (Mark 1:29-31), the centurion's servant (Luke 7:1-10), a paralyzed man (Mark 2:1-12), and demon possessed. A Catholic church is built above an excavated site believed to be Peter's home and an area where a house church met. Next to this are the ruins of a black basalt synagogue that could've been the synagogue during Jesus's day that He preached in with authority (Mark 1:21-22) and claimed to be "the Bread of Life" (John 6:22-59). While just next to the black stone ruins are the remnants of a white limestone synagogue believed to be built in the fourth or fifth century. This is the largest synagogue discovered in Israel. While on the other side of Peter's home is the Sea of Galilee and the place where Jesus told Peter to go to the sea and in the first fish's mouth that comes up, there would be a shekel to give to the tax collectors (Matthew 17: 24-27). Ultimately, Jesus cursed Capernaum because so many refused to believe in Him (Matthew 11:20-24).

Standing in front of raised church over the site of what was once Peter's home

Black stones are remnants of what might have been the original synagogue Jesus preached in

Largest synagogue discovered in Israel, built in 4th or 5th Century

Boys in front of St. Peter's statue with Sea of Galilee in background

Our last stop of the day was up to the Mount of Beatitudes and the church on top of this hill. This location is where Jesus might have given His famously radical Sermon on the Mount, which might have been recorded as a compilation of several talks that Jesus gave to His followers over time (Matthew 5:1-7:28). This also might be the spot where Jesus appeared to the apostles after His resurrection, when He commissioned them to "Go and make disciples of all nations," (Matthew 28:16-20).

Oldest son by a fountain in the garden (John 7:37)

Our "Peacemaker" (Matthew 5:9)

Mount of Beatitudes Church has 8 sides for the 8 Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-10)

Mount of Beatitudes with the church on top

Standing on the Mount of Beatitudes overlooking the Sea of Galilee

We stopped and had a delicious meal before returning to cram into our accommodations for a movie night. Unfortunately mom and dad weren't able to watch the movie as promised as we'd learned during this day that our plans for the next week (where we'd been going to help with Syrian refugees in Jordan) had fallen through, so we spent our night scrambling to plan a week on one days notice.  We looked at a variety of options to find accommodations, rental vehicles and destinations to fill our time between now and our flight out of Amman in a week.  Not ideal but with no choice we press forward.