Capernaum, Mt. of Beatitudes and More!

Our hotel is in Tiberias, on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. If you continue along the coastline to the northern-most point, you come upon the town of Capernaum. This was the town that Jesus “settled” in and one in which many of His miracles were performed. There were also at least two apostles which resided in Capernaum, most notably Peter and Andrew.

As we got to the site in the morning, we sat in the shade under a tree and enjoyed some teaching from Kay. Following the lesson, we were able to explore the site which included the ruins of the Capernaum synagogue. This synagogue has a peculiar feature as does the synagogue in Chorazin and that is that you must turn your back on Jerusalem in order to enter the synagogue. Typically, the synagogues were designed such that you entered the structure facing Jerusalem. Looking closely at the foundation of the synagogue, it was apparent that there were two different types of stone used in the construction. The bottom layer was black and came from lava rock. However, the most significant fact was that this layer was the layer that was actually in place as Jesus taught in this synagogue! (Mark 1:29). If you check this passage, you will note that as Jesus concluded his teaching in the synagogue, he immediately went to Peter’s house. Well, a few steps out of the synagogue is the remains of Peter’s house. It was a very small, circular structure.

Surrounding the walls of Peter’s house was another wall which at one time was a church. (See photo to the left).

After Capernaum, we continued our final day in Tiberias with a visit to the Mt. of Beatitudes. This is an amazing site on a hillside where we were taught by David Arthur. He delivered a powerful message from Matthew 4-6 which included discussions of radical blessings, radical righteousness, radical repentance and radical restraint. As we listened, we had a spectacular view of the Sea of Galilee.

The site also includes a church which is maintained by a group of “little” (they are small!) nuns who have been friends of Kay’s for years. The nuns are also constructing a hostel on the grounds to serve overnight guests. We were served lunch of spaghetti and potatoes by the nuns and then we were on our way.

Our next stop was an amazing place in Ginosar which houses a boat. This is not just any boat, but a boat from the time of Jesus! This vessel was discovered during a severe drought in the Sea of Galilee when the waters receded and revealed a portion of the structure. The boat was buried in and protected by the seabed’s sediments. We were able to view the actual boat after watching a short film about the excavation.
We boarded a boat and “sailed” back to our hotel from Ginosar. It was quite remarkable to be on the same lake that we know Jesus was on, with and without a boat!

The grand finale was a very special dinner at a Tiberias restaurant called Decks. Again, we boarded a boat for the short journey to the restaurant. The owner, it turns out, is a long time Jewish friend of Kay’s who loves the Lord! She had prepared a great feast for our “small group of 300”. We enjoyed a wide selection of local specialties, music, dancing and a number of tributes including fireworks from the boats alongside the outside deck of the restaurant. After the dinner, everyone was exhausted and we all seemed to crawl back to our rooms for some much needed rest.