What an
opportunity…get up early to watch the sun rise over the Sea of Galilee! One
member of our group shared that it was like a beam of light from the sun coming
straight across the surface of the Sea directed to each person. It was awesome
that God could personalize His light so early in the day, then make the rest of
the day sunny, cloudless and in the 70s.
Food choices
are adventuresome at breakfast (minus bacon and sausage) and dinner buffets.
Instead of staying in a motel for these three nights, we are enjoying unique
individual seaside cottages and a refreshing lakeside living experience. It’s amazing
how our group of 31 friends from many different walks of faith can come
together to have fun exploring and learning on this wonderful pilgrimage.
Today’s
itinerary led us out to the Golan Heights, with a review of its complex
history, and a last stop at the recent discovery of Magdala.
Gamla…a high hill in the Golan Heights
that is shaped like a camel. It was founded shortly before Jesus’ birth and
destroyed in 67 AD. Gamla’s synagogue is one of the oldest in the Holy Land,
well within Jesus’ walking range from Capernaum. Its synagogue depicts the
transition from a temple-based faith expression to a more local synagogue-based
expression. Gamla was home for the Zealots. They believed that anyone
supporting assimilation with Roman or Greek culture should be—and often were—summarily
executed, not unlike some groups are experiencing today. There was no room for
tolerance and they were a threat to stability with Rome. This eventually led to
5,000 Zealots and their families committing suicide here to avoid Roman
capture, far more than the well-known account of Masada. It’s amazing that
Jesus selected many of his disciples from this culture. Check out our steep
rock decent that led us to the site. Thank you for prayers for safety as a
couple of near accidents turned out minor damage.
Climbing down the
trail to Gamla
Susita (Hippos)…built on a large hill. From
a distance it looks like a horse’s head. Founded in the Hellenistic period, it
was one of the ten cities making up the Decapolis. Intensely pagan, it was
later destroyed by an earthquake in 746 AD. Just prior to coming to this area, Jesus
demonstrated His power over nature when He calmed the Galilean storm. Near
Hippos, Jesus demonstrated that His power overruled a man possessed by demons. The
demons asked to go into pigs to avoid being assigned to the abyss, so Jesus
assigned them to the herd of pigs. The pigs ran into the water, drowned, and
returned to the abyss anyway. The flip-side of the story is the restoration of the
man who was demon-possessed. Jesus told him to return to his family and tell
them how he had been restored. Now turn the clock ahead, and we discover Hippos
being one of the few synagogues of its time with the Bishop of Hippos becoming
one of the signers of the Nicene Creed. We need to not underestimate what God
wants to accomplish through the transformation of one person. Just as with
Gamla, we endured a long climb and return.
Resting on the
pillars of the early church in Hippos
Bethsaida…near the Sea of Galilee and
home to Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Phillip. Near here Jesus fed the 5,000. He
also healed the man born blind from birth outside the city to not create an
image of being a political Messiah. In reviewing His miracles around the Sea of
Galilee, we better understood Jesus’ revolutionary message – God wanted
everyone from all peoples to serve Him. This is quite a contrast from the
combating cultures of Jesus’ time…and likely our own.
Entering the gates of
Bethsaida
Magdala…it’s interesting that it took
someone buying land in 2008 with the intent of creating a resort to uncover the
town of Magdala. Read the January 2016 issue of Smithsonian for greater detail. This was home for Mary Magdalene, the
last person standing at the cross and the first one who met Jesus after His
resurrection. Jesus was one of two rabbis known to allow women to be among His
disciples. They also supported His ministry from their resources. Interesting
to learn that references to her having been a prostitute come out of tradition.
Beginning of
Magdala's synagogue excavation
Our second
day of learning about Jesus’ ministry in this region leads one to reflect on
how timely our study is of the cultural collisions occurring in Jesus’ world, the
power of His solution, and His rejection. We recognized many parallels to today’s
national and global concerns, as well as that the same powerful solution that
He offers us today.
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