Thursday, March 10: Galilee

Who do you want to sit on your throne? That was the question posed to us this morning. We have launched three days of exploring Jesus’ ministry around the Sea of Galilee, where He invested most of His time in ministry.

Sepphoris…the key city in Galilee sitting on top of a hill overlooking Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee. Greek, Roman, and Jewish cultures conflicted here with control of the city being contested over the centuries; the city was destroyed and rebuilt multiple times. The city hosts a theatre where the actors were called hypocrites for wearing masks and presenting two faces, likely the reference Jesus used for those who lived out this lifestyle. It’s interesting that Jesus would use a Greek source to warn those within the Jewish community.

Learning about the hypocrites at Herod's theater

It was also interesting to consider the possibility that Joseph could have been one of the stone masons for this theater and possibly mentored Jesus here in the trade. We were reminded how God’s Son was rejected, but became the cornerstone for restoring us in a relationship with God. He promises to be our stone mason to shape our current capability for the precise placement in the future work the He wants done. Sometimes His chiseling process is painful, but it can produce a beautiful outcome.

Sea of Galilee…what a beautiful day for a boat ride on the sea from which Jesus used to communicate. We can see across the lake on the north side, yet the disciples were afraid of crossing the lake and being swallowed into the abyss. Our focus was on the disciples’ experience with Jesus’ power when He calmed the storm with just a few words, walked on water, and ordered the fish to go into the net. Jesus provided rich examples of His power being greater than the evil that they feared lurked below the water’s surface. The ride was completed with our hosts trying to teach us how to dance the “hava negila.” Quite a sight.

On the Sea of Galilee before dancing the "hava negila"

Capernaum…a beautiful location on the shore of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus based most of His time in ministry. Its placement in this city provided a prime location for connecting with all cultures that lived there or passed through the city. Again, we were introduced to how Jesus could use concepts from non-Jewish cultures to communicate to the Jews that God was a God for all cultures and how at times Jews and Christians could live peacefully side by side.

Temple remains at Capernaum

During the next two days we will continue to experience how Jesus used His ministry time in this region to communicate two key aspects of having a personal relationship with God. We need to accept Him sitting on our throne, desiring to be a loving God to all cultures.

– Ken Steensma, for the 2016 Holy Land pilgrims