Holy Land Pilgrimage: Day 4: In the Footsteps of Jesus

Ceasarea Phillipi

"Who do you say that I am?"

Our first stop today was to ancient Ceasarea Phillipi. This city, located high in the mountains of the Golon Heights, used to contain a number of temples to Pagan and other gods (including Pan, Zeus, and Caesar Augustus). This is the site where Jesus asks his disciples the most important question of their time together: "Who do you say that I am?" It is also the place where Jesus says to Peter: "on this rock (Peter) I will build my church." It is interesting to hear this last part considering that these pagan temples were built around a huge rock inside Pan's cave. It is as if Jesus is saying to Peter: "That rock that has been here for hundreds of years is nothing compared to the rock of foundation that you will become for me."

An artist's rendering of what this city would have looked like during the time of Jesus.

What the city looks like today.

Rob standing in front of the ancient cave temple.

Water from the rocks to water a nation.

Korizim

A City Cursed by Christ, the location of an actual "Seat of Moses"

There are only 3 cities in the Bible that Jesus deliberately curses because of their inability (and outright refusal) to listen to what he and his disciples had to say. Korizim is one of these cities...

oh and it was destroyed as Christ predicted--"told you so."

As we toured the ruins of the synagogue we were shown the only example of a literal "Seat of Moses." This chapter and verse have always (for over one thousand years) been thought of as a metaphor for the arrogance of the Pharisees, because they claim that they sit on the "Seat of Moses." No one knew until the ruins of Korizim were discovered, that a "Seat of Moses" actually exisited in some synagogues. This adds a lot to my understanding of Christ's words--how much more arrogant do the Pharisees sound when we know that they actually sat on a chair with Moses' (the ultimate Jewish Prophet) name on it.

Rob in front of the synagogue.

The actual "Seat of Moses."

Can you find the "Coney Rabbits" in this picture.
Hint: they are fuzzy but they're not rabbits.

The Sea of Galilee

"The Jesus Boat"

In the 1990's two fishermen discovered something in the Sea of Galilee. At first they had no idea what they found, but archeologists came and verified that it was an intact fishing boat from 2000 years ago (this dates it to the time of Jesus). Normally the wooden boat would have decomposed long before now, but it was preserved in the mud of the lake. It took about 15 years, and assistance from all over the world, to figure out how to move the boat to a museum without destroying it. Today, all of this work has been completed, and we got to see what a boat from the time of Jesus would have looked like. Seeing this boat really makes me see the stories of Jesus calming the sea, walking on water, or asking the disciples to cast their nets on the other side of the boat in a whole new way. I invite you to witness this amazing archaeological find and see how it reshapes these stories for yourself.

Kursi

"my name is Legion, for we are many"

We visited an ancient (5th Century) Monastery located at the site of ancient Kursi. This was the place where Jesus encountered the man known by biblical scholars as the Geserine Demoniac (and known by the rest of us as that guy with 5,000 deamons that Jesus sent into a herd of pigs). According to scripture, this man lived among the tombs. From the monastery it was easy to see the tombs on a cave on the hilside beside us. This is one of the first stories that I remember being taught in Sunday School as a child, and it was amazing to hear it read at the place where it may have occurred. I was reminded of how all of the people in this man's life treated him, and how Christ treated him. Jesus spoke to his man of the tombs, a man cast out by his friends and family, not as a crazy person, but as if he were a loved and cherished child of God. We can all learn so much from this strange and exciting story.

The tombs outside the city in the hillside.

Incredibly well preserved mosaics in the 5th Century Byzantine Church in Kursi. They found the ruins of Kursi while building a road. They redirected the road.

An Israeli Soldier graciously posed for some pictures.

The Jordan River

Yardenit Baptismal Site

One of the things about this trip that I was most looking forward to was the opportunity to go into the waters of the Jordan River. This is the same river where John the Baptist was baptizing believers for the forgiveness of sins. This is also the same body of water where Jesus was baptized by John and where the Holy Spirit descended upon him, marking the beginning of his earthly ministry.

I not only had the opportunity to enter into the waters of the Jordan River today, but I had the amazing opportunity to actually baptize someone in the river. I had to wear a white robe (so did they) and the water was freezing. I will never forget the fact that the first baptism that I have performed outside in a natural body of water was the Jordan River. Wow.