33 Degrees Below Zero: Israel Day 4

Another full day beginning at Kursi. This is the place where Jesus cast out the legion from the Gadarian. Who became the first missionary. The church ruins we saw was Byzantine and the floor plan followed that of the Temple. As we were walking out the grounds keeper invited us to sit on a bench located "where a source of power is". Proving his claim by the visit of a Tibetan nun who visited there for the express purpose of connecting to the power. Let's just say NONE of us wanted to go anywhere near that bench.

From Kursi we headed over to Capernaum, Jesus second home, and home to Peter. We were taught a lot about the structure of the city. The streets running towards the water were all wide while those running parallel to the water were narrow. In Biblical times the father would build a room off the house for his son and new bride. When the room was finished he would go fetch the bride and bring her to the son. The only one who knew when this would happen was the father. John 14:2 immediately came to my mind. Luke 12:40 also fits well here. This house has over 20 rooms. Each house had at the center a large open room covered by wooden branches and palm leaves. It would have been through this that the man with the palsy was lowered down for Jesus to heal. Mark 2:1.

This is a portion of Peter's house. There was a Byzantine church over the top that was destroyed. The concrete beam you see at upper right belongs to the new church that sits over the top of the remains.

This is from in front of the remains of Peter's house. We sat under the shade of a tree while our guide explained some more about Jesus' ministry. Amazed about the preaching of Jesus along this very shore (Mark 4) we were asked to think about the maniac of Gadara, possessed by a legion of demons. Why did Jesus pick this time to head over there? It is possible that with all the time Jesus spent in Capernaum He would have heard, across the water, the maniac crying out. Therefore, Ariay, our guide, believes that Jesus went over expressly to command the unclean spirit to come out of the man. And that Jesus brought the man clothes because the people found him sitting at the feet of Jesus fully clothed. (Luke 8:35).

There were several millstones found in one yard. Probably these people made the millstones out of the volcanic rock found in this area and sold them to those on the Via Maris, or transported them to other parts of Israel via ship on the sea of Galilee. Luke 17:2 came to mind more than once as I saw the many millstones throughout our travels in Israel. Another time, I'm sure, Jesus would have been pointing as He spoke.

A mural of old city Nazareth is beautifully painted in the indoor museum of Nazareth Village. It was fascinating to walk through the remake of many things that would have been found in Nazareth in Biblical times.

What would Nazareth be without a carpenter. This man uses the same methods of carpentry that Jesus and Joseph would have used. He showed us a really neat drill used by moving a bow like instrument where the string wraps around the drill. Moving the bow back and forth causes the drill to spin.

The olive press. The finer or higher quality the oil the less weight that is used. The first press is usually extra virgen olive oil. Consecutive presses yield lesser quality oils used for lamps, etc. As the weights are lifted up the large wooden beam begins to creak and groan. Though it was not time for the olives to be pressed when Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemenee we can imagine the sounds of His working through what he had waiting before Him at the cross of Calvary.

A threshing floor. This was much larger than I expected it would be. The large board is laid flat over the barley or wheat. Weights are laid over the top and it is pulled over the top of the grain to crush and separate the outer skin fro mthe hull. The pointed fork is then used to toss the grain and straw into the air for the wind to drive the chaff away. My mind pictured Ruth laying at the feet of Boaz.

Our authentic Biblical lunch at Nazareth village. Green olives, hummus, and a red sauce. Later lentil soup, pita bread and bbq chicken was served.

Megiddo sits looking over the Jezreel Valley. Sitting along the Via Maris, Megiddo was a city under the control of many empires. Over 27 different cities have been found in the Archaeological ruins.