Kursi Gergesa; The Prodigal Son Gergasa – Kursi National Park:
We are now in the Decapolis, the southeast side of the Sea of Galilee, which in Jesus day was populated mostly by Gentiles.
We stopped at the site of an ancient synagogue where we discussed Mark 5, the story of Jesus casting out demons and they are allowed to enter pigs. Our discussion centered around the man’s request to come with Jesus, Jesus’ reply and what the man actually did. Jesus told the man to tell his people, Gentiles, that the God of the people you think despise you, healed you. The man’s focus was on what Jesus as one man had done. David’s interpretation is that Jesus wanted the man and Jesus’ own disciples to see how God showed hesed to a Gentile who was demonized. It is important to keep in mind to whom a given book of the Bible was written, as well as who Jesus’ audience was as He told each parable. It is often easy to read a passage through your own personal or cultural lens which can make the meaning unclear or lead you to an incorrect conclusion about God or his character. A take away I will ponder is that the Bible, Holy Scriptures, were written for us but to a specific audience.
Michael Card spent some time teaching and reflecting on the parable of the prodigal son from Luke 15. Jesus’ audience was Pharisees and sinners. The sinners could identify with the prodigal son and the Pharisees with the father, at least at the beginning of the parable. Thoughts from this parable: How low could a Jewish boy go to want to eat pig food? God’s compassion is not limited by the sincerity of our repentance. The Pharisees knew Jesus was talking about them.
We had a chance to explore the site, and since there had been rain in the area overnight, and even on our way, several of the flowers and plants were covered in small droplets of water.
Capernaum: The Roman CenturionCapernaum – We are very grateful as the bus pulls into the Capernaum parking lot that it is not raining and the sun is shining. We are also grateful there are only 3 tour busses which means it won’t be crowded – more time for quiet reflection. Knowing Jesus spent so much time in Capernaum gives this place special meaning for me. I am so glad I am able to visit it again. Capernaum is on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. There are benches set facing the lake that are great places for quiet reflection. The shore is very rocky. Our discussion centered on Luke 7 – the healing of the Roman centurion’s servant. The purpose of Luke’s writings is to show the Romans that Jesus isn’t a threat to them. Thoughts from this account: • Judaism at this time in a nutshell is works oriented. • The fact that the Roman centurion cared about his servant shows he is a God-fearer and understands the God of Exodus 34 • Jesus is amazed at the centurion’s faith and that he asks for something he knows he doesn’t deserve • What is supposed to be the miracle is almost an afterthought – The real miracle is the centurion’s faith One of our group members asked an interesting question – How can Jesus be amazed at something? That is a question I am still working through. The gist of our discussion was when Jesus came to earth he emptied himself, laying aside His God status.
The synagogue in Capernaum has at least 3 buildings in 3 different time periods build on the foundation of the synagogue before it. When we were here in 2012, our guide speculated the last building of white limestone was a 4th century synagogue. David has another theory. His research suggests there were a good number of Nazarenes, also called Messianic Jews, in the area in the 4th century so it is reasonable to think the limestone ruins are of a christian church not a synagogue.
Pilgerhaus Tabgha: The Centurion's daughter and the woman with the issue of bloodAfter leaving Capernaum, we drove a short distance to Pilgerhaus Tabgha. We walked for several minutes on a muddy path not far from the shore of the Sea of Galilee to an area shaded by a large tree with benches facing a simple alter. I learned the anchor carved in the front of the alter was the first Christian symbol. We sat on the benches and discussed Luke 8 – the accounts of the healing of Jarius’ daughter and the woman who touched Jesus. David described Hebrew parallelism as if you have steps on one side, a platform and steps down the other side. On one side: a girl, daughter 12 yrs old, dying A woman, 12 yrs bleeding, hasn’t experienced touch, unclean, dying The platform: Jesus’ touch – The unclean woman does the unthinkable, pushes through the crowd, takes chance. Jesus touch the body of the dead girl, making him unclean to heal her. On the other side: both are daughters, healing through faith Thought to ponder: Often our attitude about the character of God pushes people away. At the end of our time here, Michael led us in a time of singing and worship.
Lunch at St. Peter's RestaurantLunch - St. Peter’s Restaurant: We have enjoyed the variety of restaurants David has selected for our lunch each day. Today we ate at St. Peter’s Restaurant along the Sea of Galilee. The meal included a salad bar with a nice variety of salads such a beet salad, a cauliflower salad, Joyce wants this recipe!) and cold vegetables such as sweet potato wedges and of course wonderful hummus. The entrée choices were grilled whole fish, baked fish fillet & lamb kabobs. All looked and smelled delicious. Alan & Joyce both chose fillet fish which was fresh and very well prepared, tender and moist. Dessert was fresh dates and Turkish coffee. Both Alan & Joyce loved the dates and tried the coffee. It was very strong and bitter. Joyce used some of the sweetener she carries with her in the coffee, which she felt took away some of the bitterness. She was able to finish the very small Dixie cup size portion.
Peter's Primacy: Breakfast with Jesus
Peter's Primacy – During the walk back to the bus at Pilgerhaus Tabgha, Alan walked back with Ron and talked to him about how much he had enjoyed Peter’s Primacy four years ago. After finalizing the plans to take a boat across the Sea of Galilee later in the afternoon, Ron & David found there was time to stop at Peter’s Primacy which was a special treat for Alan and Joyce. An added benefit for Joyce was a Siamese looking friendly cat that walked around us while we were seated in an outdoor chapel area. The cat sat behind Joyce, coming to sit beside her when she invited him. When she patted her lap, the cat crawled up to sit on her lap for several minutes, purring.
Dinner and Discussion
Blogging and pictures
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