TJ’s Journey – Further in to Galilee

Day 3 – Roman Cities, Peter’s fish and remembering our baptism 

Let me just go ahead and say it, my time here gets better each day I’m here. There is definitely something about being in another country, away, in Israel, The Holy Land that is just so meaningful and comforting. After each day of going and seeing everything is is just nice to sit down and relax, be peaceful for a moment, and to look out at the see the Sea of Galilee. I personal just can’t get over the visually stunning views of this whole Galilean area. This place is hands-down the most beautiful and meaningful place that i have ever been to. The hills and the mountains are just extraordinary to look at, outweighing any of the coolest places that I’ve seen back home, in America. Nothing that I’ve seen before that i thought was cool can compare to the nature in Israel. Now I understand why God chose this place for his promise land!

In the beginning of our adventure for today we went to Bet, She’an, which means “House of Rest.” It is the place where King Saul, his son Johnathan and his armor bearer died during the battle with the Philistines. Later after the battle the Philistines hung King Saul and his sons to the side of the Wall of Bet, She’an. In Bet, She’an, we got to go to a National Park, where we were able to walk along the city streets of a Roman city. This was fascinating because we were able to walk actually where the Romans would have walked more than 2,000 years ago. Unfortunately, the city was in ruins because of the obvious aging that it went through, but there was also an earthquake that destroyed much of the city. But, there was a lot of really cool things that was there. One of the coolest places that we saw was the Roman bathhouse, which wasn’t just a place were a bunch of nasty old dudes hung out at. It actually had workout rooms, where they could wrestle and improve and test their strength. They had pools, and of course the steam heated baths. It was kind of like a Roman YMCA!I thought that this place was actually pretty cool. Then as I walked through this Roman YMCA, i was even able to see the Roman’s toilets. Which was as you can imagine a wonderful sight to see!

Further along the way we climbed up a mountain and I almost fell off the mountain with excitement, after i saw a figure of a tree as we were climbing. Now, this isn’t any normal tree. This tree, as a matter of fact, was the same tree that Judas hung himself on in the original (and in my opinion the best) 1973 Musical and film Jesus Christ Superstar! As we got up to the top of the mountain I took a moment to look at the tree. I felt kind of weird when people started staring at me  after I had geek-out for a few moments. But, it was totally worth it!

Later we went to the Jordan river. Now, it probably wan’t exactly where Jesus was baptized but it definitely gave me a pretty good idea of what it was like. Now, here it was both beautiful and peaceful. There were people form all around the world in this spot singing beautiful songs and praises in their language. It was just such a spiritual refreshing experience. The weather was nice and warm and was perfect for a spiritual retreat. We read scripture about John the Baptist and when he Baptized Jesus. It was just breathtaking to be at the same river that Jesus was baptized in.

Later we went to a local restaurant were I was able to try a whole Saint Peter’s fish. Which is just a whole fish, bones, scales and all, caught in the Sea of Galilee, cooked and lightly fried. It was great because while I was enjoying this weirdly-cool experience, I grossed out a lot of people. Later they gave us some Turkish coffee, and personally, it was like licking an ash tray. Now, other people may have had a different experience, but it felt like my taste buds were about to die on me.

Then we went to Tabgha, the place of the “Feeding of the Multitudes.” There was a Benedictine Monastery built on top of the place where they actually believe Jesus performed the miracle of the Feeding of Five Thousand. Next door, I was able to dip my feet in the Sea of Galilee and we were able to enjoy the beautiful weather and look at the eye opening scenery around us.

Lastly, we got to see Magdala where Mary Magdalene was from and where Jesus would have definitely visited. It was awesome to see the ruins of the Temple and to think that it was standing 2,000 years ago. Then we visited Duc in Altum, a chapel built in Magdala dedicated to the women in the New Testament. The chapel actually four smaller chapels, each was based on a story in Jesus’s ministry. In the front chapel was much bigger and had a boat as the alter. But the best part was in the basement floor where there was a painting of the “Jesus Encounter” where the woman on the street touched Jesus’s clothes and was healed. There was so many good things going on with that picture that I cannot explain it all. I’ve already written too much probably.

Thank you again for Joining me with another day and bearing with me through my long blogs. But there is just so much that i see and experience that it is so hard to shorten it.

I can’t wait to see the next encounters with Jesus in the Holy Land tomorrow!