This is a view of the fertile NW coast of the Sea of Galilee. It was in this area that most of the population around the sea was located, since the rest of the shore rises fairly quickly to steep slopes as can be seen in the next picture of the eastern shore. The area which is shown in this picture encompasses the towns and roads and hills where Jesus spent fully half of his ministry. In the foreground is the plain where most of the farms as well as the largest of the towns were located. The largest town in the time of Jesus was Magdala, which is not mentioned in Scripture except as part of a name: Mary Magdalene, meaning Mary from Magdala. In the upper section of the picture, above the water, lies Capernaum, Bethsaida and the hills where Jesus often escaped to teach (think Sermon on the Mount) and pray.

As we crossed the Sea of Galilee one evening from Tiberias (western shore) to Kibbutz En Gev (eastern shore), we saw the slopes of the eastern shore rise up before us, and were reminded of the time when Jesus, somewhere along here, healed the Gerasene demoniac by casting the demons into a herd of swine which then rushed headlong into the waters of the sea to drown (Mark 5:1-20). These region on the eastern shore of the sea is known in the gospels as part of the Decapolis.

On the eastern shore at a kibbutz, Ingrid and I had the pleasure of eating St. Peter's fish. It is called this because it is most likely the fish that he caught to pay the Temple tax. Being on the eastern shore, we were able to watch the sun set behind the mountains of Upper Galilee - a beautiful site. It might have been more romantic, if we were not with the other 28 people on our tour (however enjoyable they were).

This is the boat we rode in to cross the sea. It is called one of the "Jesus" boats, since it is similar in size and form to the fishing boats of the first century in which Jesus and his disciples criss-crossed the waters.

This is the only actual first century fishing boat that has been found. It was discovered a few years ago, just a short distance from the shore in shallow water, made more shallow by a multiple year draught. It was found by fishermen from the local Kibbutz Nof Ginosaur where we spent 4 wonderful nights (it can actually be seen in the center left of the first picture as the mass of buildings and trees with its own little inlet of the sea).

These stones don't look like much, I know, but they are actually quite significant. They are the remains of several buildings built one on top of the other near the shoreline of Capernaum. The earliest remains are from a first century middle class home, similar to what a fisherman such as Simon Peter's father probably would have owned as a small business owner. Built over the home was an octagonal church from the Byzantine era (after 313 AD). The structure over the top of the archeological remains is a modern monstrosity ... I mean chapel which retains the octagonal shape of the original church. 100 feet to the north (and out of sight) is a synagogue which, although from the second or third century, was probably on the site of the synagogue where Jesus taught and healed the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath (Mark 1:21-28).

One final parting picture of the Sea of Galilee. This is a view from the hills above Capernaum. In these hills you can find churches built to commemorate some of the most memorable moments in Jesus' ministry, including the feeding of the 5000 and the preaching of the Sermon on the Mount. Although no one knows where these actually took place, the general locations are at least similar to where Jesus would have been. As I looked out from this hill above Capernaum, I thought of what Jesus must have seen as he came here to pray for God's guidance at the start of his ministry and as he told his disciples once they found him, "Let us go elsewhere, to the nearby villages, so that I can preach there also, for that is why I have come." (Mark 1:38) As Jesus prayed, and then spoke these words to his disciples, he was probably able to look out across the panorama and see at least 15 different villages. Getting out to a "lonely place" gave him more of God's perspective on the world he came to save (yes, I know that Jesus is fully God and fully human, but in his incarnation he released much of his divine ability so that he was dependent on the Father just as we are).

... more photos coming soon... check back...