My Trip to the Sea of Galilee

*No I could not walk on the water, but I did have a great time. Most of the places I went in the Galilee region I would find where it was discussed in the Bible and read the story at the location. It really made the story come alive and helped remind me that God is more than a story and words on a page. He is not just a piece of history, but is alive in the heart of all those that believe. Enjoy the pictures =)

This is the first place I saw at the Sea of Galilee.
So there are McDonald's where Jesus walked on water.

The Sea of Galilee!! Imagine 2000 years ago Jesus walked on
this water. Matthew 14:25-27 "Shortly before dawn Jesus went
out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking
on the lake, they were terrified. 'It's a ghost,' they said, and cried
with fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: 'Take courage! It is I.
Don't be afraid.'" 

This statue shows the shape of the Sea and the distance below sea level.
Unfortunately, I took the picture when it was measuring, but the current distance
is 215.5 meters below sea level. 

There is me trying to walk on the water. But I fell in!!

This is St. Peter's fish. This fish only lives in the Sea of Galilee

A free water show on the Sea. 

It shows some of the history of Tiberias. The town I stayed in.

The next morning this is what I woke up to. It is beautiful.

I decided to rent a bike to ride to the biblical spots along the  Sea.

This boat was dated back to Bible times around 10 AD. This is
most likely the type of boat Jesus rode in, and Peter and Andrew fished from. 

This shows the 12 different types of wood that were used on the boat.

A model of what it probably looked like.

This is the Church of Heptapegon which means
"Seven Springs." It is built on top of the spot where Jesus
multiplied the 5 loaves and 2 fish to feed the 5000.
The following video is what I heard when I walked in.
(I do not know the language)

Underneath the altar there is a rock formation.  This rock is
thought to be where the miracle happened. John 6:11-14, "Jesus
then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed
them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they
wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples,
'Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.' So they
gathered them up and filled 12 baskets with fragments from the 5
barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the
sign that he had done, they said, 'This is indeed the Prophet who is
come into the world!'

This next spot is St. Peter's church near Capernaum.
It was built on the spot that Jesus commissioned Peter at
the end of John. "Feed my sheep"

The sign below the statue. The verse is John 21: 15-17,
"When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter,
'Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?'
'Yes, Lord,' he said, 'you know that I love you.' Jesus said,
'Feed my lambs.' Again Jesus said, 'Simon son of John,
do you truly love me?' He answered, 'Yes, Lord, you know
that I love you.' Jesus said, 'Take care of my sheep.'
The third time he said to him, 'Simon son of John, do you
love me?' Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the
third time, 'Do you love me?' He said, 'Lord, you know all things;
you know that I love you.' Jesus said, 'Feed my sheep.'"

These animals where running around the area and are mentioned
three times in the Bible. Different names: coney, rock badger, hyrax.
Leviticus 11:5 is one of the places it is mentioned.

Scripture is fulfilled when Jesus goes to Capharnaum: Isaiah 9:1-2: "Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan, The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." In Matthew 4:13-16, this verse is applied to Jesus, and it is stated as the reason he came to Capharnaum.

This is the "White Synagogue" dated to the fourth century. Under
this there is a black basalt synagogue dated to the first century. This would
have been the synagogue Jesus knew and read scripture in. Because keep in mind there
were no churches when Jesus walked the earth, only synagogues.

The synagogue built on top of "Jesus Synagogue" described in the previous picture.
There were also 5 disciples that came from Capernaum: Peter, James, Andrew, John, and
the tax collector Matthew. They lived and grew up here!! How cool?!?! 

This is the Jordan river. And is the river that Jesus was baptized in
by John the Baptist. Matthew 3:16 "And when Jesus was Baptized,
immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were
opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and
coming to rest on him;"

After the Jordan river, I ran out of water as I was heading up to Korazim and
the Mount of Beatitudes. This sign shows that I am going uphill. It was not fun.
At this point I was actually pushing the bike and not riding it.

The road I was walking/riding up.

Korazim was an important Jewish town in Jesus's time. Along with Capernaum and Bethsaida, Korazim was condemned by Jesus for its lack of faith: “Woe to you, Chorazin! woe to you, Beth-saida!” (Matt. 11:21).
They also gave me some water!

More of Korazim

I finally made it up here. 

 

A church built on the location of the "Sermon on the Mount".
Mentioned in Matthew 5. 

Inside the church.

The next day I arrived in Nazareth, the city where Jesus grew up.
This is the Basilica of Annunciation, on this site the virgin Mary received
the news of Jesus: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most
High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy,
the Son of God" Luke 1:35  

This is a picture inside of the Basilica where the annunciation is
thought to have taken place.

They had paintings and sculptures of Jesus and Mary from almost
every country in the world. 

The US depiction.

Upstairs of the Basilica of Annunciation.

This is the church next to the Basilica. As it says, it is the
Church of St. Joseph, and it is built on top of the house in which Jesus
grew up in.

This shows the outlay of the church.
The bottom level is the Grotto, and is thought to
be where the house once stood.

This leads down to the Grotto and specifically where
Joseph's workshop was.

Some more of the grotto that we were not allowed to go into.

This church in Nazareth has a well inside that is dated well
over 2000 years ago. The well still runs and I even drank some
water from it. This is probably the only well Nazareth had at the time of
Jesus, and it is therefore called Mary's well. Because this is most likely
where Mary came to get water for Jesus!!  

This is the well. It is the last place I visited and was one of the coolest.
The water is still clean and fresh.

*The end of the pictures. I hope you liked.