March 5th - TCS Israel Trip Day #4

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If yesterday was amazing, then today was a few notches above incredible!  We started our day with a wonderful breakfast as we were greeted with a beautiful sunrise over the Sea of Galilee.  We launched out in a boat on the sea and began our morning devotions together in the book of Luke 5, where Jesus called His disciples on this very body of water to be “fishers of men.”  It was here on this sea and shoreline cities that Christ would perform great wonders and miracles to authenticate His claims of being the One  and only Messiah, the Anointed One of God! The disciples had already seen Jesus do great things, but what would happen to them on the sea would be nothing short of terror-filled amazement!  As you know, they find themselves in hurricane-like conditions, with the waves beating up against the boat and crashing over the boat…and Jesus was sleeping calmly on a cushion.  The disciples are in complete panic and began to wake the Master up!  Their question comes across as an indictment on Christ’s behavior: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Did He care?  Of course He cared…He cared more about their souls than they realized.  Instead of answering the disciples, He answered the wind and waves.  In a powerful display of authority, Christ would stand up in the boat and say, “Peace be still,” and there was nothing but silence and calm.  The winds and waves know this particular voice, because this was the Voice that created them. Then, He turns to His disciples with that same voice to shepherd them and strengthen their faith.  As we recounted this narrative, we sang from our hearts in praise to our Redeemer for what He has done!  Upon getting to the other side of the sea, we were able to see a 2,000-year-old fishing boat that would be almost identical to the one that Jesus and His disciples would have used. 

After this, we hiked up to the Mount of Beatitudes, where Christ would have preached the “Sermon on the Mount” (Matt. 5-7).  We walked through these precious words of life that describe the “good life” for those who belong to the kingdom of God.  We were reminded once again of Christ’s proclamation of the Gospel and His invitation at the end to rest our lives on His Words alone! 

We spent the afternoon in Capernaum and Bethsaida.  In Capernaum, we had the opportunity to stand in the same temple where Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the Lord of the Sabbath and showed Himself to be the Lord over diseases and demons in Matthew 12.  Truly, something greater than Jonah and Solomon is here” (Matt. 12:41-42)!  We were able to meditate on the Scriptures for a while and ponder the things we had seen and heard as we sat on the shoreline.  Bethsaida (“the house of fish”), was the hometown for several of the disciples and was also the place where Christ did the feeding of the 5,000 in Mark 6.  It also was a hotbed for zealots, those who were hostile toward the Roman oppression during that time.  It was also the place where Jesus healed a blind man in Mark 8.  Christ actually uses this opportunity to expose the disciples’ spiritual blindness to what Jesus was proclaiming concerning Himself as the Messiah.

As we have walked in the footsteps of our Messiah today, it has filled us to the point of overflowing!  We look forward to sharing all that God teaches us in our team devotional tonight.  Tomorrow, we will be touring the Golan Heights, Caesarea-Philippi at the head of the Jordan River, and so much more!

Thank you for your prayers we continue this tremendous journey together!

Pastor Stephen