Final Day in Israel

We got up early Tuesday morning for a fast and furious final day of sightseeing, beginning with a boatride from Tiberias to Capernaum. I enjoyed my views of the western shores of Galilee as well as the thought that my Lord and his earliest disciples had traveled these waters and viewed these same shores. At Capernaum, we visited a later Synagogue that is believed to be built upon the 1st century synagogue in which Jesus ministered during his Galilean ministry (Mark 1:21 ff., 3:1). At the local museum, we also saw a simple fishing boat found in recent years which is believed to date to the first century; some call this "The Jesus Boat" and while I doubt it was the actual boat Jesus went on, it gives us a very good idea of what those boats would have looked like. We also paid a brief visit to what's left of the Jordan River, a quarter mile stretch that is released from the Sea of Galilee and is maintained for the sake of tourists.

The Synagogue In Capernaum



















At the Jordan River (such as it is)


















We continued our trip with a stop at Tel Megiddo, an ancient city at the western end of the Jezreel valley which commanded the great road connecting Egypt in the South with Syria in the North and Mesopotamia in the East. This strategic site was the scene of countless battles in biblical and world history. The city itself shows archaeological evidence of having been destroyed and rebuilt about 27 times over a period of 3600 years! No wonder the book of Revelation envisions this location as the site of the last great battle of the world: Armageddon (which comes from the Hebrew "Har Megiddo"). Due to its strategic location, Megiddo was one of King Solomon's chariot cities and also for King Ahab (husband of the infamous Jezabel). I couldn't help but wonder how much of our human history is really the story of Megiddo: build and destroy, rebuild and destroy, rebuild and destroy (sadly, this pattern can also be true for churches); I found myself thinking, "This is such a waste and a shame; there has to be a better way!"

A commanding view from Megido: It still sits along an important trade route


















Our final stop of the day was on the Mediterranean Coast, at the most impressive ancient city of Caesarea Philippi (not to be confused, as I often do, with Caeserea in Northern Israel). The city was initially built by Herod the Great in tribute to Caesar. During the time of Jesus, the city boasted a 4,000 seat theater, a huge hippodrome (horse track) that could accomodate 12,000 spectators, a luxurious public bathhouse (complete with hot, medium and cold water baths), a lavish temple dedicated to Rome and Caesar Augustus, a high level aqueduct bringing in water from 12 miles away, and an impressive man-made port. It is difficult not to be impressed by these ancient Roman building projects that utilized engineering and aesthetics in such remarkable ways! This is the city of which we read in Acts 21:8-9 where Philip the evangelist lived along with his four daughters who prophesied; this is also the location at which Paul made his defense to Governor Festus and King Agrippa and appealed to be sent to Caesar (Acts 25-26). Here Festus gave the famous response: "You have appealed to Caesar; to Caesar you will go!"

The Aqueduct at Caesarea Philippi



















Part of the Hippodrome at Caesarea