Category: Journeys of Jesus

Last week we reflected on the glory of Christ in His transfiguration. This week Jesus begins His final journey to Jerusalem in earnest.

As they were coming down from the mountain, he commanded them that they should tell no one what things they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰ They kept this saying to themselves, questioning what the “rising from the dead” meant. … ¹⁴ Coming to the disciples, he saw a great multitude around them, and scribes questioning them. (Mark 9:9,10,14)

As I mentioned last week, we don’t know on which mountain the transfiguration took place. It might have been Mount Tabor. It might have been Mount Hermon. Whatever, the case, when Jesus, Peter, James, and John came down from the mountain, a crowd had gathered. The disciples He had left at the foot of the mountain had been unable to heal a possessed son. It was another opportunity for Jesus to heal, to teach, and to preach the Kingdom (Mark 9:17-29). 

Even in the midst of the clamoring crowd, Jesus is focused on fulfilling His destiny. “For he was teaching his disciples, and said to them, ‘The Son of Man is being handed over to the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, on the third day he will rise again.'” (Mark 9:31)

The gospels then tell us that Jesus and His disciples passed through Galilee and came to Capernaum (Matthew 17:24, Mark 9:33).

Around this time, Luke 9:51 tells us “It came to pass, when the days were near that he should be taken up, he intently set his face to go to Jerusalem”.

So, now, the journey will begin in earnest.

But before we go there, let us consider the attitudes we see in these passages.

Jesus clearly knows what He faces in Jerusalem. He has repeatedly told His disciples what will happen. Although fully God, He is also fully man. As we will see in Gethsemane, it is with great dread and understanding of His human suffering that Christ sets his face resolutely towards the cross. As Christians, we seek to be more and more like Christ. Are you so dedicated, willing to sacrifice everything, to be obedient to God’s will and to bring salvation to those you love?

Most of us tend, instead, to be more like Jesus’ disciples. We are told that on the way “An argument arose among them about which of them was the greatest. “ (Luke 9:46) In our sinful natures, we are tempted to focus more on our own good and our own glory than on God’s will and His glory.

Let us be like the father of the possessed son. We have faith, but we know that it is weak.

Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

²⁴ Immediately the father of the child cried out with tears, “I believe. Help my unbelief!”
(Mark 9:23-24)

Let us look to Christ not only to meet our earthly needs, but much more to strengthen our faith and to meet our eternal spiritual needs!

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Note: all scripture quotes, unless otherwise noted, are from the World English Bible which is in the public domain.

In our last post, Jesus took a decided turn in His ministry. 

From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up. (Matthew 16:21)

But before beginning that final long journey to His destiny, He had one more thing to show them. To prepare them for His suffering to come, and their own suffering to follow, He fully revealed His glory to them.

After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain by themselves. (Matthew 17:1)

Scripture doesn’t tell us of which mountain this passage speaks. Historically, many have believed that it was Mount Tabor. 

Mount Tabor is about 6 miles east of Nazareth, but a full two day walk from Caesarea Philippi. Mount Tabor is only about 1400 feet high, but there are no other tall hills or mountains nearby, so it is visible from all around.

Mount Tabor is best known in Biblical history as the place where Deborah and Barak gathered the armies of Israel to face the Canaanite army under Sisera. From its heights, they witnessed God’s mighty victory (Judges 4-5).

I think a more logical choice, and one favored by many recent Biblical scholars, is that the transfiguration took place on Mount Hermon. This mountain towers above Caesarea Philippi and, at 9200 feet, is the tallest point in Israel. You can see snow on its peaks most of the year. 

Psalm 133 makes an interesting analogy:

See how good and how pleasant it is
    for brothers to live together in unity!
² It is like the precious oil on the head,
    that ran down on the beard,
    even Aaron’s beard,
    that came down on the edge of his robes,
³ like the dew of Hermon,
    that comes down on the hills of Zion;
    for there Yahweh gives the blessing,
    even life forever more. (Psalm 133)

As I mentioned last week, Hermon is the source of the Jordan River. The dew of Hermon feeds this river of life on its long journey from the highest point in Israel to the lowest point on earth, the Dead Sea. And Jesus would now begin His long journey from this height of glory to His great humiliation and death for our sake.

But before we go there, let’s focus our eyes for a moment on Christ’s glory! Like His disciples, let us be encouraged by the truth of who He is.

He was changed before them. His face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light. ³ Behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with him.

⁴ Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, let’s make three tents here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

⁵ While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”

⁶ When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces, and were very afraid. ⁷ Jesus came and touched them and said, “Get up, and don’t be afraid.” ⁸ Lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus alone.

(Matthew 17:2-8)

In scripture, the Law and the Prophets continuously speak of the Messiah to come, and here we have Moses, representing the Law, and Elijah, representing the Prophets, acknowledging Jesus as that Messiah. As if that weren’t enough, God the Father confirms His pleasure in Jesus His Son.

Listen to Him!

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Note: all scripture quotes, unless otherwise noted, are from the World English Bible which is in the public domain.

For about the past month, we have been following Jesus as He has journeyed through primarily gentile lands including the regions of Syria and Decapolis. We continue that trend today, but we are approaching a critical turning point in Jesus’ ministry.

Jesus continued His Galilean ministry, teaching, preaching the Kingdom, and performing miracles especially in the towns we have already visited around the Sea of Galilee. In Mark 8:22-25, we see Him back in Bethsaida, healing a blind man. And then, He and His disciples turn north.

Jesus went out, with his disciples, into the villages of Caesarea Philippi.  (Mark 8:27a)

Caesarea Philippi was in the Tetrarchy of Philip. Philip was one of the sons of Herod the Great. Herod had made a great temple here (some say the temple was to Caesar and some say to the Greek god Pan). Philip made the city his capital and renamed it Caesarea in honor of the Roman emperor. The longer name (Caesarea Philippi) distinguishes this Caesarea from the one on the Mediterranean coast (Caesarea Maritima).

Previously, the town was called Panias (after Pan), and today it is known by the Arabic variant Banias. The town was built on the bank of a six-mile stream coming from a cave at the foot of Mount Herman that is one of the four sources of the Jordan River.

Caesarea Philippi was 30 miles, or about a 10 hour walk north of Bethsaida, so Jesus and His disciples had plenty of time to discuss important theological topics.

Above, I only gave you half of a verse from Mark’s gospel. The second half is the beginning of one of those topics.

On the way he asked his disciples, “Who do men say that I am?” ²⁸ They told him, “John the Baptizer, and others say Elijah, but others, one of the prophets.” (Mark 8:27b-28)

What came next is the most important question any of us can answer.

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15)

What is your answer to that question? Who is Jesus? Was he a great teacher? A moral leader? A prophet? A myth?

Peter got the answer right. 

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16)

Jesus is the Messiah, God’s Anointed One, the promised Savior of the world. Do you believe that? Have you put your faith in Him and His finished work on the cross?

This great confession of Peter’s was just the beginning of his journey of faith. 

Immediately after Peter’s confession, Jesus began His final journey towards His destiny in Jerusalem.

In Mark we are told:

He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. (Mark 8:31)

And in Matthew:

From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up. (Matthew 16:21)

His disciples didn’t want to accept this. The gospels tell us that Peter took Jesus aside and rebuked Him saying that these things must never happen. Jesus, who had just praised Peter’s faith, now cursed his resistance to God’s plan. Not much later, Peter would even deny Jesus three times. And yet, Jesus restored Peter, and the disciple’s understanding grew.

Much later, Peter wrote:

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear,  (1 Peter 3:15)

Do you have an answer? Are you ready?

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Note: all scripture quotes, unless otherwise noted, are from the World English Bible which is in the public domain.

We have been looking at Jesus’ ministry in and around the Sea of Galilee. His home base has been Capernaum. In the next couple of weeks, Jesus will take a dramatic turn towards Jerusalem, but before we get there, I want to go back to a journey that I should’ve covered earlier, from early in his Galilean ministry.

The journey we are looking at today is recorded in Matthew 8:23-28, Mark 4:35-5:2, and Luke 8:22-27.

 
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let’s go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the multitude, they took him with them, even as he was, in the boat. Other small boats were also with him. ³⁷ A big wind storm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so much that the boat was already filled. ³⁸ He himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him up, and told him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are dying?”

³⁹ He awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith?”

⁴¹ They were greatly afraid, and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

5 They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.

(Mark 4:35 – 5:1)

I’d like to focus on two geographical features in this story.

The obvious one is the destination. Matthew records it as the country of the Gergesenes, and Mark and Luke call it the country of the Gadarenes. There is some conjecture about the source of the name Gergesenes. I think the most likely is that Gergesa was a town near the Sea of Galilee in the general vicinity of Gadara. We have previously mentioned Gadara as one of the 10 cities of the Decapolis.

Gadara was about 6 miles from the Sea of Galilee. Given the story reported in the gospels, it is unlikely that Jesus actually visited that city, but where He and His disciples landed would’ve been considered within the region of Gadara. As with the rest of the Decapolis, this was largely a Gentile area, as evidenced by the herd of pigs being fed there (Mark 5:11,14). Jews would have nothing to do with these unclean animals (Leviticus 11:7).

This herd comes into play in the miraculous exorcism shown here (Luke 8:33). Afterwards, the man Jesus had rescued from the demons wanted to go with Him, but Jesus sent him to share the good news of the gospel with his own people:

“Return to your house, and declare what great things God has done for you.” He went his way, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. (Luke 8:39)

The second geographical feature worth examining is the Sea of Galilee itself. On this journey, we see a storm suddenly arising on the lake, which is a demonstration of the unique characteristics of this body of water.

The Sea of Galilee is really a medium sized lake. It is thirteen miles long (north to south) and seven miles wide at it’s broadest (east to  west). To give you a sense of context, that’s about the same size as Clear Lake in California, Table Rock Lake on the Missouri-Arkansas border, or Cayuga Lake in New York.

The Sea of Galilee is surrounded by hills. It is fed by the Jordan River flowing in from the north. The Jordan continues south of this lake, continuing down to the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is the lake at the lowest elevation in the world, and the Sea of Galilee is the second lowest at about 700 feet below sea level. The Dead Sea is a salt water body, but the Sea of Galilee is fresh water – the lowest freshwater lake on earth. At its deepest, it is about 140 feet deep.

The hills surrounding the lake make it susceptible to rapid weather changes, with violent storms surprising sailors as we see in this passage.

Christ mercifully calms the meterological storm on the lake, but by doing so, he raises storm clouds in the minds and hearts of his disciples. Have you come face to face with this One who is sovereign even over the wind and sea? Do you know Him? 

Put your faith in Him and do not fear the storms of this life.

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Note: all scripture quotes, unless otherwise noted, are from the World English Bible which is in the public domain.

The last couple of posts have followed Jesus as He has ministered in Gentile territories, first in the region of Tyre and Sidon, and then in the region of the Decapolis. The Gospels of Mark and Matthew both record these journeys, but they handle what comes next in ways that are subtly different, so that the next journey is not exactly clear.

In Matthew’s account, the Gentiles saw Jesus’ miracles and “glorified the God of Israel” (Matthew 15:31) and then the writer immediately flows into the miraculous feeding of the 4,000 (Matthew 15:32-38). If this occurred in Decapolis, these almost definitely would be mostly Gentiles.

In Mark’s Gospel, chapter 7 ends with the miracles referenced in Matthew 15:31 (Mark 7:37) and chapter 8 begins with “In those days” (Mark 8:1), implying that the feeding of the 4,000 that follows is not immediate, but generally during the times of His ministry around the Sea of Galilee. The location is much less clear. 

In either case, this was an amazing miracle, demonstrating Jesus’ divinity and sovereignty over creation. Immediately following this miracle, Jesus and His disciples sailed across the lake to Magdala (Matthew 15:39) or the region of Dalmanutha (Mark 8:10). Dalmanutha is an otherwise unknown place. One archeologist has claimed to have found it, very near Magdala.

(Note that, in the map above from the game Journeys with Jesus, as I’ve previously mentioned, I placed Gennesaret on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, when in fact it was located between Magdala and Capernaum. I did this, in part, to avoid crowding it in, while maintaining the close proximity of all these towns to each other and keeping them all located on the shore of the lake. We don’t know where in Decapolis the events of Matthew 15 and Mark 7 took place, but it’s logical they would be somewhere along the coast between Bethsaida and Gadara, so the white path shown connecting Gennesaret and Magdala may actually be very close to the route of the journey from Decapolis to Magdala.)

While the location of Dalmanutha is a mystery, Magdala is fairly easy to find. Today it is called Migdal. But we probably are more familiar with the name because many scholars believe that the name Mary Magdalene means Mary from Magdala.

This Mary was one of several women who travelled with Jesus (Luke 8:1-3) and served Jesus and His apostles from their own resources. Jesus had exorcised seven demons from her. She was present at Jesus’ crucifixion (Matthew 27:55-56, Mark 15:40, John 19:25), His burial (Matthew 27:61, Mark 15:47), and was the first to see our risen Savior (Mark 16:9, Matthew 28:1, Luke 24:8-10, John 20:1-18).

As significant as Mary Magdalene is in scripture, we know little of her hometown.

(The following paragraphs include affiliate links to Amazon. If you choose to buy using these links, my company will receive a very small commission from Amazon.)

To give you a sense for my process for learning about these places, I often start with Who’s Who and Where’s Where in the Bible by Stephen Miller.  I like this book because it is easy to use, with many people and places listed alphabetically. I usually like to verify the information here from other sources, but it’s a good starting point. There are two paragraphs in this book about Magdala, with the only “new” information being the unsurprising fact that it was a fishing village.

I often next turn to Understanding the Land of the Bible by O. Palmer Robertson.  This book is almost the opposite of Miller’s book, with long narratives giving a sense of the flow of geography and land and less details about specific places. I really like how it puts everything in a context that makes sense. Unfortunately, there’s no mention of Magdala in this book.

Third, I turn to a very old copy of The Wycliffe Historical Geography of Bible Lands, which I bought at a library sale and this edition has a 1967 copyright. This one falls roughly between the two I’ve already mentioned. It is organized by region and has longer descriptions of the regions and their history, but also has entries for specific places in those regions. It has good indexes, including a Scripture Index. It often strikes me as being written from a skeptical perspective, giving more credence to secular perspectives than what we know from scripture, so again, I verify what I read there as much as I can.  This book does have a one paragraph section on Magdala, telling me that it was 2 miles north of Tiberias, was known to the Greeks as Tarichea, and was at the junction of the lake road from Tiberias and a road coming down from the western hills.

Next I turn to The Holman Bible Atlas. This book is mostly organized by biblical chronology, starting with the Old Testament and then covering the New Testament. Places that show up at different points in the Bible will show up in multiple places in this book, so it can take a little more work to pull together the information on any given place. The index lists Magdala on 4 different pages. Here we learn that the Greek name for Magdala suggests a place where fish were salted and so it was the center of the salted-fish industry for this area around the Sea of Galilee.

Finally, I turn to the ESV Bible Atlas. The first two thirds of this big book are organized like Holman, chronologically, but the last third is why I love this one – big beautiful detailed maps and a very helpful map index (with latitude and longitude coordinates). There’s one reference in the text to Magdala, but it doesn’t give me any new information.

Of course, the most important reference is the Bible itself. The search function at Bible Gateway helps me find all references to any place in dozens of different translations of the Old and New Testament.  It appears that Magdala is only mentioned once, in Matthew 15:39 (which we’ve already seen).

Let me know if you have other favorite references or ideas that might be helpful.

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Note: all scripture quotes, unless otherwise noted, are from the World English Bible which is in the public domain.

In our last post, Jesus visited the Gentile (and wicked) region of Tyre of Sidon in the Roman province of Syria as reported in Mark 7 and Matthew 15. The account of his visit is brief and it appears that He and His disciples almost immediately returned to the area around the Sea of Galilee.

Again he departed from the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and came to the sea of Galilee, through the middle of the region of Decapolis. (Mark 7:31)

Specifically, Jesus was in the region known as the Decapolis. Decapolis literally means ten cities. Each of the cities in the Decapolis were Hellenized (Greek) city-states under the authority of Rome, but with a fair amount of autonomy.

There is some debate as to the specific cities and about the level of coordination between the cities. In 77 AD, Pliny the Elder, in his Natural History, listed ten cities of the Decapolis:

• Gerasa
• Dium
• Scythopolis (Beit She’an)
• Hippos
• Gadara
• Pella
• Philadelphia
• Canatha
• Raphana
• Damascus

The only one of these cities west of the Jordan is Scythopolis. Most of the rest are east of the river and south of the Sea of Galilee in what today is Jordan.

Philadelphia had previously been called Rabbath Ammon, the capital of Israel’s bitter enemies the Ammonites (e.g. 2 Samuel 11:1). Uriah the Hittite was killed at the gates of the citadel of this city to fulfill David’s murderous orders (2 Samuel 11:18-21). Today, this city is Amman, the capital of Jordan.

Damascus is the capital of modern day Syria and is known as the oldest capital in the world. Damascus is about 35 miles north-east of Caesarea Philippi.

To get a sense for how far this collection of 10 cities stretched, look at the map above. Damascus is about 25 miles east of the top-most red dot on the map. Philadelphia/Amman is about twice as far south of the Sea of Galilee as Pella.

In the verse above we read that Jesus came “through the middle of the region of Decapolis” “to the sea of Galilee”, so he must’ve stayed in Gentile territory, passing to the north and east of the Sea of Galilee.

The rest of Mark 7 describes what Jesus did in this region:

They brought to him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech. They begged him to lay his hand on him. ³³ He took him aside from the multitude, privately, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat, and touched his tongue. ³⁴ Looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” ³⁵ Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was released, and he spoke clearly. ³⁶ He commanded them that they should tell no one, but the more he commanded them, so much the more widely they proclaimed it. ³⁷ They were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He makes even the deaf hear, and the mute speak!” (Mark 7:32-37)

Although He continued to focus His ministry on His fellow Jewish countrymen (some of whom recognized Him as Messiah [Isaiah 35:5-6]), the good news was proclaimed widely, setting the stage for the Gospel’s and the church’s future spread to Gentile believers. Praise God!

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Note: all scripture quotes, unless otherwise noted, are from the World English Bible which is in the public domain.

Last time, we left Jesus in Gennesaret as reported in Matthew 14 and Mark 6. In both accounts, the following chapter begins with encounters between Jesus, Pharisees, the people, and His disciples.

The text doesn’t tell us where these exchanges took place. Logically, these things probably happened in Capernaum, although we aren’t told. The next geographic information we are given is a bit of a surprise:

Jesus went out from there and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon. (Matthew 15:21, cf Mark 7:24)

Gennesaret was a rather obscure place. Tyre and Sidon were not. Each are mentioned about 50 times in the Old and New Testaments. Both were in the region of Syria. (Specifically, they are located in what today is the modern nation of Lebanon.) This is the only time recorded in the Gospels when Jesus’ ministry took him beyond the borders of Israel, into a distinctly Gentile territory.

It is worth spending a few minutes looking at this region. The region of Syria is along the northeastern coast of the Mediterranean, just north of Israel. You may recall stories from David and Solomon’s reigns that at least hinted at the seagoing strength of Tyre, and the abundance of cedar wood from the nearby forests of Lebanon.

Tyre reached its peak of power during the period of Phoenician independence (1200-800 BC) which included David and Solomon’s time. But you’ll also recognize the names of other major people groups that dwelt in Syria over the centuries: including the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites.

In fact, just like Israel, Syria is on the natural route connecting Africa, Europe, and Asia. All of the major ancient empires swept through this region: Babylon, Egypt, Assyria, Chaldea, Persia, Greece, and Rome. And many of these confrontations are reported for us in the Old Testament.

So, the region of Tyre and Sidon was militarily and politically strategic, and at times it was a great power, but it was not good. In 1 Kings 11:1 we read that Solomon took a Sidonian wife, and a few verses later we read:

For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. (1 Kings 11:5)

So Solomon’s wife from Sidon likely played a key role in Solomon’s backsliding.

It is also worth noting that in 1 Kings 16 we read of King Ahab: 

As if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him. ³² He raised up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. ³³ Ahab made the Asherah; and Ahab did more yet to provoke Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. (1 Kings 16:31-33)

And so, I find it surprising that Jesus would pick this place to visit in the middle of his active years of ministry. We aren’t told why Jesus went to the region of Tyre and Sidon and we only read of one encounter that Jesus had there. 

A woman described as “a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race” (in other words a Greek speaking Gentile from Syria/Phoenicia). She asks Jesus to heal her daughter, but his response indicates that His blessings are only for the Jews. Her wise, humble, and faithful response earns His respect.

Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Be it done to you even as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that hour. (Matthew 15:28)

I myself am a Gentile by birth. I thank God that He has given us this picture of Jesus’ mercy on a Gentile with faith. Even more, I am eternally grateful for God’s mercy to me in His gift of faith that I may be grafted in to His kingdom!

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Note: all scripture quotes, unless otherwise noted, are from the World English Bible which is in the public domain. 

In our last post, Jesus and His disciples had travelled to Bethsaida on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. Today, they travel across the lake to Gennesaret.

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. … ³⁴ When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret. ³⁵ When the people of that place recognized him, they sent into all that surrounding region and brought to him all who were sick; ³⁶ and they begged him that they might just touch the fringe of his garment. As many as touched it were made whole. (Matthew 14:22,34-36)

We don’t know much about Gennesaret. It is only mentioned three times in the Bible – here in Matthew 14, in the parallel passage in Mark 6, and Luke 5 where the Sea of Galilee is referenced as the lake of Gennesaret.

According to Wikipedia, it was originally named Kinneret, but was Grecized to Gennesaret. The place name refers both to a small village, but also to a fertile plain along the west coast of the lake. As indicated in Luke 5, the Sea of Galilee was sometimes called the Lake of Gennesaret. It was also sometimes called the Lake of Galilee, the Sea of Gennesaret, the Sea or Lake of Kinneret (or Kinnereth) and the Sea or Lake of Tiberias. (More about this lake in a future post.)

Although we don’t know much about the place, archeologists are pretty sure of its location – on the northwestern shore of the lake – between Capernaum and Magdala. In the Journeys with Jesus game, I have placed Gennesaret on the south east coast of the Sea of Galilee. I did this in large part because the northwest corner of the lake was becoming very crowded on the gameboard. Since the gospels only reference traveling to and from Gennesaret by boat, making this town be on the Sea of Galilee and reachable by boat seemed a fair representation.

Jesus’ ministry in Gennesaret doesn’t stand out from much of his Galilean ministry. With just a touch He heals the sick.

But in the passage quoted above, I left out a big chunk, and this is what you probably remember best about Jesus’ journey to Gennesaret:

After he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into the mountain by himself to pray. When evening had come, he was there alone. ²⁴ But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, distressed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. ²⁵ In the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It’s a ghost!” and they cried out for fear. ²⁷ But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Cheer up! It is I!  Don’t be afraid.”

²⁸ Peter answered him and said, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the waters.”

²⁹ He said, “Come!”

Peter stepped down from the boat and walked on the waters to come to Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw that the wind was strong, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”

³¹ Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³² When they got up into the boat, the wind ceased. ³³ Those who were in the boat came and worshiped him, saying, “You are truly the Son of God!” (Matthew 14:23-33)

On our journeys, may we keep our eyes fixed on Christ, trusting Him to save us, and knowing that he is truly the Son of God!

If you haven’t yet heeded Jesus’ command to come to Him, may you do it now, fully trusting that with Him nothing is impossible. No matter how far you have fallen, He can save you!

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Note: all scripture quotes, unless otherwise noted, are from the World English Bible which is in the public domain. 

We have been looking at Jesus’ Galilean ministry, based out of Capernaum and today we visit the nearby town of Bethsaida.

The apostles, when they had returned, told him what things they had done. He took them and withdrew apart to a desert region of a city called Bethsaida. (Luke 9:10)

Americans who only speak English may not have an appreciation for place names. So many of our town and city names are borrowed from the places where the settlers originated (e.g. Plymouth, New Hampshire), or were named to show loyalty to European monarchs (e.g. Jamestown, Carolina). Some places retain names from the original inhabitants of the land (e.g. Manhattan, Kansas). But some were descriptively named in the language of the European explorers and settlers (e.g. Los Angeles, Vermont). 

Similarly, when we look at names in the Bible, they often were named very logically in the language of the time. Bethsaida is Greek for House or Place of the Fisherman. Jesus’ disciples Simon Peter, Andrew, and Philip were all fishermen from Bethsaida (John 1:44).

Josephus described Bethsaida as being on the Sea of Galilee, but there is great debate over specifically where the town actually was located.  That’s not unusual for places that existed thousands of years ago. What we do know is that it was on or near the northern shore of the lake, and it was fairly close to Capernaum. 

Although it doesn’t mention Bethsaida as the destination, Mark 6 seems to be a parallel passage to Luke 9.

Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. ³¹ And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. ³² So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves. ³³ But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him. (Mark 6:30-33)

So, it appears that Bethsaida could be easily reached either by boat or by foot. We may not know exactly where this fishing village is, but we do know that Jesus performed a great miracle in its deserted region. In both Mark 6 and Luke 9, when the multitudes arrive, Jesus teaches them all day, and at the end of the day He miraculously feeds 5,000 men with just 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish (Mark 6:35-44, Luke 9:12-17).

May we be eager to follow Jesus wherever He leads, not because we seek bread for our bellies, but rather that which springs up into everlasting life.

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If you’ve found this interesting and would like to continue to read these stories of the journeys and places in Journeys with Jesus, sign up in the sidebar to receive updates.

Note: all scripture quotes, unless otherwise noted, are from the World English Bible which is in the public domain.