Friday, April 24, 2015
Pastor
Drew read scripture from Numbers 13. We
started our day in Nazareth to see
where Jesus spent His youth. We visited
the Church of the Annunciation which
was completed in 1969. It is the
youngest church in Nazareth. Tradition
holds that the cupola of the church stands over the cave that used to be the
home of the Virgin Mary. This is where
it all began, God became flesh. We saw Mary’s Well, this is where the angel
told Mary she would conceive a child, the Son of God, Jesus (Luke 1:26-38).
We
visited The Synagogue Church. It dates back to the first century. According to tradition, it is the site of the
Synagogue where Jesus came back to teach (Matt. 13:53-58). Jesus only returned home once during His
ministry. The crusaders built this
church over the original site of the 1st century synagogue. The synagogue faces Jerusalem so you enter
from the south. Everything revolved
around the Synagogue, it was the place for worship, learning, education, etc.
We
all sat down in this place, knowing Jesus had been there and read from the
scriptures. Pastor Drew read Luke
4:16-21. It was an amazing experience.
On to Bet She’an-which means
House of Rest. An ancient city where King
Saul and his sons, who lost the battle against the Philistines at Mt. Gilboa, were
hung from the city walls (1 Samuel 31).
We sat in the Roman Theater, Pastor Drew read the passage from
Samuel. We then sang Because He Lives. Then we toured the Decapolis and saw the
remains of the Roman and Byzantine Empires.
From there we drove down the
Jordan Valley and then up the Judean Hills to the holy city of Jerusalem. We ate lunch then off to the Bethlehem Olive Wood
& Gift shop. The owner gave us a
quick tour of the facility. He showed us
where and how they carve the olive wood.
He explained the different stages of the wood. Then upstairs we go to shop, shop, and
shop! We had a great time, but it was
overwhelming trying to decide what to buy! By the time we left our pocketbooks
& wallets were much lighter (empty)!
From
there we went to our next hotel, The Dan Jerusalem. We got checked in, rested for a while,
freshened up and then off to dinner.
Back in our rooms you could see Jerusalem lit up with the night lights!
Today we are leaving Tiberius for Jerusalem and along the way we have a couple of stops
We visited the Church of the Annunciation and Mary's well sometimes also referred to as the Basilica of the Annunciation a church in Nazareth, in northern Israel. The site where the Angel Gabriel told Mary that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus.
The above pic is the ruins of Mary's home. One thing we learned is that these holy sites we are visiting have been preserved because churches have built over top of them.
We visited the church built on the ruins of the ancient Nazareth synagogue. In Luke 4:14-30, he reads from Isaiah 61:1,2 and the worshipers are pleased. But he tells them that prophets are called to do their work in foreign places rather than at home, because they are not accepted in their own home town. In doing this, he also implicitly declares himself as the Messiah. This sermon infuriates the listeners, who drag him to a cliff to throw him over, but he simply walks through the crowd and leaves.
Fruit on the fruit stands!
Off to Bet Shean and some of the scenery!
Below is the Jezreel Valley
Bet Shean a Decapolis of the Roman Empire and we saw the Roman and Byzantine remains.
Below is a pic of how they moved the large stones.
Worship at the amphitheater
Scenery on our drive to the City of Jersusalem
Olive Wood factory they don't cut down olive trees they use the branches that fall off or are cut off because they have died.
Jersusalem
