Sea of Galilee, baptisms at the Jordan River, and Bethsaida - Day 3

We began today with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. It was very moving to be on the same body of water where so many of the stories from the life and ministry of Jesus happened. Peter and his companions had been fishing all night without catching thing. They were the experts...they knew what they were doing. In the morning as they were cleaning their nets, Jesus shows up and tells them they are going to fish for people.  Then he tells Peter to take his boat out again and he puts his nets out and catches more than his boat can hold.  James' boat is called out and his also is filled. The disciples understand that Jesus is extraordinary and give up everything to follow him. We docked at a place where an ancient boat was unearthed and preserved in a museum. This boat is very similar to the kind of boat on which Jesus and his disciples would have used for fishing and a "pulpit" when Jesus spoke to crowds. From there, we traveled to Bethsaida, where Jesus performed the miracle of the feeding of the 5000. Bethsaida has a three thosand year history. In Old Testament times, it was called "Geshur.".  This is the place where David hid from Saul.  In Jesus' day, it was called "Bethsaida" and was one of three main cities in which Jesus taught. It was the hometown of Peter, James, John, Phillip and Andrew. It is where the river empties into the Sea of Galilee, so it was a major place of commerce and travel. From there, our gasoline-powered camel took us the the Jordan River, where we were able to get into the water for baptisms. We baptized several children from a family traveling from Sheboygan, Wisconsin (not far from where we served from 1987-1992, Saukville).  This location is where tradition says Jesus was baptized by John.  From there we traveled to Bet Shean, a Gentile city that is very well preserved. With its Roman baths and red light district, it is the kind of place the prodigal son would have visited when he squandered his father's wealth.  In fact, Jesus told the disciples this story as they were traveling from Galilee in the north to Jerusalem in the south.  They would have passed through this city and perhaps Jesus, being a teacher who liked to use examples for illustrations, was pointing to this place as a place of loose living. As we traveled south along the Jordan River to the Dead Sea, we passed Mt. Nebo. This was the place where Moses saw the Promised Land that he would never enter. After 40 years of wandering in the desert, the Israelites crossed the Jordan and took Jericho. Very little remains of historic ancient Jericho....no tall walls like we will see in Masada tomorrow!  We are ending the day in a hotel near the Dead Sea. It is the lowest place on the earth and is six times larger than the Sea of Galilee.