The Rasmussen Family: Israel Day 3 - Baptism in the Jordan, Mt. of Beatitudes, Capernaum

We started out the third day with an early morning visit to the Jordan River. While this was most likely not the exact same place that Christ was baptized at the beginning of His ministry, it was still an amazing experience. Our pastor and friend, Brett, baptized both Kelly and me. It was definitely a time to reflect on new beginnings in our individual walks and our walk as a couple.

We had to change our clothes and get back on the bus pretty quickly as Benny Hinn was setting up his group's live television feed. We nicknamed the 2500 people in his group the "hinnsters" and we seemed to run into them at every turn. Our bus proceeded to the Mt. of Beatitudes where we were able to overlook the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret). Here we studied about that amazing sermon that Christ gave in Matthew 5. Because of the work He did on the cross, it is possible for us to walk in a whole new way. Here is a side view of the mountain.

We walked down the hill to the lake. From this point on the lake to the mountains seen in the distance is where 70% of the gospels took place. As we walked, we could see the city of Svat which is the city that Christ referred to as the city on the hill in Matthew 5:14.

We came across a small cave that overlooks the lake. Tradition states that Christ used this cave as a place to pray. Of course I had to pose as the thinker...

We arrived at Peter's Primacy at the bottom of the hill. It is called this because it is at this point that Christ restored Peter and asked him to feed His sheep in John 21:16. Hot springs used to surface here and flow into the lake making it a great place to fish. We were able to stand on the shore and meditate over Christ's restoration in our own lives.

To finish off the theme on Peter, we got on the bus and drove around to a kibbutz called Ein Gev where we had St. Peter's fish (Tilapia). Ironically, there was a guy from Lake Oswego that works there...talk about unexpected. As you can see, I really liked the fish :o)

We then boarded a boat to take a trip across the lake. The owners of the boat raised an American flag and played our national anthem. It was really nice but kind of made all of us laugh. Tad gave us an awesome teaching on Mark 6:45-52 and Jesus walking across the water. He summed it all up in that Jesus wants us to see Him and not the waves or problems that surround us.

We arrived at the other side and immediately went into Capernaum. This was an awesome stop as there are some amazing remains of a 3rd century synagogue. This is built directly on top of the foundation of the synagogue in which Christ taught (Mark 2). About 50 yards away was Peter's house and all throughout the area were mill stones. Capernaum was famous for producing mill stones for the whole middle east. After seeing the size of these, it is easy to see what Christ meant in Matthew 18:6.

After overlooking the lake, boating on the lake, and meditating by the lake, we finished the day by looking at the remains of a boat that was pulled out of the lake. This boat is at another Kibbutz outside of which is this awesome stone arch. In 1985, the level of the lake was so low that the remains of the boat were seen. They packed the boat in foam and pulled it out of the lake to create this display. The boat was dated to around the time of Christ.