I’m falling behind on my journaling, so I’m going to cover two days in this one entry. Yesterday we began the day in the city of Sepphoris. Built by Herod Antipas in 4 BC, the city was the Roman capital of Galilee, and was located just down the hill from Nazareth. Being teknos a term which probably encompasses carpenter and mason combined, Joseph and the young Jesus probably did a large amount of work in this town. It was large, growing during their time, and there was a lot of money in the city. The ruins of Sepphoris today are littered with mosaic floors including the famous Nile Mosaic and the Mona Lisa of Galilee.
From Sepphoris we travelled into the modern city of Nazareth. What Jesus knew as a sleepy mountain town of a few dozen families has grown to a city of 170,000, primarily Muslim, residents. In the city there are two rival churches marking Gabriel’s announcement of Mary’s birth. The first is maintained by the Orthodox church and is built over the ancient well at Nazareth. We can be sure that Mary, Joseph, and later Jesus used this well because it was the ancient village’s only source of water. The second location, maintained by the Roman Catholic church in the form of the largest basilica in the Middle East, marks the locations of Mary’s house. This identification is based on some graffiti found in the structure dating back to the 1st century. Both churches are identified as the “Church of the Annunciation.” Just up the hill from the Catholic Basilica is a smaller church marking Joseph’s house. All three churches are beautiful. I could have spent the entire day photographing them, but they also made me feel a bit removed from the reality of the locations. What was very exciting was the Nazareth synagogue. This is where Jesus announced his identity as the Messiah in front of his hometown. To get to the synagogue you have to walk deep into the Arab market, which is a fun little stroll itself. The synagogue as it stands today is a crusader-era structure build on top of the site of the original synagogue. Despite that, it is sufficiently ancient to give a feel of authenticity. The acoustics inside are amazing and our group sang a few verses of “Amazing Grace.”
Today, Tuesday, we began with a winding ride up to the top of Mt. Tabor. At the base of this mountain the judges Deborah and Barak defeated the Canaanite general Sisera. While he was fleeing the battle he crossed the wrong woman and ended up with a tent steak through his head. This is also one of the possible site of Jesus’ transfiguration. The other option is the slopes of Mt. Hermon to the north. There is a pretty little church on top of Mt. Tabor, and the views of the Jezreel Valley are stunning.
From Tabor we travelled to Megiddo, or Armageddon. Megiddo is one of the oldest cities on earth. Archaeologists have discovered more than 20 eras of civilization at the city. It is believed that it was destroyed and rebuilt 25 times in some 5,000 years. Megiddo is another world heritage site because of its 2,700 year old pagan altar, found complete with the bones of children on top, and its water system. The residents of Megiddo dug straight down until reaching the level of the valley below and then horizontally out to a spring so that they could obtain water without leaving the city walls. Megiddo is known as the “chariot city” because of the large horse stables and open courtyard for chariot parking inside its walls. In the Bible, Megiddo is fortified by Solomon (he may have dug the water system), and is the place where King Josiah is killed by Pharaoh Neco. It is also thought to be the location of the last battle at the end of time.
We also visit the Harod Spring, which is at the foot of Mt. Gilboa where Gideon gathered and selected the men he would take across the valley to attack the Midianites at the foot of Mt. Moreh. Mt. Gilboa is also where King Saul and his sons were killed in a battle with the Philistines.
Visiting the Megiddo and the Nazareth synagogue were significant moments for me personally. The other locations were certainly nice, I enjoy a beautiful church, but something about the unvarnished reality of sites without massive churches on top of them is more appealing to me. I shouldn’t be surprised that the greatest challenge I feel the Spirit presenting to me personally has little to do with holy locations, and much more to do with loving others. Israel is a pushy society. In this culture it is completely acceptable to shove to the front of a crowd or ignore a line to get what you want. At first this was annoying and offensive, but then I realized that it is completely acceptable. I love to throw an elbow as much as the next guy and realized that this was place where I could shove people around too. But then I thought about it. I am visiting locations where my Lord not only taught that whoever wants to be first must be last and a servant to all, but he lived those words. Without hard evidence, I’m going to assume that the culture he lived in was a pushy and entitled as the one I’m encountering today. That challenges me to look at how I treat others, even in a place where a shove or two is expected.
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