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JOY WAS STILL SLEEPING
blissfully when I threw on some
clothes at 8 a.m. and made my
way over to the breakfast
buffet. Tour groups were being
hustled into their buses,
leaving in their wake a
near-empty dining salon with
tables full of abandoned plates,
cups and half-eaten food. What a
buffet! There was every sort of
meat and cheese, fruit, bread of
all kinds, eggs, coffee, tea,
juices. Just as I was returning
from my third trip before the 9
a.m. deadline, Joy came running
in and we finished out the
breakfast together.
In the
kibbutz office they reluctantly
allowed us to check our email.
Joy took a long time with hers
while I waited, and when it was
my turn we had worn out our
welcome. The lady in charge
seemed very time-conscious,
repeatedly looking at her watch
as the minutes ticked away. We
could only conclude that
Internet access was charged by
the minute here! Afterwards we
stopped to buy some T-shirts as
well as maps of lands where
Jesus had walked.
By 10:30 we
were ready to visit some of the
sites where Jesus had tarried,
armed with our Urantia Books,
notebooks and several versions
of maps of the area. Our first
stop was Capernaum, now the site
of an archaeological dig.
[Jesus]
spent one week at Tiberias [and]
passed on successively through
Magdala and Bethsaida to
Capernaum, where he stopped to
pay a visit to his father's
friend Zebedee. [1419]
Jesus lived
in the home of Zebedee during
the year and more he remained at
Capernaum. . . . [1420]
When it came
to the payment of taxes, Jesus
registered himself as a "skilled
craftsman of Capernaum." From
this day on to the end of his
earth life he was known as a
resident of Capernaum. . . .
[1420]
Throughout
this year Jesus built boats and
continued to observe how men
lived on earth. Frequently he
would go down to visit at the
caravan station, Capernaum being
on the direct travel route from
Damascus to the south. Capernaum
was a strong Roman military
post, and the garrison's
commanding officer was a gentile
believer in Yahweh, "a devout
man," as the Jews were wont to
designate such proselytes. This
officer belonged to a wealthy
Roman family, and he took it
upon himself to build a
beautiful synagogue in
Capernaum, which had been
presented to the Jews a short
time before Jesus came to live
with Zebedee. Jesus conducted
the services in this new
synagogue more than half the
time this year, and some of the
caravan people who chanced to
attend remembered him as the
carpenter from Nazareth. [1420]
At the
Capernaum synagogue he found
many new books in the library
chests, and he spent at least
five evenings a week at intense
study. . . .1420]
Remains of a synagogue, probably
built on top of the one Jesus
visited
Several tour groups were
jockeying for space, and the
guides were telling them what is
known from the Bible. Our more
detailed Urantia Book
information had us lingering
over a chunk of
". . .
lintel . . . which was
embellished with grape clusters”
(1710).
Afterwards we
went north to a “highland” where
the Urantia Book says Jesus
delivered the Sermon on the
Mount. It seemed to us that the
traditional Christian spot—the
Mount of the Beatitudes—is more
to the west, and that the UB
places it more in the vicinity
of a town called Amnun. Now it
is the site of a modern tract
development but we found a
likely spot with a sweeping view
of the Sea of Galilee, parked
the car and sat reading aloud
from the paper, “The Ordination
of the Twelve.” To us this felt
like the exact setting where
Jesus and the apostles would
have held the ordination
ceremony.
Just before
noon on Sunday, January 12, A.D.
27, . . . when [Jesus] had
assembled all twelve, he
journeyed with them to the
highlands north of Capernaum,
where he proceeded to instruct
them in preparation for their
formal ordination.
The next
Sabbath day Jesus devoted to his
apostles, journeying back to the
highland where he had ordained
them; and there, after a long
and beautifully touching
personal message of
encouragement, he engaged in the
solemn act of the consecration
of the twelve. This Sabbath
afternoon Jesus assembled the
apostles around him on the
hillside and gave them into the
hands of his heavenly Father in
preparation for the day when he
would be compelled to leave them
alone in the world. [1583]
At noon on
Saturday, April 22, the eleven
apostles assembled by
appointment on the hill near
Capernaum, and Jesus appeared
among them. This meeting
occurred on the very mount where
the Master had set them apart as
his apostles and as ambassadors
of the Father's kingdom on
earth. And this was the Master's
fourteenth morontia
manifestation. [2050]
While
we couldn’t be sure that any of
the places were the actual ones
whereon Jesus acted out his
mission, it felt good to know
that this is where he spent so
much of his life, that this
scenery is what will stay with
him through all eternity as he
recalls his days in the flesh.
At the time
of this great trial there came
up in his mind many of those
pleasant scenes of his earthly
ministry. And it was from these
old memories of Nazareth,
Capernaum, Mount Hermon, and of
the sunrise and sunset on the
shimmering Sea of Galilee, that
he soothed himself as he made
his human heart strong and ready
to encounter the traitor who
should so soon betray him.
[1569]
By the
time we came down the hill,
Tabgha (or what we believe to be
the Bethsaida of the Zebedee
family) was open to tourists but
all we were allowed to see was a
relatively modern church. Much
more interesting to us was St.
Peter’s Church a little farther
back, which could have been the
site of the boathouse and dock
where Zebedee and Jesus made
boats.
[Zebedee’s]
boatbuilding shops were on the
lake to the south of Capernaum,
and his home was situated down
the lake shore near the fishing
headquarters of Bethsaida. . . .
[1420
1. THE
DRAUGHT OF FISHES
On Friday morning of this same
week, when Jesus was teaching by
the seaside, the people crowded
him so near the water's edge
that he signaled to some
fishermen occupying a near-by
boat to come to his rescue.
Entering the boat, he continued
to teach the assembled multitude
for more than two hours. This
boat was named "Simon"; it was
the former fishing vessel of
Simon Peter and had been built
by Jesus' own hands. On this
particular morning the boat was
being used by David Zebedee and
two associates, who had just
come in near shore from a
fruitless night of fishing on
the lake. They were cleaning and
mending their nets when Jesus
requested them to come to his
assistance.
After Jesus
had finished teaching the
people, he said to David: "As
you were delayed by coming to my
help, now let me work with you.
Let us go fishing; put out into
yonder deep and let down your
nets for a draught." But Simon,
one of David's assistants,
answered: "Master, it is
useless. We toiled all night and
took nothing; however, at your
bidding we will put out and let
down the nets." And Simon
consented to follow Jesus'
directions because of a gesture
made by his master, David. When
they had proceeded to the place
designated by Jesus, they let
down their nets and enclosed
such a multitude of fish that
they feared the nets would
break, so much so that they
signaled to their associates on
the shore to come to their
assistance. When they had filled
all three boats with fish,
almost to sinking, this Simon
fell down at Jesus' knees,
saying, "Depart from me, Master,
for I am a sinful man." Simon
and all who were concerned in
this episode were amazed at the
draught of fishes. From that day
David Zebedee, this Simon, and
their associates forsook their
nets and followed Jesus.
But this was in no sense a
miraculous draught of fishes.
Jesus was a close student of
nature; he was an experienced
fisherman and knew the habits of
the fish in the Sea of Galilee.
On this occasion he merely
directed these men to the place
where the fish were usually to
be found at this time of day.
But Jesus' followers always
regarded this as a miracle.
[1628]
For
more on this region,
click here
* * *
After
lingering on these spots for an
hour or more, we drove into
Tiberias to change money and
stock up on supplies, then
returned to our bungalow where
we sat outside at a table
reading and writing, enjoying
the warm air and watching the
kibbutzers come and go. For
dinner we made do-it-yourself
sandwiches and tea.
As we
were eating we noticed a Dutch
tour group arriving. Their guide
came over and introduced
himself, assuming we were part
of the tour. His name was Eli
Green, a Jew born in Holland who
had lived his whole life in
Israel, and he was more
surprised than ever to learn
that I spoke Dutch! He sat
outside with me and helped
polish off a bottle of wine. I
showed him my Urantia Book and
he seemed interested in some of
the concepts, especially as they
related to pinpointing locations
in the area, as he was giving
tours based strictly on limited
Biblical information. I promised
to mail him a copy when I
returned home.
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