Today we started visiting Nazareth Village a ministry dedicated to the re-enactment of first century life as it would have been in the day of Jesus. As they tell the story of Jesus they do so from a wonderfully 3-D perspective. We heard and saw the carpenter’s shop, the shepherd and his sheep, the fields next to the paths where the farmer would sow his seed. The Bible came to life in an explosive way to me as I saw the world that Jesus lived in fleshed out before my eyes. That has been the way this entire trip has been for me.
In the afternoon we visited the ruins of Caesarea Philippi. There the Bible continued to become so much more real and alive. The passage of scripture in Matthew 16 where Peter makes his confession of Christ’s identity now has an actual location and archaeological setting for me. The words on the page now have depth and color and texture. There are a lot of little bitty rocks there, there is one really big rock there, there is even a place called the Gates of Hades there. And I did not have to read about it, I have been there and have seen it with my own eyes.
Tomorrow we will be on and around the Sea of Galilee. We will see the Church of the Beatitudes on the sight where Jesus is thought to have delivered the Sermon on the Mount. Can’t wait to see it all. Can’t wait to get home. See you soon.