Have you ever been on a grand adventure? Maybe you’ ve traveled the world to see or do something amazing. Possibly you took a hike in the woods as a child, and your imagination transformed it into a harrowing journey where you saved a friend from grave danger. Whether you’ ve laced up your hiking boots and climbed Kilimanjaro or thrown some helmets on your kids and whizzed around on bicycles through your neighborhood, you know that any type of adventure stirs up excitement, puts your skills to the test, and requires a bit of your time and focus.
That’ s what we’ re really doing here together: allowing ourselves to get caught up in God’ s grand adventure through the Holy Land by giving Him our expectation, rapt attention, and unique talents.
I wish I could buy everyone a plane ticket to physically come with me on this adventure. All the way to Tel Aviv, I’ d talk to you about my wife, Sweet Maria, our wonderful grandkids, and the giraffes that are going in at the Love Does Restore University in Uganda. Unfortunately, there isn’ t a plane big enough to carry us all. So I came up with an idea that was the next best thing. Together, let’ s immerse ourselves in the very places we read about in Scripture, discover where God has moved throughout history, and find out how He continues to direct us today.
The first stop on our trip is Capernaum. It’ s remarkable to be in the central location Jesus used for His ministry. I mean, Jesus walked, taught, and performed miracles right here in this town! I can almost see Him strolling on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee behind me and calling out to two fishermen, Peter and Andrew, as they cast their nets.“ Come, follow Me!” Jesus shouted. And guess what? They dropped their nets and became fishers of men. I wonder if that discarded net is buried under centuries of sand somewhere close by.
Since Capernaum is a former trading center, there are ancient ruins everywhere. We will explore the remains of synagogues, the site thought to be Peter’ s house, and other archaeological sites around the village. Even before we get started on this trip, I can feel a sense of serenity in the beach air. It’ s like you can tell that Jesus touched this place and its people, making Capernaum live up to its name: a joining of the word caper( meaning“ village”) and the name Nahum( meaning“ rest”).
There are layers upon layers of evidence that Jesus made an incredible impact on this place, and I’ m excited to see how He changes our lives on this trip too. Let’ s go!
As we begin our tour, let’ s think about this story of the blind man in the city of Bethsaida( near Capernaum).
They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’ s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked,“ Do you see anything?”
33