Celebrating the miracle of the Feeding of the 5,000+

Not far from Capernaum is beautiful area of the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. The land here is descends from the hills around the lake and is very rocky, unsuitable for farming. Because of 7 springs that flow into the lake there, trees grow close to the shore and schools of fish are attracted to that area. 

It's believed that this is where Jesus called the disciples, farther up the hill is where He gave the Sermon on the Mount, and fed the 5,000+, somewhere nearby is also where He cooked the fish in John 21. 

Back in 2017, I shared about my trip to the Church of the Multiplication, and my question about how Jesus was heard, both when He fed the multitude, but also during the Sermon on the Mount. by 15,000+ people. In 2018, I found the answer! In 2022, I toured 2 other possible sites for the Sermon on the Mount: Ein Nur (possible) and Horns of Hattin (HIGHLY unlikely).

But I haven't been back to Tabgha since 2017. So I finally got to visit again this past spring. It was a beautiful day to visit 2 sites that while not exact, are close in locations to where these Biblical accounts happened!

Tabgha's name is hard for us to pronounce as English speakers. It's a corruption of the Greek word Eptapegon (7 springs). The Hebrew name for this means the same: Ein Sheva.

Bible Places says Josephus refers to this area as the "well of Capernaum" and says there is evidence of it being an ancient harbor that is only visible when the water level is low.

It is here where there are 2 churches to commemorate 2 specific events: The Church of the Multiplication and the Church of the Primacy of Peter.

This week we'll talk about the Church of the Multiplication!

This church is most well-known for the stone and mosaic that are under the altar, but the building itself is beautiful too:

As I spoke about here, the church itself has been rebuilt on its original foundation after the original (built in several centuries after Jesus ascended into Heaven) was burned down. 

Inside is very simple, in the Byzantine style. But there are some unique features, like beautiful mosaic floors:

(on the wall you can see the original walls and the later ones on top)

and windows that actually aren't glass but stone (alabaster):

And finally, the famous mosaic of the loaves and fishes and the altar, below which is the stone it's said Jesus sat on while He taught the people at the Feeding of the 5000+:

The mosaic is so famous, it's used all over the world as a symbol for this story. It's also on so many different kinds of souvenirs—magnets, paintings, tile, etc.

The funny thing is that it's actually inaccurate. According to Bible Places, the fish in the mosaic have 2 dorsal fins—something none of the fish in the Galilee have! Also, Bible Places points out that the Biblical text says Jesus was near Bet Tsaida, which is on the other side of Capernaum. So this is likely not the place for this miracle. Maybe He was on that rock, maybe not. Either way, it's on the north side of the Galilee, and we know this is where Jesus spent 80% of those 3 ministry years. 

And honestly... when I went back to look for my original blog post on this church, I couldn't find it. Why? I didn't do one because what I cared most about was being in nature and seeing the place Jesus did this, not a rock with a church all around it built almost 400 years after it happened. That's because I connect with God most in nature. That being said, I appreciated being there back then (I think I was cranky from jet lag at that point), and this time I did as well. It was nice to visit again before going to the other church on the property—which I had never been to.

In 2 weeks we'll visit the Church of the Primacy of Peter, but next week is a special surprise!