The Mystery at Capernaum

I love being in the Galilee, because Jesus spent 80% of those 3 years of ministry there. And there are a few places we can place Him there for certain, like Magdala, Capernaum, Beit Tzaida (still in excavation), Korazim, and Gamla and Susita in the Golan.

As I noted here, Capernaum is one of the 3 cities that Jesus cursed in Matthew 20. This was Jesus and the disciples' main base, as they stayed often at Peter's mother-in-law's house. Years later, a church was built on the location, and now a modern church is on top of it (with a glass floor).

And it lies not far from the remains of a 4th century synagogue. We know that this was rebuilt in the Byzantine/Talmudic Era, and as was custom, built directly on the foundation of the synagogue that was present in the time of Jesus. So while Jesus was not in that synagogue, He was definitely in the one made from the foundation.

But here comes the first mystery: why are there the remains of a 4th-century Christian church and a 4th-century synagogue so close to each other?

And even more importantly, why was this synagogue so big and ornate? Was this a wealthy town full of power? Fishermen weren't known for their wealth. 

The answer lies in Luke's Gospel.

"When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” So Jesus went with them." Luke 7: 1-5

The synagogue that Jesus, the disciples, and the rest of the 1st century residents of Capernaum worshipped in was built by a Roman, a pagan. He'd earned the trust of the people and loved the people of Israel. Wow!

This is the same centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant from afar, believing it would be done, and Jesus said that he had not found such great faith anywhere else in Israel (again, faith from a Gentile).

WOW!

That's pretty incredible, and answers the question of the synagogue. As for why it is so close to a church, could it be that the residents of Capernaum were not practicing Judaism by the time this church was built, around the time that Chorazim died? Since the city was cursed and did die out, it is highly likely.  

My most recent return to Capernaum was also with a tour guide, for which I was so thankful. In 2017, this is the place the batteries in the headset died, so I missed a lot. I've still had very meaningful visits here, but nothing beats having a tour guide.

It was the end of July and it was HOT. Thought it was my 4th time to this site, I was amazed at all I learned. 

Also my visit there 2 months earlier, signs had been posted throughout the sight with information. So cool! Who says you can't find new things at archeological sites?

Also, I finally have an answer for this hole in the synagogue floor:

They excavated a level lower to explore what was there pre-4th century. Unfortunately, archeology is a destructive science by nature. To see what is below, you have to destroy what is above. So they only did this small space and left this for us to see.

What do you think of this visit to Capernaum? Do the pictures of the description from Luke 7 impact your understanding of the story?

**** I'm going to take a break posting until the new year, so I will see you in 2023! I hope you have wonderful Christmas, Hanukah, and New Year's celebrations! 

The Mystery at Magdala

I finally got to go to Magdala with a tour guide, and wow, this place is even more incredible than I first realized! 

Obviously nothing beats the fact that Jesus was there, in that first century B.C. synagogue—one of only 7 that have been discovered. If fact, it boggles my mind to even think about it. 

But what I didn't know is why this site is so well preserved, and why the main street next to it is barricaded with broken columns.

My tour guide pointed out to us that there is only 1 column still partially standing in the ruins of the synagogue. And how does this correlate with the blocked main street? Why?

The answer lies in the Great Revolt of 67 AD, around the same time that Gamla fell. Magdala was one of the few cities that stood up to the Romans as they made their campaign from the north through the south—all the way to Jerusalem. At some point, the inhabitants made a previously unthinkable decision. To protect their town, and the synagogue, they removed the columns from the synagogue and used them to barricade the entrance to their town. They also covered over the synagogue to keep it from being destroyed by the Romans.

Magdala was destroyed, but because of the forethought of the Madgalenes, the synagogue was preserved until 2009 AD, when its remains were discovered just 30 centimeters below the surface. 

WOW!!!

But that's not the mystery I wanted to share with you. The mystery is this:

While a replica of the Magdala stone is in the synagogue, the original is in the lobby of the hotel. (AMAZING!!!) Because this synagogue is from 1st Century AD, before the destruction of the 2nd Temple, we know that its decoration was fashioned after the Temple. This is one of the earliest known depictions of the menorah from the Temple. Here it stands on a base, which matches the image of the Menorah on the Arch of Titus in Rome.

(picture mine)

This is intriguing, because other images of the menorah don't show a base, but a 3-point stand. For instance, here is one from the Talmudic village of ancient Katzrin in the Golan:

And here, from the Museum in Katzrin. This relief also dates back to the Talmudic (Byzantine) era:

These carvings are from only a few centuries after Jesus. So which is correct? There has appeared to be a discrepancy between the Arch of Titus and the earliest depictions of the menorah that have been found—until the Magdala stone. The fact that it has a base might not be creative license; it might be a carving of the actual menorah, which is the ancient symbol for Israel (not the Star of David).

Which is correct?

Could it be that the menorah for the Temple is in Rome (the Vatican) after all? What do you think?

What do Korazin, Beit Tsaida, and Capernaum have in common?

When I was in the Galilee, I went to the national parks of Korazin, Beit Tsaida, and Capernaum on the northern shore. These 3 towns represent the 'ministry triangle' of Jesus, where He spent 80% of His ministry.

Yet in Matthew 11:20-24, Jesus says:

"Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. “'Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.'”

Wow, talk about sobering. Heartbreaking, actually.

Korazin isn't mentioned specifically in the Bible other than in this passage, but we know that Jesus travelled throughout the Galilee, spent time with people, spoke, and healed people. He calls it out in His curse because of the amount of time He spent there. 

A town known for its grain, Korazin was settled in 1st century AD. The remains here are actually from 3rd-4th century, as is the synagogue. However, we know that in Israel, things are built on top of their original location, so it's reasonable to believe that the original synagogue remains are below this one. 

What got me, though, was seeing a carving of Medusa in the synagogue wall. I can't even imagine how that was allowed to be in the town, let alone the synagogue!

Beit Tsaida is the 'wild card' in this group, because as I reported in November, a different possible location has been found. It will take more time to determine if this is the actual Beit Tsaida, and there is strong evidence for the traditional location being the real one. It later was renamed as Julius, a Roman town, so the presence of both ruins is a strong identifier.

The town of Philip, Peter, Andrew, James, and John, Jesus and the disciples often came here to rest. He healed a blind man outside the city gates in Mark 8, and when Jesus walked on water, it was likely in front of Beit Tsaida, because He'd sent the disciples on ahead to this town. There are the remains of a fisherman's house as well (soil/fossil samples present the confirm this). However, the Sea of Galilee has shrunk so much that the shore is now 2km away. But why would there be a fisherman's house so far if the lake didn't actually come up to that village? 

Capernaum is the town of Peter's mother-in-law, where Jesus did many miracles. This is where He called His first disciples, who were fishing. This is where He spent a lot of time.

The current synagogue remains are actually from the 4th century, but the foundations of the previous one are clear. So we know exactly where it was and can envision that as well.

My favorite part is the shoreline, where I sat for an hour, read my Bible, prayed, stared across at Magdala, and imagined Jesus and the disciples coming in from a long day on the lake.

WOW!!!! It was so incredible to be in each of these 3 towns, and since there weren't any tourists still in Israel, there weren't a lot of people around. I was able to read my Bible, pray, and basically have 3-D devotions, which was amazing!

Still, the reality of these places are impossible to miss. 

Walking the streets of Magdala- finally!

In 2020, I wrote about the incredible discovery at Magdala and how I wanted to go the next time I was in Israel. It has been a dream of mine for years! So when the semester ended last week, I headed out to the Galilee. 

WOW.

It was Shabbat, an unusually warm January day, and because of covid-19, there still weren't any foreign tourists allowed in Israel. So there I was, pretty much alone, strolling through Mary Magdalene's former hometown, a fishing village.

There, you can see the old market, with the main street, 

the residential area, 

the port (the Sea of Galilee, which is only about 7 miles wide at its widest point and 17 miles long) shrinks every year, so the port is much higher than one might expect, 

a beautiful chapel commemorating Jesus' ministry in the Galilee, and...

the synagogue, where, according to Matthew 4:23, Jesus spoke. 

As I talked about here, this is one of those places where we can place Jesus not only in the town or walking the main street, but in an actual room. I about lost my mind. 

After exploring this incredible place—you can still see pigmentation on the remains of columns and walls, and part of an old mosaic—I sat down and began to read from Matthew. There, on Shabbat, in front of the synagogue where Jesus spoke on a Shabbat millennia ago. It was incredible!

There are so many small treasures that have been found and are still being unearthed in Magdala, like brick ovens, mosaics in other places. It's all so interesting, but this was the crown jewel for me. 

However, did you hear about this? Recently there's been another INCREDIBLE discovery in Magdala:

A SECOND SYNAGOGUE!!!!

This one is in a residential area, which I didn't see. I think it is still being uncovered. But, how incredible! The articles I read say that this sheds a lot of light on thought and culture in the first century. I hope to go back and explore it one day!

Also, here's one more photo as a bonus, as seen on the way to Madgala: Mount Hermon covered in snow!

Discovery at Magdala

So, while I was in Israel in 2017, I learned something very interesting about the land itself.

Because there are so many unexplored archaeological sites (and many that no one knows about because they are buried so deep), people will just randomly stumble on ancient artifacts. When that happens, everything shuts down and they need to call in officials. When people buy property, they can build on the land, but anything found in the land (or under the earth) belongs to Israel. It's like how in Texas you can buy property and own land, but not own the mineral rights (so if you find oil, it's not yours').

In fact, my tour guide had a friend in that very predicament. He bought property to build a house, and when they started, the remains of a Philistine settlement were found. So the friend had to stop construction while archaeologists moved in. Fast forward many years later and everything has been excavated and the friend finally has his house—on top of a museum of Philistine artifacts. 😂

Something similar happened at Magdala a few years ago. In 2009, Fr Juan Solana purchased land in Magdala, Israel, in order to build a guesthouse for pilgrims. During the mandatory archaeological testing, they discovered something amazing—the remains of "the only first century synagogue on the Sea of Galilee – one of only seven synagogues from this period in the world – along with the archaeological remains of the 2,000 year-old city of Magdala" (quote and photo from here).

In Israel, there are 4 kinds of places: places with no official record of Jesus officially being there, places where Jesus was in the area so it likely could be where you were standing, places where we know it happened either "here" or "there", and places where we know without a fact that Jesus was there.

The discovery of the synagogue is the latter—with a certainty we can say that Jesus was here, and likely taught in this very synagogue. WOW!

When I was there in 2017, this location wasn't available for me to visit. It is, however, open to the public. Needless to say, it's now on my list! Maybe on my trip in March? That would be awesome!