Pool of Bethesda: Where Jesus healed the lame man!

When I first went to the Pool of Bethesda on my trip in 2017, we weren't there very long. It was like a pit stop on a cloudy day, and we didn't walk around it. I don't even know if I got pictures! Wow, that's unthinkable.

Since then, I've tried to go twice, but because of covid, the hours changed and it was always closed when I went (it was hard to find the hours online). 

But finally, in the spring I got to go!

As I've learned since being back in Israel, there is SO MUCH MORE to every place we went to on the tour. There just wasn't enough time to do it all.

And, just like every place associated with Jesus, there's a church.

But that wasn't the first church built there, because the brochure the place gave me says that in 422-458 AD, a church was built to commemorate the healing of the paralytic. It extended over the medicinal baths and part of the pools. Some of that basilica still remains today.

So all these ruins inside the pool weren't there in Jesus' day. Last night I watched this message from Gary Hamrick of Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia, and it was SO GOOD! I 100% recommend watching it. 

In it, he says that the pool was bigger than an Olympic pool and at places was 42 feet deep! He also pointed out that John 5 uses the word "multitude" to describe the amount of the people around it, and while that isn't a definite number, the world "multitude" was also used in Mark and Luke to describe the 4,000+ and 5,000+ (respectively) that Jesus fed by multiplying bread and fish. So, it's fair to picture this GIGANTIC pool with thousands lying beside it, waiting for the water to stir so they can be healed. 

Which brings up the idea of Jesus walking through the multitude to find that one man and heal him. Seriously, if you like watching theologically-sound messages, please take the time to watch this one!

By the time of the Persian invasion, around 614, everything was destroyed and left mostly abandoned through the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphs. It wasn't until the Crusades in 1140 that a small monastery was built on the ruins of the 7th century chapel.

Then, the property changed hands again in 1192 after the conquest of Saladin. It became a school for Islamic law until it was abandoned under Ottoman rule and then given as a gift to France after the Crimean War (as Napoleon III helped the Ottomans). And it was given to the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) founded in 1878... and has remained in that ownership until this day. 

So that's a lot of history, and most of it, I don't care about a lot... but I do care about 1 thing: Jesus was here, and He healed here! There is where He healed the paralytic in John 5!!!

As I've talked about before, I am a BIG fan of The Chosen, and I love that this show featured this story in Season 2! It's extra cool watching the episode after having been here... you can literally 'see' it! If you haven't watched the episode, go do it now! And the rest of the show because it is AWESOME!

Where Lazarus was buried (the 2nd time!)

I interrupt this series on historical places in Israel to talk about where I went last month: Cyprus!

This was my first time to this beautiful country, and it did not disappoint!

My first stop in Larnaca was to see the promenade... and I was pleasantly surprised to immediately find a castle!

It's not too far from the crown jewel of Larnaca: the Church of St. Lazarus.

It's said that after Jesus' ascension back to Heaven, Lazarus had to flee for his life. So, he went to Cyprus, and lived there until he died (again) 30 years later. He was buried in this church in Larnaca, but his grave was lost over the centuries... until the 8th century, when a tomb was uncovered that said, "Lazarus, 4 days dead, friend of Christ." The remains were moved and later stolen, but a church was later built over the site of the tomb.

It's a Greek Orthodox church, built in the 9th century AD. The inside is really ornate, and it's free to enter.

In addition to a Greek Orthodox church, the Church of St. Lazarus has also been a Catholic church, and for a few years under Ottoman rule, a mosque.

I love historical places, especially Biblical ones. And I so wish I could have gone to Paphos, because it was the birth place of Barnabas—and he and Paul went there on one of their journeys—but getting to see a place where someone who knew Jesus as friend (who was raised back to life!) lived and died is still pretty cool!

And you don't even have to guess: going to Bethany and where Lazarus died (the first time) and was raised back to life by Jesus is 100% on my list!

Hippos took my breath away

After Jesus sent the demons into the pigs in the Galilee in Mark 5, He told the formerly demon-possessed man to go far away instead of going home. This is because the people who lived nearby were afraid and angry. Mark says that the man went to the Decapolis, which I assumed was Beit She'an. When I went to Kursi National Park and saw the cliff, I was confused because Beit She'an is more than 30 minutes away by car. That's a long way to walk!

But, the Decapolis was a series of 10 cities under Roman control in Jordan, Syria, and Israel. And not too far from the cliff are the ruins of Hippos, another one of the Decapolis. 

So, when I learned this, and that it wasn't yet a national park, I had to go!

First of all, the drive there is AMAZING!!!!! The Galilee is beautiful, and has turned so green from the winter rains! It was a clear day, and before the wind came through, the lake was like glass. So as we started driving up to what will be Susita National Park, the views took my breath away.

Can you see the reflection of Tiberias in the water?

Hippos, which means "horse" in Greek, was founded by the Seleucids in the inter-Testamental period.It was given to Herod the Great in 27 BC and then returned to Syria in 4 BC. In 135 AD, when the Romans put down the Jewish revolt and renamed the land of Israel as Syria-Palestina, Hippos enjoyed great prosperity. There was a theater, an aqueduct that brought water from the Golan Heights, and later, a basilica.

Around 4th Century AD, the Byzantines came to Hippos and at least 1 bishop was seated there. Three hundred years later, Muslim armies captured it in their conquest but allowed the citizens to still practice Christianity. 

In 749 AD, an earthquake destroyed it and the city was abandoned.

Like I said, this is on its way to being a national park, but it isn't yet. So there wasn't information for what I saw when I walked through... but it was fascinating even without that! And it just means I'll need to go back when the national park is opened. If you're in the Galilee, it's worth seeing, even before it becomes an official park. Put Hippos, Susita National Park, on your map!

Where Jesus sent the demons into the pigs

When I saw Kursi National Park on Google Maps while I was in the Galilee, I thought it just had some cool ruins of an old church. I didn't think it was a Biblical site.

And to be fair, these ruins really are cool, mostly because I love arches. And some of the original floors from this church from the 5th century. 

I mean, who doesn't love original floors?

But what I didn't realize until I started exploring is that this national park is in the Gerasenes, where, in Mark 5:1-20, Jesus healed the demoniac and sent the demons into the herd of pigs, who then ran over the cliff. 

The freed man then went into the area of the Decapolis to tell of what Jesus had done). I checked googlemaps, and Beit She'an is actually pretty far from there...almost 40 minutes driving. But Mark's account speaks of the local people being angry and afraid, telling Jesus to leave the area, and Jesus telling the man to go far away. So maybe he went to the city of the Decapolis that is at the foot of Beit She'an. It's also likely he went to Susita (Hippos), which was also one of the 10 cities of the Decapolis. That is closer to Kursi National Park, and I hope to go there soon).

Either way, this is the traditional location of that cliff! 

As I've said before, the Sea of Galilee has shrunk a lot over the years. Right now it's about 13 miles long and 7 miles wide at its widest point. There's actually a trail that goes up from the left to just before the actual cliff face, and the remains of an old chapel are there as well.

The cliff from directly below it:

The location of the water makes it reasonable to think that it could have touched the edge of this mountain, as the Sea of Galilee has shrunk a lot since the first century.

So fun!!!

Return to Joppa

On the way back from Jerusalem on Christmas weekend, we made a really fun pit stop: Jafa (Joppa)!

I first went here on my tour in 2017. In fact, it was our first stop, which was pretty cool. But we had a packed day of places to go, so we didn't spend a lot of time there. Being there 4 years later, at Christmas, at sunset, was so fun.

Jafa is the oldest port city in the world. This harbor, where we watched the sunset from, is the same harbor where Solomon brought in cedars from Lebanon for the Temple.

Jafa is just south of Tel Aviv. Seeing this city sparkle in pink and gold in the sunset was beautiful to behold.

Jafa is also where Jonah was fleeing to when he got swallowed by the big fish. Last time, I was told that's where he was spit up, but that isn't true. I looked it up and the Bible says he was spit up in Ninevah. So I looked up Ninevah on googlemaps, and it is more than 750 miles away—surrounded by land! The only way the fish could get there was to swim around the land and then up the river. WOW!

Jafa is also where Peter stayed in Acts, specifically at Simon the Tanner's house (pictured below). He was staying here when God raised Tabitha from the dead through Peter in Acts 9 and when Peter saw the vision of the sheet with clean and unclean animals.

Wow! Last time,  my guide pointed in the direction of the house, so I knew exactly where it was. But we didn't actually go there. So this time we found it, though it was closed. But I realized the direction it faced meant that since Peter had been on the roof, he had been looking out over the same harbor while he'd been praying! SO COOL!

Studying here in Israel is allowing me to see places that make the Bible fill out in color and dimension, and I love it!