Where they tried to throw Jesus off a cliff

After I don't know how many trips to Nazareth in the past year, I finally got to go to Mount Precipice, which is where tradition says the people of Nazareth tried to throw Jesus off the cliff after He read from the Isaiah scroll in Luke 4. 

After watching this portrayed in last week's episode of The Chosen, I was even more excited to go!

What I didn't realize, until watching the aftershow and Rabbi Jason Sobel's breakdown of the story, is  how capital punishment was almost unheard of in ancient Israel, and so what happened here was extreme, almost unheard of because of the value and respect placed on life. Sobel pointed out that there was no recorded trial of Jesus for this punishment, which was a violation of Torah Law, which shows just how high those emotions ran at His "heretical" comments.

He also mentioned that is that Mount Precipice is 2.5 miles from the synagogue where Jesus read from the Isaiah scroll. That is a REALLY long way to be pushed/carried by an angry mob. Talk about really strong emotion and conviction! 

Although one of the names of the mountain is "The Mountain where the Lord Leapt", but the Biblical account doesn't say anything about Jesus jumping from the mountain. Instead, it says He turned and walked back through the crowd. 

Wow, can you imagine meeting His eyes as He walked past? 

If you are a Chosen fan, I highly recommend that episode, because it was amazing. 

And, going to Mount Precipice is definitely worth it, because LOOK AT THAT VIEW!!!

This is Mount Tabor

The Jezreel Valley is turning green from the winter rains! Afula is across and to the right...

Beautiful!

Was this where they tried to throw Jesus from the cliff? It's likely. This is the closest one to the ancient synagogue. Today, it's free and easy to visit. I 100% recommend it if you are ever spending a day in Nazareth!

Where Jesus Read the Isaiah Scroll

Happy New Year!

I never get tired of walking the streets of ancient Nazareth. Each time I learn something new! And, I planned to share this as my first post for 2023 a while ago, having no idea that The Chosen's Season 3 Episode 3 would feature the events that took place here, and the location for this week's posts. 

AMAZING!

This time, I got to visit a completely new (for me) place: a church built over the synagogue where Jesus read from the Isaiah scroll in Luke 4:

Like we talked about a lot on this blog, in Israel things are built on top of the original buildings, which is why you can often see ancient foundations at sites. An excellent example of this is the synagogue at Capernaum, whose white synagogue is from 4th century AD, but is built in the same location as the original synagogue. So tradition holds that this is the location where Jesus read those words, but not the same building. It's beautiful to see, even on a rainy day:

Can you just see it it happening here? "The Spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me..."

Of course, because of this, the townspeople tried to drag Him out of the town and throw Him off Mount Precipice.... but that's Wednesday's post!

Stay tuned...

Did the Magi stop here on the way to Bethlehem?

From where—and through where—did the wise men travel?

I've never really thought too much about this, although I heard once that they travelled through Petra (modern day Jordan) on their way to Bethlehem. So when I planned a trip over Christmas weekend to the Negev desert, which is south of Be'er Sheva, and therefore south of the boundaries of ancient Israel, I didn't expect to see any Biblical places, let alone find a Christmas connection.

While watching googlemaps on the bus south of Be'er Sheva to Mitspe Ramon, I saw Avdat National Park on the map. Then I saw it was originally settled by the Nabateans, the same people who lived in Petra. So then I knew I had to go.

The name "Nabatean" means "Cistern digger" in Aramaic, and their kingdom included northern Arabia, Edom (Judean Desert), Moab (Jordan), Hauran, the Negev, and Sinai. Their caravans of 10-20 camels carried spices, incense, medicinal plants, textiles, dyes, silver, and gold. Each camel carried 150-200 kilos (330-440lbs), and their handler walked before them.

The route was over 1800 kilometers (1120 miles!) in the desert—a 65-day trek. Along the way were stations where the caravans could rest, replenish provisions, and trade out camels.

It turns out that Avdat was station number 62 on the ancient Incense Route (Spice Route) from 300 BC- 300 AD that went from Yemen to Gaza, passing through Petra. So if the wise men did travel through Petra and then north to Bethlehem, they would have passed by Avdat. Maybe they even stopped there briefly! 

Could the star have been visible from here?

As with all ancient roadways, they have become modern roads. So, the highway that passes Advat is likely the Spice Route. 

After Nabatean King Rabbel II died in 106 AD, the Nabatean kingdom was annexed to the Roman Empire, who then built onto the area. After them came the Byzantines. So, on top of this tel is a WEALTH of archeological structures, not to mention the view!

We had less than 90 minutes to explore the whole structure, which was almost impossible. But we made it by just skipping a few areas that were less interesting to us. You can basically picture me running up the mountain, camera in hand determined to explore the entire tel. It was so much fun! 

So, here's part of my self-tour of Avdat, starting with a home from Roman times:

LOVE all these arches!

(a lot of wine was made here... they found 14 winepresses!)

The main complex at the top is HUGE! There were 2 Nabatean temples and 2 Byzantine churches (one was a monastery)... and it was all attached to a Roman fortress!

the entire complex from below (photos above and below)

Nabatean temple

just part of the view!

One of the Byzantine-era churches (the other was a monastery) and has graves with Greek-inscribed grave stones in it. Christianity came to the region during the Byzantine period, and it became the official religion. The remaining Nabateans accepted the new faith and replaced their script with Greek. 

Another Nabatean temple

Peek-a-boo!

I mean, this view!

Then, onto the Roman Fortress, which had a tower where you could view the entire complex:

In the photo above, the closer ruins are Nabatean, the farther ones (top right) are from the Roman army camp.

When you leave the fortress, immediately in front of you is a massive wine press and the remains of the Byzantine settlement, which was destroyed in a massive earthquake. Throughout the route through the 'neighborhood' there are some excavations and neat finds (apparently, somewhere in there is a Nabatean pottery shop):

Love the double arches below! #mcdonalds?

Then, you exit by the southern Roman tower (which, at the time I thought was locked, but 2 pictures above have people on top of it, so that was a missed opportunity):

Finally, you walk past the caravan (pictured above), and see one more Roman villa:

Talk about incredible! I love a room with a view!

And what a view it is!

The view towards the main part of the tel:

We made it down just as the park was closing, and while we waited for the bus, got to see the sun set (It sets at 4:30pm in the winter):

What an amazing adventure, which was extra-special because of exploring this place on Christmas day!

What did you think of it? What do you know about the wise men?

By the way, I hope you had a Merry Christmas and have a wonderful New Year! See you then!

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!