We crossed over the Jordan River a few times today. It's really more of a creek today than a river.
Take away from Gamla:
During Jesus' time, it was the fourth largest Decapolis city. A Decapolis city centered round the theater (for entertainment), gynamisum(for education), and the arena (for sports). Everything was created for the purpose of spreading the Hellentistic worldview where the individual was to be glorified.
Thought: Would I have the courage to step off of the boat?
Or day started off at Gamla, which was the birthplace of the Zealot movement. You can kind of see the settlement there on the left side of the hill.
Gamla was known as the Masada of the north. They were under siege from the Romans for over two years. In order to effectively defend themselves, they filled in the houses built along the city wall to make their walls thicker. however, they needed to leave one house empty to get in and out for water. A guy named Joseph Ben Matthias told Vespian, the Roman general, where the brake in the wall was. This was Gamla's downfall.
Joseph Ben Matthias was adopted into Vespian's family. History knows him better as Josephus. In order to not be captured by the Romans, the inhabitants all jumped off the cliff.
There is a synagogue remnant left here from the first century - one that Jesus very likely taught in.
While we were there, we walked through what a synagogue service would have been like. Below is a picture of one of our leaders, Jeff, demonstrating what the blessing would have been like. Notice the tassels on the shawl? These same tassels can be seen on the clothing of Jewish men today. The top of the tassel has five knots, for the five books of theTorah. The four spaces between the five knots represent God's name. The tassels are a reminder to stay faithful.
Take away from Gamla:
- I walked where Jesus walked. I learned were Jesus taught! I can't get my mind around that.
- Our church services today are very people-centered verses God-centered. In the synagogue, the speaker would teach from the middle, not the front. He (or she!) would read thirty minutes of text, followed by two minutes of their thoughts, followed by questions or comments from the listener. The text was assigned up to three years in advance. In Luke 4, it says that Jesus went to the synagogue in Nazareth and read from Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”[f]
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”[f]
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
God is not a god of coincidence. This verse was chosen for Jesus to read on that day, one to three years in advance.
- Worship is not about me, but about God. How many times have I said that I didn't get anything out of the service? I've got it backwards.
We stopped briefly by the site of Susita, which was one of the cities of the Decapolis. It was a city planted with the express purpose of spreading the Hellenistic worldview - it's all about me. It was kind of like the Las Vagas of the time. Susita is just on the other side of the Jordan River at the top of the Sea of Galilee. When Jesus refers to "going to the other side", he is refering to this area.
The people of them day viewed the lake as the abyss. They would have fished around the outside to avoid going straight across. Jesus tells his disciples of get into the boat and "go to the other side". On the way, a storm comes. Jesus tells the wind and the waves to stop. Even the abyss obeys him. When they reach the other side, a demon possessed man comes down and Jesus sends the demons into pigs. The man wants to come with Jesus, but Jesus tells him no. He must go home and tell everyone what Jesus has done for him. 100 years later the entire area is Christian.
Take away from Susita: It'a not our job to convince people that we are right, but to share our story.
The next stop was Beth She'an. This was another Decapolis city. Very cool. We would have spent a lot of time here, but the heat was getting pretty oppressive, so we didn't look around as much as we would have liked.
This city is one of the oldest in the country, and only 5% of the city has been excavated so far. It was a great location because it was at the crossroads between the Jordan Valley and the Jezreel Valley. It's fertile, with an abundance of water (which I am gaining a much better appreciation for!). The city was destroyed and rebuild 29 times. This is where the Philistines hung the bodies of Saul and his man after they were killed. David conquered the city, and it was an administrative center during Solomon's time.
Jews would avoid going into this city. They missed the chance to have an influence on the culture.
Take away from Beth She'an: Don't miss the opportunity to take back our culture.
The city was finally destroyed by an earthquake in 729. Things built on this world do not last.
We ended the day with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. It's amazing to think that the shored line we were looking at, looked basically the same in Jesus' time.
On a side not: this was not Jeff's best day. He twisted his ankle at Gamla, and the heat really got to him at Beth She'an (it was close to 120 degrees walking throughout those ruins). Pray that he has a quick recovery and that it won't slow him down too badly.
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