April 4, 2000. The scenic Golan Heights were our destination for day four of our Galilee trip. Israelis acknowledge this as the most beautiful region of the country, so you can imagine my disappointment to see the mountains enshrouded in a thick fog.

Despite the lack of view, we still enjoyed our visit to the Golan, known in antiquity as “Bashan.” In the morning, we stopped at Quneitra, just long enough to look eastward toward the foreboding land of modern Syria. The kibbutz of Quneitra sits just a few miles from the Syrian border.

Then, we traveled north to Nimrod’s Fortress, situated not far from Mount Hermon. (This is the one exception to my previous comment about the Israeli mountains being large hills. Mount Hermon rises 9,000 feet, making it the highest peak in the country.)

The heavy fog prevented us from seeing down into Galilee, but offered a glimpse of the scene of Christ’s transfiguration, when “a bright cloud overshadowed” the disciples Peter, James, and John. After reading Matthew’s account of this momentous event, we climbed eagerly up into the Byzantine fortress to explore a labyrinth of walls, staircases, cisterns, and tunnels.

Next, we drove to Caesarea Philippi to view some remnants from a temple to the Greek god Pan (the cute little half-man, half-goat that plays the flute). It was near here that Peter gave his heartfelt confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:13-16).

Shortly after, we took some pictures at the mighty Banias Falls.

At a beautiful nature center near Tel Dan, we ate lunch and then hiked to the site where King Jeroboam the First set up one of his two golden calves (1 Kings 12:28-29). I found it ironic that one of the other tourist groups here were part of the Church of Latter Day Saints. They too have invented an outward form of religion but do not know the true God.

We also saw a Middle Bronze mud brick gate (the only one intact!) dating to the time of Abraham, as well as an extravagant system of gates built by Jeroboam II.

Breaking momentarily from our biblical studies, we visited the “Good Fence” at Metulla, guarding the northernmost border between Lebanon and Israel.

Then, we drove down the western edge of the Hulah Basin to Tel Hazor, the largest tel in all Israel. Despite the size (over 200 acres of ruins!), we didn’t spend a lot of time here, for only a few spots have been extensively excavated and open to the public.

Much of the tel has been covered over and transformed into verdant farmland. Points of interest included Solomonic gates (like those in Megiddo and Gezer. See 1 Kings 9:15), a giant cistern built by King Ahab, and an Israelite palace.

Last but not least, we visited Chorazin, the third city in the “Gospel Triangle” (along with Capernaum and Bethsaida) where Jesus carried out much of His ministry.

Here, archeologists found the only remaining “seat of Moses” in a Byzantine synagogue. It is a decorated basalt chair which mentions Yudan, who donated his wealth to the building of the synagogue. Jesus mentions the seat of Moses as a place where the religious leader would often sit. “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice” (Matthew 23:2–3).

Interestingly, we saw some pagan depictions in the synagogue, including a relief of Medusa. No one knows why these mythological figures and pagan deities were carved into these places of Jewish worship.

25 years ago, I had the privilege of traveling to Israel for a semester through the Master’s College IBEX program. To celebrate the 25th anniversary, I’m sharing highlights from my journal, emails, and photos.Feel free to share your own IBEX memories here as well!

April 3, 2000. From the start, I was eager to begin our itinerary for day three of our Galilee trip. Considering all the biblical history we’ve studied over the semester, only a small portion has really dealt with the New Testament, and specifically, Jesus’ ministry. How exciting to spend an entire day just learning about the words and works of Christ, in the places where it really happened!

We commenced our study by visiting Capernaum, along the northern shore of Galilee. The most conspicuous landmark was a large, fourth-century synagogue. Its white limestone gleamed in contrast to the surrounding black basalt.

Archaeologists surmise that an older, perhaps first-century synagogue was built below the later one. Could this have been the very spot where Jesus did much of His teaching (Mark 1:21f)?

Other interesting discoveries in Capernaum are a Roman millstone from Hadrian’s time and a comfortable fisherman’s house that has been identified as St. Peter’s since the 5th century.

The “seven springs” of Tabga (Heptapagon in Greek) feed warm water into the Sea of Galilee and offer aspiring anglers a great place to fish. Undoubtedly, Peter, James, and John knew about this, too. It was here that we saw a famous mosaic depicting the loaves and fishes that remained after Jesus miraculously fed five thousand. It’s impossible to know exactly where this event occurred, but we know it was somewhere nearby.

Other significant biblical events near here were the Sermon on the Mount and the post-resurrection Men’s Breakfast. Next, we went to Magdala, along the Plain of Genesaret. This was the home of Mary “Magdalene,” but also the site where an amazing discovery was recently made. During the drought of 1986, a receding shoreline exposed a first-century boat that had been preserved for two thousand years in the sand! Those who excavated the buried treasure had to be extremely careful. The wood, saturated for centuries, was no stronger than cardboard. Eventually, they salvaged the wreck, which is now on display in a museum there.

After lunch, we had a boat adventure of our own, setting out from Tiberias and riding all the way to the northern shore back near Tabga.

Then, we made our way to the so-called site of Bethsaida, where we saw some impressive basalt mansions, but nothing that resembled the grandiose style of Herod Philip’s city-building. It is quite possible that the true city of Bethsaida has yet to be uncovered.

Before traveling back home, we stopped by the ancient harbor of “Gergesa,” or Kursi, where many believe Jesus cast the demons into the swine. However, this site, too, is an unlikely candidate. The hillside of flowers was beautiful nevertheless.

(Caution: the following two paragraphs are rather complicated, but definitely worthwhile. Read at your own risk.)

Jesus’ miracle didn’t happen in Gergesa because the city was a textual contrivance of the early church father Origen. He couldn’t figure out how Jesus could have performed this miracle near Gadera or Geresa, so he thought he’d solve the problem by conjuring up a new location known as Gergesa along the lake (the KJV still reflects this change).

Was Origen right in doing this? Of course not. There’s a simple explanation to the dilemma: The miracle did not occur in the city, but in a region near the city. Matthew, addressing the Jews, referred to the familiar territory of Gadara (Matt. 8:28), which was capital over part of the Galilee region. Mark and Luke, addressing a wider audience, referred to the entire Decapolis in a broader sense as the “region of Gerasa” (Mk. 5:1; Lk. 8:26). Even the Gentiles would have recognized Gerasa, for it was an internationally renown city. As with any other apparent contradiction in the Bible, careful study will always provide a plausible answer without changing the text! Thanks for trying, Origen.

We closed out the day with a little swim in the Sea of Galilee.

25 years ago, I had the privilege of traveling to Israel for a semester through the Master’s College IBEX program. To celebrate the 25th anniversary, I’m sharing highlights from my journal, emails, and photos. Feel free to share your own IBEX memories here as well!

April 2, 2000. On the second day of our Galilee trip, we began by visiting the spring of Harod (Ein Harod), where Gideon gathered with the Israelites to prepare to fight the Midianites. We reenacted the story by drinking water from the spring, some with our hands, and some lapping like a dog (Judges 7:4).

What a reminder that God was the source of victory in every battle! Gideon didn’t need strength, or valor, or abundance, or even weaponry to destroy the enemy. In fact, He took pleasure in “going against the odds” by using the weak and outnumbered.

Next, we crossed the Jezreel Valley and ascended to the top of a ridge just south of Nazareth. Undoubtedly, Jesus visited this same bluff often as a young boy, playing with His friends and gazing curiously at the bustling traffic in the international highway just below. Later, during His ministry, He was dragged to the brink of the cliff by His own townspeople, but managed to walk away in their midst (Luke 4:29-30).

After a brief stop in Nazareth, we journeyed four miles further north, through the Shimron Pass, past Jonah’s hometown of Gath Hepher, to the city of Sepphoris.

Looking across the Bet Netofa Valley, we could see one possible site for Cana, where Jesus performed His first miracle. Though not mentioned once in the Scriptures, the prominent city of Sepphoris served as the capital of all of Galilee until AD 19, when it was moved by Herod Antipas to Tiberias. Here, in an ancient mansion, we saw a well-preserved mosaic floor composed of 1.5 million stones! We also saw an intricate mosaic of the Nile River. Only my imagination could dictate what an impressive city this had once been.

Nazareth was almost a suburb of the cosmopolitan Sepphoris, and it’s quite possible that Joseph, the craftsman, was contracted to work on many building projects here. Nevertheless, there’s not a single mention of Jesus ever visiting this city! Why didn’t His ministry springboard from the communication lines of the “big cities”? Because His gospel was for the meek, the lowly, the poor, and the oppressed. He did not come simply to perform miracles and attract a crowd. He came to teach the Truth of the kingdom, to train up disciples, and to lay down His life.

After lunch, we proceeded down the Arbel Pass, past Mt. Tabor, the Hill of Moreh, and the Horns of Hittim. We drove up the Arbel Cliff and were treated to a breathtaking view of the Sea of Galilee and its surrounding pastures.

We also took a pleasant hike down the side of the mountain, stopping to explore some caves along the face of the cliff, and eventually arriving at the base near a spring.

We concluded our day by driving around the northern half of the Sea of Galilee, giving us a preview of what we would see in the days ahead. The perimeter of the entire Sea is about 30 miles (I found this out because Will Custis actually ran around the whole lake during one of our free days!). Once at the Ein Gev resort, on the eastern shore of Galilee, we unpacked our bags and headed for the beach, which was only about fifty feet away! Awesome!

25 years ago, I had the privilege of traveling to Israel for a semester through the Master’s College IBEX program. To celebrate the 25th anniversary, I’m sharing highlights from my journal, emails, and photos. Feel free to share your own IBEX memories here as well!

On April 1, 2000, we headed north for a week-long field trip in Galilee. We pulled away from Moshav Yad HaShmona bright and early Saturday morning. I could hardly contain my excitement for the coming week! A whole region of the country yet to be explored!

Our first stop was Caesarea, a once-impressive port city along the Mediterranean coast. During the first century BC, this illustrious trading center became the Roman administrative capital over all of Palestine. Over a period of 12 years, Herod the Great engineered an impressive port that eventually rivaled Athens in commerce!

(Bear in mind, Israel had never been a sea-faring people. Before Caesarea, their largest port had been Joppa, which wasn’t much to brag about. But this didn’t really bother them. They were “eastward-looking” people rather than “westward-looking” people. Beyond the beautiful blue waters was an ominous world of Gentiles.)

The Jews weren’t too enthused about Herod’s port city, either, which is evident by the nickname they gave it: “Little Edom.”

Following Caesarea, we traveled up the Jokneam Pass toward an observation deck on Mount Carmel. Along the way, our bus tipped over and rolled four times. (oops, that didn’t happen. April Fools!)

Actually, we stopped near an old Byzantine church that commemorated Elijah’s famous victory over the prophets of Baal. To the North, we could see the fertile Jezreel Valley stretching broadly across Lower Galilee, with the Nazareth Ridge, Mt. Tabor, the Hill of Moreh, and Mt. Gilboa accenting the horizon from left to right.

As we continued, we pulled over on the side of the road and took a quick look at a first-century rolling stone tomb – one of the few remaining in the land today. The style is similar to what Jesus was buried in.

Next we headed to the ancient city of Megiddo. Men over the centuries have acknowledged the preeminent location of Megiddo along the “Great Trunk Route” (International Coastal Highway), and fortified its walls to prevent foreign attack.

Archeological remnants include a massive Early Bronze altar, Solomonic gates (similar to what we saw earlier in Gezer), and a water system dating to the reign of Ahab.

On a side note, the “Battle of Armaggeddon” does not take place at the Hill of Megiddo (Har Megiddo in Greek) and the Jezreel Valley. Revelation 16 tells us only that the nations will gather here. Where does the battle occur? Jerusalem, of course!

Later, at Tel Jezreel, we read about Naboth’s vineyard and Ahab’s palace. Looking just a short distance away, Bill pointed out a patch of trees in the Jezreel Valley. He said that a spring still runs there — perhaps the same spring that irrigated Naboth’s vineyard! There’s no way of knowing for sure, but it’s a good possibility.

Across Nahal (River bed) Harod was the city of Shunem, where Elisha raised a boy from the dead. And not much further to the East, I could see the hilly region of Transjordan known as “Gilead.” No wonder the northern tribes felt a closer bond with their brothers across the Jordan than did Judah in the South! Here, in the North, there is no formidable Wilderness, Rift Valley, or Dead Sea to encourage isolation. Only the lush plains of the Jordan Valley separate the two regions. This had its advantages, but also made the northern tribes more vulnerable to attack.

Saturday night, we stayed in quaint little cabins at Ein Harod, along the base of Mount Gilboa. (Here, I should pause to make a slight clarification. When I say “Mount Gilboa,” or “Mount Carmel,” or the “Mount of Olives,” I’m not talking about purple mountain majesties like Pike’s Peak or Mount McKinley. I’m talking about jagged “mountains” that climb maybe a thousand feet above the neighboring terrain. In the case of Mount Carmel and Gilboa, that’s not more than 2000 feet above sea level.)

Later in the evening, Brian and I ventured up Mount Gilboa, catching a good view of the Jezreel valley below. Somewhere nearby, King Saul of Israel finally admitted defeat against the Philistines, and was willingly slain.

25 years ago, I had the privilege of traveling to Israel for a semester through the Master’s College IBEX program. To celebrate the 25th anniversary, I’m sharing highlights from my journal, emails, and photos. Feel free to share your own IBEX memories here as well!

Late March 2000. Springtime has arrived in Israel! Gone are the cold, wet, even snowy days that characterized our first couple months at IBEX. Now, we’re enjoying the warmth and beauty of spring.

Weather was unpredictable our first couple months. Most days were cold enough that a sweatshirt or light jacket was necessary to stay comfortable. The sun warmed things up in the late morning and early afternoon, but winds off the Mediterranean kept things cool. Some days were overcast, others bright & sunny, and others particularly cold, windy, and rainy.

I rejoiced every time it rained (pending it wasn’t on a field trip day) because I knew it was nourishing the land and preparing us for a beautiful Israeli spring when everything would be in full bloom. By February, almond trees were already blossoming and birds began to chirp more. Now, spring has officially arrived.

Spring is such a marvelous time, proclaiming God’s infinite goodness, faithful provision, and unspeakable beauty! I can only stand in awe, truly dumbfounded at the God we serve.

One of my favorite study places is a little bench in “IBEX park” (situated on the hillside right next to our dormitories).

From “my bench,” I can gaze out to the west, down through the rolling hills of the Shephelah and, on a clear day, to the Mediterranean coastland beyond. Around me, the flowers boast of bright colors, while trees flaunt their newly green garments.

The busy humming of bees and the gleeful chatter of birds envelop me with their charm, and the gentle coastal wind assuages me from the warm rays of the sun.

One day, I was sitting on my bench when I heard some rustling in the leaves and grass about ten feet in front of me. I kept hearing sounds, when suddenly, a tortoise poked his head out of the grass and continued his journey.

From the tiny bug climbing valiantly up a blade of grass, to the mighty bird soaring majestically overhead, everything seems to proclaim God’s gift of life! Israel is a beautiful place in the spring.

25 years ago, I had the privilege of traveling to Israel for a semester through the Master’s College IBEX program. To celebrate the 25th anniversary, I’m sharing highlights from my journal, emails, and photos. Feel free to share your own IBEX memories here as well!