Israel: Mount of Beatitudes

Right after our Sea of Galilee adventure we drove our way to Capernaum, the center of Jesus' ministry and also known as "the town of Jesus." The Gospel records twelve miracles in Capernaum, more than anywhere else in Israel.

During the 1960s,  the Franciscans Friars restored the old synagogues and discovered "The House of Peter" where early Christians meet together to fellowship.  In 1990s, the Roman Catholic built a modern church on top of the church ruins with a glass floor in the middle so visitors can still see the original church.

Our amazing tour guide Avi showing us the map

Identified by the Franciscan archaeologist as Peter's house

View of Peter's house from the top, inside the Roman Catholic church

Synagogue ruins

Depiction of Capernaum synagogue

Blue bus with their tour guide

Star of David engraved in wall

Then we proceed to the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus preached His Sermon on the Mount. Located on a hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee, a modern church with Neo-Byzantine architectural design was completed in 1938. The Church of Beatitudes features octagonal floor plan, mozaic pavements with eight sides representing the eight Beatitudes.

Above picture believes to be the spot where Jesus preached The Beatitudes, the place has an amazing acoustic that whoever speaks on top will be heard by people below.

The Sermon on the Mount; The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12)

When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Our last stop was Tabgha on the shore of Sea of Galilee where Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection. 

Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.  “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No,” they answered.
He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” --John 21:1-7

You will find here The Church of the Primacy of St. Peter, another modern church built by the Franciscan in 1933 which incorporates part of an earlier 4th century church. The church was located in the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee

Church of the Primacy of St Peter

Modern-day disciples of Jesus Christ