Holy Trip Tour: Capharnaum

Moving on from Tabcha, it was a short ride to Caphernam, the town that was Jesus' home base during his public ministry. And by the way they call it " K-pher-nam" not "Ca-pur-ni-um".

Archaeologists have carefully uncovered homesites that date from the time of Christ. It's easy to get a feel for the layout of the town.

This is a carving believed to date from the time of Jesus and shows the earliest representation of the Star of David and Ark of the Covenant found so far.

 

As you frequently find in ancient sites, buildings are built over the remains of earlier buildings. These are the ruins of a synagogue built on the remains of the synagogue where Jesus taught.

A modern church is built over the site of the home of Peter's mother-in-law (you remember, Jesus healed the paralyzed man here Mark 2:1-11?). It literally hovers over the excavation and has a glass floor so visitors can see it. This is a photo of the site taken inside the church:

Dave reminded us that while Jesus grew up in safety in Nazareth, he was driven out of that town  when he taught in their synagogue, and sought refuge in Capharnaum. Here he attracted a faithful group of followers and from this place he brought the gospel out to the world.