side for each of the beatitudes mentioned in the Book of Matthew (chapters 5-8) - built to take full advantage of the Sea of Galilee view, this is the most widely visited Sea of Galilee site, year after year. The hill is the reputed site of the Sermon on the Mount; nevertheless, the remains of a previous, fourth-century church Mt. of the Beatitudes church are evident on the lower edge of the ridge and much earlier traditions identified the Mount of the Beatitudes with nearby Mount Arbel. In any case, the current site is a wonderful spot for any Christian to experience the event as it might have been during Jesus’ time, a place to read the Sermon, meditate on it and reflect in tranquility. Continuing around the Sea of Galilee, the next spot of interest to the Christian visitor is Bethsaida, located within Jordan Park in the lower Golan Heights. Bethsaida is the city of Philip, Andrew and Peter (John 12:21); Jesus visited here and cured a blind man (Mark 8:22). It is also mentioned as part of the “Jewish triangle” in Jesus’ time, along with Capernaum and Korazin, the focus of Jewish life and culture of which Jesus said: “Woe unto thee, Korazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.” (Matthew 11:21). Much serious archeological work remains to be done at the site. Nevertheless, its having been discovered, along with its location relatively far away from the shores of the Sea of Galilee, up on a hill, can tell us much about the way Jesus’ fishermen disciples lived and worked and went about their weekly routine. Kursi, the biblical Gergesenes, where the remains of a beautiful Byzantine monastery mark the traditional spot of the Miracle of the Gaderene Swine (Matthew, 8:28-34), is another significant site on the Sea of Galilee’s eastern side. The Galilee abounds with any number of Christian sites. Near Mt. Tabor, in what now is the Arab village of Doburiyah, Jesus cured the epileptic boy (Luke 9, 37-43). Banias, also known as Caesarea Phillipi, is the Golan Heights site of Peter’s confession (Matthew 16:13). Not all the sites in the Galilee that are significant to Christians are enriched with their uniqueness or “holiness” as a result of Jesus having preached, or performed miracles there. At Kibbutz Ginosar, the remains of a first-century boat are on display. This 2000-year-old trireme was discovered in the mud banks of the Sea of Galilee, when the lake receded during a drought in the 1980s, and it may well have been associated with the life of Jesus and the fishermen disciples. “The same day Jesus went out of the house, and sat by the sea side. And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat: and the whole multitude stood on the shore” (Matthew 13:1-2).
Evidence shows that the boat was constructed of a strange combination of various types of wood - probably recycled timber - proof that it was a poor man’s ship, very likely similar to those used by Jesus and His fishermen disciples. There are even those who go so far as to claim that statistically, there is a slight chance that Jesus Himself sailed in this very vessel. In any case, viewing the boat takes pilgrims back in time and places them face to face with a reality that was very much a part of Jesus’ world. And then there’s the Sea of Galilee itself. No trip to the region can be considered complete without a Sea of Galilee cruise, preferably in a wooden boat constructed after a 2000-year old sailing vessel and accompanied by a reenactment of the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes and dining on Sea of Galilee St. Peter’s fish, and for those so inclined, wedding ceremonies on a boat in the midst of the Sea of Galilee can be arranged.
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