closely resembled, he also sought out the places where men could be
found in great numbers. The later Maccabean rulers and Herod
transformed the hitherto comparatively deserted valley of the lower
Jordan into fruitful fields, irrigated by the brooks from the
hillside, studded with prosperous villages and guarded with mighty
strongholds. The Jordan valley, which touched all the Jewish parts of
Palestine--Judea itself, Perea, Samaria, and Galilee--was the chief
field of John's work. Bethabara (House of the Ford) has been generally
identified with the famous ford called Abarah, opposite Scythopolis.
The best Greek manuscripts, however, read "Bethany beyond the Jordan."
It is doubtful whether John's work extended so far north as the
Decapolis. It is exceedingly probable that the variant readings are
due to a confusion of the original, which read Beth Nimrah, which is
represented by Tell Nimrin beyond the Jordan northeast of Jericho, at
the point where the Wady Nimrin breaks through the Gileadite hills. It
was evidently an important town, commanding the road which leads
inland from this point and was within the field of John's activity.
=The Baptism of Jesus.= If so, the ford where Jesus met and was
baptized by John was probably a little northeast of Jericho, just
below the point where the Wady Nimrin joins the Jordan, rather than
farther south at the traditional scene of the baptism.^{(118)} In any
case, it is easy to picture the coffee-colored stream pausing in its
tempestuous course just before it enters the Dead Sea. A thicket of
bushes and overhanging trees shut in the view on either side, making
a strange but fitting sanctuary for the meeting of the fearless
prophet and the disciple from distant Nazareth, who had doubtless
come, attracted by the rumors regarding his work and words. Whether
John knew it or not, that moment marked the culmination of his own
life task. To Jesus it meant the consecration of himself not only to
that for which John stood, but also to that vastly larger, broader
task that had been revealed to him in the quiet years at Nazareth. His
act, simple yet profoundly significant, brought to Jesus a full divine
assurance of God's approval. He was yet to find the place, men, and
means with which to work, but henceforth he was completely committed
to his task. The biblical narrative implies that after this wonderful
meeting with John there came to Jesus, as at frequent times in his
ministry, a great reaction. He was led to seek the solitude of the
wilderness west of the Jordan, there to battle with the temptations
that assailed him, there to win the surpassing peace and poise that
characterized his acts and words in all the great crises of his
ministry.
=Machærus Where John Was Beheaded.= The Synoptic Gospels, as well as
the Fourth, imply that for a brief period Jesus took up the message
and adopted the methods of John, preaching with great success among
the country villages of Judah. His work appears to have been brought
to a sudden end by the arrest of John, whose fearless denunciation of
Herod's crime in putting away his own wife, the daughter of Aretas,
had aroused the resentful hatred of Herod and of Herodias, the partner
in his guilt. In keeping with the methods of the age, John was seized
and imprisoned at Herod's most distant fortress, Machærus,^{(38)}
which lay three thousand and seventy feet above the sea, on the top of
a long flat ridge running for more than a mile from east to west.
According to Pliny, it was, next to Jerusalem, the strongest fortress
in the land. It had been reared by Herod the Great in the place of the
old Maccabean stronghold. In the centre of it was an impregnable
citadel. The encircling wall, one hundred yards in diameter, can
still be traced. The interior is singularly bare, but a very deep well
and two dark dungeons remain. Apparently Herod the Great also built a
strong Roman city at the head of this valley. It rested like a
swallow's nest on the lofty edge of the Moabite plateau. Acres of hewn
stone with crumbling walls testify to its size and strength. In the
centre are the ruins of a huge palace or castle about two hundred feet
long and a hundred and fifty feet wide, with traces of rounded towers.
Several passages lead to underground cisterns and dungeons, suggesting
that this may have been the castle of Herod Antipas, beneath which
John the Baptist was confined. Either here or in the citadel farther
down the valley the intrepid prophet spent his last days. In this
sinister spot, associated as it was with Alexander Janneus, Herod the
Great, and his son Antipas, John the Baptist was beheaded.
=Effect of John's Imprisonment Upon Jesus.= The news of John's
imprisonment evidently made a deep impression upon Jesus. It led him
to change the scene and method of his work. He left Judea, with its
harsh scenery and narrow life, and returned to the simpler and more
joyous scenes in Galilee. He still continued in part to preach, but
more and more he devoted himself to the task of the teacher and sought
to draw from the multitudes that gathered about him certain disciples
who would stand in closest personal touch with him and embody in their
lives and teachings the message which he wished to impart to his race.
=Jesus' Appearance.= The gospels record the inner spiritual growth of
the divine Son of God; but the environment amidst which he lived
suggests the nature of his physical development. Nazareth is still
famous for its attractive, wholesome type of men and women. Its
wholesome surroundings, soil, and air all make for perfect health. The
artists of the Middle Ages had no basis other than their morbid
religious fancies in painting their grotesque pictures of the Christ.
Constant exposure to the hot oriental suns meant that his complexion
was deeply browned. The out-door life among the Galilean hills meant
that he was probably tall in stature; his labors and long journeys
reveal great strength of muscle. He probably had the thin nostrils and
lustrous eyes that still characterize the pure Semitic type. The
impression which he made at first glance upon all whom he met
indicates that his was a perfect physical development. Had he
permitted the enthusiastic multitudes that followed him to proclaim
him king he would indeed have graced a throne. Through his mien and
bearing was revealed the serene heart, in perfect harmony with the
Divine Father and throbbing in sympathy with the needs and aspirations
of all mankind. Thus there is every reason to believe that Jesus was
in body, as well as in mind and in soul, the supreme and culminating
product of God's creative work.
XXIV
THE SCENES OF JESUS' MINISTRY
=Why Jesus Made Capernaum His Home.= At the beginning of his Galilean
ministry Jesus transferred his home, as well as the scene of his work,
from Nazareth to Capernaum. The choice of this city reveals the
breadth of his purpose. Capernaum was the commercial metropolis of
northern Palestine. Here converged the great highways from Egypt,
central Palestine, Gilead, and Arabia on the south, which in turn led
to Phœnicia, northern Syria, Damascus, and Babylonia. Although it was
a strongly Jewish town, its population was necessarily cosmopolitan.
Many different occupations were here represented. The fish that were
caught, especially in the northern part of the lake, were famous
throughout Galilee. The basaltic, well-watered plains about the
northern end of the Sea of Galilee bore rich crops of grain; while on
the rocky but fertile hills shepherds pastured their flocks. The
position of the town also made it an important commercial centre.
Roman tax collectors and centurions made it their head-quarters. Thus
Capernaum was an epitome of the varied life of Galilee. Teachings
implanted at this strategic point would also quickly spread in all
directions along the eastern Mediterranean seaboard.
=Site of Capernaum: Archæological Evidence.= The exact situation of
Capernaum has been the subject of long dispute. The two rival sites
are (1) Tell Hum, at the northern end of the Sea of Galilee, and (2)
Khan Minyeh, or the neighboring hill known as Tell Oreimeh on the
northwestern side of the lake.^{(33)} Although extensive excavations
have not yet been conducted at these points, the archæological
evidence thus far discovered points clearly to Tell Hum as the site
of Capernaum. On the top of Tell Oreimeh, which rises about two
hundred and forty feet above the level of the lake, are the ruins of
an old Amorite town. At this point, however, as well as at Khan Minyeh
and in the neighboring plain, not a single trace of Roman ruins can be
discovered. At Khurbet Minyeh, farther north, near the shore of the
lake, are the extensive ruins of a large Arab town which flourished
during the Middle Ages. In the absence of any trace of Roman ruins it
is incredible that the great metropolis of Capernaum could ever have
occupied this site.
=Ruins at Tell Hum.= Tell Hum, on the contrary, is the centre of a
vast area of ruins which come from the Roman and Arabic period, and
clearly was once the site of a huge city.^{(119)} Great, black,
basaltic blocks are strewn in every direction, with occasional
fragments of capitals and columns of white limestone. In the
neighboring valley is an extensive Roman necropolis, which is itself
clear evidence that near by was once a great and flourishing city. In
the centre of these ruins are the remains of the largest synagogue
thus far discovered in Galilee. It was built of white limestone and
lavishly decorated. Of the many artistic figures which were thus
employed the seven-branched candlestick, palms, and vines are
distinctively Jewish. The foundations and many of the fallen pillars
of this noble structure still remain, and are jealously guarded by the
Franciscan monks, who have surrounded the whole by a high, enclosing
wall. The synagogue evidently faced the lake. In front was a raised
pavement, to which steps led up from the east and west. Like most of
the synagogues of Galilee, it was entered by three doors, of which the
central was six feet in width and those on the sides four and a half
feet. The synagogue itself was seventy-eight feet long and fifty-nine
feet wide. The inner court was surrounded on three sides by rows of
columns on which rested an upper gallery. The synagogue of which the
ruins survive probably dates from the second Christian century, but
there are distinct indications that it stood on the site of an older
building. This older synagogue was in all probability the one so
frequently mentioned in the Gospel narratives (cf. Mk. 1:21-27, Lk.
7:1-10, 8:41, Mt. 12:10-13).
=Testimony of the Gospels and Josephus.= The parallel passages in John
6:17 and Matthew 14:34 clearly imply that Capernaum was on the
northern border of the Plain of Gennesaret. By many scholars this has
been recorded as decisive evidence that the city, which was the scene
of the greater part of Jesus' ministry, was at Khan Minyeh or Tell
Oreimeh, which lie in the northern part of the Plain of Gennesaret. A
reference in Josephus, however, leaves little doubt that during the
first Christian century the term Gennesaret included the low-lying
territory to the northeast of Tell Oreimeh, which rises in the midst
of the plain, and that its northeastern end was the famous spring Of
Tabighah^{(120)} which bursts from the hillside at the point where the
northern hills descend close to the lake. After describing the
marvellous fertility of the Plain of Gennesaret Josephus says: "For
besides the good temperature of the air, it is also watered from a
most fertile fountain. The people call it Capernaum. Some have thought
it to be a vein of the Nile because it produces the coracin fish (the
catfish) as well as that lake which is near Alexandria." During the
Arab occupation this spring was enclosed in an octagonal basin which
keeps out the catfish that abound in all the inlets on the
northwestern side of the lake and originally were doubtless found in
this copious fountain, as is stated by Josephus (_cf._ Masterman,
_Studies in Galilee_, 80). His statement also implies that the Roman
city of Capernaum extended westward to the fountain Tabighah on the
border of the Plain of Gennesaret. In his _Life_ (§ 72) Josephus also
tells of his being wounded in a skirmish near Bethsaida Julias, east
of the Jordan. From there he was "carried into a village named
Capharnome." This reference points clearly to Tell Hum, only four
miles from Bethsaida Julias, as the site of Capernaum, rather than to
Khan Minyeh, two and a half miles further west on the same road.
=Statements of Early Pilgrims.= The first Christian pilgrim to give an
account of Capernaum is Bishop Arculf who visited this region about
670 A.D. Proceeding from Tiberias, he crossed the Plain of Gennesaret,
and from a hill near the spring Tabighah he viewed Capernaum, which he
thus describes: "It had no wall, and being confined to a narrow space
between the mountain and lake, it extended a long way upon the shore
from west to east, having the mountain on the north and a lake on the
south." The description, while general, accords perfectly with the
peculiar topography of the northern end of the Sea of Galilee. Near
the spring Tabighah the hills come close to the shore, and then
eastward gradually recede, leaving a narrow but ever-widening strip of
land which extends northeastward for two miles to Tell Hum. Inasmuch
as the inhabitants of Capernaum drew their water supply from the lake
and were chiefly engaged in commerce and fishing or else in
cultivating the rich fields of black, basaltic earth which sloped
northward from the town, it was natural that the town should extend
for at least two miles along the shore. Later Christian pilgrims echo
the same testimony regarding the site of Capernaum. The Dominican
monk, Burkhard, at the close of the thirteenth century, in describing
the fountain Tabighah says: "Josephus calls this fountain Capernaum
because the whole land from the fountain to the Jordan--a distance of
two hours--belonged to Capernaum." Not until the seventeenth century
was it suggested that the ancient site was situated at Khan Minyeh
instead of on the northern side of the lake. This identification by a
certain Quaresmius was apparently due to the extensive ruins of the
large Arab town that flourished there during the Middle Ages.
=Site of Chorazin.= Two miles north of Tell Hum, beside a wild,
volcanic gorge, on a rocky bluff about eighty feet high, that projects
far out into the valley, are the remains of another Roman town which
bears to-day the name Kerazeh. This is the Arabic equivalent of the
biblical Chorazin.^{(121)} This site agrees with Jerome's statement
that Chorazin was two miles from Capernaum. Although it was not
directly on the Sea of Galilee, as his description implies, it
commanded from certain points a view of the lake which lay below. The
ruins of the ancient town are scattered over several acres, and
indicate that Chorazin was probably once as large as Capernaum. Its
chief public building was also a synagogue, seventy-four feet long and
forty-nine feet wide, and entered by a triple gateway. Its Corinthian
columns were elaborately decorated, in a style that suggests that it
comes from a period not earlier than the second Christian century.
Like that at Capernaum, it probably stands on the site of the older
synagogue in which Jesus taught the Jewish inhabitants of this retired
Roman city. The remains of olive presses indicate that the town was
once encircled by olive groves. Near by are also fields, the rich,
basaltic soil of which doubtless bore the superior quality of wheat
for which, according to the Babylonian Talmud (_Menahoth_ 85 A),
Chorazin was famous.
=Bethsaida.= Bethsaida, which also witnessed many of Jesus' mighty
works, was, according to Pliny and Jerome, on the east of the Jordan.
Here Jesus retired from the territory of Herod Antipas when the news
came of the death of John the Baptist. The town was situated
immediately east of the point where the Jordan enters the delta
through which it discharges its waters into the Sea of Galilee.^{(122)}
Philip, the son of Herod the Great, rebuilt and transformed it into a
Greek city, giving it the name Julias in honor of the daughter of his
patron Augustus. It is represented to-day by the ruins known as
Et-Tell. The site was well chosen. To the south is the rich, alluvial
plain made by the delta of the Jordan. It rested on a rounded hill
which rose fifty or sixty feet above the plain. Extensive Roman ruins
reveal the importance of this southern metropolis of Philip's
territory.
=Probable Scene of the Feeding of the Multitudes.= At this secluded
point, which commanded a marvellous view of the Sea of Galilee to the
south, lived three of Jesus' disciples, Andrew, Peter, and Philip. The
waters of the lake immediately below the delta are still the best
fishing grounds^{(123)} in all the Sea of Galilee. Eastward and
northward of the Jordan delta is a wealth of grass which covers the
rich plain and runs up the slopes of the eastern hills. This point,
which was a lonely place beyond the limits of the city, fully accords
with the statement of the Fourth Gospel, "Now there was much grass in
this place." Although early Christian tradition fixes the scene of the
feeding of the multitudes on the northern borders of the Plain of
Gennesaret, it is probable that here on the northeastern side of the
sea Jesus, undisturbed, was able to teach the multitudes and to
satisfy their great spiritual as well as physical needs.
=The Night Voyage of the Disciples=. The evidence that there was a
Bethsaida west of the Jordan breaks down on close examination. The
crucial passage, Mark 6:45, which states that after feeding the
multitude Jesus told his disciples to cross over in advance to
Bethsaida, would perhaps mean that they were simply to go in the
direction of Bethsaida. The continuation of the narrative in Mark, as
well as the parallel passage in Matthew 14:34, states that they
crossed over and landed on the Plain of Gennesaret, while John 6:17
adds that their destination was Capernaum. The physical
characteristics of the northern end of the Sea of Galilee throw much
light upon the night voyage of the disciples. The actual distance from
the lonely spot southeast of Bethsaida to Capernaum was only about six
miles. Their course was almost due westward toward the point where the
Plain of Gennesaret and the wadies behind lead to the heights of upper
Galilee. Through this open gateway sudden wind storms rushed down
across the lake with terrific violence. While we were riding by this
spot one beautiful day in March a storm of this kind suddenly swept
down across the valley near Khan Minyeh, transforming the placid lake
into a mass of windswept waves and compelling some men in a sail-boat
to lower their sails and drive before the storm. Even the members of
our own party had difficulty for a time in keeping in the saddles, so
fierce was the wind, although at the same time the southern part of
the lake was almost undisturbed. Against such a western gale the weary
disciples struggled all night until morning. At last, as the Fourth
Gospel states, Jesus, ever solicitous for the welfare of his friends,
came out to meet them as they were near to the land.
=Places Where Jesus Taught His Disciples.= On the southern side of the
Plain of Gennesaret, where one of the streams that waters the plain
flows into the sea, was the little town of Magdala, under the shadow
of the bluffs that come close to the shore on the south.^{(33)} It was
a walk of only four or five miles from Jesus' home at Capernaum. A
little east of the road which ran from Capernaum to Nazareth were the
rounded, treeless heights known as the Horns of Hattin, where,
according to tradition, Jesus sat down and taught his disciples the
great truths contained in the Sermon on the Mount. To the north and
west of Capernaum are many quiet heights commanding exquisitely
beautiful views across the sea below. To these Jesus doubtless often
retired, sometimes accompanied by his disciples. The earliest
Christian tradition (that of Arculf, about 670 A.D.) fixed the scene
of the giving of the Beatitudes and of the Sermon on the Mount on the
top of the hill at the end of the wady that leads up to the north of
the famous fountain of Tabighah.^{(129)} Eugesippus writing in the
twelfth century says that "the descent of the mountain where our Lord
preached to the multitude was two miles from Capernaum," thus
confirming the older identification with the central, commanding, and
yet secluded site near the city that witnessed most of Jesus' teaching
and work. It would appear that (as Dr. Masterman urges in his _Studies
in Galilee_, 87) the difficulties which later prevented pilgrims from
reaching the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee led them to
transfer the traditional site of the "Mount of Beatitudes" to the
Horns of Hattin nearer Tiberias. Along the northern shore of the sea
are also two or three picturesque bays with the land sloping gradually
upward like an amphitheatre. Here it requires little imagination to
see Jesus sitting in the boat with his disciples, surrounded by
attentive crowds. These quiet spots, apart from the city, were of
profound significance in Jesus' ministry, for his great work was that
of a teacher, and they afforded the needed opportunity for quiet
conversation, for question and answer, and for that intimate personal
touch which was the secret of the Master's power.
=Northern End of the Sea of Galilee.= Jesus' active ministry was
performed almost entirely about the northern end of the Sea of Galilee
and was limited to a radius of four or five miles with its centre at
Capernaum. This fact shows convincingly that Jesus' method of work was
intensive rather than extensive. To-day the sadness of the lament
which he uttered over Capernaum, Chorazin, and Bethsaida still
overshadows this most beautiful but loneliest spot in all Palestine.
Save a few monks who live at Tell Hum, each of these sites is almost
absolutely deserted. A hush seems to rest upon the whole land. The
traveller often goes for miles without meeting a human being. Only
occasionally are sails seen upon the northern end of the lake. It is
like an ancient ruined temple, whose sacred memories and associations
are undisturbed by the footfall or voice of man.
=Contrast Between the Northern and Southern End.= On the other hand,
the southern end of the lake has already felt the touch of the modern
commercial world. Tiberias, on the southwestern side, has a population
of over five thousand, of which two-thirds are Jews. At Semakh, on the
southern point of the lake, the railroad from Haifa to Damascus has a
station and is rapidly bringing in not only the tourists, but the
products and life of the outside world. In the time of Jesus also the
Græco-Roman world had largely taken possession of the southern end of
the Sea of Galilee. Tiberias, the city of Herod Antipas, was either
completed or else in the process of building. The site of Tarichea,
whose name suggests its Greek characteristics, was at Kerak, on the
southwestern end of the lake. Across, on the heights opposite
Tiberias, was the thoroughly Greek city of Hippos, already reckoned as
one of the Decapolis. To the southwest, on the bold bluff two thousand
feet above the Sea of Galilee, lay the splendid city of Gadara. Its
great theatre and acropolis commanded a magnificent view of the sea.
Along the height to the west of the city ran the paved Roman highway
with its row of columns, flanked on either side by magnificent villas.
Still farther west, looking down toward the sea, were the tombs of the
rich citizens.