Can you believe the Bible? And does it really matter? How can you be sure that the Bible is all it's cracked up to be? Join David Curry, a pastor, author and worldwide traveler as he shares his knowledge of many biblical places throughout the Middle East. He will take you on a journey through numerous archaeological finds that prove the validity of the biblical narrative, showing that you can believe what many have rejected. Welcome to the biblical wonders in the Middle East.
Here is your host, Pastor David Curry. I wish to welcome you to our presentation today when we'll be dealing with some of the amazing things that happened in Jesus ministry in Israel. We go back something like 2000 years and Israel at that time was totally different to what we see today.
Obviously there were no cars and roads as we have them today. Donkeys were one of the main forms of transport and interestingly enough you still find donkeys being used today. These are used mainly by the many Arabs who live in Israel.
You'll find many Arab ladies carrying their purchase goods on their heads as they have for many centuries. Yes, many things have changed in Israel, but there are still some old customs existing among modern lifestyles places that were existing in Jesus'day, such as Nazareth, Bethany, Capernaum, Jericho, Cana and Tiberius are still there today, though in some cases their names have changed. First let's go to Bethany which is over the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem, which you can travel over by small pathways or you can go by road around the Mount of Olives.
Bethany was where Martha and Lazarus lived and sometimes their sister Mary. Jesus had healed Mary for she was demon possessed and he loved to visit this home. Today a fairly elaborate home is reputed to be their Bethany residence.
Not far away are several tombs and one is supposed to be the tomb where Lazarus was laid when he died. It's not a large tomb, but on the outside there's a channel where a stone could be rolled to seal up the tomb. This was of course very necessary while the body was decomposing inside.
The tomb is not very large. Although two or three people can go in and inspect the tomb together. We cannot prove that this was Lasha's tomb, but we cannot prove otherwise.
So it is reasonable to accept that this may have been the spot. Let's look together at John eleven where the story of Lazarus death and resurrection unfolds. Now a certain man was sick, lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore the sister sent to him saying lord, behold, he whom you love is sick. So when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was.
Then after this he said to the disciples, let us go to Judea again. The disciples said to him, rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone you, and are you going there again? We can see in this passage that Mary and Martha believed that Lazarus may have been healed by Jesus had he been there. However, the disciples had some reservations that he should go to Bethany because of people who did not believe in Jesus.
Let's notice verses eleven to 14. These things he said, and after that he said to them, our friend Lezra sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up. Then his disciples said, Lord, if he sleeps, he'll get well.
However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought he was just speaking about taking a rest and sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead. Jesus gets closer to Bethany when Martha comes out to meet him.
Notice further from chapter eleven, verses 20 to 24. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him. But Mary was sitting in the house.
Now Martha said to Jesus, lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you. Jesus said to her, Your brother will rise again.
Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection of the last day. Well, it's very interesting that Martha knew about the resurrection when Christ will return. She thought that Jesus was referring to this time when Lazarus would again be raised up.
After a discussion about the resurrection, Jesus continued saying, I am the resurrection and the life. Martha then went to get Mary, who, when she knew that Jesus was asking after her, arose and went to meet him also. She fell down at his feet and said, lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
It's interesting to follow the story as it is given in John eleven. Let's do this. And he said, Where have you laid him? And they said to him, Lord, come and see.
Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, See how he loved him. And some of them said, could not this man who opened the eyes of the blind also have kept this man from dying? Then Jesus again, groaning in himself, came to the tomb.
It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. And Jesus said, Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to him, lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead for four days.
And Jesus said to her, did I not say to you that if you would believe, you would see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, father, I thank you that you have heard me. And I know that you always hear me because of the people who are standing by.
I said this, that they may believe that you sent me. Now, when he had said these things, he cried with a loud voice, lazarus, come forth. And he who died came out banned, bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth.
Jesus said to them, Loose him and let him go. Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary and had seen the things Jesus did believed in him. This is a wonderful story and we can look forward to the resurrection of the last days that Martha believed in and to which she referred at that glorious event.
Those who have accepted Christ as their personal saviour and those who lived up to the light that they have known, will be raised when Christ comes again. This gives us all a wonderful hope for our future, doesn't it? This story from Bethany enriches our faith in Christ and the amazing prophecies that he has provided for us to enlarge that hope. Well, you know, in the very next chapter of John, that is chapter twelve, we have another interesting and important story also from Bethany, where Christ raised Lazarus from the dead.
This story is told in each of the Gospels, though, as I said, it's an important story. This time there's a feast at Bethany which was put on by Simon, the mayor of the village. Simon had been healed of leprosy by Jesus, and because of this and the resurrection of Lazarus, he held a feast in Jesus'honour.
As Mark records, mary, whom Jesus had healed of having demon possession, came in with a flask of spikenard, which was a very costly perfume. This perfume was gathered from the valerian plant in the Himalayan mountains and taken all the way to Israel. Can you imagine what Mary had in her alabascar? Flask was worth a year's wages.
As she poured this over Jesus'head and feet, that aroma filled the whole room. She had given all that she had in gratitude for her own healing. But now the critic started.
Judas, who was soon to betray Jesus, blurted out that this should have been sold and the money given to the poor. He was in charge of the money bag used by the disciples, and would have liked to have charge of this perfume money and probably used some for himself. But Jesus came to Mary's aid.
Notice in Mark 14 six to nine. But Jesus said, let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for me.
For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good, but me you do not have always. She has done what she could. She's become forehand to anoint my body for burial assuredly.
I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her. Notice those last words wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her. This story is told over and over again, the reason being that it retells the Gospel story.
Jesus gave his all that we might be saved. Mary gave her all in order to anoint Jesus and give special thanks for what he had done for her. The Gospel is about giving rather than getting.
Mary gave, Jesus gave, and he wants us all to give. We give ourselves over to him that he might give us the life that belongs to Him. He bestows upon us without measure his bountiful love and his amazing grace.
As we've already noticed, the Apostle John wrote so many good things about Jesus. In John Nine, there's another amazing story, another biblical wonder in the Middle East. John nine one to two.
Now, as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind? Notice that this man was born blind. But the question the disciples asked Jesus, who sinned that he was born blind? Did he sin? Or did his parents sin that he was born blind? It's obvious that the man himself could not have sinned.
He was born blind. How could he sin in the womb or at birth? But Jesus made it clear that neither he nor his parents sinned to cause his blindness. In verse five, Jesus said, as long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
Jesus was about to give this blind man something that he never dreamt would happen to his blind eyes. Interestingly enough, Jesus bat on the ground and made mud with his saliva. Then it would seem to us that he made matters worse by putting this mud on the blind man's eyes.
Then he told the man to go and wash in the pool of Siloam. What amazing group. When he did exactly what Jesus asked him to do and came back seeing this man who had begged for most of his life could now see, I think we can imagine him making his way to the pool of Siloam.
He would descend the steps there and perhaps kneel down and cup water in his hands and throw it over his eyes. Immediately he could see the wall on the other side of the pool. He would look further up and perhaps for the first time in his life, see a bird flying in the sky.
Then he quickly made his way up the steps and backed to the crowd that Jesus had left wondering what would happen to this blind man. And there he is able to see them all. They then took the man to the Pharisees.
The chapter tells us that it was a Sabbath when this miracle had taken place. Notice chapter nine and verse 15. Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight.
He said to them, he put clay on my eyes, and I wash and I see. Now, the Pharisees claimed that Jesus could not be from God because he healed this man on the Sabbath. Then they even doubted that he was the blind man who begged at the gate every day.
They then called for his parents to verify that this man was the blind man. The parents assured the questioners that this indeed was their Son who was born blind. When questioned as to how he was able to see, the parents told them to ask their Son, for he's old enough and he could tell them.
The Pharisees did not want to give Jesus the credit for this healing and even called Him a sinner for breaking the Sabbath. It's quite amazing that such a clear miracle was performed on the Sabbath. But the Lord of the Sabbath is accused of breaking the Sabbath because he healed a man on his holy day.
It's interesting to note how many times in the Gospel jesus heals people on the Sabbath. In our last presentation, we shared the giving of the commandments of Mount Sinai to the children of Israel. The Fourth Commandment.
Remember the Sabbath Day? To keep it holy was no less important then than it is today. Israel was told very clearly to remember this day and not to work on it. When Jesus came to Earth, he revealed how important it was to keep the Sabbath, but also to do good on the Sabbath, particularly when it came to restoring health to people.
The healing of this blind man was one such example. You know, in today's society we do not close hospitals on the Sabbath. Doctors and nurses are needed to care for the sick and where possible, restore them to health.
My church, the 7th day Adventist Church, operates more hospitals and clinics around the world than any other Protestant church. We roster nurses and doctors for their work, so they can also enjoy the privileges of worshipping on the Sabbath. We're not required to be on duty at their hospital or clinic.
The blind man was healed on the Sabbath. And would you believe it, the Pharisees excommunicated him from the synagogue worship services, for he claimed that his healer must be a prophet and not a sinner. He then himself came to recognize Jesus as the Son of God, who was the light of the world and gave to this man sight and a greater vision of the light.
When John is concluding his gospel, he says in John 2030 and 31, and truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name. John is clearly saying that he's written enough of the miracles that Jesus performed that his readers might believe in Jesus, the Son of God, who was indeed the Messiah predicted by so many prophets in the Old Testament. Let's now come to a very old city known as Beethain.
This city also had a Greek name Scythopolis. According to the Bible, during a battle against King Saul at nearby Mount Gilbia in the year 1004 BC, the Philistines prevailed, and Saul, together with three of his sons, they were Jonathan Abinadeb and Mel Kashur. They died in battle.
One, Samuel 31 ten states that the victorious Philistines hung the body of King Saul on the walls of bitshan. The bodies didn't stay there, for men from JBish. Gilead came by night, took the bodies down and burned them, and then later buried the bones.
In 63 BCE. Pompeii made Judea a part of the Roman Empire. Beat Shen was refounded and rebuilt by a general called Gabinius.
The town center shifted from the summit of the mound, or the tell to its slopes. Scythopolis prospered and became the leading city of the Decapolis. In fact, it was the only one west of the Jordan River.
The city flourished under the Romans, as is evidenced by the high level urban planning and extensive construction, including the best preserved Roman theater of ancient Samaria, as well as a hippodrome and other trademarks of the Roman influence when the Romans were taking the whole of Israel from 66 Ad. To 70 Ad. It's interesting that this town was not destroyed.
Why? Because they capitulated to the Roman armies. So once again, we have a city well known today, which is also mentioned in the Scriptures. Some of the ruins are well preserved, and because of this, it's a very interesting place to visit.
In our presentation today, we have focused on the Book of John and some of the miracles that Jesus performed that have to be among some of the biblical wonders of the Middle East. Let's take the time to look at several other facts in John that help to establish Jesus as the Messiah of biblical prophecy. In John two, it's recorded the first of the signs or miracles that Jesus performed in Cana, a town not far from the Sea of Galilee.
In fact, it is called Cana of Galilee. Jesus and the disciples were invited to a wedding in this place, and they accepted the invitation. Jesus'mother was also at this wedding as normal.
Today there was a wedding breakfast following the nuptials being tied. Maybe there were more guests that had been planned for, we don't know, but they ran out of wine. Mary, knowing this, said to Jesus, they have run out of wine.
And Jesus answered in what seems to us to be a strange statement to his mother. Notice what he said. Jesus said to her, woman, what does your concern have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.
As I said this appears to be a very strange and even off handed statement to his mother. But if we go back to the times of Jesus, the title used for his mother woman was in fact a very respectful title. He appears to reject his mother's encouragement to prematurely promote himself, but then his mother tells her servants to do whatever he asked them to do.
This shows that Mary was in no way offended by what we would think as an offhanded remark to his mother. Right at hand were six ceramic water pots that could hold between 80 to 100 liters of water each. Though too heavy to be carried.
Jesus asked them to fill these water pots and then take some of the wine to the mass of ceremonies. He declared that this wine was better than that served at first to the guests, which was not normal in those days. Jesus had changed the water into the best of the drink.
Some have asked well why Jesus would give fermented wine to the guests. Well, if this was the autumn time and this is the most likely period, this wine was probably grape juice in all of its purity. The Greek word onos is used for both fermented wine and unfermented wine, which today we would simply call grape juice.
When Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper or communion just before his death on calvary, the bread that was used was unleavened. In other words, it had no yeast in it. Likewise, the wine used was unfermented yeast, which brings about a type of fermentation.
And fermented wine had no place in the Lord's Supper. For in the Bible these items represent sin. Christ's body and blood had no sin at all.
Therefore, the bread and the wine without yeast and fermentation well, represented the body and blood of Christ. It cannot be perceived that Jesus would turn the water into alcoholic wine. Let's go down from Cana to the Sea of Galilee.
In 1986, two fishermen brothers who were interested in archaeology were on the shores of Galilee that previously found some Roman coins and little Roman pottery. They came across some old nails which had been hammered into wood. They surmised that they were probably nails used in boat building.
A few days later they continued searching the waters and to their surprise they came across a boat submerged in the waters and resting on the sand and mud of the bottom of the sea bottom. The waters of Galilee had subsided due to drought and were at their lowest level in many years. They immediately contacted authorities who arrived with some speed.
It was realized in a very short time the lake would return to its normal level due to melting snows and the expected rain. People from all over the world came to photograph and experience this great discovery. It was soon ascertained that this relic was probably 2000 years old.
Could Jesus himself have traveled in this boat with his disciples? At least it was believed that up to 15 persons could travel in this boat at the time when it was floating on Galilee. The archaeologists dug around the boat. They sprayed any mud and sand away with clean water and soon the boat could be seen in its entirety.
The scientists had to be very careful, for the wood had been reduced to cardboard and was very spongy. They could not move it in its present condition. They then sprayed it inside and outside with a waterproof foam.
They then opened up a passage into the lake and floated it around the shore to where they had prepared a place where they could soak the structure in a special resin that would over time, fill the wood again and make it strong. This took something like twelve years. I first saw the boat when it was in this resin.
I must say that the Israelis did everything they could to preserve this amazing find. On top of preserving the boat, they built a whole new museum so that it could be adequately displayed. I've taken at least two groups to this museum complex to see this boat.
They've always been amazed at the structure around the boat that the Israelis built. The fishermen brothers who founded it called it the Peace Boat. But even in the museum there's a sign also calling it the Jesus Boat.
It's quite remarkable that the framework for this boat has been so well preserved. When you think of it being under fresh water for approximately 2000 years, it almost boggles the mind that it still exists. It's wonderful how the Israeli scientists and archaeologists work together to preserve and exhibit this boat as we see it today, we will never know.
But wouldn't it be amazing if Jesus and the disciples used this boat and met the storms on Galilee? One thing we do know, and that is that Jesus will help us over the storms of life that we may face today. He is ever ready to assist us when the Tempter endeavors to take control of our lives. Pray to Him, worship Him, and plan to live with Him throughout eternity.
His miracle working power is available to us today. That's amazing, isn't it? It's really wonderful. Friend.
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