Capernaum

Entrance of Capernaum

Our next stop was Capernaum. After Jesus Christ was rejected by his own hometown in Nazareth, he went to Capernaum and started to preach and did many miracles including casting out of demons. In Luke 4:36, the people were amazed at what authority and power his words possessed and that the evil spirits obeyed him and fled from his command. 

This was also the first place that news about Jesus started to spread like wildfire, after he casted a demon out of a man in Luke 4:33-35. His teachings and miracles in the town caused such a stir and impact among the people that crowds of people were coming to see him. Jesus Christ spend most of his 3 years of ministry in this town whereby he taught and healed many people.

Remains of Capernaum (1)

Today, there are only remains over there after it was partially destroyed in the Persian conquest and the churches and synagogues were totally destroyed during the Arab period after that. The area was purchased in 1894 and rebuilt over several seasons after that. It is a tourist attraction today, whereby many people come from all over the world, to see the once famous town that Jesus ministered in.

Remains of Capernaum (2)

A learning lesson for me in this, is in Mark 1:35, whereby after Jesus had a busy first day in Capernaum ministering and healing many people, he woke up early the next morning to go to a isolated place to pray before he continued his ministry. Jesus could have chosen to get a few more hours of sleep after such a long and tiring previous day, but yet he chose to seek God first early in the morning. Jesus spent time with God in the morning to prepare himself for the day ahead. 

              Remains of a Jewish synagogue   

Sometimes, God may be preparing us for the day ahead or may have a word to say to us. Sometimes, we will need to renew our strength from God and other times it could be just spending intimate time to wait upon him to speak to us. The reason why it is important for us, to be in quiet places, is so that we can learn to communicate with him or meditate on his word without any distractions.