Moore Perspective: A Biblical Journey Through the Bible Lands: Israel (Part 6 of 10)

Mount of Beatitudes

Recorded in chapters 5–7 of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus preached his celebrated Sermon on the Mount from a hill or mountain near Capernaum.¹ The traditional site is Mount Eremos (a.k.a. the Mount of Beatitudes) on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee between Capernaum and Tabgha (see below). The area is spacious enough for a sizeable gathering of people, and the mountainous environment is conducive to voice projection. The surroundings would have provided ready illustrations of “birds of the air,” “lilies of the field,” and “grass of the field” (Matt. 6:26-30).

Mount of Beatitudes overlooking Sea of Galilee

In his mission of “proclaiming the good news of the kingdom” (Matt. 4:23), Jesus was speaking to a large gathering of Jews still living under the Mosaic covenant (5:17-19), including but not limited to his disciples (4:25; 5:1; 7:28). His message uses imagery and comparisons with which the immediate listening audience would have been familiar, addressing topics particularly relevant to them, while preparing for the advent of God’s spiritual kingdom (the church). In all likelihood, the instructions and admonitions recorded by Matthew were not limited to a single sermon on just one occasion but were regularly and repeatedly taught by Jesus (cp. Luke 6:20-49; 11:2-4, 9-13).

Tabgha

Church of the Primacy of St Peter at Tabgha on the Sea of Galilee

On the northwest coast of the Sea of Galilee, Tabgha is the traditional site of Jesus’ third post-resurrection appearance to at least seven of his disciples, where he prompted the catching of 153 fish and shared a breakfast of fish and bread with these men (John 21:1-14). It was on this occasion that the triple question-answer exchange about love and shepherding occurred between Jesus and Simon Peter, followed by a prediction of Peter’s death (vv. 15-19).² Today a Roman Catholic chapel, the Church of the Primacy of St. Peter, commemorates the event. Another chapel, the Church of the Multiplication, sits on the site where a couple of 4th–5th-century Byzantine churches once stood, including a floor mosaic of a basket of bread and two fish. The chapel’s name is based on the presumption that Jesus’ miracle of feeding the 5,000+ occurred here, but this is uncertain if not improbable (see below).³

Bethsaida and Chorazin

Near Capernaum, on the northern end of the Sea of Galilee, were the villages of Chorazin and Bethsaida. Due to centuries of changes in the landscape and various archaeological excavations, the exact location of each village continues to be debated.⁴ Most of the Lord’s mighty works were performed in these places, including restoring a blind man’s sight in two stages to illustrate the difference between partial understanding and clear knowledge (Mark 8:22-25). But judgment was pronounced on them because, for the most part, they refused to repent (Matt. 11:20-24; Luke 10:13-16).

Et-Tell, proposed site of Bethsaida near Sea of Galilee

Not everyone, however, resisted the Lord’s teachings. Bethsaida (later named Julias) was the hometown of at least three of the Lord’s earliest disciples: Philip, Andrew, and Simon Peter (John 1:44). Being from this culturally-diverse region east of the Jordan River would explain why Philip and Andrew are the Lord’s only apostles with Greek names. At some point Simon Peter and his brother Andrew were living in a house on the other side of the Jordan in Capernaum (Mark 1:21, 29). Being fishermen by trade, they would have been subject to taxation whenever they crossed the river into the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas (cf. Luke 5:27). The house in Capernaum may have belonged to the family of Peter’s wife.

It was near Bethsaida where Jesus taught, healed, and then fed over 5,000 hungry people with five barley loaves and two small fish, his only miracle (besides the resurrection) recorded in all four Gospels (Matt. 14:13-21; Mark 6:31-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-14). Unfortunately many of them “went back and walked with him no more” (John 6:66).

Reflections

The Greeks likened “opportunity” to a bald-headed woman with a forelock. If you reach out as she approaches, you have something to hold on to. But if you wait until she passes by, nothing is left to grasp. Multitudes have had, and continue to have, opportunities to hear, learn from, get to know, and follow Jesus to an abundant life of redemption, freedom from sin, and reconciliation to God. Sadly, it is too late for so many who have squandered these opportunities. May we heed the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount and be among the few who enter by the narrow gate that leads to life (Matt. 7:13-14).

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

¹ The Greek term ὄρος can refer to a single mountain (Matt. 14:23; John 4:20), or hill (Matt. 5:14; Luke 4:29), or mountain peak (Matt. 21:1; 24:3), or mountain range (Mark 5:5, 11).

² See K. L. Moore, “The Tough Love of Jesus,” Moore Perspective (15 Feb. 2014), <Link>.

³ See K. L. Moore, “Beyond the Jordan,” Moore Perspective (9 June 2021), <Link>.

⁴ My wife and I visited one of these sites during our 2015 trip but not in 2023. We also saw the floor mosaic at Tabgha. See K. L. Moore, “My Recent Visit to the Bible Lands,” Moore Perspective (16 Jan. 2015), <Linkl>.