Jesus appears to his followers

Mk 16:14-18   Jesus appears to the remaining eleven disciples as they are eating in the upper room of a house in Jerusalem.

Lk. 24:36-49   The disciples in the upper room think they are seeing a ghost, so Jesus invites them to touch his body, and he also eats a piece of fish to show that he is alive.

Jn 20:19-23    On the Sunday evening, Jesus appears to the disciples behind locked doors in the upper room.

Jn 20:24-29    Thomas, who wasn’t present, doesn’t believe that Jesus has risen from the dead. A week later, the disciples are in the upper room again, behind locked doors, when Jesus stands among them. He invites Thomas to feel his wounds. Thomas worships Jesus and declares, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).

 

Shore of the Sea of Galilee at Mensa Christi

Shore of the Sea of Galilee at Mensa Christi  (John 21:1)

 

Jn 21:1-22      After the disciples return to Galilee, Jesus appears to them on the shore of Lake Tiberias (the Sea of Galilee) (see Mark 14:28 and 3 on Map 14). Jesus tells the fishermen where to cast their nets and then cooks breakfast for Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, James, John and two others who have been out in their fishing boats overnight.This event is commemorated by the modern Franciscan Church of the Primacy of Peter at Mensa Christi (‘the table of Christ') built in 1933 on the site of a late 4th century Byzantine chapel on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee at En Tabgha near Capernaum.

 

Tiberias

Lake Tiberias was named after the city of Tiberias on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee (see Map 14). Tiberias was built by Herod Antipas in c.20AD and was named after Herod’s patron, the Roman emperor Tiberius Caesar. It was essentially a Gentile city and there is no record that Jesus ever visited it. It developed administrative functions and became Herod’s capital.

The remains of a Roman tower – part of the Roman city walls – straddle a dual carriageway in the centre of modern-day Tiberias, while other Roman remains can be seen in an archaeological park in the town centre and on the hillside south of the town.

The city had a defensive site on a rocky hill overlooking the lake, with a spa on the site of natural hotsprings further to the south. Excavated remains of the Roman city can be seen on the hillside above Sironit Beach, to the south of the modern town centre. These include a large public building (a ‘basilica’), a theatre, a Roman baths and a market place (a ‘forum’) with shops.

The remains of the Roman spa at Hammath Tiberias, where the spring water is still scalding hot, can be visited today. Other interesting features at Hammath Tiberias include the remains of the Severus Synagogue built in the 4th century AD, whose colourful mosaic floor depicts the Ark of the Covenant, a ram’s horn and a ‘menorah’ – a Jewish seven-branched candlestick.

Today, Tiberias is a popular tourist resort on the Sea of Galilee. ‘Jesus boats’ – replicas of a 1st century fishing boat discovered at Magdala in 1985 – provide a regular passenger service to En Tabgha and Ein Gev. The Galilee Experience, located on the Tiberias waterfront, is a state-of-the-art multimedia presentation covering four thousand years of Galilean history from the perspective of Messianic (Christian) Jews.

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