Even the novice student of the New Testament will know about the town of Capernaum, often referred to as the headquarters for Yeshua’s ministry in the Galilee. Capernaum is located on the north-western shore of the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret). In antiquity, Capernaum was an important town–large enough to have a Synagogue and a Roman cohort because it was located along ancient trade route which was still being used in the first century A.D.
Capernaum was the eastern-most city in the Galilee region. As such, it was a place where taxes were collected which explained why there was a Roman presence. In fact Capernaum was home to a Roman garrison with at least 100 soldiers indicated by the presence of a Centurion there. (See Luke 2)
In the time of Yeshua, there were more docks in Capernaum than any other town on the Sea of Galilee speaking again to its size and the nature of trade and industry there.
In the photos below, you will notice that much was built from the local rock–Basalt (volcanic rock). The area nearby was covered with a layer of volcanic rock, so that was the common rock used for building.
Capernaum – Basalt CapernaumCapernaum – Pillared housesCapernaumCapernaumSynagogue at Capernaum (on the site of 1st Century Synagogue)Synagogue – Capernaum
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When you travel in Israel, you can’t help but notice that water is not plentiful. It is, after all, mostly desert. As a result, few rivers or lakes or other bodies of fresh water are available. How did those living in antiquity survive without water being readily available? The answer in many parts of the country was–cisterns. A cistern is not the same as a well. A cistern is a device for rain water collection, and it is typically carved out of rock. This is possible because in many parts of Israel, the rock is limestone which is relatively soft and easily carved. The problem; however, with limestone is that it is very porous, and so to keep the water in the cisterns, the walls were plastered over. The following are some of the cisterns I have visited in Israel.
Looking up out of the cistern in BeershevaThe evidence of plastering of walls of cistern in BeershevaCistern at Beit ShemeshEntrance into the cistern at Beit Shemesh (notice how water has carved the stone)Cistern Qumran (by the Dead Sea)One of several cisterns at HerodianDifferent cistern at Herodian
It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page.
Read Matthew Chapter 28 1. What happened the day after the Sabbath according to Matthew 28:1-4?
2. What did the angel say to the women according to Matthew 28:5-7?
3. Who appeared to the women as they went to tell the disciples what they learned at the tomb according to Matthew 28:9-10? What did He say?
4. What happened with regard to the chief priests and elders in Matthew 28:11-15?
5. Where did the disciples go according to Matthew 28:16? Why?
6. What was their reaction when they saw Jesus according to Matthew 28:17?
7. Review the resurrection in the other gospels and note things that Matthew does not record.
8. Copy Jesus’ statement to them from Matthew 28:18-20. Meditate on this. Record your thoughts and impressions.
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Read Matthew Chapter 27:15 to 65
1. What is Pilate’s question to the chief priests and elders in Matthew 27:22? What is their response?
2. What further question does Pilate ask in Matthew 27:23? What is the response?
3.What does Pilate do in Matthew 27:24? Why?
4. What is the response of the people?
5. What did Pilate do next according to Matthew 27:26? What happened to Jesus?
6. Where was Jesus taken according to Matthew 27:27
7. What was a praetorium? Where was the praetorium located in Jerusalem?
8. What happened to Jesus according to the following verses?
Matthew 27:28
Matthew 27:29
Matthew 27:30
Matthew 27:31
9. What happened as they led Jesus to be crucified according to Matthew 27:32?
Going deeper: What authority existed for the Romans to compel Simon the Cyrene to carry Jesus’ cross.
10. Where did they take Jesus according to Matthew 27:33?
Going deeper: Where was the site of the crucifixion located? Be sure to note the source of your information.
11. What did they give to Jesus according to Matthew 27:34? What was Jesus’ response?
12. What did they do with his clothing according to Matthew 27:35?
13. What do you learn from Psalm 22:18?
14. What were they doing according to Matthew 27:36?
15. What “accusation” was written over Jesus’ head according to Matthew 27:37?
16. In what languages was the inscription written according to John 19:20?
17. What was the reaction of the Chief priests to the inscription according to John 19:21? How does Pilate respond in John 20:22?
18. Who was crucified alongside of Jesus according to Matthew 27:38?
19. What were those who passed by doing according to Matthew 27:39-40?
20. Who else was mocking Jesus according to Matthew 27:41-44? What were they saying?
21. What happened according to Matthew 27:45?
Going deeper: What is the sixth hour? The ninth hour?
22. What does Jesus say according to Matthew 27:46? What does it mean?
23. Copy Psalm 22:1. Meditate on this. Record your thoughts and impressions in light of Matthew 27:46.
24. What did they think Jesus was saying according to Matthew 27:47?
25. What did they do according to Matthew 27:48?
26. What was the response of others in Matthew 27:49?
27. What was Jesus’ last act from the cross according to Matthew 27:50?
28. What happened after that according to Matthew 27:51-53?
29. What was the reaction of the Centurion and those with him according to Matthew 27:54?
30. What do you learn from Matthew 27:55-56?
31. Who came to Pilate in the evening to ask for the body of Jesus according to Matthew 27:57-58?
Going deeper: Who was Joseph of Arimathea?
32. What did Joseph do with Jesus’ body according to Matthew 27:59-60?
33. Who else was there according to Matthew 27:61?
34. What happened the next day according to Matthew 27:62-66?
It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page.
I am uncertain of the Biblical correctness of “rebuking” illness in prayer whether private or corporate. I don’t see this type of prayer in the scriptures.
When I look to David, to the Psalmist, I find he never models this “rebuke” of illness in any of the psalms or prayers attributed to him. What he does do is consistent throughout his writings. He always cries out to God and throws himself on God’s mercy for healing and restoration.
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. Psalm 6:2
O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. Psalm 30:2
The psalmist could do this because he knew two things:
God is in charge (of everything) God is merciful and compassionate
When we are seeking healing for ourselves or others, let us remember how the Bible models prayer in this respect. Let us cry out to God, believing that He is able and He is willing to heal, but all things are subject to His will–not ours.
Jewish Quarter – Jerusalem
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Easter is easy to locate in Leviticus . . . just follow the blood. If you have read through the Bible, you may remember Leviticus as one of the more challenging books to get through.
In a chapter near the middle of the book, we find out the purpose of all the blood-letting and sacrifice outlined in Leviticus and other books of the law. Leviticus 17:11 says, ‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’
This statement is a foundational pillar of God’s plan for salvation. Atonement is defined by dictionary.com as “satisfaction or reparation for a wrong or injury; amends.” Had we been alive when sacrifices were being offered in the Tabernacle or the Temple, we would have seen blood flowing from the altar and out of the place of worship. Blood (the sacrifice of life that it represents) and worship are intertwined and inseparable in the Bible. The offerings (Korban) were a means to draw near to Adonai. For the worshiper to be able to meet God, it took a lot of spilled blood and the loss of at least one animal’s life.
Formula for approaching God in Leviticus: Prepare for worship = spill blood
The picture of the sacrifice with the blood spilling out to atone for the sin of the one seeking to approach God was a picture of what was required when God sent His only Son to be the perfect and final sacrifice.
It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page.
Here are the questions and answers to the Easter I.Q. Test:
1. What Jewish holiday was Jesus celebrating right before his trial and subsequent crucifixion? PASSOVER
2. What event did the Prophet Zechariah foretell in his statement “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9) JESUS’ TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM
3. What Easter-related event is predicted to the day in Daniel 9? MESSIAH’S RIDING INTO JERUSALEM ON A DONKEY (REPRESENTING HIMSELF AS A KING OF PEACE)
4. Where was Jesus taken first after his arrest? HOUSE OF ANNAS
5. Upon whose testimony was Jesus sentenced to death? HIS OWN. THEY COULD NOT FIND TWO WITNESSES WHO AGREED AND JESUS FINALLY ANSWERED THE QUESTION, “ARE YOU THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD?” “IT IS AS YOU SAY.”
6. To what representative of the Roman government was Jesus taken for permission to carry out the death sentence? PONTIUS PILATE, ROMAN GOVERNOR
7. What prisoner was released instead of Jesus at the request of the crowd? What crimes was he accused of? BARABAS, REBELLION, ROBBERY, MURDER
8. How many men were crucified with Jesus? THREE
9. Who are two of the people (there were more than 2) at the cross when Jesus died? JOHN, MARY, THE MOTHER OF JESUS; MARY’S SISTER; MARY THE WIFE OF CLOPAS; AND MARY MAGDALENE.
10. What is in the tomb where Jesus was laid after he died on the cross? NOTHING. THE TOMB IS EMPTY! HALLELUJAH! HE IS RISEN!
It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page.
Answer the following basic questions about Resurrection Sunday (Easter) and find out your Easter I.Q. :
1. What Jewish holiday was Jesus celebrating right before his trial and subsequent crucifixion?
2. What event did the Prophet Zechariah foretell in his statement “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9)
3. What Easter-related event is predicted to the day in Daniel 9?
4. Where was Jesus taken first after his arrest?
5. Upon whose testimony was Jesus sentenced to death?
6. To what representative of the Roman government was Jesus taken for permission to carry out the death sentence?
7. What prisoner was released instead of Jesus at the request of the crowd? What crimes was he accused of?
8. How many men were crucified with Jesus?
9. Who are two of the people (there were more than 2) at the cross when Jesus died?
10. What is in the tomb where Jesus was laid after he died on the cross?
Be sure to write your answers down. The key to the quiz will be in tomorrow’s post.
It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page.
It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page.
Passover (Pesach) is one of three major feasts in the Jewish calendar. It was one of the “pilgrim feasts,” during which the Israelites were expected to make pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship in the Temple during the feast. However, the first Passover occurred before any Tabernacle or Temple, while the Jews were still slaves in Egypt.
Beginning in Exodus 12:3 and following, God instructs the people on how to prepare for the first Passover, “on the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. . . . Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month.
Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire-its head with its legs and its entrails. You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’S Passover.”
In Exodus 12:12 and following, God gives the reason for the Passover, “for I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy all mention Passover as do many books detailing the history of the Jews.
What does this have to do with Jesus?
Jesus was a Jew.
Jesus and his disciples had likely come to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover with his disciples when he was betrayed
By the blood of the lamb being smeared on the lintel and doorposts of the houses of the Jews, the judgment of God passed over them on that first Passover in Egypt. Similarly, by the blood of Jesus, the wrath of God passes over those who believe Jesus died for their sins.
Jesus converted the symbols of Passover (cup of redemption) and the unleavened bread into symbols of the new covenant – what we know in the Christian tradition as communion.
Throughout Jewish history, the Passover celebration was pointing forward – to the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world and cause the wrath of God to pass over the children of God.
Who are these who have been passed over? Those who believe that Christ is the Son of God and that His death was a substitutionary death – Jesus because the substitute sacrifice – the lamb to be slain.
Rooted and Grounded 