Israel - Reflection #12 - Tabgha - Church of the Multiplication

 

          I am constantly amazed at the number of people that are not followers of Jesus Christ. I have heard it said, it takes more faith to NOT believe than it does to believe in Jesus. As we visited sites in Israel, the evidence kept piling up higher and higher that this "Jesus thing" is real and amazing. Sometimes I get so impatient with non-believers that do not sense the same urgency I feel. The Israel trip has made me rethink my evangelism and given me a bold confidence in reaching out to the lost. 

          Churches were built almost IMMEDIATELY after Jesus' resurrection and then churches were built upon churches that were built upon other churches. This Church known as the Church of the Multiplication is one of those churches. This beautiful mosaic floor commemorates the place where Jesus fed the 5,000 and dates back to the fourth century(300AD). In the mosaic, the two fishes and the FOUR loaves are original to the fourth century. But, WHY ONLY FOUR LOAVES?  This was done on purpose. The altar, representing Jesus Christ, is considered to be the FIFTH LOAF. Isn't Jesus the BREAD OF LIFE? What an awesome way to commemorate this wonderful miracle!

Tabgha (Seven Springs) has significance for this wonderful miracle of Jesus, but it is also the accepted site of Jesus selecting Peter, James, and John. It is also the possible place the resurrected Jesus appeared to his disciples in John 21. 

'After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the
Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter
, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the
sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together.
Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him,
“We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but
that night they caught nothing. Just as day was breaking, Jesus
stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was
Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?”
They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net on the
right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it,
and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity
of fish. 'John 21:1-6
https://my.bible.com/bible/59/JHN.21.1-6

Our guide, Rami, told us about this event and how significant it is. 

Typically, fishermen throw their nets out on the left side of the boat, toward shallow water. The left side of the boat, in this case, would be facing the Jewish part of the lake. The "Other side" of the lake was the GENTILE side of the lake. When Jesus told them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat, he was giving them instructions that would have been very unorthodox. Yet, they could not haul in the nets because they were so loaded with fish. (John 21:4-6) 

Jesus was telling his disciples, once again, they would be "fishers of men" and those men would be in the vastness of the Gentile world.

I'm not much of a fisherman. I like it, but it just takes so much time with such marginal results. My son-in-law has recently been "net fishing" just like the disciples. Even this form of fishing can be tedious and takes patience casting the net time and again before you get results. Many times he just gives up and waits for a better day. 

What kind of "evangelist" am I? 

Do I go for one fish (person) at a time, or do I try for the big catch? 

I really don't know which is preferred, both of them take a lot of patience. We see the people that need Jesus, and we long to catch them in our nets or on our line, but it just takes time. We are pressed by the fact that we know time is short, and the return of Jesus is imminent. The world does not have that same sense of urgency. 

We can't give up. 

Please, Lord, give us a heart that is patient and focuses on loving people with all our might. The best bait for catching fish is "your love." Nothing else will do. The more we sense the urgency, that time is short, the more we should love people, the outcasts, and those rejected by society. Lord, give us a heart to love the unloveable so we can have a full boat!

Olive press (Gethsemane) outside the Church of the Multiplication.

Inside the Church of the Multiplication. Such a beautiful place.

This courtyard was used to baptize people before they went into the church during the Byzantine Period.

This is an adult baptismal used in the early 4th century to baptize people before they 

entered the church.

I'm not much