Guided Historical Tour of the Holy Land | Jesus Calls His Disciples (Video 6)

In case you missed it, watch the previous video: Herod the Great and the Fortress of Masada

It was from Capernaum that Jesus called his early disciples – Peter, Andrew, James, and John. When he called, they left their fishing business behind and ultimately changed the world. Come with Melinda and me to what is probably the exact spot where Jesus called the men who would turn the world upside down. Are you ready? Join us at this sixth stop in the virtual tour of Israel.

If you’re excited about the tour, be sure to invite your friends and family to join in on the journey! They can subscribe to our YouTube channel, follow along here on our blog, or catch us on Facebook, we’ll be posting there as well.

Jesus Calls His Disciples

Directly after his baptism in the Jordan River and the temptation in the wilderness, Jesus Jesus went north back to his home in Galilee. There he began his public messianic ministry of teaching and miracles, centered around the good news that the Kingdom of God was at hand.  His headquarters were in the prosperous city of Capernaum, located on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. James, John, Peter, and Andrew were all fishermen based out of the port of Capernaum. Luke 4:38 records an early miracle in which Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law in his home. There is fairly strong evidence that a first century home excavated in in Capernaum under the site of the Church of Saint Peter in that city, may actually be that very home of Peter where the healing occurred. The first century church built over the site of the house is sometimes considered to be the first church building built anywhere in the world. Isn’t it amazing to think that Jesus may have worked from this home for at least part of his ministry?

Nearby—just a one or two minute walk away would have been the Capernaum synagogue, where Jesus had an extensive ministry of teaching, healing and even driving out evil spirits. On our second video on this tour stop I will show you a Moses seat—the place of honor where the leader of the synagogue sat, or perhaps where the main scripture reader for the day sat before he got up to fulfill this role of honor. The ruins of the synagogue you can see in Capernaum are probably from a later building—possibly the fourth century, so the synagogue Jesus would have attended is in the layer beneath the ruins that you can tour.