Capernaum
Only four books in the entire Bible make reference to the city of Capernaum. But those four books are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which makes this city a very significant place for Christians. It was a prominent location in Jesus' ministry, and so we cherish it still today.
Capernaum, which means "village of comfort," is situated along the northern coast of the Sea of Galilee. It was evidently the hometown of several of Jesus' disciples. More significantly, it appears to be the place that Jesus Himself adopted as His new hometown. It may have been central to His life and ministry, therefore. And we certainly see evidence in the Gospels of many specific events from His ministry occurring in our near Capernaum. Today, significant excavations have been done to uncover the ancient ruins of Capernaum. A visitor to the site today can get a feel not only for the region that surrounded this place that was so important to Jesus, but also for the size and arrangement of the town itself. Furthermore, considerable archaeological work has been done to reconstruct the synagogue (visible in the background of the picture above), which was part of that ancient city, and which was the site of some moments from Jesus' ministry (e.g., Mark 1:21, John 6:59). |