Saturday, April 21
We followed Roman towards the ruin of a large building, which used to be the synagogue:
Look closely at the second picture, the white limestone blocks are actually from the late 4th century, while the dark basalt layer is all that's left of the synagogue from Jesus' time. As was custom, the synagogue sits in the center of town and faces towards the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
"The book of Luke states that a Roman centurion commissioned the building of the synagogue," Roman said. "This Roman is of course the centurion whose servant Jesus heals. Now remember that Romans hated the Jews, they would not even hang around them, they hated them so much, but this Roman was different. He had a love for the Jewish people, so much so, that he built them their own synagogue. So in Luke, when his servant is dying and he hears about Jesus, he sends the synagogue elders to plead with Jesus on his behalf. And these elders give Him this message: 'Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.' Imagine, for a Roman to humble himself like that, and to a Jew no less, was unheard of. But he recognized the authority that Jesus carried and he respected it. And Jesus, hearing this is amazed by this mans faith, saying that He had not found such faith in Israel like this centurion's, and heals the man's servant right then and there."
(Our group as we walk to the synagogue entrance)
(Inside the synagogue. Can you spot Roman?)
At this point, we had entered the synagogue. There were other tourists, but we managed to claim a space on the left hand side and sat on large stone steps, which served as seating back then (which wasn't very comfortable for sitting about 20 minutes, so imagine having to sit there through an entire service!).
We were short for time (we still had one more site to visit that day), but Roman gave us a quick, and very insightful history lesson:
"In Jewish law the only person allowed to read the Torah in public or in the synagogue was a Jewish man. Jewish children, including girls would be taught the Torah from the age of 3 by their fathers, but the girls education would stop when she was 7 years old; then she would start to learn cooking, cleaning and looking after the house, so she could be ready for marriage in a few years. But the boys would go on with their schooling and if they were smart and good at it, their fathers would speak to the local rabbi about their sons possibly studying to be a rabbi.
At the age of 13, that is when a Jewish boy is brought out in public by his father and loved ones, he is honored by them and he reads from the Torah in public for the first time. But he does not read it in the synagogue, he would have to be a rabbi to do that. Now, if the boy studies hard and passes all his tests and becomes a rabbi, he must be of the age of 30 in order to start his ministry and read the Torah in a synagogue."
This statement caused a stir in our group, as we realized that that was Jesus' age when he began his ministry!
"Yes, yes," Roman said, settling us down. "Remember Jesus had said that He came to fulfil the Law, not do away with it. Also, remember when He tells the people that He is the Bread of Life? That sermon took place right here, in this synagogue."
Yet another stir of amazed murmurs began coursing through our little crowd. Just then, Pastor Troy got up to say something:
"Hey ya'll so get this: this year in the Jewish calendar is 5778, for those of ya'll who went to the New Beginnings conference at Open Door back in January, remember I said that the number 5778 stood for bread, and this year was the Year of Bread and Life? Well look at where you are now, you're in the same place where Jesus said, 'I am the Bread of Life' and it is no coincidence that each and every one of you are here right now, in this place, at this time."
Indeed I did recall that. As we all got up to head out, I thought about how amazing it was that when God reveals several things that connect and may seem like coincidences, they're actually Him working great things in our lives. And speaking of coincidences being greater things...
Remember I said in my last post that God Coincidence No. 2 would happen in this chapter? Well here you go: As we walked out of the synagogue and to the towns exit, Roman began by mentioning another man connected with the synagogue:
"Everyone remember the story of Jairus' daughter?" Roman asked. "Jairus was a leader here in the synagogue and had come to Jesus, hoping He could heal his sick daughter. And along the way, Jesus also heals the woman with the issue of blood."
At hearing this I perked up, adjusting my Whisperer's earpiece, intent on not missing a single detail.
"An interesting fact for you all," Roman continued. "When Jesus heals this woman, He says to her: 'Daughter, your faith has made you whole.' Why would He call her that sense she was probably late twenties, not much younger than him. Well, let me explain: Jesus was a rabbi yes? And for an unclean person to touch a rabbi, therefore making them unclean, that person would be stoned to death for defiling the rabbi. This is why the woman tries to touch the hem or Tallit of His garment (A Tallit is one of many tassels on the traditional prayer shawls worn by Jewish men) in secret, but when Jesus asks, 'Who touched me? I felt power go out from me', she knows she can't stay hidden. So, facing the risk of being stoned, she reveals herself. Now, in Jewish law, an unclean person can touch a rabbi only if they are close relatives, and the rabbi claims them as their own. So when Jesus calls her daughter, He is claiming her as His own, and therefore, no one can stone her."
I didn't feel the same jolt as when I heard the first Coincidence, but I was certainly blown away by this; and as if it couldn't get any better, I was about to find one more thing that day that would reassure me in the knowledge that God cared for me and my future healing.
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