>> Jesus taught with authority. He taught about the heart,
His words, His examples, using a coin, talking
about water. He taught simple
yet profound lessons that convict and
apply even today. [ Music ] One of the things that really
gets me excited, when we talk about the life of Jesus is
the teaching that He did. People have described Him
as a master communicator. And one of the things that
really stands out is His ability to say such powerful things
in such short spans of time with such simple illustrations. >> Jesus' teachings
were so simple. However, there's some
hiding nuances in a lot of things He taught that
we don't really appreciate because we're separated by time. When He's telling the story
of the Good Samaritan, He doesn't describe the road. It's because the people at that
time understood how dangerous that road was. And, when He was talking
about paying taxes to Cesar, He talks about the denarius. To us, that's just a coin. But, to the people at that
time, they understood everything that was involved
with that coin. >> So, you're saying
that there's a cultural and historical gap
between the people who originally heard Jesus'
teaching and ourselves. And, if we come to be more
familiar with their history and with their culture, that we'll have a
better understanding of what Jesus was
communicating to them? [ Music ] >> We're at the Church of
the Beatitudes which is on the northern side
of the Sea of Galilee. It was built on top of a site that was established
in the 4th century. And, I wanted to
bring you up here because this is the
possible location of one of the most famous sermons
that Jesus ever spoke. In Matthew 5 versus 1, it
says "seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain
and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him." And, of course, we know
this as the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. Now, whether it happened exactly
here or somewhere near here, the geography of the
area fits the description of the Bible very closely. >> It has fantastic gardens. As soon as you walk
up, you're just greeted by these flowering bushes
and trees and shade. And, the rest of the
hillside doesn't have that. So, to walk up to such an
incredibly beautiful place is special. >> This area would've been
very important for Jesus. Not only did He live here, but, there's a strategic
importance as well. The Via Maris ran from Egypt
all the way up to Mesopotamia. And so, anybody traveling through this area would've
listened to the teachings of Jesus or heard some
of the stories about some of the things He did
and would've been able to carry the news of that
throughout the world. >> Jesus' Sermon on the Mount,
Matthew takes up 3 chapters to cover that, Matthew
5, 6, and 7. Luke also takes up quite a bit
at the beginning of his gospel. And there are a lot of
people that have talked about what that sermon meant. There are some people
that view Jesus just as a political revolutionary. There's some people that see
Him as just a good moral teacher like Aesop and his fables. But, really, Jesus
doesn't leave any room for those kinds of ideas. He's not speaking as
just another teacher. He's not teaching as a rabbi. He's teaching with authority. In chapter 5, you have
Him repeatedly say, you've heard it said,
but I say to you. And then, when you
get to chapter 6, He's helping them understand
that there's a difference between how people are
practicing their religion to be seen by others and
how you really need to get to the heart of things. Over in chapter 7, He puts
Himself in the position of being able to judge
at the end of time. He's set Himself up as
much more than just a man. To read through His sermon,
you can't just go through and say well this is a
list of good things to do or these are good suggestions. Jesus is speaking from
a position of authority which makes Him to be divine. All the way through the
Sermon on the Mount, He's trying to explain what it
looks like when people belong to His kingdom, His
spiritual kingdom starting with the Beatitudes,
what it means to pray, making sure you do things
with your focus on Heaven and not trying to please
men, the Golden Rule, which almost everyone's
familiar with. And then, He closes it
with a 3-part invitation. And, that last part is where
He's challenging people to think about what they're
building their lives on. Are they going to build
their lives on anything other than God, which is like
building your house on sand? Or, are you going to build
your life and your house on the authority of Jesus and
His teaching as the Son of God. And, if you do that, you're like
someone who builds your house on a rock that's going to be
able to weather whatever kind of storm life may throw at you. >> I would've love to
have been in the audience. When He got through, they
were amazed at His authority. >> To think about being at
the top of the mountain, from Jesus' perspective,
and looking down and seeing all these
people that were so spiritual hungry finally
being fed is just overwhelming. And, the fact that we're
able to sit at His feet today and experience the
exam same thing, no matter where we may
be sitting or no matter where we may live, we can experience the
exact same teaching. >> At the very end of
the Sermon on the Mount, it says that He left the mount
and He went down to Capernaum. And, if you look
over my shoulder, you can actually
see Capernaum just down the hill from where we are. It's a wonderful illustration
of what we read in the Bible. >> We know Jesus did a lot of
teaching on the northern side of the Sea of Galilee. There's that triangle up here
on the north between 3 cities where He did 80%
of His ministry. Now, where would we go from here
to see some of those places? >> Well, we want to go down
to the Cove of the Sower. This is where He pushed off into
the water just a little ways so He could speak to the
people on the hillside. >> Well I think this is
right, you can correct me. You have never led a tour group
down to the Cove of the Sower. >> No. >> And, why is that? >> It's almost impossible
to get there. >> Okay. So, it was
amazing to go to. It was a lot of work. It was worth the work. But, the average person coming to Israel is not going
to make that stop. >> No. From the place
that we found the part that we could access it, it
was probably 45 minutes hike. >> Over rocks. >> It was very difficult
to get there. [ Music ] Jeremy, we've come
to the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. And, as you can tell,
there's a natural cove here in the shore line
just behind us. In the mid-1980s there
was a drought in this area and the water level dropped
and exposed a number of harbors around the Sea of Galilee. >> We know, from
Luke chapter 5, that, one of the times Jesus
was coming along this side of the sea, there were
a lot of people crowding around Him trying to hear Him. And, when He got to some spot
around here, He got into a boat with Peter and pushed back
from the shore and spoke up to the people that
were still on the land. Now, standing here in this
cove, you can turn around and see it forms, kind of
a natural, amphitheater. And it's really easy to
imagine Jesus, this is His stage as He turns and faces the
people and speaks up to them. >> Many people have
questioned whether or not Jesus could actually be
heard by a large group of people if He's a few feet
off the shoreline. Let's do an experiment. Let me go up the
hill a little ways. And, when I get up there, I
want you to read the Parable of the sower in a natural
but loud speaking voice and let me see if I can hear it. >> Sounds good. [ Music ] Okay Jeremy I'm in position. Go ahead and read that passage and let me see if
I can hear you. >> All right. I'm going to read
from Matthew 13. "That same day Jesus
went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And, great crowds gathered
about Him so that He got into a boat and sat down." >> The instant he
started talking, I thought for a second he
was still using the intercom. I could hear him perfectly. No doubt, if I was
twice as far away, I could've heard him easily. >> "And the whole crowd
stood on the beach and He told them many things in
parables saying, a sower went out to sow, and as he sowed,
some seeds fell along the path and the birds came
and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not
have much soil, and immediately they sprang up,
since they had no depth of soil. But, when the sun rose,
they were scorched, and since they had no
root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns and the thorns grew
up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good
soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold,
some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears let him hear." The parable of the sower
really marked the beginning of Jesus using parables
in His ministry. But, that one really
paved the way. And, you finally get to
the end of the parable and Jesus has this
invitation, he who has ears to hear, let him hear. Explaining, even to His
disciples afterwards, who didn't get the parable,
that we need to make sure that we're paying
attention and allowing Jesus to teach us what He wants to
teach us and that we're going to hear and allow His Word
to go deep into our lives. [ Music ] >> We had the opportunity to
go out to the wilderness today. And, the overlook was amazing. From the advantage point that
we had, you look to your left, which would've been to the
west, you could've seen the top of the Mount of Olives. And, if you look to the
right, you'd been able to see Jericho, all
the way down. And so, we were able to
visualize the road that went between Jerusalem to Jericho. >> It's hard to put into words
what the vista looked like. There are times where Barry
wants to take me some place where he hasn't been before. And, this is one
of those places. So, when you get to
the top of the hill and you hear Barry
catch his breath, you know you've found
something really special. [ Music ] When Jesus was teaching
in parables, there's a certain
parable that He gave when a lawyer came to test Him. And, he was asking Him
what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus asked him well how
do you understand the law? And, he answers with, well
love the Lord your God with all your heart,
soul, mind and strength. And, the second law,
which is like it, is to love your neighbor
as yourself. And, Jesus says, you've
answered correctly. The lawyer says, I've
done all of those things. And then, the lawyer was
seeking to justify himself and asked Him another question. Who is my neighbor? Trying to prove that
he's good and righteous. >> He answers that question
by telling the people a story. "A man was going down
from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell among robbers
who stripped him and beat him and departed leaving
him half dead." We're on a road between
Jerusalem and Jericho. Jerusalem sits about 8
miles to our west here and you can see it
up on the ridge. Jericho sits behind
us about 6 or 7 miles. And I want you to look at
this road and this area. It's desolate. >> Totally desolate. I think it's interesting that Jesus doesn't
describe the road at all. The people at that time
knew about this road. They knew how dangerous it was. >> The road between Jerusalem and Jericho would've been
really hot and dry and dusty. It was a place you
wouldn't have wanted to have stayed for very long. This was not a hospitable place. On top of that, to have been
wounded and left on the side of that road exposed, he
was in really dire straights and eventually would've died
if he didn't receive help. And so, Jesus has set him up. He needs someone to assist him. And then, starts to give several
people who were in that position to assist and chose not to. There are several people
that passed him by. There's a priest that
sees him and passes by on the other side
of the road. There's a Levite that
sees him and passes by. And, the person who finally
stops, which would be so offensive to a
Jew, is a Samaritan. And, he stops, and
he takes care of him. He takes him down to an inn. He pays for his wounds
to be bound up. It was this person
that finally stopped, which would've shocked
everyone that was listening to Jesus at that point. >> Jesus is taking
the next step. From the time of Abraham, the
Israelites was God's family. This was his chosen people. And, I think, by including the
Samaritan in this story and by, especially making the Samaritan
the good guy, He's expanding that to tell the full
story that He was coming to save not just the
Jewish people but everyone. >> And, Jesus just wraps
up with the question, then, who proved to be a neighbor? Making the point that loving
your neighbor has nothing to do with proximity but
opportunity to do good to somebody who's in need. [ Music ] In John the 4th chapter, we
have recorded this wonderful conversation between Jesus
and this woman from Samaria. The Scriptures tell us
that took place at a well in the city of Sychar. Sychar is modern day Nablus. >> I want to take you
to the City of Nablus because there's a Greek
orthodox church there which contains Jacob's Well
that we read about in the Bible. It's an hour and 15
minutes north of Jerusalem. It's right in the
middle of the west bank. As you approach Nablus, you
have the opportunity to drive through what we refer
to as Samaria in the New Testament times. And, one of the things that strikes you
immediately is how hilly and how mountainous
that area is. >> Imagine walking that. >> It would be very,
very difficult. And, the Scriptures
even say that Jesus, when He approached this
well, He was thirsty, that's why He stopped there. [ Music ] I wanted to bring you
here and show you this because there is very, very
good historical evidence to show that this is the actual hole in
the ground that was dug by Jacob and his men about
3,500 years ago. >> We're not able to
say that very often. >> No, we're not. But, the historical evidence
here is very, very strong. >> The fact that you had a well
of that nature, that depth, through that type of ground, it
makes sense that they'd be able to keep track of that over
such a long period of time. >> So, if that was
the well Jacob dug, this is the same location where
Jesus had this conversation with the Samaritan woman. Let me read a couple of verses
here from John the 4th chapter. "So, He came to a town of Samaria called
Sychar near the field that Jacob had given
to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there. So, Jesus, wearied as
He was from His journey, was sitting beside the well, and
it was about the sixth hour." >> To have Jesus in
Samaria in the first place and to initiate this
conversation with a Samaritan woman
is pretty significant. The woman went into logistics. How on earth are you
going to get any water? The well is really deep. >> I tell you what, why don't
you draw some water for us? [ Music ] Very good. Okay Jeremy, there's one other
thing I want you to do for me. I want you to dip a cup of this
water and pour it down the well and I want you to be real
quiet and I want you to listen so you can see how deep it is. [ Background noise ] >> How high up is that? >> That's amazing isn't it? It's got to be well
over 100 feet deep. >> Wow. >> Yeah. >> There are nuances to
the story about the depth of the well that we
would just gloss over. Well, of course the
well is deep. So, going to that
place and playing with the water really
highlighted a seemingly insignificant line in this
interaction between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. And, there are things like
that all through the Bible. And, they emphasize these were
real people and real places. And, even those small
details are important and connect us to reality. Jesus stops and interacts
with a Samaritan. But, not just any Samaritan. He interacts with a woman,
which is culturally not normal, and He interacts with a woman
of disreputable character. I mean, she's had
multiple husbands. He's never met her before, but, He understands what
her character has been. And, He has this long
verbal exchange with her. And, at the conclusion of
it, He's able to talk to her about who the Messiah is
and how to worship God. What Jesus was trying to
get to, as He interacted with this woman, was
to make the connection that He was providing
living water to her. And, they go back and
forth with this dialogue. The topic changes
quickly over the course of a very short conversation. But, Jesus is moving it
to a very important point. There are a couple of passages,
at the end of that exchange, where the woman said to Him
"I know the Messiah is coming, He who is called Christ. When He comes, He will
tell us all things. And, Jesus said to her, I
who speak to you am He." And so, Jesus reveals
to this Samaritan woman that He's the long
awaited Messiah. And, she runs into town and tells everybody
what she's experienced. They all come out and He
spends a couple of days there and helps this entire town
come to realize who He is. >> So many Biblical evens
happened right here. >> There are just so many layers
of history to this one spot. [ Music ] >> I love the old
City of Jerusalem. I love the alleyways
and all the hundreds of little stores and everything. >> The shops in the
old city are varied, you have so many
different types. Some are just like
a couple of feet and then some are full blown
shops you can walk 20 feet into them. >> And, I know a guy who
sells antiquities in town. And, he's got a coin I
think we want to look at. [ Music ] >> Hello. >> Hello. >> Jeremy, earlier today, you
had asked me about a denarius. >> I did. >> So, I want to
introduce you to Zack. >> So nice to meet you. >> He's got a store here in the
old city, he has a denarius. >> You're talking
about the tribute penny when Jesus said show me dinar? >> Yes. >> That's exactly right. >> Yes. >> Yes, because, you know,
this is a specific dinar that was used by them
by Cesar Tiberius. [ Music ] Please. >> There it is. >> Oh look at the
impression on that. >> That's a beautiful coin. The coin itself was
not that large, probably about the
size of a dime. Just a little bit bigger
than a button on a shirt. >> The one he had was
very well maintained. It still had a beautiful
shine to it and the relief on both side was
still remarkable. >> Very light, it's a lot
lighter than I would expect, similar to aluminum, obviously
much sturdier than that. >> It's a low silver. It's not like sterling silver. They did not have
enough fire to make as good silver as we have today. You know, Romans were very
professional in making coins. And, when we understand coins, it opens very big windows
in the New Testament. You know, this is
the image of Tiberius and who have seen the image
of Tiberius have seen him. So, they want to trick Him, you
know, shall we pay taxes or not, you know, just like
to embarrass Him. When we look at the dinar, we need to understand
what is written. It's written here "Tiberius Ti
Cesar Divi" like the divinity in Cesar Tiberius which
is against the Jewish law. The second side is
written "Tiberius Augustus" like he is, he is the highest. It's even more against
the Jewish law. But, what's more
shocking is his nickname, you can see here his
nickname is Pontifex Maximus like the highest priest. It was enough embarrassment
for the Jews or for the Pharisees
specifically there. You're holding a coin for someone calling
himself the highest priest. It's a unkosher coin
to be carrying. >> And, Jesus teaching so much by using the impression
on a coin. Whose face is on the stamp? This belongs to that person. Render to Cesar the
things that are Cesar's and to God the things
that are God's. >> That's why they
left with no talking and the story ended
up over there. >> And, his ability to use a
simple coin and a face on a coin to teach all of that says a lot
about Jesus' ability to teach. >> Yes. He was tough. >> Yes. >> He was a strong man
that faced the Pharisees and embarrassed them
on this part. >> Yes. >> Show me dinar. >> Well, all of these
things rooted in the antiquities help us
understand that Jesus was real, these events were real, the coins that He
spoke of were real. Zack thank you for everything. >> Yes see you again. >> Yes sir, absolutely. >> Thank you good to see you. >> See you again, bye, bye. >> Thank you. >> Bye, bye. >> For now on, every time
that I read that event of the disciples asking
Jesus about paying taxes, I'm going to be in Zack's
shop with him pulling out that denarius and
pointing out the inscription and the words around the side. [ Music ] We've been talking about
Jesus and the teaching that He did in the Galilee area. We know that He spent a lot
of time around Capernaum and on the north side
of the Sea of Galilee. But, we also read
about Him going to a place called the Decapolis. Is there anywhere that we can go that would show us
what that looks like? >> Well, the Decapolis
was ten cities that were of Greek and Roman heritage. And, most of them are located on the eastern side
of the Jordan River. However, there was one city that
was located on the western side, that's the city of Scythopolis. That is also the same site of the Old Testament
City of Beit She'an. >> Is Beit She'an similar to
some of the other villages and towns that we've visited
so far like Capernaum? >> No, it's not. And, I think that's one of the reasons why I think
it's important for us to go. This was a Roman city
during the time of Jesus. And, it had a totally different
look than a Jewish village. [ Music ] >> We're in Beit She'an,
which, in the fist century, was known as Scythopolis. The Decapolis was a group of
ten Greek and Roman cities one of which fell on the western
side of the Jordan River. >> Realizing that Jesus came to
Greek and Roman cities helps us to appreciate the truth of
John the Baptist's observation when he saw Jesus. Behold the Lamb of God who takes
away the sins of the world. >> The city of Beit She'an is
steeped in Biblical history. Even before the Israelites
came into the land, the Canaanites lived there, even before that the Egyptians
lived there for a while. It's best known to Bible
students as the city where King Saul's body was hung after being killed
over on Mount Gilboa. >> And, it's so different from the northern
towns here in Galilee. When we think about Capernaum or
even Bethsaida, they just seem so rural compared to
how refined and large and big city upscale
Beit She'an was. >> Most of the cities that
Jesus taught in, around the Sea of Galilee, were nothing
more than really villages, a few hundred people, Scythopolis would have been a
community of several thousand. This was a Roman city with a
cardo running north and south with theaters, with
bathhouses, with thousands of different people
that lived there. >> Usually, when I think about
Jesus going into a village or going into a town and
teaching and preaching, he's preaching and teaching
in a Jewish synagogue. And so, it's actually
kind of jarring, is the word that I would
use, to think about Jesus and His Galilean apostles going into such an industrialized
metropolitan place and how much these men would've
stood out when they went in. That just leaves such
an impression on me. >> We read about a number of
situations, in the Scriptures, in which Jesus came into a town and immediately the
people flocked to Him. My impression of when He walked
into a place like Beit She'an, He would be, at some
level, an unknown. They wouldn't no who He is
until He started teaching. >> All through Jesus' life
there are these little snippets that hinted the fact that
He is a universal Savior. When His cousin, John the
Baptist, in John chapter 1, encounters Him and acknowledges
this is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the
world, that meant everybody. These little snippets where
He passes through a Greek or Roman town of the Decapolis
really highlight that truth. [ Music ] From the age of 12 years
old, Jesus impressed people and made them marvel
at His ability to teach and to communicate
such profound truths about God in such simple ways. People were amazed with His
authority and His conviction. Now, the Hebrew writer gives
us a unique perspective looking back on Jesus' ability to
teach when he said "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our
fathers by the prophets. But, in these last days, He
has spoken to us by His Son who He appointed the
heir of all things through whom also He
created the world. He is the radiance of the Glory
of God and the exact imprint of His nature and He
upholds the universe by the word of His power." When people heard Jesus
talking and teaching, He wasn't just another rabbi. He was the Son of God. He was divine. So, the next time that you're
studying through the teachings of Jesus, really think about the
invitation that Jesus extends when He says he who has
ears to hear, let him hear. [ Music ]
