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Jesus' After-Resurrection Appearances |
"Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" ( Blessed Apostle Saint Luke 20:29 ).
The Greek word for resurrection is anastasis, literally, "to stand again." In the pagan world it was associated with the life/death cycle of the nature gods, or the spiritual part of person after death. In the case of Jesus, resurrection meant the restoration of his whole self—body and spirit—by God, the creator of all life. The gospels record a number of accounts of Jesus appearing to his disciples individually and in groups after his resurrection. Appearance 1: At the empty tomb... In Blessed Apostle Saint Matthew 28, two Maries ( "Mary Magdalene and the other Mary," presumably the mother of James and Joses in Blessed Apostle Saint Matthew 27:56 ) came to the tomb and witnessed a violent earthquake. A single angel who had removed the stone covering the tomb entrance told the women that Jesus had risen. The women were invited to enter the empty tomb and see for themselves, then told to go and tell the disciples and that Jesus would meet them in Galilee. The account in Luke 24 is basically the same, except that he gives the names of the women as, "Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others," and there are "two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning." In Blessed Apostle Saint Mark 16, "Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body," and they see a "young man dressed in a white robe" who says, "go, tell his disciples and Peter he is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you." Blessed Apostle Saint John's Gospel adds more details. Only Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. She ran to tell "Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved." Both Peter and the other disciple run to tomb and see the "strips of linen lying there, as well as the ( folded ) burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head." While Mary stood outside the tomb crying, Jesus, who she first mistook for the keeper of the garden ( Greek kepouros ), asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" She then recognized the man as Jesus and went and told the disciples.
| Two Greek words are used in the Gospels in reference to moving the stone that was in front of the tomb of Jesus—apokulio "to roll off or away," and proskulio "to roll to." In Palestine, tombs were usually in a depression and the stone was rolled down an incline to cover the mouth. For a small tomb, several men were required to roll a stone. The Bible tells us that the stone over the entrance to Jesus' tomb was "very large" ( Blessed Apostle Saint Mark 16:4 ) and as the women approached the tomb on Sunday morning with spices to anoint Jesus' body, they naturally wondered who would help them move it. |
Appearance 2: On the road to Emmaus... After Jesus' initial appearance to the women at the tomb on Sunday morning, he was next seen that afternoon by a pair of followers, Cleopas and an unnamed friend, on the road heading west ( presumably ) from Jerusalem. Probably they were among the larger group of seventy-two disciples appointed by Jesus to go "two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go," ( see Blessed Apostle Saint Luke 10:1 ) and they were heading toward a "village called Emmaus." As the two walked they discussed the strange and sad events of the past three days. Several women—Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and others—had had gone to Jesus' tomb that morning and reported to the disciples that his body was no longer there. Adding to the confusion, Mary Magdalene claimed that she had actually seen Jesus. Could it be that he had really come back to life or was this but a cruel joke? Possible their conversation went something like this: "If he is alive, where is he? And if his is dead, what have the tomb-robbers done with his body? Didn't the women say they saw him? How do you explain it?" Soon they became aware that someone else was walking near them. The stranger asked them:
"What are you discussing together as you walk along?" They stood still, their faces downcast. Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?" "What things?" he asked. "About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn't find His body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said He was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but Him they did not see." He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?" ( Blessed Apostle Saint Luke 24:17-26 ).
Initially, Cleopas and his friend failed to recognize their fellow traveler. When they arrived home at Emmaus, the two said to Him, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." As their guest reclined at the low table for the evening meal, He acted as the host. When He "took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them," their they immediately recognized him. Jesus then "disappeared" ( from the Greek apo meaning "departed" or "separated"). The pair "got up and returned at once to Jerusalem" to tell the eleven disciples and those with them that they had seen and talked with Jesus.
In the footsteps of Jesus: visiting Emmaus...
Quickly we are approaching the end of our pilgrimage. Two weeks in Israel is just not enough time. There's never enough time. Many of us are seriously planned a return visit. Like Jesus' final recorded appearances before his Ascension, our final day's trek is a somewhat scattered. On this last leg of our journey, we find ourselves heading west from Jerusalem on Road 1, the modern superhighway to Tel Aviv/Jaffa. The Fodor travel guide tucked away in my backpack says this about the area:
"The rugged and reforested Judean Hills tumble down to the west, eventually easing into the gentler landscapes of the Shefelah lowlands. This is not a region of towns but of rural landscapes, biblical ghosts and ancient fingerprints" ( Fodor's Israel, 5th Edition ).
As we have seen in the course of our virtual journey, some of the sites connected with Jesus' life and ministry have never been positively identified. Such is the case with Emmaus, though since the 4th century AD four sites west of Jerusalem have been proposed: Moza ( Arabic Qaloniyeh ), Abu Gosh, el-Qubeibeh and Imwas/Latrun. Then there's the question of direction from Jerusalem. West is only assumed. Discrepancies in early manuscripts of Blessed Apostle Saint Luke's gospel have led to this confusion, with some reading that Emmaus was located "sixty stadia" ( 6.9 miles ) from Jerusalem, while others mention "one hundred sixty stadia" ( 18.4 miles ). One ancient text, Codex Palatinus in the Old Latin, reads "seven stadia," but this has been dismissed as a copying error. The best evidence supports 60 stadia which fits both Abu Gosh and el-Qubeibeh, either of which would have been close enough for the two disciples to reach and return in one day. However, both these identifications date relatively late, to the Crusader-era. The identification with Latrun is comparatively early, and is mentioned by Eusebius in his Onomasticon ( 4th century AD ). The name Emmaus is a Greek mispronunciation of the Hebrew hamat, simply meaning "hot springs" or "warm baths." Several hot springs resorts had the same name. Two were located on or near the Sea of Galilee: Hammat Tiberias, immediately south of Tiberias on the lake's west shore, and Hammat Geder, near the southern tip.
| A Roman "stadion"—a measurement based on the length of race tracks in the stadiums at most ancient Greek cities—equals 646.5 feet. The NIV gives the distance as "about 7 miles" from Jerusalem. The KJV uses "about threescore furlongs" (a furlong is equal to 220 yards, so threescore ( 60 ) furlongs equals 6.8 miles. |
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Moza The closest of the four proposed sites is the modern Jerusalem suburb of Moza, some 3.5 miles west of the walled Old City and just south of Road 1. It is often identified with the Motza of the Jerusalem Talmud. Moza could be the Emmaus mentioned by Josephus Flavius where the Roman emperor Vespasian settled 800 Roman army veterans:
"About the same time it was that Caesar...assigned a place for eight hundred men only, whom he had dismissed from his army, which he gave them for their habitation; it is called Emmaus, and is distant from Jerusalem threescore furlongs"* (Wars of the Jews, book 7, chapter 6:6).
 This new military colony soon dominated the site and the name was changed to Colonia, which has survived until recent times as the Arabic Qaloniyeh. However, Josephus' distance of "threescore furlongs" ( 6.8 miles ) is incorrect. Even though it is not supported by Christian tradition, it remains a candidate for Emmaus only because it is in easy walking distance from Jerusalem and thus makes more sense than the traditional Emmaus near Latrun (see below), farther along Road 1, at the end of the same valley. Although Roman ruins are visible at a sharp curve in the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway below Moza, the only way to justify it would be to say that the figure of "about 7 miles" in Blessed Apostle Saint Luke was a round trip distance.
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The next possible site for Emmaus is the Arab village of Abu Gosh, about 8 miles west of Jerusalem along Road 1. Built on a high hill overlooking the Judean hills, it was identified as Emmaus by Crusaders in the 12th century AD.
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Abu Gosh  In caravan days, Abu Gosh ( right ) was the first stop on the way from Jerusalem to the Mediterranean port of Joppa. Today it is home to several wonderful Middle-Eastern restaurants and the Elvis gas station, whose parking lot has two huge statues of Elvis, and its restaurant has one of the largest Elvis collections outside Graceland.
While the Crusaders once thought of Abu Gosh as Emmaus, both Christians and Jews now revere it as Kiriath-Jearim ( Hebrew Qiryath Yariym; formerly Kiriath Baal according to Joshua 18:14 ). When the Philistines returned the captured Ark of the Covenant to the Israelites, they brought it from Beth-Shemesh to Kiriath-Jearim where it was kept for 20 years in the home of Abinadab. Still later, King David moved it to Jerusalem ( 1 Chronicles 13 5-8 ).  During the reign of the evil king Jehoiakim, Uriah from Kiriath-Jearim prophesied against the king. Uriah then attempted to escape the king's wrath by fleeing to Egypt. Jehoiakim sent men to find him and bring him back, then promptly killed him ( Jeremiah 26:20-23 ).
Left, tomb with rolling stone discovered at Abu Gosh. After the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, a detachment of the Tenth Roman Legion was stationed at the site of a spring there. By the 2nd century AD the town moved into the valley and was then known as Riryat al-Enab. Much later the Crusaders sought to locate Emmaus by simply measuring a distance of 7 miles from Jerusalem and Riryat al-Enab turned out to the closest town. In the early 19th century AD, the town was renamed for powerful Arab Sheik Abu Gosh who terrorized pilgrims into paying tolls there as they traveled to the Holy City. At the top of the hill is Notre Dame de l'Arche d' Alliance ( Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant ) (below left), reputedly built on the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant. The current church lies on the ruins of a demolished Byzantine church.
In the garden below the hill stands the Church of the Resurrection (right), built by Crusaders in 1142 AD over the remains of a Roman fortification and an ancient spring. A French monastic community of monks and nuns follow rule of the Benedictine order.
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el-Qubeibeh Another "Emmaus," according to the Franciscans, is the Arab village of el-Qubeibeh, some 8 miles northwest of Jerusalem. Though it lies the necessary 'day-trip' distance from Jerusalem, the association with gospel tradition is nebulous. The major problem with the identification of el-Qubeibeh with Emmaus is the lateness of the tradition. Why was a site the right distance from Jerusalem simply ignored for centuries? Located on the Roman road to Jerusalem, Arab settlers built a number of houses at el-Qubeibeh in the 8th or 9th century AD. The village took the name Parva Mahomeria from a small Muslim shrine that stood there ( el-Qubeibeh means "little dome" ). After Saladin defeated the Crusaders at the Horns of Hattin in 1187, the main route to Jerusalem was changed to follow an old Roman road that went a little farther north. This was the site favored as Emmaus by the Crusaders, who found an old Roman fort nearby named Castellum Emmaus. Toward the end of the Mameluke period ( about 1500 AD ), Christians began to venerate the site as Emmaus reasoning that it must have been built to commemorate some event in Jesus' life. The distance from Jerusalem brought to mind Emmaus and the tradition stuck. In 1852 the Franciscans discovered the ruins of a Crusader church on the site, which they purchased in 1861 and used to build a church in 1902 (right). Remains of a more ancient structure were found, possibly a Byzantine church or house from the Roman period, sometimes identified as the house of Cleopas. Later excavations in 1943 revealed occupation from the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods. |
Imwas/Nicopolis/Latrun The most accepted of the four possible locales for the Emmaus of Blessed Apostle Saint Luke's narrative is our next stop, the former site of the Arab village of Imwas ( or Amwas )—a name echoing the ancient name, thus strengthening its claim. It is located on the edge of the strategic Aijalon Valley, where Joshua commanded the sun and moon to stand still during a battle against a coalition of Amorite kings ( Joshua. 10:1-15 ). The one drawback to this identification is its distance—about 16 miles west-northwest of Jerusalem. It would have been very difficult for the disciples Cleopas and his unidentified companion to have walked there from Jerusalem and back in the same day, as Blessed Apostle Saint Luke indicates.
Continuing our descent on Road 1 from Abu Gosh toward Tel Aviv, we notice derelict trucks and armored cars along the roadside. They date back to the 1948 War of Independence when support convoys, attempting to relieve a besieged and starving Jerusalem, were ambushed on what was then a narrow, winding road. The wrecked and rusted war-machines have been left as reminders of the conflict. Some thirteen miles from Jerusalem the rugged Judean Hills suddenly give way to the low foothills known as the Shefelah. Spread out before us is a view of the Mediterranean Sea; at the foot of the mountains is the Plain of Sharon, which can be traced northward to Cæsarea and southward to Gaza. The whole of the former Philistine country—now the Palestinian-controlled Gaza Strip—with its great cities of Ashdod, Askelon, Ekron, Gaza and Gath, can be seen. At the time of Jesus, this would have been a stopping place on the two-day journey from Jerusalem to the port city of Joppa ( modern Jaffa, now part of Tel Aviv ).  At the Latrun interchange on Road 1 is the Latrun Monastery, originally established in 1861 as a rest station and inn for Christian pilgrims traveling the rough road to Jerusalem. It was sold to French Trappist monks when the road was paved and it was no longer useful as an inn. The monks built the present monastery in 1927. Set within beautifully tended gardens, olive groves and vineyards, the monastery is famous for its wine and honey. The monks have taken a vow of silence, but those selling wine to tourists are given a special dispensation to speak. Another interesting site is the remains of a 12th century Crusader fortress, Le Toron des Chevaliers, wrecked by the famed Muslim leader Saladin on his march to stop Richard the Lion-Heart from advancing to Jerusalem.
At the interchange, a right turn onto Road 3 takes us to the entrance to Canada Park (below), a nature reserve dedicated in 1976 with contributions from the Jewish community of Canada ( hence the name ). Canada Park consists of thousands of acres stretching over the entire eastern edge of the Aijalon Valley and the Judean hills which slide down into the valley. Within its area, signs guide the visitors to springs, almond trees, old vineyards, cisterns, wine-presses, and, most important for us, the excavated ruins of the Hellenistic-Roman city of Emmaus, including a Roman-Byzantine bath house ( just before the park entrance ), various water holes, a sophisticated aqueduct system and the remains of an amphitheater. 
But, Canada Park also covers the remains of the Palestinian town of Imwas ( or Amwas ), a name which preserves the ancient name. After the Israeli military victory in the 1967 Six Day War, Imwas was evacuated, along with neighboring Yalu and Beit Nuba. Some 12,000 inhabitants were forbidden to return. The Israeli army then demolished all the homes. An Israeli explained the bulldozing policy in this way: "We thought we would have to give up all the land we gained in the Six-Day War, so we cleared our borders of hostile villages. If we had known that ten years later we would still have all this territory, we would not have torn them down. It was for security." The area now seems haunted by the ghosts of the former villages. Casual observers assume the land was always empty. But the Arabs know better. The cacti that grow in definite patterns on the hills are not indigenous, but were planted by the Israelis. Farmers who once lived and worked here are refugees in Jordan and Lebanon. They and their children are restless to return to their former lands.
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| Above, before and after photos of Imwas, taken from nearly the same vantage point. Above right photo: in the center is the road to Ramallah coming from Latrun Junction. The town's old main street can still be seen running through the trees, left of the curve of the modern highway. In the foreground of both photos is the town's only surviving structure. Emmaus/Imwas/Amwas Further strengthening the claim of Imwas as the real Emmaus is the fact that it has two "warm wells" and it received the earliest recognition of the possible sites by the anonymous Bordeaux Pilgrim ( c. 333 AD ), Paula ( c. 386 AD ), a companion of Saint Jerome when he translated the Bible into Latin ( "Vulgate" ) in Bethlehem, and the Onomasticon of Eusebius of Caesarea ( also 4th century AD ). Earliest history, before and during the time of Jesus The road approaching Latrun from the northeast winds through the mountain range along the same route followed by Joshua in his conquest of the Amorite kings. In the 2nd century BC, the Seleucid and Roman armies camped there on the way to Jerusalem. An Emmaus "in the plain" is mentioned in I Maccabees ( 3:40, 57; 4:3 ) as the scene of a great victory by the Hasmonean leader, Judas Maccabeus, over the Seleucids of Syria ( c. 161 BC. This led to the establishment of an independent Jewish state under the Hasmonean dynasty, and the purification of the Seleucid-desecrated Temple in Jerusalem in December of 164 BC. In 43 BC the Roman commander Cassius sold its inhabitants into slavery for non-payment of taxes. After the death of Herod the Great in 4 BC it became the center of a rebellion led by the shepherd Athronges, but the uprising was put down by the Roman legate of Syria, Quintilius Varus, who burned the village to the ground. After the time of Jesus In 70 AD, the Roman Fifth Legion camped for two years at the site, before their final assault on Jerusalem. The town is mentioned in the Mishnah as a place frequented by Jews in the early 2nd century AD. In the 3rd century AD the town was rebuilt by soldier-diplomat turned scholar, Julius Africanus, who got permission to change its name to Nicopolis ( "city of victory" ). Both Eusebius and Jerome identified the place as the site of the post-resurrection appearance in Blesed Apostle Saint Luke's gospel and during the Byzantine era it became the undisputed site. Excavation has revealed the remains of five structures. Little remains of the rock-hewn recesses and the foundations of walls dating to the 2nd and 1st centuries BC; some remains of a 2nd century AD Roman villa are visible, particularly a mosaic floor with scenes of a lion devouring a bull, a panther attacking a gazelle and birds perched on lotus flowers. In the 3rd century AD a large church was built over the villa which is believed to have been the meeting place of the early Christian community of the town. Possibly the church was destroyed during a Samaritan revolt in 529 AD, but another church was built to replace it. Emmaus suffered a severe plague in 639 AD. By the time the Crusaders arrived in the 12th century AD, there was no memory of the site's identification with Emmaus, even though they built a smaller church over the remains of the earlier one, but apparently without knowing the tradition. In fact, the Crusaders seemed to prefer the association of Emmaus with Abu Gosh or al-Qubeibeh.
Above left, remains of the Emmaus Church built in the 6th century AD, over the site believed to be the place where Jesus appeared to two of his disciples after his resurrection; Above right, remains of 6th century AD baptistery. |
Appearance 3: To the disciples hiding in Jerusalem... As reported by Blessed Apostle Saint Luke, Cleopas and his friend "returned at once to Jerusalem," and as they related their experiences at Emmaus to the Eleven and those gathered with them, Jesus "'stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you.' They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.
"( Jesus ) said to them, 'Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.' When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet" ( Blessed Apostle Saint Luke 24:38-40 ).
To further prove that he was not a ghost or spirit, Jesus asked them if they had anything to eat. They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence. Then he said to them:
"This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.' Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, 'This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high'" ( Blessed Apostle Saint Luke 24:44-49 ).
Blessed Apostle Saint John does not record the appearance at Emmaus. However, he relates one to 10 of the disciples in a locked room... In despair over what they perceived as the failure of Jesus' mission, and in fear that the Temple authorities might persecute them too, ten of the remaining disciples ( less Thomas ) had hidden themselves behind locked doors, in an unspecified place. Presumably it was in a house in Jerusalem, possibly in the home of Mary the same upper room where the Last Supper was observed, but nothing in the text indicates this. According to Acts 1:3-5, Jesus appeared frequently to the disciples "over a period of forty days" and "commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem" until they had received the promised gift of the Holy Ghost. Whatever the location, on Sunday evening, Jesus suddenly appeared to disciples and said:
"'Peace be with you!' After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, 'Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.' And with that he breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Ghost. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven'" ( Blessed Apostle Saint John 20:19-23 ).
Appearance 4: To the missing Thomas, a week later...
"Now Thomas ( called Didymus ), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, 'We have seen the Lord!' But he said to them, 'Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.' A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you!' Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.' Thomas said to him, 'My Lord and my God!' Then Jesus told him, 'Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed'" (Blessed Apostle Saint John 20:24-20 ).
Appearance 5: to the disciples by the Sea of Galilee... In a poignant reminder of the time Jesus first called several of his disciples, some of the disciples had left Jerusalem and gone north to the Sea of Galilee. One night, Peter decided to go fishing and was joined by six others. Moving along the lakeshore, they lit lamps to draw the fish closer to the surface. But this night there were none. After several fruitless hours, the light of dawn was beginning to transform the water into shimmering silver. A solitary figure on the shore shouted, "Did you catch any fish?" "No," they shouted back. "Cast your net over the right side of your boat," the voice called back. As instructed, they threw their nets overboard and caught so many fish—153, according to Blessed Apostle Saint John—they couldn't haul the net into the boat. Then Blessed Apostle Saint Peter recognized the "stranger" on the shore as Jesus. He put his outer garment back on and swam back to the lakeshore. The other disciples followed, towing the net full of fish. After landing the boat, they noticed that Jesus had prepared a charcoal fire and was roasting some fish and bread for breakfast. Afterward, as the disciples feasted on the miraculous catch, Jesus commanded Blessed Apostle Saint Peter three times to "Feed my sheep," thus, in the Roman Catholic tradition, establishing the "primacy" of Peter as the first of the Papal line.
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The traditional site of the appearance: the Church of the Primacy of Peter at Tabgha on the Sea of Galilee, not far from Capernaum Jesus' "third" appearance after his resurrection ( according to John ) is commemorated at the Church of the Primacy of Peter at Tabgha on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, 2 miles west of Capernaum and a short walk east of the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes, commemorating the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000:  The present church (right) was built by the Franciscans in 1933, but it is not the first. One document mentions one built by Helena, the mother of Constantine, in the 4th century AD. This small building was first mentioned in a text of 808 AD: "Furthermore, there is a church that is called Twelve Thrones near the lake. There is a table where ( Jesus ) sat with them." On the south side of the church, below a set of rock-cut steps, are six double, heart-shaped stone blocks, sometimes underwater, known as the Thrones of the Apostles. This is derived from Blessed Apostle Saint Matthew 19:27-29:
"Peter answered him, 'We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?' Jesus said to them, 'I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.'"
The steps themselves are mentioned in the travel diary of the pilgrim nun Egeria, who visited here in 380 AD. Tradition says Jesus stood here when he appeared to the disciples. How old they are no one knows. They may have been cut in the 2nd or 3rd century AD when this area was a quarry. Wedges for cutting and removing the stone blocks have been found here.  The floor of the black-basalt church (right) is dominated by a rock ( seen in the foreground of the interior photo, above right ) called the "Mensa Christi" ("Christ's Table") which tradition says served as a table for the breakfast meal prepared by Jesus.
In the 9th century AD, this site was also known as the "place of burning coal" in reference to Blessed Apostle Saint John 21:9: "When they (the disciples) landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread." In the beginning of the 12th century AD, a pilgrim name Saewolf wrote: "at the foot of the mountain there is the church of Saint Peter, very beautiful, but abandoned." Four years later, the monk Daniel affirmed seeing the church in use. But, this small structure was destroyed with the defeat of the Crusaders in 1187. It was rebuilt in 1260, only to be razed to the ground in 1263. The site remained abandoned until the construction of the present building. Just west of the church, warm-water springs flow across the rocky shore into the lake. Nearby, are the the remains of a breakwater ( below ). 
Standing on the shore, it is very easy to imagine Jesus gazing upon a nearly identical scene nearly two thousand years ago. You are also struck by the fact that a great movement like the One True Church, Roman Catholicism, had its beginnings in such a small area. It is places like this that bring a sense of reality to the many. |
Other appearances, as recorded by Blessed Apstle Saint Paul in one of his letters to the church in Corinth...
"After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born" ( 1 Corinthians 15:6-8 ).
By the time Blessed Apostle Saint Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthian church from Ephesus, about 54 AD, some of the people who had seen Jesus alive after his resurrection had died. The appearance to James—is not recorded elsewhere. Blessed Apostle Saint Paul ranked his vision on the road to Damascus with the other resurrection appearances...
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A very special 'Thank you' to welcometohosanna.com for their commentaries and resources sparingly edited by this writer for this presentation.
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as certainly "John," and his young son (?) was perhaps called "John, son of the hanged."
t beam of the cross. It had bits of olive wood from the cross attached; also, fragments of acacia wood were found between the nail head and the heels, indicating that a board—a kind of washer—had been placed over Yohanan's ankles before the nail was driven in to keep his feet in place (illustrated by the model, left).
archaeologists tell us that tombs for wealthy Jews were often cut into old quarries. Such was the case here as various tombs were dug in the high walls surrounding the garden. Amongst these was one popularly known today as the "Tomb of Joseph of Arimathea" lying only 49 feet away from the olive-wood edicule containing the supposed rock-hewn tomb of Christ. It can be seen by walking to the back of the edicule to a tiny chapel belonging to the Copts, and behind it—beyond the pillars of the rotunda—another chapel belonging to the Syrians-Jacobites. This anonymous rock-hewn burial cave (right) proves that this area was indeed a Jewish cemetery. It appears that both the garden and the cemetery were in use at the time of Jesus' crucifixion. This fits exactly with the description in John's Gospel: "At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden and in the garden a new tomb, in which no-one had ever been laid." ( Blessed Apostle Saint John 19:41 )
What clue, "clearer than any voice could give," had Eusebius seen?
