VIEW FROM THE MOUNT OF
BEATITUDES
There is a beautiful view of the Lake of Galilee that, if once seen, can never be forgotten. Let us try to see it as our Lord saw it when He sat with His disciples and taught the people in that greatest discourse of all time—the Sermon on the Mount. Leaving Capernaum in the afternoon, He had walked round by the road on the west side of the lake, then turning to His right, had followed a wild, rocky gorge up to the cliffs above, beyond, which was a plain covered with grass, and thyme, and wild flowers. Beyond this plain rose two cone-like peaks, with a grassy valley between, shaped like a saddle. The peaks are called Kurûn Hattin—the “Horns of Hattin”—and are of volcanic structure. Upon one of these peaks our Lord spent the night in prayer. Descending in the morning to the space between the two mounts, He doubtless found the people already waiting for Him to hear His word. First calling His friends around Him—most of them fishermen who lived on the lakeside below—He called them to become “fishers of men,” apostles of the Christian Church. Then, as the people gathered in great numbers, He ascended the hill a little way with His disciples, and sat down to teach, while the people crowded the high, grassy valley, and listened to His wonderful words. “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” He began, “for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.” And so, like pearls of great price, the ten blessings fell from His lips as a prelude to the great discourse. Below lay the blue Gennesaret, with its circle of towns and fishing boats. To the northeast rose Mount Hermon’s snowy peak, while south of the lake and the Gadarene hills lay the Valley of the Jordan, losing itself in the haze that hangs over the Dead Sea. Such is the scene to-day, only the lake is circled with ruins and the multitudes have passed away.
Comments