Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. –John 1:44
Note that the verse says “from” Bethsaida. When these men began to follow Jesus, they were living in Capernaum. But they had probably learned their trade in Bethsaida, another ancient fishing village on the Sea of Galilee.
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from 20 to 30 gallons. –Jn 2:6
Both today and in ancient times, the towns of Israel are made of stone. The streets are stone, the walls are stone, the houses are stone, and in the first century even the furniture, the baths, and many cooking pots, jugs, bowls, and dishes were all made of stone.
During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. –Mt 14:25
If we’re looking for places where Jesus walked, let’s not overlook the Sea of Galilee—not only because He frequented its shores but because He walked on the water itself.
They drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. –1 Cor 10:4
Significant stones in the life of Christ are not confined to His thirty-three years on earth. His life spans all of history (to say nothing of eternity), especially sacred history as recorded in scripture, and this larger life is also strewn with rocks.
The tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” –Mt 4:3
It doesn’t look very comfortable to me. But on this stone, enshrined in the Monastery of Quarantal, Jesus is said to have sat to pray during His forty days in the wilderness.
A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. –Matt 5:14
Lying in bed at night as a little boy in Montreal, every half-minute or so the searchlight from the international airport, five miles distant, swept through my room. This is one of the most vibrant memories from my childhood.
I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. –Job 19:25
Enclosed in a glass case at the church of Sakha, Egypt, is an object that will seem strange, perhaps even laughable, to western eyes: a footprint of the baby Jesus preserved in stone.
In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border. –Isaiah 19:19
Jacob used a stone for a pillow; Jesus used a stone for a bed. We’ve seen the sort of stone manger in which He likely was laid as an infant. Later on, during the Holy Family’s sojourn in Egypt, it is believed they spent six months living in a cave near Mount Qussqam, during which time the Christ child slept on a bed of stone.
Joseph got up, took the child and His mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. –Mt 2:14-15
A book about stones in the life of Jesus can hardly ignore the Pyramids of Egypt. Why? Because there is good reason to suppose that Jesus saw them as a child.
Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Jerusalem … to offer a sacrifice in keeping with the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.” –Luke 2:22-4
The accompanying photographs show two different views of the rounded shard of a first century stone vessel discovered on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. The shard bears a crude inscription of two upside down (presumably dead) birds along with the Aramaic word corban, meaning sacrifice.