We arrived in Nazareth and went to such a cool place! It's called Nazareth Village and sits right outside the original city (which in the first century only had a population of about 400-500 people). On their property, they have excavated and discovered original wine presses and a few other original remains. But they have also rebuilt on the property to accurately resemble an old Nazareth village. It was incredible!
Kiley surprised all of us by immediately knowing the answer to a trivia question that none of us adults could answer.
Q: why did they not wear shoes to smash grapes in the winepress?
A: so the seeds would not be crushed making the wine bitter. Apparently, she was really impacted by the best tour guide ever at the garden tomb who shared that bit of info with her.
In the Nazareth Village, They continue to produce wool, dyed from onions, pomegranites, and even sea snails. They own their own sheep and olive trees cover their property. People wander the land and do the work wearing New Testament attire. They have rebuilt a replica of an old synagogue like Jesus would have taught in.
One of my favorite parts was seeing just how olive oil is made. They showed us the mill stone that is still used today and then the three presses. The first press is only using the baskets stacked on top of one another and that oil was taken to the temple to burn for God. The second pressing added a large stone to press and was used for their own personal use such as perfumes, cooking, etc. And the final pressing, adding more stones, being the dirtiest is used to light their oil lamps.
Now, here is where it becomes interesting. The Garden of Gethsemane is so named because it is filled with olive trees. But, even more so because Gethsemane means "oil press". Now, having seen how an olive is pressed- one load of pressure, two loads of pressure, and three loads of pressure, we can relate this to the fact that in that garden Jesus prayed three times, each time feeling the pressure heavier and heavier on him until he had drops of blood instead of sweat. Wow! This very garden was named prior to Jesus' visit there yet it reveals how he would suffer there and feel the weight of the world on Him.
We also were reminded in a near-sermon of why it was so difficult for the Jews to accept Jesus. Being that He came for all mankind. And how difficult it must have been for them to be willing to share he blessing God had promised them with all of their oppressors!
But, boy, am I thankful He came for me!
Where olive oil is made.
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