What Is Capernaum?

Capernaum was a fishing village on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, strategically located on the major highway between Damascus and the Mediterranean coast. After John the Baptist was imprisoned, Jesus left Nazareth and 'came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast.' He made it the headquarters of His Galilean ministry, and Matthew calls it 'his own city.' In Capernaum, Jesus healed the centurion's servant, Peter's mother-in-law, a paralytic lowered through a roof, and a man with an unclean spirit in the synagogue. He called Matthew the tax collector from his booth there and delivered the discourse on the bread of life in the synagogue after feeding the five thousand. Yet the people largely rejected Him, and Jesus pronounced severe woes upon the city: 'And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.' Today, Capernaum lies in ruins — a sobering testimony that proximity to Jesus is no substitute for faith.