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Topics: Religion, News, World News
Gerrard Kaonga
Archeologists remain confident they have finally found the location of where Jesus allegedly turned water into wine, beating out previously thought areas.
In case you don’t know the Bible story, while at a wedding with his mother, Mary, Jesus wanted to showcase his ‘divine power’ and somehow turned water into wine when the drink ran out.
For theologians, this is considered to be the first miracle Jesus ever performed and is first attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of John.
It is said to have taken place at a wedding in Cana, Galilee, however the exact location has been hotly debated.
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However, a team of archeologists believe they have finally unraveled the mystery after excavations at the former site of Jewish village Khirbet Qana.
The village is said to have existed between 323 BC and 324 AD and the team believe they have found clues that argue against the prevailing theory that the miracle took place in Kafr Kanna.
In 2018, the team found a network of tunnels used for Christian worship and found it was marked with crosses as well as the Greek phrase ‘Kyrie Iesou’, meaning Lord Jesus.
As well as this, items such as an altar and a shelf with the remains of a stone vessel were also discovered, suggesting weddings could have been conducted at the site.
According to the Bible, the transformed wine was stored in six stone jars similar to the one found at Khirbet Qana.
Dr Tom McCollough, who led the excavations at the site, located in present-day Israel, admitted there were three other sites with credible claims that it could have been the location of the wedding.
However, he countered this by stating that ‘none has the ensemble of evidence that makes such a persuasive case for Khirbet Qana.’
He added: “We have uncovered a large Christian veneration cave complex that was used by Christian pilgrims who came to venerate the water-to-wine miracle. This complex was used beginning in the late fifth or early sixth century and continued to be used by pilgrims into the 12th-century Crusader period.
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“The pilgrim texts we have from this period that describe what pilgrims did and saw when they came to Cana of Galilee match very closely what we have exposed as the veneration complex."
Dr McCollough argued that his team’s findings warrant at least a re-looking at what theologians know about Jesus, his life and the miracles he reportedly performed.
He added: "Our excavations have shown that this was in fact a thriving Jewish village located in the heart of much of Jesus' life and ministry. For the Gospel of John, Cana is in some ways, Jesus' safe place or operational center.
“It is a place he and his disciples return to when they encounter resistance in Judea. I would argue our excavations warrant at least a reconsideration of the historical value of John's references to Cana and Jesus."