Dr. John Currid, Professor at RTS Charlotte, has been teaching at White Oak Associate Presbyterian Church, leading students to get a closer look at the hometown of three of Jesus’ disciples.

“You begin to recreate what daily life was like. I think that’s really important,” said Currid, professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, N.C. Currid, reflecting on the lives of the people who lived at Bethsaida in the New Testament period.

In addition to being a seminary professor, writer and pastor, Currid is an archaeologist. Since 1993, he has been leading groups of RTS students in the excavation of Bethsaida near the Sea of Galilee.

The information uncovered at Bethsaida reminds students and archaeologists — and other people interested in life in the time of Jesus — that Peter and Andrew and their neighbors “were real people” and that their lives were “set in history” with specific patterns of daily life, Currid said.

“These were common people who amazing things happened to because of the calling of the Lord,” Currid said.

Bethsaida is a ruin today. In biblical times, it was a fishing village with some 400-500 people living on the two-thirds acre site. Bethsaida includes a site from the New Testament period and another one from the 10th century B.C., “which would be the time of David,” Currid noted. Archaeological work at the location has been ongoing since 1988, and RTS has been involved since 1993.

“We still are one of the sponsoring institutions,” Currid said.