Home of Zebedee 

The Zebedees lived in Bethsaida, down the shore of the Sea of Galilee and near the city’s fishing headquarters. He was a sound and successful businessman, wisely making investments with people of integrity, and divested into several enterprises: property, fishing, fish drying, and designing and building boats. He owned several boat-building shops that were on the lake to the south of Capernaum which produced vessels of superior quality and in demand. He would probably be considered upper-middle class today.

Zebedee and his wife Salome raised three boys and four girls in their spacious residence, including a garden and extensive land. It allowed for large gatherings and private meetings.

1. The Healing at Sundown. When Jesus stepped out the front door, there were nearly a thousand people on Zebedee's lawn and in the surrounding area seeking healing for themselves or their loved ones. Jesus’ heart wished they could all be cured, affected by seeing so many ailing and suffering people. Since the desire of Jesus was also shared by the Father, in that moment, 683 men, women, and children were wholly healed of anything that was wrong with them.
2. Jesus Departs in Haste – Family Meeting Delayed. Hearing that Herod consented to authorize the officers of the Sanhedrin to seize Jesus within Herod’s domains, David Zebedee sent messengers for disciples and Jesus’ family to meet at the Zebedee house. When his family arrived, Jesus was delivering his parting address to his disciples, knowing they would be dispersed for the time being. Fearing his apprehenders had arrived, his apostles rushed Jesus away on a boat they had on standby. Jesus missed an opportunity he cherished to visit with his family. After this, Jesus could never make his home at the house of Zebedee. When Mary and the family attempted to meet him at one of Zebedee’s boat shops, they were again unable as the Pharisees spied on their every movement.

From May 3 to October 3, 28 CE, Jesus and the apostolic party trained evangelists at Bethsaida, as they lived in Zebedee’s house and set up a tented city by the nearby seaside. There numbered from five hundred to fifteen hundred visitors at any one time, and several thousand came and went to this encampment. A separate area of tents served as a hospital. Each morning, the apostles taught the evangelists. During the afternoons, both teachers and pupils taught those who gathered, and after the evening meal, the apostles conducted an open question session for the benefit of the evangelists. Jesus would hold private discussions with individuals who desired to talk with him, choosing a secluded corner of the Zebedee garden.

At the end of the second preaching tour, everyone met at the Zebedee house, which included 117 evangelists. During a two-week recess, Jesus, along with Andrew, Peter, James, and John, remained at the home planning and discussing the welfare and extension of the kingdom. Everyone also gathered at the Zebedee house to commence the third preaching tour.

After the crisis at Capernaum, Jesus met with his loyal followers for a week at the house of Zebedee, speaking only with his brave and trusted disciples who numbered about one hundred.

The resurrected Jesus instructed the apostles to go to Galilee in his eleventh appearance. They went and waited at the Zebedee house, then decided to go fishing. In the morning, they saw Jesus on the shore, his thirteenth appearance. Each day, more and more people knocked on the front door of the Zebedee house to inquire if Jesus rising from the dead was true.