Ann H LeFevre
  • Home
  • Ready for the Road Ahead
  • Images & Ink
  • Recommended Resources
  • About
  • Store
  • Behind the PIcture

The Sea Of Galilee

2/19/2022

0 Comments

 
            It’s hard for me to believe but it’s been twenty-two years since my first trip to Israel.  I remember before my first trip, when someone who’d been there learned I was making a trip to the “Holy Land” they would tell me, “You’ll never read the Bible the same way again!” or “You’ll be changed forever!”  These animated statements became so frequent I got tired of hearing them.  I couldn’t believe their passionate declarations could actually be true- until I got there.  The most significant moment on that first trip occurred when my study tour reached the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  As I stood on the shoreline and looked across the water a thought came to me so strong and clear, “Jesus was here!”  It was then that all the enthusiasm made sense, and yes, it also proved to be true!

            The Galilee region is divided into two sections, Upper and Lower Galilee.  The Upper Galilee region is mountainous and windswept.  Although it is not at its center, the Sea of Galilee is definitely the hub of activity in Lower Galilee.  The “Sea” is approximately 20 miles long and 8 miles wide.  The temperate climate and fertile soil of Lower Galilee make it a wonderful place for agriculture.  Galilee was also a melting pot of people.  Economic and political threats from outsiders had been all but stopped by Rome and the road systems which cut through it opened up trade with the outside world.  Galilee was hardly the backwater region of peasants and Pharisees as it is often depicted to be.  The broad scope of Greek, Roman and Jewish culture was probably one of the reasons the orthodox Jews of the south despised the people of Galilee and were convinced that no prophet could come out of it (Jn. 1:46; 7:41,52).

            One might think that the Messiah (as a descendent of David) would launch His ministry from Jerusalem the capitol of David’s kingdom but Jesus chose to begin His ministry in the Galilee region and used the city of Capernaum as His home-base.  Galilee’s hillsides were populated with terrace farms which grew grapes, olives, figs and grains, and its villages were filled with family-run industries in fishing and masonry.   There were also small cities like Capernaum and Nazareth where synagogues were well-established as the heart of daily life.  Jesus walked through them all and drew upon the daily routines associated with them to teach and proclaim the Good News.  As He interacted with His surroundings Jesus taught the people about His human and Divine Nature by celebrating weddings (Jn. 2:1-11), feeding thousands (Mt. 14:13-21; Mk. 6:33-44; 8:1-9), healing the sick (Mt. 4:24; 11:5; 12:5; 14:14; 15:30; 19:2; Mk. 7:37; Lk. 7:22; Jn. 9:39), demonstrating His divinity (Mt. 17:1-8; Mk. 9:1-8; Lk. 9:28-36), raising the dead (Lk. 7:11-17; 8:49-56; Jn. 11:1-45) and performing miracles (Mt. 9: 30; 11:4-6; 12:22; 14:22-34; Mk. 6:45-52; 7:32-25; Lk. 8:22-25; Jn. 9:1-7; 11:47).

            But really, why begin in Galilee?  It could be said that Galilee was chosen solely on the basis of God’s sovereignty.  That is to say that He chose this area because He wanted to.  However, that would ignore two rather obvious factors concerning Galilee itself.  First, Galilee was chosen because of its geographic location.  The Via Maris (or Coastal Highway), an ancient and well-traveled trade route, ran diagonally through it.  The Via Maris acted as an advertising platform for the ministry of Jesus.  Whatever He did in Galilee, the news of it spread with the merchants, traders and pilgrims who traveled this road as they conducted their business and went to Jerusalem for the holy days.  It is commonly known in business today that “word of mouth is the best advertising” and this was no different for Jesus.  He wisely took advantage of people’s natural tendency to talk about the news of the day.  And Jesus was certainly news!  Secondly, the choice of Galilee fulfilled prophecy which Matthew, Mark and Luke all point out in their Gospels when speaking of this region (Is. 9:1-2; Mt. 2:19-23; 4:12-16; Mk. 1:14-15; Lk. 4:14-21).  And according to Matthew, the fulfillment of prophecy was a prominent characteristic in what Jesus came to do (Mt. 5:17-18). 

            While Galilee’s place in fulfilled prophecy is unquestionable, it demonstrates to us an even more important aspect of God’s nature.  He desires to be with us!  From the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:7) to the Tabernacle (Ex. 25:8) and Temple (1 Ki. 8:10-13), Galilee proves that when God said He would once again dwell with His people (Zech. 2:10), He did it in the most intimate way by taking on flesh and walking upon the Galilean soil (Mt. 4:23; Jn. 1:14-18).  It is no different today than it was when Jesus walked by the Sea.  He wants to walk with you and He also wants you to walk with Him.  Some of His first disciples came from the shores of Galilee.  When He called them, they left what they were doing to follow Him (Mt. 4:18-22; Mk. 1:16-20; 2:14; Lk. 5:1-11, 27-28; Jn. 43-51).  He wants you to do the same.  Will you?

Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div.
https://www.annhlefevre.com/, https://www.linked.com/in/annhlefevre/, https://www.facebook.com/ann.h.lefevre/
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Faith & Seeing

    Ready for the Road Ahead began as a bulletin insert in 2010 and has since grown into a weekly on-line Bible lesson.  I love to teach and have taught in both church and school settings.  I hope these articles will both encourage and equip you as you follow Christ.

    Archives

    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

    View my profile on LinkedIn

Proudly powered by Weebly