The Sea of Galilee

A Lake Among the Hills

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Jesus calmed the storm on a real lake you can still visit today. It is called the Sea of Galilee. Many of Jesus' miracles happened on it or near it.

A lake called a sea. The Sea of Galilee is really a lake of fresh water. It is about 13 miles long and 8 miles wide. You could walk all the way around it in a few days.

Many names. The Bible gives it several names. Luke calls it “the Lake of Gennesaret” (Luke 5:1). John calls it “the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias” (John 6:1). In the Old Testament it is called Chinnereth (Numbers 34:11).

Low down. The lake sits about 700 feet below the level of the ocean. It is one of the lowest lakes in the world. The Jordan River flows into it from the north and out of it to the south.

Hills all around. Steep hills and cliffs surround the lake. Far to the north stands Mount Hermon, which often has snow on top.

Sudden storms. Cool air from the hills can rush down through the valleys and hit the warm air over the water. When that happens, a calm lake can turn wild in minutes. That is how the storm in Matthew 8 came: “suddenly” (Matthew 8:24).

A windstorm. Mark calls it “a great windstorm” (Mark 4:37). The waves beat into the boat until it was filling with water.

Full of fish. The lake has always been full of fish. Small sardines swim in huge schools. There are also big, flat fish that people today call St. Peter's fish.

Warm springs and good soil. Hot springs bubble up near the town of Tiberias. On the northwest shore was a rich, flat plain where farmers grew fruit and grain.

Towns by the water. Busy fishing towns lined the shore: Capernaum, Bethsaida, Magdala and others. Jesus made Capernaum His home. He “dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea” (Matthew 4:13).

Jesus' classroom. Jesus often taught beside the lake. Once the crowd was so big that He “got into a boat and sat in it on the sea” to teach the people on the shore (Mark 4:1).

The other side. The storm hit while Jesus and His disciples were crossing from the Jewish towns in the west to the land on the east shore. When they landed, they came “to the country of the Gergesenes” (Matthew 8:28). Many people there were not Jewish.

What we learn. The Bible happened in real places. Jesus came into our real world, with its real storms, to be our Savior. “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

What to do. Find the Sea of Galilee on a map in the back of a Bible. Look for Capernaum, and remember that Jesus lived there.

The storm of Matthew 8 happened on a real body of water with its own geography. Knowing the lake helps us read the Gospels with our eyes open.

The lake. The Sea of Galilee is a freshwater lake about 13 miles long and 8 miles wide, about 140 feet deep at its deepest. The Jordan River enters from the north and leaves from the south, flowing on to the Dead Sea.

Its names. In the Old Testament it is the sea of Chinnereth (Numbers 34:11). The name probably comes from kinnor (say: kin-NOR), the Hebrew word for a harp, because the lake is shaped a little like one. Luke calls it the Lake of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1), and John adds “the Sea of Tiberias” (John 6:1), after the city Herod Antipas built on its shore and named for the emperor Tiberius.

Below sea level. The surface lies about 700 feet below sea level, in a deep basin surrounded by hills. To the east, steep slopes rise sharply. To the north, Mount Hermon rises over 9,000 feet.

Why storms come fast. Cool air from the heights can pour down through narrow valleys onto the warm air over the lake. The result can be a violent storm with almost no warning, and storms there can last for hours.

Lailaps. Mark's word for the storm is lailaps (say: LIE-laps), a fierce whirlwind or squall (Mark 4:37). It is the kind of sudden wind this lake is known for.

Fish and fields. Large schools of small sardines and several larger fish, including the flat fish now called St. Peter's fish, made the lake a rich fishing ground. Hot springs rose near Tiberias, and the plain of Gennesaret on the northwest shore was famous for its fruit.

Busy shores. In Jesus' day the lake was ringed with towns and fishing villages. Fish were caught, salted and sold across the region. Magdala, the home of Mary Magdalene, was one of the fishing towns.

Capernaum (Matthew 4:13). Jesus left Nazareth and “dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea.” Capernaum became the center of His work in Galilee. Many of His miracles happened within a short walk of the water.

Two shores. The western shore was mostly Jewish. Across the water lay regions where many Gentiles lived, and where people kept pigs (Matthew 8:28-30). The crossing in Matthew 8 was a trip of several miles, most likely rowed and sailed at night.

God in real places. The Gospels name real towns, real roads and real weather. God the Son entered real history, with all its dangers, to save real people. He came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10), and that night He crossed a stormy lake to reach people on the other side.

Application. Your town, your school and your home are real places too. The Jesus who walked the shores of Galilee is the same Lord today. Ask Him to show you who near you needs to hear about Him.

Fishing on the Lake

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Some of the men in the boat that night knew the Sea of Galilee better than almost anyone. Peter, Andrew, James and John were fishermen (Matthew 4:18, 21). Yet even they cried out, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” (Matthew 8:25).

A family business. James and John fished with their father, Zebedee. The family had a boat and “hired servants” to help (Mark 1:20). Fishing was hard work, and families did it together.

Cast nets. One kind of net was round, with small weights around the edge. A fisherman standing in shallow water threw it so it spread out and sank over the fish. Peter and Andrew were “casting a net into the sea” (Matthew 4:18).

Big nets. Other nets were long. A team let them down from boats or dragged them through the water and pulled them up onto the beach, full of fish.

Night work. Fishermen often worked at night, when the fish came closer to the top of the water. By morning they were tired and wet.

Mending nets. Nets tore on rocks and under heavy loads. James and John were “in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets” (Matthew 4:21).

Selling the catch. Fish were sold fresh in the market, or salted and dried so they would keep. Then they were carried to towns far away.

Taxes. Rulers taxed the fishing too. In Capernaum, Jesus saw “a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office” (Matthew 9:9).

A boat from Jesus' time. In 1986 the lake was very low because there had been little rain. Two brothers walking on the shore found the outline of an old wooden boat in the mud. Scientists found that it was from about the time of Jesus.

What it was like. The boat was about 27 feet long and about 7 feet wide. It had room for oars, a sail and more than a dozen people. It had been patched again and again with many kinds of wood. The boat Jesus slept in was probably a lot like it.

Many boats. The lake was busy with fishing boats. On the night of the storm, “other little boats were also with Him” (Mark 4:36).

Experts were afraid. These fishermen had seen many storms. They knew how to steer, row and bail water. That night all their skill was not enough, so they went to Jesus.

What we learn. King David wrote, “In God is my salvation and my glory” (Psalm 62:7). Even experts need the Lord. The fishermen learned that the One sleeping in their boat was the One who could save them.

What to do. Think of something you are good at. Thank God for it, and tell Him you will trust Him, not your own skill, when hard times come.

At least four of the twelve were professional fishermen from the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 4:18-21). Their world helps us understand how serious the storm was.

The business. Zebedee had “hired servants” (Mark 1:20), so his was a real working business. Some fishing families worked together as partners and shared boats and nets.

The cast net. A round net with weights around its edge was thrown by one man, usually from the shore or in shallow water. It opened in the air and dropped over the fish. Matthew describes Peter and Andrew “casting a net into the sea” (4:18).

The seine. A long net with floats on top and weights below could be stretched out from a boat and then hauled to the beach by a team on the shore, trapping the fish between the net and the land.

The night shift. Many fish rise toward the surface at night, so much of the work was done in the dark. Fishermen read the wind, the clouds and the water to stay safe.

Upkeep. Linen nets tore easily and rotted if left wet, so they had to be washed, dried and mended after every trip. Matthew pictures James and John “mending their nets” (4:21).

The trade. Fish were sold fresh or salted and dried, then carried to markets far away. Rulers taxed the trade, and Capernaum had a tax office where Jesus found “a man named Matthew” (9:9).

The Galilee boat. In 1986, during a drought, the water level dropped and two brothers spotted an ancient boat in the mud near Magdala. Experts dated it to around the first century. It is about 27 feet long and 7½ feet wide, built for rowing and sailing, with room for a crew and passengers. Its hull was patched with many different kinds of wood, a sign of hard use and careful repair. The boat in Matthew 8 was most likely a boat of this kind.

A fleet. Mark adds that “other little boats were also with Him” (Mark 4:36). The storm threatened more than one crew that night.

Seasoned sailors. Men who had fished this lake for years would not panic over an ordinary squall. When these fishermen said, “We are perishing!” (Matthew 8:25), they meant it. Their expertise had reached its end.

Psalm 62:7. “In God is my salvation and my glory.” The fishermen learned that night what David had learned long before: rescue belongs to God, and the One asleep in their stern was the Lord.

Application. Your gifts and skills are good gifts from God. Use them well, but do not lean on them as if they were God. When your strength runs out, run to Jesus.

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