The Sea of Galilee has several different names and we come across one of them in Luke 5:1 today: The Lake of Gennesaret.  That name was derived from an ancient settlement on the west side of the lake called Ginosaur. Gennesaret was sometimes spelled Kinneret .

To make things even more confusing, the Romans also called the lake the Sea of Tiberius after the Roman emperor Tiberius Caesar Augustus who ruled in the first century AD.

The Jews called the lake the Sea of Galilee because it was located in their province of Galilee.

We will see all of these names used interchangeably in the New Testament.

Israel’s Two Seas

Galilee is a freshwater lake filled by underground springs and the Jordan River. Abundant mountain springs and snow melt feed the Jordan and it flows into the north end of the lake and out of its south end all the way down the Jordan Valley to the Dead Sea.

The Sea of Galilee is 696 feet below sea level, making it the lowest fresh water lake on earth, and the Dead Sea is 1,410 feet below sea level, making it the lowest body of water of any kind on earth.

The Dead Sea got its name from being completely land locked, with no outlet, which contributed to its high salt content and made it inhospitable to fish and other aquatic life. The high mineral content in its mud has long made the Dead Sea a popular destination for people hoping to cure various kinds of ailments.

Today the Sea of Galilee and Jordan River supply most of the water used in Israel’s agriculture. The demand brings both Galilee and the Dead Sea to dangerously low water levels some years. Since 1930 the Dead Sea had shrunk to half its former size.

The Big Catch

One day, when Jesus was down by the water in Galilee, teaching the word of God to a crowd, he noticed Simon Peter’s boat had been pulled ashore and Peter was nearby washing his fishing nets. He asked Peter to take him a little way out in the boat and he sat down in it and taught some more.

When he was done teaching he told Peter he should go back out into the deep water and fish some more. Peter didn’t want to do it. He had already fished all night with no luck, but since it was Jesus making the suggestion, he agreed to give it a try. His partners James and John stayed on the shore and watched to see what would happen.

When Peter’s net caught more fish than he could haul in, James and John came out with their boat to help. Both boats got so full of fish they nearly sank and the fishermen were astonished. Peter fell to his knees in front of Jesus, overwhelmed by his unworthiness in the presence of the Son of God.

Peter, Andrew, James and John had already been hanging out with Jesus for a while and they had seen his miracles and heard his teaching. Now he asked them to give up everything they had known and follow him.

“‘Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.’ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him,” Luke 5:11

They didn’t return to fishing until almost three years later, when Jesus completed his mission.

Jesus Heals a Leper

People with leprosy had miserable lives in Bible times. The word leprosy was used to describe a number of skin conditions, but all of them made a person untouchable. Lepers lived alone and usually had to rely on charity. Their dignity was shredded and they had very little hope of getting better.

Lepers were not allowed to come near rabbis, but this man was desperate to talk to Jesus.

“[He] came and knelt before him and said, ‘Lord, If you are willing, you can make me clean.’” Matthew 8:2

The sight of the suffering man moved Jesus so much he reached out his hand to touch him.

“‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’ Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.” Matthew 8:3

Jesus sent the man straight to a priest who could certify that he was now free of disease, and he told him to follow the Law of Moses and offer sacrifices to God. Once he had completed those requirements no one could dispute that he was clean.

News of healings like that drew huge crowds to Jesus. He never sent a crowd away without meeting their needs, but sometimes he had to find ways to recover from the work so he turned to solitude and prayer.

“Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Luke 5:16

Jesus Heals the Paralyzed Man

Jesus was back in Capernaum one day, sitting in a house, teaching, when there was a commotion overhead. Some men on the roof had removed enough of the tiles above the ceiling to open a hole and lower a man through. Down came a paralyzed man lying on a mat. His friends lowered him gently to the floor in front of Jesus; then leaned in to see what would happen.

“When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.’” Luke 5:20

The room was full of Pharisees and teachers of the Law who had come to observe Jesus, and they began to silently ask themselves,

“Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Luke 5:21

Jesus read their thoughts and he replied to them before they had a chance to speak.

“‘Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.’

“So he said to the paralyzed man. ‘I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.’ Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.” Luke 5:22-25

Jesus had just demonstrated that he was God. He had the authority to forgive sins, he had the power to heal a man – and he had the supernatural ability to read the minds of the Pharisees.

Jesus Recruits Levi

One of the ways for a man to make a living in Galilee was to collect taxes for Rome. It paid well, especially since the tax collector could skim a bit off the top of what he collected. The Jewish community didn’t like tax collectors.

But Jesus noticed one tax collector, Levi, seemed to be interested in his message so he invited Levi to follow him. The young man took Jesus up on his invitation, and in return he asked Jesus and his disciples to come to his house for a dinner party with his friends.

Matthew’s friends were not the kind of people rabbis and honest, hard working fishermen usually hung out with. And the Pharisees, who were watching Jesus’ every move, were very critical of Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners and they asked his disciples about it.

“On hearing this, Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’” Matthew 9:12-13

Ever since Old Testament days the Jewish leaders had struggled with God’s command that they practice mercy. It was easier for them to keep up the ritual sacrifices at the temple in Jerusalem than to do what Jesus was doing in Galilee.

To Fast or Not To Fast

The Pharisees and John the Baptist’s disciples regularly fasted as part of their piety and desire to know God. People noticed that Jesus’ disciples didn’t fast and they wondered why.

“Jesus answered, ‘Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.’” Luke 5:34-35

Jesus was Immanuel – “God with us” – and his disciples didn’t need to fast in order to get close to him. They were in God’s presence everyday when they were with Jesus.

This Gospel of Jesus Christ was like a new wine and it needed new wineskins to hold it. People couldn’t go on living as they always had and also be filled with the good news about Jesus. They needed to become like new wineskins – and be born again by the Holy Spirit.

When that happened they would be ready for the day when Jesus was taken from them. Jesus’ disciples had the joy of his presence now, but in the future they would depend upon the Holy Spirit to remind them about what he had said. Those would be the days of fasting and prayer for the disciples of Jesus.

But for now, everyday was an adventure as they filled up on Jesus and his wonderful teaching.