Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Sea of Galilee

The Sea of Galilee, the largest freshwater lake in Israel,  is a beautiful lake surrounded by fertile land.  As we were driving there, we saw many different fruit and vegetable plants, which made it evident of the area's fertility.  The Jordan River flows into the Sea of Galilee.  St. Peter's fish, also known as musht, is a type of fish only found in the Sea of Galilee.  The Sea of Galilee was where some of Jesus's ministry took place, as well as, some of his most famous miracles.  Visiting the Sea of Galilee was one of the most meaningful places we visited.  The reason being is that the setting was so believable because I could visualize Jesus during that time.  Most of the other important places had a church placed on top of the site, which made it difficult for me to visualize the events that happened their.  The Sea of Galilee is what it was back during Jesus's time.  This was an important site for my pilgrimage because I knew I was where Jesus had been.  Here are three places in the Gospels where the Sea of Galilee was mentioned.

Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Festival was near. John 6:1-4

Jesus Walks on the Water
16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17 where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18 A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles,[b]they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” 21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. 23 Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus. John 6:16-24
Jesus Calms the Storm
35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”  Mark 4:35-41


We actually took a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee.  The boat was called the "Jesus Boat" and we enjoyed some American music and Israeli dancing.  Not was I was expecting, but it made for an interesting ride!






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