Sea of Galilee

Mark 1:16 "Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen."

The Sea of Galilee has many names. The Sea of Chinnereth, Sea of Kinnereth, Lake of Gennesaret, and the Sea of Tiberias. Depending on what town you lived in affected on how you will call it. It’s the same as how some states say “Pop” or in some places they referred to even Fanta and Pepsi as “Coke” instead of soda. It’s the same thing but referred to as different depending on where you are.

The Sea of Galilee is referred to as the “sea of life.” This is because it contains many forms of sea life as well as it flows out to fill other rivers and lakes. One of the seas it flows out to is the Dead Sea. It was given this name due to its high salt concentration leading to animals and plants dying in the area. The two seas are used in many stories in and out of the Bible to contrast and represent life and death.

The Sea of Galilee plays an important part is the story of Jesus. Not only were His first disciples fisherman from that sea, but also some of His sermons were taught by there!

“One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee,* great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God.

He noticed two empty boats at the water's edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets.

Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon,* its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish."

"Master," Simon replied, "we worked hard all last night and didn't catch a thing. But if you say so, I'll let the nets down again."

And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! “

Luke 5:1-6 (NLT)