Most children who have read the Bible or had it read to them have heard of the Sea of Galilee. It is not actually a “sea,” but it is a lake about 13 miles long and 7 miles wide. The River Jordan supplies its water, flowing into the north end and flowing out the south end of the lake on its way to the Dead Sea.
The Sea of Galilee is said to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. It was by this lake and the countryside near it that the Lord Jesus lived and performed many of the wonderful miracles we read about in the Bible.
From His earliest years Jesus was familiar with the lake. Nazareth, the town where the Lord Jesus lived as a boy, was only a few miles away. It was on the hillside overlooking this lake that He fed the five thousand men plus all the women and children (Matt. 14:15-2115And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. 16But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. 17And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. 18He said, Bring them hither to me. 19And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. 20And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. 21And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children. (Matthew 14:15‑21)). It was in this same lake that the two thousand swine drowned after the evil spirits had been commanded to leave the man and they entered the swine (Mark 5:1-201And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. 2And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: 4Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. 5And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. 6But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, 7And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. 8For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. 9And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. 10And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. 11Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. 12And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. 13And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. 14And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. 15And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. 16And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. 17And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts. 18And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. 19Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. 20And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel. (Mark 5:1‑20)). And it was also here that Jesus found Peter and his brother Andrew fishing and called them to be “fishers of men” (Mark 1:1717And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. (Mark 1:17)).
Although the Sea of Galilee is very beautiful when the sun is shining, it is not always calm and quiet. It is a very shallow lake, so that when the wind blows the waves come up quickly. Strong gusts of wind can sweep down from the surrounding mountains and cause waves as high as those on a real sea. There are two storms on this lake recorded in the Bible.
We read about one of these storms in Mark 4. There the Lord Jesus had been teaching many people. When evening came He told His disciples to cross over to the other side of the lake. As they rowed across, the Lord Jesus lay down in the back of the little ship on a pillow and went to sleep.
While they were crossing the lake a big storm came up, quickly blowing the water into huge waves that beat against the little ship. It began to fill with water even though the disciples probably tried to bail it out. In just a short time the boat was full of water. The disciples were sure they would all drown, knowing what had happened to others on this lake during bad storms. And during all this time Jesus was still sleeping in the back part of the ship.
They were so afraid of the ship sinking that they wakened the Lord Jesus and asked, “Master, carest Thou not that we perish?” They had forgotten who He was—that He was the One who had made the wind and the waves. They were soon to learn that not only had He made them, but He had control over them as well.
Immediately the wind stopped blowing. This was truly amazing. But not only did the wind stop blowing, the waves also disappeared and the water became calm. This was truly a miracle, because waves always continue to roll long after the wind has died down. They gradually become smaller until the water is calm. So the waves on the Sea of Galilee disappearing immediately after the wind stopped blowing was not natural. The Creator had commanded this, and it says in the same verse, “and there was a great calm.” The water had become quiet and smooth.
Turning to His disciples, the Lord Jesus said, “Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?” Mark 4:4040And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? (Mark 4:40). They all were afraid and did not seem to understand who this Person was, because they talked among themselves asking, “What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” Mark 4:4141And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? (Mark 4:41).
How many of us—boys, girls, men or women—get upset and disturbed like the disciples did when the waves got rough! If we know the Lord Jesus as our Saviour, then we have Him “on board our ship"—He is with us, so shouldn’t we trust Him to work everything out? He has promised, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Hebrews 13:55Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Hebrews 13:5). Remember what He said to the sea that was splashing and pounding all around them— “Peace, be still.” If He can control the waves with just a word, can He not be trusted to take care of all our cares and troubles?
Next week, Lord willing, we will look at the other storm on the Sea of Galilee. It is recorded in Matthew 14. Can you find it?
ML-10/30/1983