Untitled Sermon

“TBD”

The New King James Version (Chapter 5)

So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, 2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. 3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.

Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary Commentary

Life on the Water

Fishing on the Sea of Galilee was big business. This now-famous body of water, eight miles wide and thirteen miles long, lay beside a fertile plain renowned for its agriculture. In Jesus’ day, nine cities crowded its shorelines, each with no less than 15,000 citizens, possibly making the region’s total population greater than Jerusalem’s.

The names of the Galilean towns reflect the importance of fishing to the life and economy of the area. For example, at Tarichaea, “the place of salt fish,” workers packed fish for shipment to Jerusalem and export to Rome. Bethsaida—from which at least four fishermen left their nets to follow Jesus (Matt. 4:18–22; John 1:44)—means “fish town”; most of the town was employed in the fishing industry.

Shoals just offshore were a fisherman’s paradise. In Jesus’ day, hundreds of fishing boats trawled the lake. Galileans ate little meat besides fish. It came highly salted, as there was no other way of preserving the “catch of the day.”

Two kinds of nets were used—the sagene and the amphiblestron. The sagene (Matt. 13:47) was larger. Fitted with both weighted and buoyant material, it was used for trawling. In water, it stood almost upright and bagged fish as it was dragged behind a boat. The smaller amphiblestron was shaped like an umbrella and was used for casting off the side of a boat (Mark 1:16).

The fisherman’s day did not end with a return to shore. Mending and washing nets, preserving fish, maintaining boats and supplies, training and supervising crews, and negotiating with merchants and others in the shipping industry made for long, tiring hours.

The popularity of the ministry of Jesus is growing. Word is being spread around of the miracles that are being wrought by Him, and now wherever He goes people are beginning to jostle and shove in order that they might get close to Him. It made it difficult for Jesus to travel to get around because of the multitudes that, according to Mark's gospel, at this point were thronging Him wherever He went.

Calling the apostles, was no accident. I believe society has glorified, even set us up for failure, with images of the ‘Lone Wolf,” the one who’s success is because of their separation. Look at the separation covid caused. Alcoholism and drug abuse at an all time high. Suicide rates, through the roof. We were not created to be alone. From the beginning, God stated, “it is not good for man to be alone.” Gen 2:18

Genesis 2:18 NKJV

And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

You see David and Jonathan,

The New King James Version Chapter 18

18 Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David,

And now we are going to see Jesus, get into a boat. Not just the boat of anyone, but the boat of Simon Peter. Coincidence? I think not.

You see, even our Lord and Savior is about to go forward and call some of His apostles. Even when we look at the triune nature of God, we do not see a God, singular, but God, plural, elohim, 3 persons in one.