1Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, 2“Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat bread.”
3He answered them, “Why do you also disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 5But you say, ‘Whoever may tell his father or his mother, “Whatever help you might otherwise have gotten from me is a gift devoted to God,” 6he shall not honor his father or mother.’ You have made the commandment of God void because of your tradition. 7You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,
8‘These people draw near to me with their mouth,
and honor me with their lips;
but their heart is far from me.
9And they worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrine rules made by men.’”
10He summoned the multitude, and said to them, “Hear, and understand. 11That which enters into the mouth doesn’t defile the man; but that which proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”
12Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”
13But he answered, “Every plant which my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted. 14Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
15Peter answered him, “Explain the parable to us.”
16So Jesus said, “Do you also still not understand? 17Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the belly and then out of the body? 18But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and they defile the man. 19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies. 20These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands doesn’t defile the man.”
21Jesus went out from there and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22Behold, a Canaanite woman came out from those borders and cried, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, you son of David! My daughter is severely possessed by a demon!”
23But he answered her not a word.
His disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away; for she cries after us.”
24But he answered, “I wasn’t sent to anyone but the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
25But she came and worshiped him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
26But he answered, “It is not appropriate to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
27But she said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
28Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Be it done to you even as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.
29Jesus departed from there and came near to the sea of Galilee; and he went up on the mountain and sat there. 30Great multitudes came to him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others, and they put them down at his feet. He healed them, 31so that the multitude wondered when they saw the mute speaking, the injured healed, the lame walking, and the blind seeing—and they glorified the God of Israel.
32Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have continued with me now three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away fasting, or they might faint on the way.”
33The disciples said to him, “Where could we get so many loaves in a deserted place as to satisfy so great a multitude?”
34Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?”
They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”
35He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground; 36and he took the seven loaves and the fish. He gave thanks and broke them, and gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes. 37They all ate and were filled. They took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over. 38Those who ate were four thousand men, in addition to women and children. 39Then he sent away the multitudes, got into the boat, and came into the borders of Magdala.
The Sea of Galilee, also known as the Lake of Gennesaret or the Sea of Tiberius,[1] is actually what we would consider a moderately sized lake. It is 13 miles long, 8 miles wide, about 33 miles in circumference, and about 140 feet deep. It is also the second-lowest lake in the world (behind only the Dead Sea 65 miles south), at approximately 670 feet below sea level. It is surrounded by high hills, up to 2,000 feet above the lake. Due to the unique geography of the area where the lake is located, it is known for sudden, violent storms.[2]
The Sea of Galilee is an important part of the region, providing water for drinking and irrigation, as well as fishing and easy transportation. It is not surprising that Jesus’ Galilean ministry was focused on the area around the lake. Here in Matt 4:18, Jesus called His first disciples while “walking beside the Sea of Galilee.”
Although most archaeological remains in the area are found on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, the “Galilee boat[3]” (popularly called “Jesus Boat”),[4] was submerged for two thousand years, and only discovered during an unusually dry period by two local fishermen, the brothers Uval and Moshe Lufan. Ancient remains of harbors have also been discovered in the shallows near the shore, such as at Capernaum.[5] Many other important towns mentioned in the New Testament are found on the shores of the lake including, Bethsaida,[6] Magdala[7], and Tiberias[8]. Several others were located on the slopes of the hills around the lake, including Chorazin[9], Hippos-Susita[10], Gamla [11], and Gadara[12].
[1] Merrill F. Unger, Archaeology and the New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1962) 125-126.
[2] See Matt 14.24.
[3] See John 6:17
[4] The "Galilee Boat," sometimes called the "Jesus Boat" is located at Kibbutz Ginosaur Museum.
[5] Capernaum, the home of James and John, is along the western shore of the Sea of Galilee (aerial).
[6] Possibly at the side of Bethsaida (aerial) is at the northern tip of the Sea of Galilee.
[7] Magdala (aerial), the city of Mary of Magdala (Magdalene) is on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, lower than Capernaum.
[8] Tiberias (aerial) was a Gentile city in the days of Jesus and is not given as a city that Jesus visited.
[9] Chorazin (panorama) is a short distance west of the Sea of Galilee, not on the coast.
[10] Hippos-Susita (also known Antiochia-Hippos) is a little over a mile east of the Sea of Galilee and was a Gentile city.
[11] Gamla (Hebrew word for camel) is a city built on a small mountain shaped like the back of a camel, that was defeated by the Romans soon after the Jewish rebellion in A.D. 66, and where General (Titus) Flavius Josephus was captured by the Roman army.
[12] Gadara, one of the cities of the Decapolis (ten cities) of New Testament times, is more than 1200 feet above sea level, bordering on Israel and Syria, and overlooks the Sea of Galilee several miles away. The Arabic name is Umm Qais. Some have argued that Gadara was the city near where Jesus cast out demons into a herd of pigs that went down into the Sea of Galilee, but this is unlikely in view of the distance from the Sea.