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1He entered into a boat and crossed over, and came into his own city. 2Behold, they brought to him a man who was paralyzed, lying on a bed. Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, “Son, cheer up! Your sins are forgiven you.”

3Behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man blasphemes.”

4Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven;’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk?’ 6But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins—” (then he said to the paralytic), “Get up, and take up your mat, and go to your house.”

7He arose and departed to his house. 8But when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

9As Jesus passed by from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax collection office. He said to him, “Follow me.” He got up and followed him. 10As he sat in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

12When Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick do. 13But you go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

14Then John’s disciples came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don’t fast?”

15Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch would tear away from the garment, and a worse hole is made. 17Neither do people put new wine into old wine skins, or else the skins would burst, and the wine be spilled, and the skins ruined. No, they put new wine into fresh wine skins, and both are preserved.”

18While he told these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.”

19Jesus got up and followed him, as did his disciples. 20Behold, a woman who had a discharge of blood for twelve years came behind him, and touched the fringe of his garment; 21for she said within herself, “If I just touch his garment, I will be made well.”

22But Jesus, turning around and seeing her, said, “Daughter, cheer up! Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.

23When Jesus came into the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd in noisy disorder, 24he said to them, “Make room, because the girl isn’t dead, but sleeping.”

They were ridiculing him. 25But when the crowd was sent out, he entered in, took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26The report of this went out into all that land.

27As Jesus passed by from there, two blind men followed him, calling out and saying, “Have mercy on us, son of David!” 28When he had come into the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

They told him, “Yes, Lord.”

29Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” 30Then their eyes were opened. Jesus strictly commanded them, saying, “See that no one knows about this.” 31But they went out and spread abroad his fame in all that land.

32As they went out, behold, a mute man who was demon possessed was brought to him. 33When the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke. The multitudes marveled, saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”

34But the Pharisees said, “By the prince of the demons, he casts out demons.”

35Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people. 36But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them because they were harassed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest indeed is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38Pray therefore that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into his harvest.”

Ancient Boat at Nof Ginosaur

Ancient Boat at Nof Ginosaur

Artifact | Matt 9:1 | Hershel Wayne House | Museum at Nof Ginosaur

One of the most significant finds to come from the Sea of Galilee occurred in 1986, when two brothers, Moshe and Yuval Lufan, came upon a boat that was buried in the mud near the shore of the lake constructed sometime between 120 B.C. and A.D. 40. Until this discovery the only understanding of first century fishing boats came from drawings. 

Moshe and Yuval lived at the kibbutz at Nof Ginosaur and often searched the shores of the lake Kinneret (aka Sea of Galilee) in search of objects from the lake. In 1986 the lake was at its lowest level in several years due to a drought. Upon finding the boat, archaeologist were immediately contacted and the boat was encased in a preservative and immersed in a vat of special liquids for nearly a dozen years, and is now on display at the Nof Ginosaur Museum at the kubbutz by the lake. 

There is general agreement among scholars that this is likely the type of boat that would have been used by Jesus and the disciples. However, even though the boat has often been called the "Jesus Boat" there is little likelihood that Jesus had ever sailed in the boat, but certainly this type of boat would have been in view when one reads the biblical accounts of the fishing on the Sea of Galilee, His stilling of the storms, and other stories in the Gospels connected with a fishing boat. The boat is believed to hold up to 15 people, so the stories of Jesus and his 12 disciples traveling in a fishing boat are clearly reasonable.

For more information, see my article on p. 262 in the Price and House, Zondervan Handbook of Biblical Archaeology.

Further Reading:

Jack Finegan, The Archaeology of the New Testament: The Life of Jesus and the Beginning of the Early Church (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992), 82; Shelly Wachsmann, The Sea of Galilee Boat: A 2000 Year Old Discovery From the Sea of Legends (College Station: Texas A & M University Press, 2009), 254-55.