GALILEE
During the public ministry of Jesus, Palestine had three traditional regions: Galilee in the north, Judaea in the south, and Samaria in between them. Jesus’ ministry was predominantly in Galilee and Judaea. Since the conservative Jews, the Sanhedrin, and the Temple were in Judaea, Jesus’ life faced a threat there. So, he centered his ministry at Capernaum in Galilee that included Nazareth, Capernaum, and Tiberias. Though Jesus was popularly known as Jesus of Nazareth, people also saw him as a Galilean (Lk 23:6). Galilee’s name is also associated with the Sea of Galilee.
Joshua had assigned Galilee to the Asher, the Naphtali, and the Zebulun tribes when the Israelites first inhabited the Promised Land. The Zebulun and the Naphtali tribes failed to expel entirely the native Canaanites when they entered the land. So, they later had Gentile influence and attacks from neighboring Gentiles. The Assyrians conquered the land, exiled many Israelites in 733 BC, and scattered them so they would not unite for any revolt against the Assyrians. Many foreigners then settled in the land. So, Galilee became a home for mixed group of Israelites and Gentiles. Aristobulus had conquered Galilee for the Jews in 104 BC and forcibly made the inhabitants Jews through circumcision.
GALILEE OF THE GENTILES
The name Galilee derived from the Hebrew word “galil” that means circle. The full name was the Galilee of the Gentiles. Galilee was, in fact, circled by gentiles. Phoenicians on the west, Syrians on the north and east, and Samaritans on the south were their neighbors. Since the gentiles encircled Galilee, the Jews there were more open to the latest ideas compared to other parts of Palestine. So, Jesus had better receptivity from the Jews and the Gentiles in Galilee.
SEA OF GALILEE
The Sea of Galilee is not a veritable sea, but a lake. It is also known as the “Sea of Kinneret” (Num 34:11, Deut 3:17, Josh 11:2), the “Lake of Gennesaret” (Lk 5:1), and the “Lake of Tiberius” (Jn 6:1). This pear-shaped lake is only thirteen miles long from north to south and eight miles at the widest part, from east to west. The circumference of the lake is only thirty-three miles, and its maximum depth is 141 feet. It is the lowest freshwater lake on earth and the second lowest lake in the world after the Dead Sea. The major source of water to the lake is from the Jordan River, supplemented by springs from the streams and wadis of the hills of Galilee. The water level and the size of the lake have gone down as centuries went by.
Its beaches and valleys with hills in the back all around made it convenient for the crowd to gather like in an amphitheatre, while Jesus preached on a boat. It provided amplifying sound effects for his speech when there were no artificial devices or gadgets for sound amplification.
GALILEE, VIOLENT STROM IN THE SEA OF
Violent storm is possible in the Sea of Galilee because of its low-lying position of seven hundred feet below sea level surrounded by hills. Though the lake is usually calm, sudden and violent storms develop when the ice-cold wind comes over the snow-covered eastern mountains and drops suddenly through a funnel-like narrow mountain valleys onto the warm air of the sea. Jesus and his disciples had such an experience while traveling on a boat in the sea (Mt 8:23-27; Mk 4:35-41; Lk 8:22-25; Jn 6:16-21).
REFLECTION
Unlike Judean Jews who were conservative, the Galileans were progressive because of their gentile influence. Jesus started his ministry with Galilee and ended in Judea. Out of the twelve apostles, all except Judas Iscariot were Galileans. Jesus got high acceptance in Galilee than in Judea. However, he faced opposition and rejection in Galilee as well. Is the Messiah had positive and negative responses, his followers also should expect the same when working for the kingdom of God.