Miracle on the Sea of Galilee
(The following article is from New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus, by David Bivin.)
He [Jesus] got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to push out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Push out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Teacher, we have worked all night and caught nothing! However, if you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done this, they enclosed a great school of fish … when Simon Peter saw it, he fell at Jesus’ feet and said, “Go away from me, Lord. I am a sinful man!” (Lk 5:3–6, 8)
Understanding more about ancient fishing on the Sea of Galilee allows us to paint, in vivid detail, this scene of one of the first miracles of Jesus’ ministry as it occurred, likely during winter on the lake shore at Heptapegon near Capernaum.1
Wildfires in Israel force Scholars to Evacuate
Have you heard the recent news about wildfires in Israel? A few hours ago I received a worrisome email from David Bivin. He and his wife live a few miles outside of Jerusalem and was evacuated because of the recent fires there.