The base of Jesus’ early ministry, the Sea of Galilee—or Lake Kinneret, as it is known in Israel—is one of the most important locations for Christian faith. Many New Testament stories take place around the Sea of Galilee, and it was from this region that Jesus called his disciples to follow him.
At about 212 meters (or nearly 700 feet) below sea level, the Sea of Galilee is the lowest freshwater lake in the world. This lake supports Israel’s life and agriculture today, just as it did in the past. The region around the Sea of Galilee thrived because of the fishing industry, and Jesus’ first disciples were fishermen. Early in the Gospels, Jesus lived in Nazareth, near the Sea of Galilee, and several of the Gospels even have Jesus back at the lake after the Resurrection.
When many Christians think of Jesus’ ministry, images of the shores of the Galilee pop into mind. Clearly, God and the authors of these books believed the Sea of Galilee to be important.
Even to non-Christians, the Sea of Galilee is important. Only a few decades after Christ’s ministry, during the period of Roman occupation, the lake was the site of a naval battle between the Jews and the Romans. The Romans, with greater training, manpower, and resources, overpowered the ill-equipped rebels, filling the Sea of Galilee with the blood and bodies of the slain. The Roman forces killed every last Jewish fighter. Just as the rebels’ dead littered the lake, so their boats were left abandoned in the water.
Considering everything that has happened around this inland lake, from historical times until now, and all of the merchant and transport traffic that has been upon it, and all the archaeologists who have nosed around the area, it is amazing that no ancient boats have ever been found. In the time of the New Testament, the Sea of Galilee had sixteen thriving ports and must have had hundreds, perhaps thousands of boats on it, yet not a single one of these boats had survived to modern times. Then, one cold winter’s day—January 24th, 1986—history instantly changed with the discovery of a 2,000-year-old artifact that has come to be known to millions around the world as “The Jesus Boat.”
