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The Call by the Sea
This chapter is based on Matthew 4:15-22; Mark 1:16-20; Luke
5:1-11.
Day was breaking over the Sea of Galilee. The disciples, tired
after a night of fruitless labor, were still in their fishing boats on
the lake. Jesus had come to spend a quiet hour by the waterside in
the early morning. He hoped for a little rest from the crowds that
followed Him day after day. But soon the people began to gather
and press in close to Him on every side.
To escape the pressure, Jesus stepped into Peter’s boat and told
him to pull out a little from the shore. Here everyone could see
and hear Him better, and from the boat He taught the crowds on
the beach. He, the Honored One of heaven, was declaring the great
things of His kingdom in the open air to the common people. The
lake, the mountains, the spreading fields, the sunlight flooding the
earth, all illustrated His lessons and impressed them on the mind.
And no lesson fell fruitless. Every message came to someone as the
word of eternal life.
The prophets had looked forward to scenes like this, and wrote:
“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
The way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gen-
tiles:
The people who sat in darkness saw a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned.”
Looking down the ages, Jesus saw His faithful ones in prison
and courtroom, in temptation, loneliness, and affliction. In the words
He spoke to those gathered around Him on the shores of the Sea
of Galilee, He was also speaking to these others the words that
would be a message of hope in trial, comfort in sorrow, and light in
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