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Chapter 25—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, weary
with a night of fruitless toil, 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 multitude that
followed Him day after day. But soon the people began to gather, so
that He was pressed on all sides.
To escape the pressure Jesus stepped into Peter’s boat and told
him to pull out a little from the shore. Here He could be better seen
and heard by all, and from the boat He taught the multitude on the
beach. He who was the Honored 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 some soul as
the word of eternal life.
To such as this the prophets had looked forward, and wrote:
The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali
Toward the sea, beyond Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
The people which sat in darkness
Saw a great light,
And to them which sat in the region and shadow
of death
To them did light spring up. RV
[157]
Looking down the ages, Jesus saw His faithful ones in prison and
judgment hall, in temptation, loneliness, and affliction. In the words
spoken to those gathered about Him on the shores of Gennesaret,
He was speaking also to these other souls the words that would
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