Walking Like Jesus (On the Sea of Galilee)

NOTE: This is the fifth in a series of posts about Walking Like Jesus. The previous posts were about the southern steps of the Temple Mount, the shore of the Sea of Galilee, a Roman road to Capernaum, and the hills of Samaria.

Matthew tells us...

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” - Matthew 14:22-33

The picture at the top of this post is of the sun rising over the Sea of Galilee.

Jesus walked here.

I know what you are thinking. You are thinking, "Barry is going to tell me to go walk on water!" No, not really. But, I do want us to consider what lesson we can learn from what Jesus did here. The lesson we can learn is this: We need to try the impossible.

Satan has many weapons in his arsenal. One of his most powerful lessons is doubt. How often have you said, "I can't do that!"

As soldiers of the cross, we should be willing to do whatever we needed to do to tell others about Jesus.

Perhaps you do not think that you could ever teach a Bible class. Give it a try!

Perhaps you do not think that you lead a prayer in public. Give it a try!

Perhaps you do not think that you would know what to say to someone who is struggling. Give it a try!

You may think that those things are impossible. But, you never know, you might find out that they are really possible. And, not only that, you might actually find that you are good at them. Consequently, people will learn more about Jesus.

Do you want to walk like Jesus? Then do the impossible and try to walk on the Sea of Galilee. In doing so, you might find that the things you thought were impossible are actually possible.

Walking Like Jesus (Hills of Samaria)

John tells us...

Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” he woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” - John 4:1-15

The picture at the top of this post is of the hills in the region of Samaria.

Jesus walked here.

What lesson can we learn from Jesus as He walked through Samaria? We can learn that we should spend time with people who are different than we are.

Walking through Samaria is not easy. The seemingly unending hills and valleys would have been very tiring. If I were to walk through this region, I know how I would react. I would get thirsty. And, I would be looking for someone to give me some water.

As Jesus nears Sychar, He is thirsty and approaches a Samaritan woman and asks her for some water. She even questions Jesus' actions as she knows that Jesus (being a Jew) normally would not associate with her (being a Samaritan). But, Jesus was willing to overlook those cultural differences because He had more in mind than water. He wanted to talk with her about God.

Do you want to walk like Jesus? Then walk through the hills of Samaria and find someone who is different than you. Once you have found them, talk to them about Jesus.

Walking like Jesus (Road through Galilee)

(NOTE: This is the third in a series of posts on "Walking like Jesus". In previous posts, I discussed the locations of the Southern Steps of the Temple Mount and the Shores of the Sea of Galilee.)

Luke tells us:

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph's son?” And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself.’ What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.” And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went away. And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. - Luke 4:16-31

The picture at the top of this post is of the remains of a road built by the Romans in the first century. The Romans were known for many things. One of which was their impressive system of roads. Many of their roads ran through this area of the world. This road runs between lower Galilee and the lake.

Jesus walked here.

What lesson can we learn about Jesus walking here? We can learn that we should not let spiritual discouragement get you down.

Jesus had just visited his hometown, the town that he grew up in. He entered the synagogue and spoke the truth. As a result, the people rebuked Him and threatened to kill Him. These people were His friends and His neighbors. Surely, this would have been very discouraging to Jesus. But He did not let it get Him down. He left Nazareth and went to Capernaum to continue the work that His Father had given Him to do.

Being a Christian is not always easy. Many things that happen that can cause us to be discouraged. Sometimes even other Christians can get us down. How do you handle those type of situations? It is easy to just throw up your arms and say, "Forget it...I am not doing this any more!" But that is not the right response. We need to be willing to put those times behind us and keep focused on what we need to do for God.

Do you want to walk like Jesus? Then walk down this road in Galilee and do not let spiritual discouragement get you down.

Walking Like Jesus (Along the Shore of the Sea of Galilee)

(NOTE: This is the second in a series of posts on "Walking like Jesus". In the first post, I discussed the Southern Steps of the Temple Mount.)

Matthew tells us:

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. - Matthew 4:18-22

The picture at the top of the post is of the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Jesus walked here.

What lesson can we learn from Jesus at this location? We can learn that we should look for potential in others.

Fishing is a noble profession. Every time I pick up some fish from the meat market, I am glad that there are professional fisherman in this world.

As Jesus walked along the shore of the Sea of Galilee and saw these four men, he recognized the potential in them. Even though they had a wonderful profession, there was even more that they could do.

It is not enough, however, to just recognize the potential. Jesus also had to reach out to them and encourage them to do the work that He had for them to do.

How do you look at others? When you look at others, do you look for potential in them? I believe that everyone has the potential to help spread God's Word. Maybe everyone is not a public speaker. That is okay. There are plenty of other jobs that need to be done. Maybe we need to be looking for people that can say a comforting word to someone who needs it. So, look for potential in others to help spread God's Word. Then, just like Jesus did, ask them to get involved.

If you do this, you will be walking like Jesus.

Walking Like Jesus (Southern Steps of Temple Mount)

Recently, I was asked to speak on the topic of "Walking Like Jesus". I thought that I would share some of my thoughts from that presentation in a series of blog posts. Since Jesus was raised by a good Jewish family, he undoubtedly made many trips to Jerusalem during His childhood. We read in Luke 2 of one particular trip that His family made.

Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. - Luke 2:41-51

The picture at the top of this post is of the southern steps leading up to the Temple Mount.

Jesus walked here.

During the first century, King Herod remodeled the temple. It was (and still is) a monumental structure. The entire Temple Mount area covers 39 acres. No doubt, it would have been awe-inspiring to a 12-year old boy from a small village in Galilee.

What can we learn about Jesus' visit here? We can learn that when Jesus walked up those steps, He already knew what His purpose in life was to be. He was here to fulfill His Father's will. Recognizing this, it begs the question: Do you know what your purpose in life is?

We have many distractions in life. Jobs, family, friends, entertainment, etc are all things that occupy our time. And, they often impact the decisions that we need to make. Jesus once said:

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you. - Matthew 6:33.

Notice that Jesus did not tell us not to see other things in life. But, we are to seek God first.

Do you want to walk like Jesus? Then take a walk up the southern steps of the Temple Mount and remember that our purpose in life is to serve God.

Bonus information:

Recently, I have been involved with Appian Media to film videos about the early life of Jesus. While we were in Israel, we filmed some videos on the steps to the Temple Mount that I mentioned above. One of our photographers, Craig Dehut, recorded a small recap video from that day and the personal impact visiting this location had on him.

BIBLE STUDY TOUR OF ISRAEL - JUNE 6-15, 2017

How would you like to join me next summer on a Bible study tour of Israel? Next June, I will be leading another tour group and I would love for you to join me! Reservations and deposits are already coming in, but we still have plenty of room. This is a first-class tour with every moment filled with something to remember.

We will be visiting Caesarea, Nazareth, Megiddo, the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, Hazor, Dan, Jezreel, Megiddo, Jericho, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and dozens of other places. This tour is perfect for husbands/wives, parents/children, grandparents/grandchildren, and anyone who is a student of God's Word.

If you are interested, please contact me and go to my website to find out more information!