Page:Jesus of Nazareth the story of His life simply told (1917).djvu/144

 XVIII.

GALILEE.

Clear silver water in a cup of gold, Under the sunlit steeps of Gadara, It shines—His Lake—the Sea of Chinnereth— The waves He loved, the waves that kissed His feet So many blessed days. Oh, happy waves! Oh, little silver, happy Sea, far-famed, Under the sunlit steeps of Gadara!

And now they were in Galilee, our Lord and His five disciples, six if we count Nathaniel.

Let us try to see the place where the greater part of the Public Life was spent, which was the home of those who after Peter were to be the foundation stones of the Church. It must be dear to us for their sake, and much more for His who is our Master as well as theirs.

The Sea of Galilee, or of Tiberias, or the Lake of Gennesareth, is a pear-shaped sheet of water, fourteen miles long and six broad in its widest part. In our Lord's time it was a scene of wonderful beauty. Its deep blue waters were crossed and recrossed by boats of many shapes and sizes. There were heavily laden barges bearing the costly merchandise of the East to the custom-house on the shore; there were pleasure skiffs darting here and there with gay parties bound for one or other of the handsome Roman villas by the Lakeside; and there were fishing smacks in hundreds, some with nets lowered for a draught, others bringing home the fruits of the night's haul. The white beach showed boats being unladen, children looking on as the silvery