Jesus By the Lake of Gennesaret - Luke 5:1

Luke the physician shared how Jesus, “preached in the synagogues of Galilee”, and in chapter five and verse one of his book Luke shared how Jesus, “stood by the lake of Gennesaret” where we read:

And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God,

he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,

The verse reads, “And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, ...” Luke began with the words, “and it came to pass” or “and it happened, came into existence and appeared in public”, “that, as the people pressed upon him” which means “that while the people within a large crowd imposed, rested and pushed in urgency upon Jesus” “to hear the word of God” or “to understand, perceive and comprehend the speech, decree, mandate and moral precepts belonging to the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit”. Luke shared how people who were listening to Jesus share about God's Kingdom began to “push urgently” upon Him so they might “hear” more clearly what He had to say.

The verse goes on to say, “... he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,” Luke continued with the words, “he stood” which means “Jesus was fixed, established, put and set in an upright standing position” “by the lake of Gennesaret” or “alongside or on the shore to the lake which was called Gennesaret which means a harp and was a lake also called the sea of Galilee or the sea of Tiberias the lake twelve by seven miles (20 by 11 km) and 700 feet (210 m) below the Mediterranean Sea”. Luke shared how Jesus was “standing” on the shore of the “lake” known as “a harp” which was known as “the sea of Galilee”.

When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we see how Jesus had migrated to the “sea of Galilee” area, and as He proclaimed the Kingdom of God, there were so many people who wanted to hear Him that He was “pressed” upon the shore of the lake there. When people truly desire to “hear” the word of God, they often “press in” to listen to it more closely. That's because God has built within people a “void” or “vacancy” within them that only He can fill. Jesus' words were spoken with authority, power and purpose, and because He came to be the “Savior of the world”, those who heard Him were not only intrigued, but also convinced He is the Messiah of God. Those who are wise will “press in” to “hear” Jesus more clearly and receive Him as their personal “Savior and Lord”.

Next time Luke shares how Jesus, “saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".