Two lakes in biblical geography at the time of Jesus are famous. But they are also called seas. The sea or the lake of Galilee, and the lake called the Dead Sea.
The major contrast between them is that the lake of Galilee is a freshwater body and the Dead Sea is a highly concentrated salt water body. The first one receives water mainly from the Jordan and flows out to keep its water pure. The DeadSea always receives water but never flows out. Its saltiness increases to the point of death for all living organisms.
Many daring touristic visitors to modern Israel, must have eaten the legendary Peter’s fish from the Sea of Galilee, and must have dared to enjoy the floating sensation in the Dead sea. People with Thalassophobia or fear of deep and vast water bodies like the ocean maybe more comfortable with lakes because they are not as deep and risky.
Jesus deeply loved the lake of Galilee though he was not a fisherman by training like Andrew and Peter, James and John. He called the sea workers as his first disciples and not carpenters who belonged to his own trade. Some of the important incidents and teachings in the life of Jesus took place in and around the lake of Galilee, also called the sea of Tiberias or the lake of Gennesaret. Jesus loved to stay on the sea side during the day, and occasionally enjoyed a boat ride with his disciples . He was totally relaxed and slept well in the boat even when the lake became stormy and tumultuous. It was something similar to a child-like trust in the lap of the mother Sea. Sometimes when evening came he would say to the disciples “ Let us go over to the other side” This crossing the waterbody reminds one of a spiritual seeker after “Theertha” in India. Jesus was then a theerthadaka, a pilgrim, ever on the move over the rising and falling of the waves, contemplating the ever receding horizon and the unmanifest Reality that lay beyond. The thickening blackhole of the night would then vibrate with pulsating particles of light. Jesus knew that deep beneath fresh water lakes there are hidden fountains and streams that continually enhanced the water’s life-giving purity and transparency.
(11 March 2026)