The Sea of Galilee by Lori Morley

Well, here we are. Team Calvary 2015 in the land of Israel. Some of us leaped out of the van with excitement saying, “This is awesome, guys!” (Craig) Others, like myself, felt like a little more like we hadn’t fully wakened from a dream. But that was yesterday. Today I think we were all “in the moment”.

First stop was the Sea of Galilee. I have looked forward to this day with anticipation to see the place where Jesus called the disciples, calmed the storm, and gave Peter a second chance. Imagine my surprise when, after sitting myself on a rock facing the water, the very first Bible passage that Pastor Jim taught from was from Mark 1 and John 1 where Jesus calls his disciples and says, “Come and see”. The very same verses that I referred to in this blog post only days ago! I guess I wasn’t the only one to think that the whole “come and see” thing was note-worthy. Jim took the “come and see” application to a new level. He used it to talk about the three stages of discipleship into which Jesus invites.

Stage One: Come and See In Mark 1, when Jesus calls Simon, Andrew, James, and John who were fishing in the Sea of Galilee, it wasn’t the first time that the disciples had met Jesus. Several of them had been disciples of John the Baptist. They had already heard Jesus’ teaching and seen him do miracles. They had gotten to know him and there was a point in time when they decided to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Stage one of walking with Jesus involves seeing Him at work and making the decision to believe.

Stage Two: Come and Follow Me In Mark 1, when Jesus calls the disciples, he says “Come and follow me.” Luke 5 also gives an account of a miracle that Jesus performed for his disciples. This is the miracle where they let their nets down into the water and caught so many fish that they couldn’t haul them back into the boat and indeed, it was enough to almost sink two boats. This was a very personal and specific miracle that Jesus did for them and it says that when Peter saw it, he said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man.” And after that, Peter, James, and John left everything and followed him. Stage two of discipleship involves first, having a deeper, more personal connection with Jesus. Peter’s encounter with Jesus caused him to have a deeper understanding of his own sinfulness. Second, it involves obeying and leaving behind; surrender and sacrifice; a change in focus and occupation. Life is changed in a dramatic way because of a personal encounter with Jesus.

Stage Three: Come and Suffer In John 21, Jesus has died and been resurrected. He returns to the Sea of Galilee, the place where it all began, to reconnect with his disciples. He performed the same miracle that he had performed for them multiple times before and then, on the shore, he recreated the scene of Peter’s betrayal and offers him grace and redemption. He also foretells his death. Stage three involves suffering of some kind. To quote Jim, “No one learns how to love unless they suffer.” In stage three, you go from evangelism to discipleship; from fishing to shepherding; from sacrifice to suffering. The difference between sacrifice and suffering is that sacrifice is a choice that you make, but suffering is a choice that God makes for you and you must choose to accept it. The challenge that Jim gave us is first, which stage are we at currently? And second, what stage could God be asking us to graduate to? Would you leave behind your occupation if Jesus asked it of you? Is there some suffering that He is asking you to endure? Do you love Him more than anything else

Other sites we visited today: Mount of Beatitudes - We looked down on the Sea of Galilee and listened to the Sermon on the Mount read by Jim Samra. Bethsaida – The place where Philip, Andrew, and Peter grew up among a predominantly Greek and Hellenistic society. God can raise up obedient people from anywhere. Capernaum – The home place of Jesus during his adult ministry. We visited the synagogue where he taught and had communion while looking out on the Sea of Galilee. We ended the day with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Lisa Samra invited us to think about the storms in our lives that Jesus wants to calm. After returning to the hotel, some of us donned our swimsuits and took a dip in the Sea of Galilee. What a great way to end our first day in Israel.