CBH: Christians Broadcasting Hope

January 3, 2012

The year I was born, in 1986, a boat was found at the Sea of Galilee composed mostly of cedar wood. It was completely sealed in mud, which saved the wood from oxidation. Because of its wood composition, carbon dating was possible which placed the boats origin at the 1st century.

Today we saw a boat used in the time of Jesus.

Was it a boat Jesus actually used? Was it a fishing boat? Or a boat used for a different purpose? It isn’t clear. What we do know is that Jesus spent a lot of time around the Sea of Galilee during his three years of ministry, and many stories from Scripture place Jesus on a boat.

He sent Peter on a boat to catch fish. He escaped thronging crowds on a boat to get some time away by himself. He calmed the storms from a boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee. And he approached a boat while walking, on foot, on the water of the Sea of Galilee.

After looking at the ancient boat, we took a decidedly more modern ship out on the Sea of Galilee to get a feel for the place ourselves. Mist covered the water, and there was a little drizzle coming down as we boarded the boat. Once we were in the middle of the sea, I found myself staring into the fog, trying to imagine what it was like to see a human shape appear on the water. Shouting up at me over the waves, asking me to come on out of the boat.

I’m with Peter. I think I may have tried getting out of the boat. Trying to be a leader and setting an example for others to follow Christ too. Generally biting off more than I can chew and then possibly regretting it later. In over my head and calling out to God to save me after I’ve jumped out of the boat instead maintaining my trust in Him.

I think often, God rewards that kind of mindset. The “biting off more than you can chew” people in the Bible seem like they have the best adventures with God. Abram leaving his home to chase after a vision. Moses confronting the Pharaoh. Paul preaching in front of the high council in Athens in the shadow of the Acropolis. Esther confronting Xerxes to save her people. And Peter, jumping out of the boat.

We went to several places where Peter was singled out today. We traveled to Capernaum, the place Peter lived. After a full day of fishing without much success, it was there that Jesus told Peter to fish again. He did and came back with full nets.

Then we traveled far to the north of Israel near the Golan Heights to see Caesarea Philipi. It was a city carved into rocks in the cliffs of Golan with magnificent temples built to honor pagan gods. It was in that place and context that Jesus named Peter the rock upon which he would build his church.

After all that, we passed by the shores of Galilee believed to be where the resurrected Christ sat by the fire with Peter and commanded him to feed his sheep. Right back where they started by the sea.

As I looked out the window to the place where they must have been sitting, I thought back to that little boat we saw at the beginning of the day. By the time Jesus said, “Feed my sheep,” Peter had already seen and done so much. He’d grown far beyond his little boat. Yet there they were again, with Jesus pushing him just a little further.

Step out even farther. Become even more solid. Continue refining yourself. Bite off a little more than you can chew.

That’s the call I hear from God today too, sitting on the shores of that same body of water. To look back on the tiny boat that used to by my life and comfort zone, remembering how far I’ve grown. And to continue growing, trusting, and jumping into the water every day.

Because that’s where the adventure lies and the Spirit leads.