Rodney Howard Browne

Dr. Rodney Howard Browne is leading a group through the Sea of Galilee and Holy Land this month. The Sea of Galilee lies on the ancient Via Maris. The Greeks, Hasmoneans, and Romans founded flourishing towns and settlements on the lake. The Flavius Josephus wrote, “One may call this place the ambition of Nature.” It is a thriving fishing industry at this time, with 230 boats regularly working in the lake.

Much of the ministry of Jesus occurred on the shores of Lake Galilee. The gospels of Mark (1:14-20), Matthew (4:18-22), and Luke (5:1-11) describe how Jesus recruited four of his apostles from the shores of Lake Galilee: the fishermen Simon and his brother Andrew and the brothers John and James. One of Jesus’ teaching, the Sermon on the Mount, was given on a hill overlooking the lake while many of his miracles were recorded.