The "Sea" of Galilee

Apropos of nothing, I was reading the Gospel of Mark and it was talking about the Sea of Galilee. When you hear the word "sea" it conjures up the idea of a rather large body of water, but I had never investigated to find out how big it really was, so it was off to Wikipidia for a little research. I used a lake with which I was familiar as a comparison, Coeur d'Alene, to give me a feel for how big Galilee really is. The answer - not so big, but big enough.

The Sea of Galilee is about 13 miles long and 8 miles wide at it widest. It's maximum depth is 141 feet. In contrast, Coeur d'Alene is 25 miles long and 3 miles at its widest and its deepest point is 220 feet. The surface area of Galilee is 64 miles compared to only about 50 for CDA. Because it is wider than CDA, theoretically the wind could increase the wave height over what might be encountered on the Idaho lake. 

I have been out on CDA in the afternoon in a 17' boat with the wind up and it can get rocking and rolling. You definitely respect the lake and stay attuned to weather changes. It helps put in perspective the Gospel stories of Jesus and the apostles coming across the lake and what they likely encountered. Doing it in a small boat with a lot of people on board must have been an interesting experience. 

It also helps put in perspective the character of Jesus and the disciples. Going out frequently on a big lake is not for pond sailors. You have to know something about boating and how to handle bigger water. A number of the disciples were fishermen from this lake. I have rarely met a fisherman that I didn't like and I know that I would have liked these guys, especially the One who called them. Maybe this was apropos of something after all.