“One day Jesus was standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret while the people pushed their way up to him to listen to the word of God.” Luke 5:1, GNT

 

Jesus was already well known and had completed a part of his ministry when the story mentioned in the verse above happened. After he was baptised in the Jordan by John the Baptist, he first went to the desert where he was tempted by the devil and then he started his ministry in Galilee. He joined the people in the synagogues and taught them from Scripture.

 

From there, he went to his hometown of Nazareth where he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath and read from the book of Isaiah. When he explained that these prophecies of Isaiah were applicable to him, the people in the synagogue got so angry that they chased him from the town and even tried to throw him off a cliff. He then walked to Capernaum where he healed a man with an evil spirit and many other people with a variety of illnesses, among them the mother-in-law of Simon. He also cast out more demons from many people.

 

The stories about him rapidly spread and the people of Capernaum wanted him to stay with them. When Jesus went to a quiet place to rest, they kept looking for him until they found him and pleaded with him to stay with them, but Jesus had to go to other towns where he also taught in the synagogues.

 

These teachings impressed so many people that they literally followed him wherever he went. One day, when he was standing at the shore of Lake Gennesaret, the people were so eager to hear the word of God that they pushed their way up to him.

 

This leaves me with a very important question. How eager are we still to hear the word of God? Do we also push forward to hear what God, through his Spirit, wants to say to us?

 

Prayer: What a joy to be able to listen to your Word, but we have to confess that some days we are too lazy to open it. Please make us hungry for your Word. Amen