(dramatic music) (mellow music) - The Sea of Galilee is the most famous, the best known and the most loved body
of water in the world. It isn't really a sea but actually Israel's
largest freshwater lake. It's been called by different
names throughout its history including Lake of Gennesaret, Sea of Tiberias and Lake Tiberias. In 1986, during a period
of terrible drought here in Israel, the water level dropped dramatically,
exposing extensive mudflats. Two brothers, Moshe and Yuval Lufan, saw this as a golden opportunity to look for hidden treasures. As they were searching
along the receding shoreline of the lake, they came upon a piece of wood
sticking up out of the mud. When they looked closer, they found some ancient coins and then some very old iron nails. As they started to expose the wood, they were astounded to find that it was in the shape of a boat entirely buried in the mudflats near the shore. Archaeologists were called in and soon an excavation was underway. The brothers had made
an incredible discovery. They had indeed found treasure. They discovered the first
and only ancient ship ever found in the Sea of Galilee. It was 2000 years old and
came from the 1st century, the time of Jesus. Join me as we follow the
emotional and suspenseful recovery of the Galilee Boat and more importantly, the inspiring story of the most famous fisherman in history whose life is illuminated by the discovery of the ancient fishing boat. (uplifting music) The Sea of Galilee is
situated in northeast Israel and is fed partly by underground springs, although its main source
is the Jordan River which flows to it from north to south. It would take you about three days to leisurely walk the 53
kilometres around the lake. It's 21 kilometres long
and 13 kilometres wide. Over the centuries, it's
provided rich fishing grounds for local fishermen. The northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee was the centre of the
fish-salting industry 2000 years ago. Local fishermen used boats and nets to catch the fish here that were dried and exported to various parts of the Roman Empire. In the towns along the shore,
the fish would be salted and packed in baskets for export. Then the fishermen
would take it on waggons pulled by mules to shops in Jerusalem or to a seaport where it
would be loaded on ships and taken to Rome. Dried fish from Galilee was considered a delicacy among Roman aristocracy. In ancient times, fishing boats were an integral part
of life here in Galilee and now for the very first time, one of these boats had been discovered. But it brought unique challenges to recover and preserve it. Firstly, the water-logged timbers were as soft as wet cardboard so it wasn't possible
to simply dig the boat out of the mud. Secondly, the rains had come and the water level began to rise and threaten to flood the excavation. And then rumours spread that the boat was full of gold and so the excavation had
to be guarded day and night. What happened next was remarkable. Marathon around-the-clock
excavations began, raising against both the rising
waters of the Sea of Galilee and treasure seekers. For 11 days, archaeologists and volunteers worked day and night to save the boat. They quickly built a
massive dike around the site to prevent the lake from flooding it. The hull was strengthened with fibreglass and then encased in a polyurethane cocoon to hold it together. Tunnels were dug under the boat and its sides were strengthened. Then water was pumped into the big pit and the boat was floated ashore and lifted by crane into
a conservation pool. For the next 11 years, specialists worked on it, replacing the water in the wood with a synthetic wax that
penetrated the timber and strengthened it so that
it could be put on display. (mellow music) And here it is. The 2000 year old Galilee Boat from the time of Jesus on display at the Yigal Allon Museum at Kibbutz Ginosaron on
the shores of Galilee. It's made of wood and is 8.3 metres long, 2.3 metres wide and 1.3 metres high. This size would have enabled
it to carry up to 15 people. Boats like this are
mentioned more than 50 times in the Bible accounts of
Jesus' ministry in Galilee. Four of His disciples were fishermen who worked in this area and used boats just like this one. Now the Galilee Boat may not be the exact one that
Jesus and His disciples used, but it's still a real treasure because it gives us an
opportunity to look back many centuries and to visualise what life was like on the Sea of Galilee in the momentous days
of Jesus' ministry here. (uplifting music) It was a boat like this that had been out on the Sea of Galilee on a long, stormy night. And in the early morning's light, four fishermen had beached
their two fishing vessels with nothing to show for hours of toil. They dragged several
casting nets from the boats and began throwing them and pulling them through the water to clear the nets of debris. One of the bearded, deeply-tanned men was quite an imposing figure. His name was Peter, the
leader of the group. He beckons some of his hired men and pointed out spots in the
nets that needed mending. He was not in a good mood. Peter didn't take failure lightly. Engrossed in cleaning out the boats, he didn't notice at first that a large crowd was starting
to gather on the shore. Suddenly he looked up
and hundreds of people were standing there and
in the middle of them all, a man he thought he recognised, the man began to speak. Yes, it was the teacher
from nearby Nazareth. Peter was about to have an extraordinary encounter with Jesus, an encounter that would
turn his world upside down. For many people, it seems
that religion is fine for the weak, that is. For those who can't get
around on their own. Some people just need the
comfort and reassurance of faith. But the strong, the secure
and the able-bodied, well, they seemed to be doing
quite well on their own. Religion for them just
seems to be something that slows you down. Today, we'll meet a dynamic,
self-sufficient individual who had to face the question, Do you have to become weak to become a Christian? That individual was Peter the fisherman. (birds squawking) We meet him on the shore of this lake, the Sea of Galilee after a long, unsuccessful
night of fishing. Jesus arrived on the scene
and began teaching a crowd. Peter listened as he worked on his boat. He'd liked Jesus from
the very moment they met. He was so different from
the scribes and priests who were always nitpicking
about some detail of the law. In fact, He was different from almost all the religious people Peter knew. He seemed to belong out
here in the great outdoors. There was a sense of power in His bearing that matched the elements. The crowd kept thickening on the beach. People in the back tried
to push their way closer and Jesus found Himself
stepping back into the water. So He turned and asked Peter if He could get into his boat. The fisherman was happy to oblige. After Jesus had finished His talk, He suggested something quite unexpected. Let's go fishing. He asked Peter to take the
boat out into the deep water and let down the nets. Peter looked at Jesus in surprise and then explained, We worked here on the
Sea of Galilee all night and we worked hard and we caught nothing. You see, the prime hours of
fishing were always at night. No one caught much in broad daylight but Peter caught the
earnest look in Jesus' eyes and he said, But at Your bidding, I will let down the nets. As the fishermen adjusted the sail and pointed the bow of his vessel out toward the middle of the lake, as he sat there in the stern with the cool wind off the water blowing through his beard, he didn't realise that he was sailing out
to meet his destiny. This was to be a turning
point in his life. Jesus planned to ask Peter to be His full-time disciple, to leave his fishing business and follow Him on the road. And Peter presented a
special problem to Jesus. It wasn't that Peter
couldn't make decisions. Peter usually made them instantly. It wasn't that Peter
shrank from challenges. He thrived on them. He would butt heads with anyone, take on any obstacle. The problem was that Jesus' call consisted of two words, Follow Me, and Peter was anything but a follower. Peter was a born leader, a
confident man, a provider. He'd made good in the fishing business. He didn't need anybody to hold his hand. Peter's temperament stands out clearly in his later contacts with Jesus. He wanted to be a player in the game. If Jesus was out walking on the water, then Peter wanted to walk
on the water as well. If Jesus asked for a declaration of faith, then Peter would be the first to give it. He was bold, brash and upfront. Once, on a mountaintop not far from here, Jesus was transfigured before
Peter and two other disciples. He appeared in awesome divine glory along with Moses and Elijah. What was Peter's response? Oh, it's great to be here, he said. Let's build three temples, one for each of you. On another occasion when
Jesus spoke of the sufferings that awaited Him, Peter took Him aside and
tried to straighten Him out. We read about it in Matthew 16:22. Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You. Peter embodied the strong,
self-confident man. It wasn't that he didn't
admire and love Jesus. He just wasn't a follower. Weak people, needy people followed. They followed Jesus easily, it seemed. The lame was healed,
the blind given sight, the paralysed lifted to their feet. These individuals
naturally wanted to follow the powerful miracle-working Christ. But what about Peter? As he sailed out into the
middle of the Sea of Galilee, he was about to face
an important question. Do you have to become weak to become a follower of Christ? Many people today face a challenge similar to Peter's. Strong, self-sufficient individuals wonder what religion has in it for them. They see people whose
lives are falling apart collapse into God's arms. They see the hurting and the broken come for restoration. They hear calls to bring their
miserable lives to Jesus, to lay their burdens down at the foot of the cross. That's fine for some but they don't feel
particularly burdened or broken. So they conclude religion isn't really for them. Many men have this kind of reaction. They see themselves
above all as providers. They want to take care of business. They want to be strong. And then someone comes
along and makes an appeal to come to Jesus with all your troubles. Well, that seems passive, submissive. It seems like giving up. They can't imagine that the object of life is to have someone else take care of you. Do you have to become weak in order to become a Christian? That's the question strong,
secure people face today and it's a question Peter faced as he sailed out on the Sea of Galilee. Peter let down the sail as his boat reached a deep part of the lake. Then just as Jesus had instructed, he threw out the net. It sank into the water
and almost immediately began to fill with fish. It seemed like a whole school of fish. Peter couldn't believe his eyes. He and his brother Andrew started to haul in the
net but it was too heavy. The net began ripping. They had to call over their partners in another boat to help
them raise the catch. Peter filled the other boat,
but the net was still bulging. They dumped fish into their own boat until it actually began to sink. Now Peter was really overwhelmed. He knew this lake like
the palm of his hand. He knew fishing and there
was no way in the world you could make a catch like
this in broad daylight. There'd been nothing at
this spot the previous night but here, this teacher had produced the catch of the year with one little suggestion. This was an extraordinary
man, a great man. Impulsive Peter threw
himself down at Jesus' feet and said the first thing
that popped into his head. Depart from me, for I
am a sinful man, O Lord. And Jesus changed his
life with one sentence and here it is. From now on, Peter, you'll catch people. That was the call. How did Jesus make a
disciple out of somebody who was anything but a follower? He showed him how much more he could do. He fired his imagination. He opened up possibilities. Two boatloads of fish did that. That's why Peter responded
when Christ said, Follow Me, and I'll make
you a fisher of men. Luke tells us that after he
brought his fishing vessels to the shore, Peter left
everything and followed Jesus. Christ has a special
message for the strong. Follow Me and you can do more than you ever dreamed possible. You can do more, not less. Listen to the benediction that Paul, another very strong individual, wrote in his letter to the Ephesians in Ephesians 3:20. Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more
than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory. Two boats filled with fish were immeasurably more than
Peter could have imagined. He was overwhelmed by the
power and nobility of Christ, so he set out on the road with Him. But that was just the
beginning of the story. That was just the beginning
of a series of adventures that were to change Peter's life. This strong, self-sufficient individual had been attracted to Christ because of a big challenge, becoming a fisher of men. But now he had a very
important lesson to learn and it would take a long time to learn it. Peter had to become
strong in a different way. He had to become bold and
courageous in a different way. It wasn't enough simply to
join forces with Christ. The power of Christ had to
get inside him in some way. That power, that supernatural strength, that spiritual strength did get
into Peter's heart and soul. Christ did transform him, although we don't see it clearly until after Jesus goes back to heaven. Let me give you a few examples
of that transformation, that different kind of strength. Strong, secure people tend to say whatever's on their
minds without fretting. They don't think about the consequences. Peter was certainly that way but he was also very impulsive and tended to get his foot
caught in his mouth a lot. We see that throughout the gospels. But let's take a look at Peter later in the Book of Acts in Jerusalem. He was once brought
before a Jewish council for speaking about Jesus at the temple. He'd just been in prison for doing that and now he was at it again. The Jewish officials put on
their most indignant faces. You have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, they thundered. The officials were sure
that they could intimidate this former fisherman
that stood before them. After all, this was Peter, who when Jesus was arrested, had run away with the other disciples. And then at Jesus' trial, he denied to a servant
that he even knew Jesus. They just needed to get Peter's impulses going in the right direction. But instead of apologising and promising not to speak again, Peter replied calmly, We ought to obey God rather than men. And he went on to remind them that they had condemned
Jesus to death on a cross and that God had raised Him from the dead and exalted Him to heaven. Peter ended with this assertion. We are His witnesses of these things. The Jewish officials didn't
quite know what to do. This was a different man
standing before them. This was a different kind of strength, a steadier resolve. In the end, they gave Peter and his companions another warning. They had them beaten and
sent them on their way. Peter rejoiced that he could suffer shame in Christ's name. Yes, something had
happened to that fisherman. Before when Peter spoke, he had to take his foot out of his mouth. Now when Peter spoke, thousands were converted. Peter had displayed a different
kind of courage before. When Jesus warned that His disciples would forsake Him in the hour of trial, Peter answered back in Matthew chapter 26 in verses 33 and 35. Even if all fall away on account of You, I never will. Even if I have to die with You, I will never disown You. And Peter meant those words. He was willing to die like a
man for the cause of Christ. He was also willing to fight like a man. When soldiers arrived in
the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter drew his sword. As they stepped forward to arrest Jesus, he lunged forward and cut off the ear of the high priest's servant. Jesus had to tell him
to put his weapon away. But then, when Jesus allowed Himself to be dragged away, Peter's resolve vanished. He found himself running
for his life in the night, along with the other disciples. Peter was prepared to fight for Jesus but he wasn't prepared to
be mocked because of Jesus. That same night, a servant girl thought she recognised Peter and taunted him as one of Jesus' Galilean followers. Others joined in. Peter swore angrily, I don't know the man. Before he knew it, he denied the One who meant everything to him. Peter thought he would be the one to stand strong in the worst of times, but he buckled under
pressure like everyone else. So we've seen these contrasts
between Peter before and Peter after. We've seen the difference between a man who thought he was strong and a man who really
did find inner strength. So, what made the difference? What happened to Peter? Well, to understand, let's take a look at his failure. After he denied Christ, Peter had to take a good
hard look at himself. Peter was a doer, a mover, a shaker, a very self-confident man. He wasn't used to taking
good, hard looks at himself but now, he had to face his weaknesses, his vulnerability, and this finally enabled him to open up
to the kind of strength that Christ has to offer. It enabled him to accept his need of a deeper kind of courage. The love of Christ broke through. It won him over. And so when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost, Peter received it wholeheartedly. He was ready. Pride no longer put up barriers. He wasn't posturing, he wasn't pretending to be the self-sufficient one any longer. He was pleading as the one in need. We get a glimpse of what Peter learned in his first letter. Listen to what he wrote in 1 Peter 4:10-11. Each one should use whatever
gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the
strength God provides, so that in all things, God may be praised through Jesus Christ. That's it, friend. This admonition is really a
picture of Peter's new life. He wasn't just trying hard on his own. He was aware of God's gift of God's grace working inside of him. When he spoke, it wasn't just his own eloquence that counted. It was God's word expressed through him. When he served, he
served with the strength that God provided. Did Peter become a weak
person after his conversion? Not at all. He found a more resilient strength. He found a deeper courage. But did this strong person have to come to understand his weaknesses? Certainly yes. He had to see that he
couldn't do it on his own. He had to see that to stand strong, you have to stand with Christ. Before, Peter's courage was
a little like tin armour, a bit brittle with a hollow echo inside. After, Peter's courage
was like tempered steel. Do you have to become
weak to be a Christian? No, but you do have to
acknowledge your weaknesses in order to become truly strong. The most powerful personality in history invites you to share in His life. He wants to pour a more resilient strength inside of you, a deeper
courage inside of you. The most powerful and loving
personality in history wants to change you from the inside out. But you have to come to Him acknowledging your
need, without posturing, without pretensions. You have to come just as you are. Let's join Peter right now as we respond to Christ's great call, Follow Me, as we pray. Dear Father, thank You for showing us what real inner strength is all about. We want to become all
that You intend us to be, but we can't do it on our own. We become proud and brittle, just relying on our own strength. So we come to You, acknowledging that even in our strength, there is weakness. We ask in the name of
Jesus our Saviour, amen. The story of Peter and his
encounter with Jesus Christ shows how God puts people
in touch with real courage. He pierces right through our
pretensions and our pride. Jesus' relationship with Peter is just one example of many
encounters in the gospel where Jesus met individuals' needs. If you are looking for
ways to find real courage and have a closer relationship with God, then I'd like to recommend
the free gift we have for all our viewers today. It's the booklet, Standing in the Circle. This booklet is our gift to you and is absolutely free. There are no costs or
obligations whatsoever. So make the most of this
wonderful opportunity to receive the gift we have for you today. Here's the information you need. Phone or text us at 0436 333 555 in Australia or 020 422 2042 in New Zealand or visit our website www.tij.tv to request today's free offer and we'll send it to you
totally free of charge and with no obligation. Write to us at P.O. Box 5101, Dora Creek, New South Wales, 2264 Australia. Or P.O. Box 76673, Manukau, Auckland 2241, New Zealand. Don't delay, call or text us now. If you've enjoyed today's journey to the Sea of Galilee in Israel and our reflections on the
life of Peter the fisherman, then be sure to join us again next week when we will share another
of life's journeys together. Until then, remember
the ultimate destination of life's journey. Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, and God will wipe away
every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow nor crying. There shall be no more pain for the former things have passed away. (uplifting music) (dramatic tones)
