NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Part V

Verse 34: After they finished crossing the lake, they arrived at the shore of Gennesaret.

According to Jewish historian Josephus, Gennesaret, meaning in Hebrew,”garden of the prince,” was a fertile district on the northwestern shore of the lake, situated between the cities of Capernaum to the north, and Tiberias to the south which gave the lake its name. It is 13 miles long, and 8 miles wide, with a maximum depth of 141 feet. It would later become known among Christians as the “Sea of Galilee.” The area of Gennesaret is about halfway between Capernaum and Magdala where Mary (known as Magdalene) came from.

It is that part of the Promised Land originally given to the tribe of Naphtali. In one Jewish commentary we read: “And Moses the prophet of the Lord blessed the tribe of Naphtali, and said: Naphtali favors and delights in the fish of the sea which falls within his portion; and he will be nourished with blessings in the fruits of the valley of Gennesaret which has been given him from the Lord; he will inherit the water of Sopheni, and the sea of Tebaria (Tiberias).”

To this we find what is written in a Jerusalem Fragment attached to a Jewish commentary: “And Moses the prophet of the Lord blessed the tribe of Naphtali, and said: Naphtali shall be satisfied with favor, and be filled with blessings from the Lord; he will have possession to the west of the sea of Gennesaret, and to the south.”¹ It certainly was one of the choice portions of Canaan that went to Naphtali. The Jews spoke of it as being a very fruitful place, which gave rise to this story: “Rabbah ben Bar Hannah said: When we went to visit Rabbi Johanan to eat the fruit of Gennesaret, when there were a hundred of us we used to take him ten pieces each, and when there were ten of us we used each to take him a hundred each, and a hundred could not be gotten into a basket holding three-fourths of a bushel, and he would eat them all and then swear that he had not eaten a thing.”²

This fruit was so good and tasty that Rabbi Abin son of Rabbi Adda quoted Rabbi Issac as saying: “Why is there no fruit of Gennesaret available in Jerusalem? So that the Festival pilgrims would not say. ‘If we were to ascend to Jerusalem merely to eat the fruits of Gennesaret it would suffice us.’ In that case, the object of the pilgrimage would not meet its original purpose.”³ As a matter of fact, we are told that Gennesaret was often referred to as being, “At the end of the valley of fatness, crushed by wine,”⁴ because its fruit was so sweet.⁵

We also find an interesting story in the Old Testament about this area, that occurred when Joshua led the children of Israel into the Promised Land to conqueror it.⁶ Even the great Jewish historian Josephus has much to say about this area:

“The land also that lies next to this lake has the same name of Gennesaret; its climate is wonderful as well as its beauty; its soil is so fruitful that all sorts of trees can grow on it, and the inhabitants accordingly plant all sorts of trees there; for the temperature so well mixed, that it agrees very well with those several sorts, particularly walnuts, which require the coldest air, flourish there in vast plenty; there are palm trees also, which grow best in hot air; fig trees also and olives grow near them, which yet require an air that is more temperate. One may call this place the ambition of nature, where it forces those plants that are naturally enemies to one another to agree together; it is a happy contention of the seasons, as if every one of them laid claim to this land; for it not only nourishes different sorts of autumnal fruit beyond men’s expectation, but preserves them a great while; it supplies men with the principal fruits, with grapes and figs continually, during ten months of the year and the rest of the fruits as they become ripe together through the whole year; for besides the good temperature of the air, it is also watered from a most fertile fountain. The length of this land extends itself along the banks of this lake that bears the same name for about four miles, and is two and a half miles wide. And this is the nature of that place.”⁷

Knowing all this, we can see two things that may have brought Jesus to Gennesaret at this point of time in His ministry. First, He had just finished several long, tiring weeks of ministry and needed some rest. So what better place to visit and taste its wonderful fruit than Gennesaret? Also, this was the area where a woman who was desperately in need of healing was waiting for just one touch of His garment, a meeting that was already assigned to Him before the world began.

Verse 35: Some of the men living there spotted Jesus and recognized Him. So they sent the word around to other people throughout that area that Jesus had come. The people then brought all their sick relatives to Him.

It appears, the men living in Gennesaret had more faith in Christ’s abilities than what His own disciples showed.⁸ The disciples conveyed concern in the presence of Christ while the men of Gennesaret displayed confidence. The disciples called for Jesus to help them, the men of Gennesaret called others to be helped by Christ. Isn’t it odd, that over the years there have some atheists and agnostics who have read more of the Bible than many believers. While these skeptics are looking in the Scriptures for something to criticize, it seems that these believers have little interest in looking for something to confirm. Here, for example, is an article about a well-known British atheist and skeptic, Dr. Malcolm Muggeridge:

Last December Malcolm Muggeridge — iconoclast, womanizer, and professional cynic — stunned his native England by converting to Christianity. Muggeridge took Holy Communion in a small steepled chapel in Hurst Green, Sussex, and when the service was over he said, “It’s a particularly joyful sort of day. It’s rather like when you fall in love with a woman and ask her to marry you. You know there are no more questions to be asked.”

What does a journalist do when he runs out of questions? That’s what Muggeridge’s friends at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) said condescending toward his new faith, whispering to each other. But Muggeridge would have answered: “He becomes an atheist.” It is atheism which refuses to grapple with the ultimate questions of where man came from, what he is doing here, and where he is headed. Muggeridge says, “It is one of the fantasies of the 20th century that believers are believable people, sentimental people, and that you have to be a materialist and a scientist and a humanist to have a skeptical mind. But of course, exactly the opposite is true.”⁹

The early church preacher Chrysostom had this to say: “For neither did they approach Him as before, dragging Him into their houses and seeking a touch from His hand and directions from Him in words. But now in a far higher pattern, and with greater self-denial and with a more abundant faith, they tried to win themselves a cure. By now the woman who had the issue of blood had taught them all to be constrained in seeking wisdom. And the Evangelist, also implying that at long intervals Jesus visited the various neighborhoods, said, ‘When the men of that place recognized him, they sent round to all that region and brought to him all that were sick.’ Far from abolishing their faith, this interval of miracles had made it even greater and preserved it vigorously.”¹⁰

Verse 36: They begged Jesus to let them only touch the edge of His cloak to be healed. And all the sick people who touched His cloak were healed.

The concept of touching the hem of Jesus robe might be traceable to what we find in the pattern for Aaron’s robe.¹¹ The seamstresses were to use blue, purple, and red yarn to make cloth images of pomegranates. Then these pomegranates were hung around the bottom edge of the robe with gold bells in between each one. Aaron was only to wear this robe when he was doing his priestly duties. That way, as he moved around inside the Most Holy Place, the bells would ring upon his going in and his coming out. This was intended to keep him from dying while on duty without anyone knowing. As a result, it began to be believed that there was power in the hem to keep Aaron alive. So we can see that anyone who might touch that hem could receive some of that power to make them whole from sickness.

Early church Bishop Poitiers offers this on the subject of people seeking just to touch the hem of Jesus’ robe: “Many things came in the way that, after the gathering of five thousand men who were filled to satisfaction, dampened our effort to give a proper account. Our understanding on this point, however, remains the same. The time of the law was over, and five thousand men were brought into the church from Israel. The believing people now hastened from the law, saved through their faith. They offered to God the remaining persons among them who were feeble and ill. These offered persons wanted to touch the hem of his garment to be made whole through faith. As from the hem of the entire garment, the whole power of the Holy Spirit came forth from our Lord Jesus Christ. This power was given to the apostles, who were also going out as it were from the same body, and it afforded healing to those who wished to touch the garment.”¹²

This is certainly one spiritual way of looking at it, but there were other things at work throughout all of Galilee and Judea. Even though it was quite a walk from Capernaum to Jerusalem, there were many who walked that way for the purposes of trade, visiting, and of course, the festivals in Jerusalem. So I’m sure it did not take long before the word got around about this self-appointed prophet from Nazareth who was spreading a new concept of salvation among the Jewish people in Galilee. And since He had not been endorsed or commissioned by the Sanhedrin, they were certainly curious as to what He was up to, especially any talk about Him being the awaited Messiah. So in the next chapter, we will see their reaction to this man who could forgive sins, raise the dead, heal lepers, feed thousands with a small lunch, and people could be healed simply by touching the hem of His garment.