Jesus in Galilee

Lake Galilee in northern Israel was a freshwater lake full of fish. They were caught, pickled in salt water to preserve them, then sold to cities like Jerusalem. The lake is in a basin, surrounded by hills. Sudden storms can whip up, especially late afternoon. After growing up in Nazareth, Jesus moved to a town in Galilee called Capernaum. This area became the centre of Jesus’ ministry. Here, he called fishermen to be his disciples, taught crowds to live a life of love, healed the sick, walked on water and calmed storms.

A powerful man

A Roman centurion was an elite member of the Roman army. He commanded eighty to a hundred soldiers, and had to be strong, brave and intelligent. When he gave an order, his soldiers obeyed him. He recognised that Jesus had even greater authority.

Why did Jesus kill pigs?

Jewish people don’t eat pork as they consider it unclean. So, when Jesus needed to get ‘evil spirits’ or dark forces out of two men, he sent them into unclean pigs. This was a one off dramatic event to show that human beings matter more than anything else, even animals. (Note that pigs can swim so some of the herd may have survived!)