Verse 1 The Lake of Gennesaret, or Sea of Galilee, was about seventeen miles long and six broad, and was surrounded by a beautiful and romantic country, which was inhabited by a simple-minded people. The whole region has become sacred, as the scene of our Savior's childhood and youth, and of his early public ministrations. His labors in this secluded province, sometimes among the fishermen upon the shores of the lake, and sometimes in the villages, or in the solitudes of the neighboring mountains, contrast strongly with the more public and exciting scenes of the closing year of his life, among the crowds and imposing magnificence of Jerusalem.