Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. Galilee was the scene for many outstanding events in Jesus’ earthly life. The Galilean cities of Bethsaida, Cana, Capernaum, Chorazin, Nain, and Nazareth, as well as the regions of Magadan, are specifically mentioned in connection with his activity. (Mt 11:20-23; 15:39; Lu 4:16; 7:11; Joh 2:11; see BETHSAIDA.) Most of his earthly life Jesus spent at the Galilean city of Nazareth. (Mt 2:21-23; Lu 2:51, 52) At a marriage feast in Cana, he performed his first miracle by turning water into the best of wine. (Joh 2:1-11) After the arrest of John the Baptizer, Jesus withdrew from Judea to Galilee and began proclaiming: “Repent, you people, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.” (Mt 4:12-17) As Jesus traveled throughout Galilee, he taught in the various synagogues. In the course of time he came to his hometown, Nazareth, where, on the Sabbath day, he read his commission from Isaiah chapter 61. Although those in the synagogue were at first favorably impressed, when Jesus compared them to the Israelites in the days of the prophets Elijah and Elisha, the synagogue audience became enraged, and they were ready to kill him.​—Lu 4:14-30.

Afterward Jesus went to Capernaum, “a city of Galilee,” and established this as his home. Evidently near Capernaum he called Andrew, Peter, James, and John to be fishers of men. (Lu 4:31; Mt 4:13-22) Accompanied by these four disciples, Jesus began a major preaching tour of Galilee. In the course of his activities of teaching and performing powerful works, Jesus called Matthew from the tax office at Capernaum to be his follower. (Mt 4:23-25; 9:1-9) Later, at a mountain near Capernaum, he chose the 12 apostles. All of them, with the possible exception of Judas Iscariot, were Galileans. Also near Capernaum, Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. (Lu 6:12-49; 7:1) At the Galilean city of Nain, he resurrected the only son of a widow. (Lu 7:11-17) In a later preaching tour, Jesus revisited Nazareth but was again rejected. (Mt 13:54-58) At Capernaum, around Passover time of 32 C.E., during what was apparently his final intensive coverage of Galilean territory, many disciples, stumbled by Jesus’ words about ‘eating his flesh and drinking his blood,’ forsook the Son of God.​—Joh 6:22-71.

Although the synoptic Gospels tell mainly of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, the Son of God did not ignore Judea, as some have wrongly concluded. It is noteworthy that the initial interest the Galileans showed in Jesus was aroused by what they saw him do in Jerusalem. (Joh 4:45) However, probably more space is devoted to Jesus’ activity in Galilee because the Galileans responded more readily than did the Judeans. This is confirmed by the fact that the first disciples to receive God’s holy spirit were Galileans, some 120 in number. (Ac 1:15; 2:1-7) The control and influence of the Jewish religious leaders must not have been as strong among the Galileans as among the Judeans. (Compare Lu 11:52; Joh 7:47-52; 12:42, 43.) Some suggest that the crowd that clamored for Jesus’ death was mainly composed of Judeans (Mt 27:20-23), whereas those who had previously hailed Jesus as king were perhaps primarily Galileans. (Mt 21:6-11) The presence of many Galileans and other non-Judeans during the Passover period may also have contributed to the fear of the leaders of Jerusalem to seize Jesus in broad daylight ‘lest an uproar occur.’​—Mt 26:3-5.

Jesus’ Ministry in Area. This body of water figured prominently in Jesus’ earthly ministry. A number of times the Son of God spoke from a boat to great crowds assembled on its wide, pebbly shore. (Mr 3:9; 4:1; Lu 5:1-3) On one of these occasions he caused some of his disciples to have a miraculous catch of fish and called Peter, Andrew, James, and John to be “fishers of men.” (Mt 4:18-22; Lu 5:4-11) In the vicinity of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus performed many powerful works. He healed the sick, expelled demons (Mr 3:7-12), calmed the wind and the sea (Mr 4:35-41), and walked on the water (Joh 6:16-21); once, he miraculously fed more than 5,000 people, and at another time he fed more than 4,000, each time with only a few loaves of bread and several fish. (Mt 14:14-21; 15:29, 34-38) Rightly Jesus condemned three cities in that area, Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, for remaining unresponsive despite the many powerful works their inhabitants had witnessed.​—Mt 11:20-24.

After his resurrection from the dead, Jesus appeared to some of his disciples by the Sea of Galilee and caused them to have a second miraculous catch of fish. He then stressed the importance of feeding his sheep.​—Joh 21:1, 4-19.