In today’s passage from Second Corinthians, we join Paul as he is wrapping up what is known as his “Fool’s Speech.” It is called that because in the preceding chapter he said he would boast as a fool. He says that because he is trying to navigate between two important factors.

First, the church at Corinth has been disrupted by a number of false teachers who have visited and shared false teaching about God and Christ. These false teachers tended to claim special visions that conflicted with Paul’s testimony and that of the other Apostles. So Paul has affirmed his authority as an Apostle. He does not approach that as an issue of status, but rests entirely on the truth of what he says as consistent with the other Apostles.

Read More

We join Jesus and his disciples as he has completed a long series of teachings and healing of people with various ailments and conditions. He has established himself with many as a great teacher and miracle worker and they have set off to cross the Sea of Galilee. Among the 12 are several experienced fishermen and they are traveling with a group of boats.

Galilee is actually a big lake. How big? It is big, but not huge. To put it in our context, it’s about 20% bigger than Lake Kissimmee, but less than 1/10th the size of Lake Okeechobee. It is also ringed with hills such that at lake level one would not see a violent storm approaching. Such storms can and do whip up very quickly in that region, and they are very dangerous.

Read More