The Adventures of Jesus Christ
Episodes from the Life of Jesus for Young Readers
by Vincent Cheung
[ Contents ]

Chapter 30. Jesus Restored His Followers
BUT DON’T YOU HAVE ANY FISH?

After Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared to his disciples a number of times. They were filled with joy and wonder, but they were probably confused about what to do next. One morning, some of the disciples decided to go back to their old life. They went fishing.

Peter said to the disciples, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They hopped into their boat and set out on the water. All night long, they fished, but they did not catch a single thing. They were disappointed, wishing they could find some fish.

As the sun began to rise, they saw someone standing on the shore. The man called out, “Do you have any fish?” They shouted back, “No! We could not catch anything!” Then the man on the shore said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.”

It was a strange suggestion. They had tried all night and could not catch anything. What difference would it make to throw the net on that side? But they decided to give it a try. They threw their net over the right side of the boat, and suddenly, so many fish rushed into the net that they could not pull it back in!

Then John said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” This was something that Jesus did with the disciples soon after they first met. Right away, Peter jumped into the water and headed to the shore. Forget about the fish! The other disciples stayed in the boat and pulled the net full of fish back to shore.

When they were back on land, they saw that Jesus was cooking fish over a fire, and there was also bread. And Jesus said, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” And Peter pulled the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, but the net was not torn.

“Now come and have breakfast,” Jesus said. The disciples gathered around him. Jesus gave them the bread and the fish, and they ate.

The night when Jesus was betrayed and arrested, Peter said to Jesus, “Even if the others leave you, I will never leave you!” But when Jesus was arrested, Peter was afraid and ran away. By the next morning, he had said three times that he did not even know Jesus.

He insisted that he was more committed than the other disciples, but at a time when Jesus needed him most, Peter left him to face the trouble alone. Imagine how ashamed he must have felt about that. And now it was time for the two of them to talk about it.

When they had finished eating, Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Do you really love me more than the other disciples do?” Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my lambs.”

Then Jesus asked him a second time, “Do you love me?” And Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” And Jesus said, “Then take care of my sheep.”

Then Jesus asked him a third time, “Do you love me?” Because Jesus was asking him that the third time, Peter was sad. He answered, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” And Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.”

In this moving moment, it was as if Jesus was telling Peter, “I forgive you for running away when I was arrested. But now it is your turn to take care of the people, just like I took care of all of you. You were one of the first to follow me. Take care of them like they are your brothers and sisters. If you love me, then do this for me.” And Peter did exactly as Jesus asked in the coming years, for the rest of his life.