The early morning sunlight gently bathed the Sea of Galilee in golden light. It was a light that brightened a world once filled with darkness. Yet, this light followed the cycle set by God and, as a created light, would one day disappear. It gave life to all living things on earth, but could not take responsibility beyond death. But the one now approaching the shore was the true light—Jesus Christ—who would take responsibility for life and what comes after. He would be with His disciples forever, shining through them to dispel the darkness of the whole world.
The spring flowers blooming along the path where Jesus walked and the lush green bushes swayed softly in the breeze, offering their beauty in honor of the true light who had come among them. The birds in the sky and the small creatures on the ground followed in Jesus’s footsteps, each singing their own song of praise to the Lord.
Having come up the hill, Jesus’s gaze rested on a small fishing boat floating far out on the sea. On that boat were Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James, John, and two other disciples. They had gone out to fish the previous night while waiting for Jesus. Yet, despite their efforts, they caught nothing and were exhausted. This was not because they lacked skill or experience, but because God allowed it as a lesson for their future.
After the Holy Spirit came upon them, the disciples would become fishers of people. This calling could not be fulfilled by their own talent, effort, or experience. Sometimes they would sow the seeds of the gospel and see no results; other times, they would reap what they had not sown. They would proclaim the gospel to the world, perform miracles, and speak in tongues, but they would also endure constant toil, hardship, hunger, thirst, cold, and nakedness. Ultimately, they would even face death. Such was the life destined for the apostles.
Of course, this kind of life did not await everyone who believed in Jesus’s name and came to know the Father. It awaited these disciples because they had been chosen for that role. Even after following Jesus for several years, when He was arrested and crucified, the disciples ran away. Afterwards, they remained hidden behind locked doors out of fear. This was partly because God and Jesus wanted to protect them, but also because fear was already present in their hearts. The disciples were so full of doubt that they did not believe the women’s testimony about Jesus’s resurrection and even thought it was nonsense. It was not only Thomas who doubted; all the disciples doubted, and so did the women.
Yet it was precisely because they were like this that they could truthfully share the gospel with all people. Peter, who denied Jesus three times; Thomas, who could not believe even when everyone testified to the resurrection; James and John, who revealed their fiery temperament and even hostility toward Samaritans by saying to a Samaritan village, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from the sky, and destroy them, just as Elijah did?” and all the other disciples who ran away and despaired in the face of suffering. After receiving their mission, they were transformed and boldly proclaimed the gospel, testifying to the whole world—by their unwavering faith even in the face of death—that this gospel was true.
There were also other apostles, not present here, who were prepared for the Gentiles. Among them were people who had persecuted the saints and even committed murder, but they too would be changed and transformed. Through them, every generation would witness that the faith they preached was real. Those who doubted even after seeing miracles would open their hearts through the transformation of these weak, fearful, and unbelieving disciples, believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and return to God.
However, none of this could be accomplished by their own efforts. These things would only happen when they obeyed God’s will. That is why Jesus appeared to them now—at the very moment when they had worked hard all night and caught nothing—to show them once again what happens when they obey His word.
Jesus stepped onto the shore and called out loudly,
“Children, have you anything to eat?”
“No.”
A distant answer came back to Him. Then Jesus called out loudly once more,
“Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.”
If the disciples believed and obeyed Jesus’s words, they would catch many fish; if they did not, they would catch nothing. This was the life of faith Jesus wanted to reveal to His disciples and to all who would hear of this event.
Jesus watched as the disciples hesitated for a moment, then threw the net to the right side of the boat. Seeing this, Jesus smiled and sat down on the shore, starting a charcoal fire.
* * *
“Everyone, help quickly!”
A disciple exclaimed in surprise at the weight of the net, and the others rushed to help pull it in. The net was so heavy it would not budge. When they saw the enormous number of fish, so many that the boat began to tilt, the disciples’ gloomy faces brightened with smiles. All this happened because they followed the words of the man on the shore.
John remembered the day when Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will be catching people alive.” Seeing the man, John said joyfully to the others,
“It’s the Lord!”
The disciples, still gripping the net, looked toward the shore. There stood a man in a large, hooded cloak, with smoke rising from where he was. Outwardly, there was no evidence that he was the Lord. But Peter, James, and John, who had been through this very scene before, were certain in their hearts. In the past and now, only the Lord could perform such a miracle—they knew it was Him.
Peter put on his outer garment, which he had taken off while fishing, and jumped into the sea, swimming with all his might toward the shore. The other disciples watched him with smiles, then pulled the boat to shore, dragging the net full of fish. After Peter arrived, the others also reached the shore and hurried to the man. He had prepared a breakfast of fish and bread over a charcoal fire. He said,
“Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.”
Peter and the others went back to the boat and pulled the net to land. It was clear at a glance that there were more than a hundred large fish. Peter chose a few of the largest and brought them to where the fire was burning. The man said again,
“Come and eat breakfast!”
The man was still wearing his hooded cloak, but none of the disciples needed to ask, “Who are you?” They recognized Him by His voice, His manner, and every small movement from the years they had spent together. The man was Jesus Himself.
Jesus took the bread and gave it to the disciples, and likewise the fish. It was a joyful breakfast that warmed their weary bodies and hearts. Amid their ordinary conversation, there was an overflowing happiness in being with the Lord.
After breakfast, Jesus asked Peter,
“Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?”
Peter was startled by the sudden question, but quickly replied,
“Yes, Lord; you know that I have affection for you.”
As if Jesus already knew how Peter would answer, He responded at the same moment,
“Feed my lambs.”
Jesus looked at Peter for a moment and asked again,
“Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?”
“Yes, Lord; you know that I have affection for you.”
“Tend my sheep.”
A third time, Jesus asked,
“Simon, son of Jonah, do you have affection for me?”
Peter grew increasingly uneasy as Jesus asked him the same question three times. He couldn’t understand what Jesus meant at first. But then, as he thought about the number three, it began to dawn on him. He remembered that night when Jesus was arrested—the three denials, the final time even cursing and swearing that he did not know the Lord. Now he realized that Jesus was gently healing the despair and shame that had filled his heart ever since that night. As this understanding washed over him, tears welled up in Peter’s eyes.
“Lord, you know everything. You know that I have affection for you.”
Jesus looked at Peter, whose shoulders were shaking with sobs, with gentle and compassionate eyes. By asking the same question three times, Jesus was making sure that the memory of Peter’s betrayal would no longer be an obstacle in his life. He did this so that Peter would not be tormented or trapped by his past, but could move forward freely. Peter would face many hardships and even death, yet he would continue to preach the gospel, knowing all that awaited him. Through Peter’s life, many would come to believe in God. Jesus placed both hands on Peter’s shoulders and said,
“Feed my sheep. Most certainly I tell you, when you were young, you dressed yourself and walked where you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you don’t want to go.”
Peter nodded resolutely. Although he did not fully understand all of Jesus’ words, the fear that had lingered in his eyes was now completely gone. Seeing Peter like this, Jesus smiled at him, then stood up and said,
“Follow me.”
Peter, John, and the other disciples followed. Peter asked, looking at John,
“Lord, what about this man?”
Jesus replied,
“If I desire that he stay until I come, what is that to you? You follow me.”
Jesus was telling Peter to focus on his own calling, for others would fulfill their own missions in their own way. However, Peter misunderstood these words and thought that John would remain alive until Jesus returned to this world. This saying later spread among many people, but it was entirely Peter’s misunderstanding.
When Jesus and the disciples reached the mountain in Galilee where they had agreed to meet, other disciples and those who had heard the news were gathered there. Among them were some who did not believe in Jesus, whose face was hidden by a cloak, and who doubted Him. Yet Jesus no longer felt the need to reveal Himself to persuade them, for He would soon ascend to heaven, and from then on, the gospel would be spread more through the testimony and lives of the disciples than through miracles.
Jesus received their worship and spoke to them.
“Don’t depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which you heard from me. For John indeed baptized in water, but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
The disciples nodded, indicating that they would do as He said. Jesus looked around at them with warm eyes, then raised His voice and proclaimed,
“All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
After saying this, Jesus disappeared from their sight. The disciples packed their belongings and set out for Jerusalem as Jesus had instructed. Now, there was no more doubt among them.
* * *
On the fortieth day after Jesus’ resurrection, all the disciples gathered near Bethany on the Mount of Olives. Jesus stood before them, His face shining. He looked at each disciple, meeting their eyes one by one.
The disciples asked,
“Lord, are you now restoring the kingdom to Israel?”
He replied,
“It isn’t for you to know times or seasons which the Father has set within his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”
After saying this, Jesus lifted His hands and blessed them. Then, in their sight, He was taken up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God. When a cloud hid Him from their sight, two men in white stood beside them and said,
“You men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
The disciples worshiped Jesus as He ascended and, rejoicing greatly, left the Mount of Olives to gather in the upper room of Mark’s house, where they had shared the Last Supper. They praised God and spent their days in the temple. When the day of Pentecost arrived, fifty days after the Feast of Firstfruits, the promised Holy Spirit came upon those assembled in the upper room. Everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, proclaiming the gospel to people from many nations. From that day on, countless people believed in the name of Jesus and became Christians.
In the hearts of those who came to faith through their own trials, a river of living water flowed, filling their lives with joy—a joy no one could take away. However, the leaders who had caused Jesus’s death did not turn from their wickedness and continued to persecute the remaining disciples and believers. Stephen, the first deacon, was martyred, and Saul, who led the stoning, encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus and was appointed as an apostle to the Gentiles. Saul, also known by his Roman name Paul, meaning “little one,” spread the gospel throughout the Roman world. The other apostles also traveled according to their missions, preaching the gospel in Judea, Samaria, Galilee, Syria, Asia Minor, Egypt, Ethiopia, North Africa, Greece, Rome, Armenia, and even as far as India. The Lord worked with all the apostles, confirming the gospel through many signs.
* * *
Psalms written to proclaim the coming Christ:
“Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh, and against his Anointed, saying, ‘Let’s break their bonds apart, and cast their cords from us.’ He who sits in the heavens will laugh. The Lord will have them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his anger, and terrify them in his wrath: ‘Yet I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion.’ I will tell of the decree: Yahweh said to me, ‘You are my son. Today I have become your father. Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’
Now therefore be wise, you kings. Be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve Yahweh with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Give sincere homage to the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish on the way, for his wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all those who take refuge in him.”
As these prophecies about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, have been fulfilled, and now that the Lord has ascended to heaven, the remaining prophecies will begin to be realized.
“It will happen afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions. And also on the servants and on the handmaids in those days, I will pour out my Spirit. I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood, fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Yahweh comes. It will happen that whoever will call on Yahweh’s name shall be saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as Yahweh has said, and among the remnant, those whom Yahweh calls.”
The prophecy began when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples, and the remaining prophecies will be fulfilled on the day of the end, which God has determined.
“Behold, Yahweh comes with ten thousands of his holy ones. On that day, there will be no light, cold, or frost. It will be a unique day which is known to Yahweh—not day, and not night; but it will come to pass that at evening time there will be light. In that day, living waters will go out from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea; in summer and in winter it will be. Yahweh will be King over all the earth. In that day, Yahweh will be one, and his name one.
The Mighty One, God, Yahweh, speaks, and calls the earth from sunrise to sunset. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines out. Our God comes, and does not keep silent. A fire devours before him. It is very stormy around him. He calls to the heavens above, to the earth, that he may judge his people: “Gather my saints together to me, those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” The heavens shall declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge. Selah.
Hear, my people, and I will speak. Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God. I don’t rebuke you for your sacrifices. Your burnt offerings are continually before me. I have no need for a bull from your stall, nor male goats from your pens. For every animal of the forest is mine, and the livestock on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the mountains. The wild animals of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it. Will I eat the meat of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Pay your vows to the Most High. Call on me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you, and you will honor me.
But to the wicked God says, ‘What right do you have to declare my statutes, that you have taken my covenant on your lips, since you hate instruction, and throw my words behind you? When you saw a thief, you consented with him, and have participated with adulterers. You give your mouth to evil. Your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother. You slander your own mother’s son. You have done these things, and I kept silent. You thought that I was just like you. I will rebuke you, and accuse you in front of your eyes.’
Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you into pieces, and there be no one to deliver. Whoever offers the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies me, and prepares his way so that I will show God’s salvation to him.”
Those who believe in Jesus, the Son of God, and fill their lives with His words—offering their lives as a sacrifice of love and thanksgiving—these are the people who give glory to God, walk in the right path, and act justly. To such people, God will give the gift of salvation.
Those who cease to walk with God, who abandon His standards and live by their own judgments, have harbored evil thoughts since childhood. Like Cain, they have committed murder, betrayed God, and fallen into idolatry. God grieved deeply over all who were destined for hell, but because they were filled with sin, there was no way to save them. This was not because God lacked power, but because sin cannot approach the holy God, and the souls of those who die in sin cannot enter His presence or the kingdom of heaven.
This is exactly as the prophet Isaiah declared:
“Behold, Yahweh’s hand is not shortened, that it can’t save; nor his ear dull, that it can’t hear. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.”
God, who sent many souls to hell because of sin, chose Abraham to be the father of faith. He chose Abraham’s son Isaac and his grandson Jacob, setting apart the nation of Israel. Through them, God revealed His will and plan to future generations and promised that His Son would be born from their descendants, and that all who believe in the Son’s name would be saved. Now, all of this has been fulfilled. Through the sacrifice of His Son, God completed the plan to save humanity. Jesus had authority on earth to forgive sins, and He forgave all who believed in His name. God was then able to call and save all whose sins were removed.
The apostles went out into the world to proclaim this joyful news. God and Jesus watched as the gospel spread in all directions. They saw those who had long ago abandoned God return. They witnessed the apostles and disciples preaching despite suffering, the nameless believers sharing the gospel from their places, and those who, grateful for this gospel, no longer feared death. God watched over every one of them.
God had appointed death for the apostles and disciples—not to punish them, but for the salvation of others. It was to show those who had no faith in God, and those who were weak, that even the stubborn and hard-hearted could be transformed and give their lives for God. The apostles and disciples would suffer and ultimately die for the name of God and Jesus, but they would shine forever in heaven.
“Those who are wise will shine as the brightness of the expanse, and those who turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.”
The passages from Psalm 2:1-12, 50:1-23, Isaiah 59:1-2, Daniel 12:3, Joel 2:28-32, Zechariah 14:5b-9, Matthew 28:18-20, Luke 5:10, Luke 9:54, John 21:5-22, Acts 1:4-11 quoted in this narrative are taken directly from the World English Bible (WEB) translation. Of the parallel passages, I have combined them into a single version that includes all the content.
Listen to the audiobook now.
The Life of Jesus | A Journey of Resurrection, Miracles, and Love
