“Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”
– John 21:25
Hi James and Ellen,
Do you like to fish? If you like to fish, how do you like to fish? If you like to fish, do you like to fish using live bait such as worms and/or minnows or do you like to fish using artificial bait or lures? Your grandpaa has caught fish from shores, from boats and through the ice – something that your grandpaa really likes to do. Your grandpaa has caught fish in lakes in the United States, the Paraguay River in South America and the Atlantic Ocean. Your grandpaa really likes to do surf fishing. Your grandpaa went fishing about two weeks ago in Lake Lanier – which is the very large dammed up reservoir that is located not far from where your grandmaa and grandpaa live outside of Gainesville, Georgia, catching two crappies and a tiny bluegill. Where your grandpaa grew up as a kid – which was on a 160 acre farm that is located one mile west and two miles north of Volga, South Dakota, a 300 acre lake called Goldsmith is about a quarter of a mile to the south southwest of where the house is where your grandpaa grew up. Your grandpaa – when he was a kid, would often walk to Lake Goldsmith where he would usually catch enough bullheads for a meal. Your grandpaa has also over the years caught perch, crappies, sunfish, bluegills, northern pike, saugeyes, walleyes, suckers, carp, white bass and mud puppies – using a line and a hook, out of Lake Goldsmith. Apostle Simon Peter grew up in the town of Bethsaida. The town of Bethsaida is located at Sea of Tiberias’ north end. The Sea of Tiberias is known today as the Sea of Galilee. Before Jesus arbitrarily told Peter that He wanted him to be one of His twelve disciples, Peter’s day job was to catch fish – using a net, out of the Sea of Galilee. Peter would join other guys – using a boat, to net fish. After Peter’s spiritual mentor – Who was Jesus, was unexpectedly seen alive after He had been entombed after being killed by being inhumanely and unjustly hung on and nailed to a cross, Peter may have gone back to his hometown to . . . several of Peter’s fellow disciples made the hike – which was probably a three day trek, with Peter from the city of Jerusalem after their teacher/coach – Jesus, was brutally and wrongly killed. Apostle John ended his John Book narrative about his Master’s life in what is now John 21 by recounting this night’s fishing outing that Peter may have instigated doing. Besides his buddy John, Peter had John’s bro James, Thomas, Nathanael and two other of Jesus’ disciples go with him that night to try to net fish.
When the morning sun began to lighten up the skies the next morning, a guy – who was standing on the shore, yelled out to Peter and to the guys who were in Peter’s boat with him asking them if they had netted any fish. When they yelled back at the guy – who had called them friends, that they had not netted any fish, the guy told the guys in the boat to put out their net on the other side of their boat – which they did. 153 large fish ended up in their net when the guys in the boat did what the guy on the shore had told them to do. When John – who called himself the disciple whom Jesus loved, saw that the guy standing on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias was Jesus, John told Peter Who He was. Peter immediately – per John, wrapped his outer wrap around him and jumped into the water to wade to where Jesus was standing – leaving the rest of the guys to haul in the full net of fish. When the guys were finally able to get to shore with the full fish net, the guys saw that Jesus already had a fire burning with fish already on the fire’s coals. When your grandpaa was on the OC International/Equipo SEPAL Guatemala field missionary team, your grandpaa one summer took OC International’s Guatemala summer team to Nueva Esperanza. Nueva Esperanza is a small rural community that is located in the Ixcan region of Guatemala. A small lagoon is located near Nueva Esperanza. While your grandpaa was in Nueva Esperanza with OC International’s summer team, he asked one of the guys if he would like to walk to the lagoon with your grandpaa. Your grandpaa on an earlier trip to Nueva Esperanza had tried using a line and a hook to catch fish out of this lagoon. While your grandpaa and the summer team guy were at the lagoon, a guy and his wife waded through the lagoon with a net. They netted several fish. When the couple saw your grandpaa and the summer team guy standing on the shoreline watching them pull their net out of the lagoon’s water with fish in it, they asked your grandpaa if he would like to eat one of the fish. Your grandpaa did not know what to do but to tell them sure – that he would but that . . . as the gal scaled and gutted two of the larger fish using a knife that your grandpaa has no idea where she got it from, the guy stacked up a pile of branches and twigs which he lit on fire. When the gal finished doing what she was doing, she just threw the two fish right on the burning pile of branches and twigs. After letting the two fish lie there for a bit on the burning fire, the guy took the two fish out of the fire, put the two fish on a couple of banana leaves that he had gotten from someplace and gave one of the fish to your grandpaa to eat and the other fish to the summer team guy to eat. Your grandpaa has never eaten a better tasting fish in his life. The guy had even found a wild lime or lemon to . . . the fish was so good!
What would you write about Jesus if you had spent three years with Him. John wrote in verse 25, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” What have you heard about Jesus? How are you being fed by Jesus?
John 21 (1161)