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| Volume 27 Number 9 September 2025 |
Page 13 |
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| Volume 27 Number 9 September 2025 |
Page 13 |
Catching Fish and Feeding Sheep
John Gipson
“I am going fishing,” said Simon Peter. Nothing startling here. Before meeting Jesus, Peter was a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee. He was no novice. Catching fish was second nature to him; no one had to explain to him the best procedure to follow. It had been his lifetime work. Therefore, when Peter announced his intention to go fishing, several of the disciples said, “We are going with you also” (John 21:3).
Have you ever been on a fishing trip that was unsuccessful? You’re not alone. It happened to Peter and his friends. They stayed out all night and caught nothing. Weary and ready to give up, they heard a man on the beach shout, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some” (John 21:6). Some? They were not able to haul the net in because there were so many. John sensed the truth first, “It is the Lord!” (John 21:7). In a moment, Peter was out of the boat and swimming to the Lord.
It had been some three years since Peter and his brothers heard the call of Jesus, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Then, sitting around a charcoal fire and enjoying the breakfast Jesus had prepared, Peter was given another commission: “Feed my sheep” (John 21:15–17).
The business of the kingdom involves both catching fish and feeding sheep. Jesus plainly said before He ascended into Heaven, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore 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 that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Matthew 28:18–20).
