Following Jesus

Posted on November 18, 2018 by Mike

In the final chapter of the Book of John, the resurrected Jesus appeared to the disciples for the third time. This encounter contains an important lesson for all of us. The disciples were in a boat fishing about a hundred yards off shore and were having no luck catching anything. They were about ready to quit when Jesus called to them from the shore, telling them to cast their net on the right side of the boat. The disciples didn’t realize this was Jesus offering them this advice until their net was full with over a hundred fish.

“Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” John 21:7 (NIV)

As followers of Jesus, we need to be ever vigilant and carefully consider where the Lord is working in our lives. We are most effective when we stay focused on Jesus and follow his commands; His most important command being to love one another (John 13:34).

The gospel of John is a personal eyewitness account of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, written by the “disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 21:20). John’s account paints a clear picture of the divine nature of Jesus establishing, without question, that He is indeed the Son of God and the provider of our salvation. This is not a story that someone made up; this is history as recorded by someone who was by the side of Jesus throughout His ministry.

“This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.” John 21:24 (NIV)

The three other gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell this story from three different perspectives and often include details that are not found in the Book of John. If you have not read the other three accounts of the life of Jesus, I urge you to consider doing that now. There is nothing more important than knowing Jesus and understanding his teaching. Reading all four gospels will put you on a firm foundation and is a good starting point for your further study of the Bible.

“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 (NIV)

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