275
See also: The Calling of the Disciples 200–03 ■ Peter’s Denial 256–57 ■
The Road to Emmaus 272–73 ■ The Word Spreads 288–89however, He is sending them out
on a permanent mission that would
last the rest of their lives. Jesus
understands that it will take some
persuasion to transform the fearful
disciples into bold ambassadors for
His message and tells them that
the Holy Spirit will support them.Inspiration at Galilee
At the end of the Passover festival,
the disciples return to Galilee,
where they had first met Jesus,
and had been called to follow Him.
Peter decides to go fishing and
several disciples accompany him.
They catch nothing all night, but
as morning breaks, they turn
toward the shore and see a man
on the beach. He calls out to them,
“Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No,” they reply. He tells them to
throw the net out to the right of the
boat. Miraculously, when they doso, the net fills with so many fish
that it nearly breaks. One of the
disciples exclaims, “It is the Lord!”
Peter immediately jumps out of the
boat and wades to the shore, and
the other disciples follow in the
vessel, towing the net full of fish.
On the shore, Jesus has already
prepared a “fire of burning coals”
with fish and bread on it. He
asks them to bring a few more
fish and they all sit down to eat
breakfast together.
After breakfast, Jesus turns to
Peter and asks him, “Do you truly
love me?” Peter says that he does.
Then Jesus says, “Feed my lambs.”
Twice more, Jesus repeats the ❯❯THE GOSPELS
The Ascension
Forty days after Jesus’s
resurrection, He summons
His disciples to a hillside
near Bethany, just outside
Jerusalem. As He blesses
and commissions them, He
is “taken up before their very
eyes” and hidden from sight
by a cloud (Acts 1:9). His
ascension is the end of His
earthly ministry; Christians
understand that He now
ministers in God’s presence,
praying for His disciples to
receive His Spirit and go out
and gather more followers.
Aspects of the ascension are
familiar. The hill is a reminder
of the mountain where Moses
received God’s Law, the cloud
is a visible image of God’s
presence during the Exodus
journey from Egypt, and
Heaven was long perceived
as a physical realm above
the Earth. Theologically, the
significance of such imagery is
to emphasize Jesus’s divinity.The Ascension of Christ (1884)
painted by the Polish artist Jan
Matejko shows Christ in a cloud
known as an “aureola,” often used
by artists to depict God or Christ.The risen Christ appearing to His
disciples in the 40 days before His
ascension is depicted on a colorful,
carved wooden frieze in the Cathedral
of Notre Dame, Paris, France.US_274-277_Great_Commission.indd 275 27/09/17 10:17 am