Peter Howard
The Last Twenty Four Hours With Jesus
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the 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 have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
The last day before Jesus was crucified the disciples seemed to have been confused and unsuspecting of the events about to take place. In hindsight Jesus had been very clear, but the disciples had clearly not understood and were unready. In the weeks following Jesus’ resurrection the eleven remaining disciples continued to be paralyzed and in doubt about where Jesus was and what their role now was. So Jesus gave them what they needed.
Peter and his friends hadn’t been fishing for over three years. At that time Jesus had called from his fishing nets to instead be fishers of men. But now they didn’t know what they were to do, and found themselves back in a boat, doing what they thought they knew best. A long, fruitless night found them approaching the shore where Jesus stood waiting. A miracle, a meal on the beach, a moment of re-connection with Jesus, and once again they became fishers of men. They were ready to fulfill Jesus’ last commission, spoken to them as He ascended into the heavens.