Jesus had passed the test of temptation by satan
he could now begin preaching the god's word to people
he walked around the towns and villages telling people about god's plan
and helping them to be better neighbors carrying out god's will on earth
one day Jesus was standing and praying by the sea of galilee
which some people also called the lake of genzere
the sea of galilee was a wide freshwater lake on the river Jordan
near where jesus had grown up in nazareth
a few wooden fishing boats were out on the water
and the sun beat down on the lake and the land around it
as Jesus spoke a crowd began to gather around him
ask and it will be given to you
seek and you will find
knock and the door will be opened to you
for everyone who asks receives
the one who seeks finds and the one who knocks the door will be opened
the people had heard about Jesus and his teachings
and they wanted to hear more about the word of god
the crowd grew bigger and bigger
the news spread that Jesus was here
and ready to tell the people his stories and news from god
as he thought about what to say
saw two empty boats floating on the edge of the water
the boats belonged to two fishermen who had been working hard
fishing all through the night but they hadn't caught a single fish
they were washing out their nets in the shallows of the sea
and looked disappointed with their night's work
Jesus knew the two fishermen
it was Simon and his brother Andrew from the fishing village of Capernaum
Capernaum was at the bank of the sea of galilee
and every day Simon and his brother would go out and try to catch fish
Jesus walked over to one of the empty boats which belonged to the fisherman called Simon
later in his life Jesus would give Simon a new name and call him Peter instead
so when we tell stories about Simon we just call him peter as Jesus asked us to
Jesus called over to peter and asked if he could get into his boat and take him a little into the water
there was now so many people here to hear Jesus speak
it would be easier for them to see and hear him if he stood and preached from the boat
peter gladly agreed and joined Jesus in the boat
Peter took the oars and rode Jesus out a little way in the shallows of the sea of galilee
there they floated
and Jesus spoke to the crowd of people with his stories and teachings about god's will
when he had finished speaking for the day
the people who had been listening all went home for the night
and left Jesus and peter on the sea
Jesus said to peter
let us now go into deep water and let down the nets for a catch
Peter was puzzled and weary
he and his brother had fished all night from their boats and caught no fish at all
he'd like to go home and try again another day
but peter knew Jesus was sent by God to teach everyone on earth good and kind things
so he did not want to disobey
he had faith in Jesus and faith in god's plan
master we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything
but because you say so i will let down the nets
peter rode further out into the deepest patch of cool blue water
he carefully lowered his nets down, down and down as far as they would go
they waited for a few moments and suddenly peter felt it tugging and wriggling on the nets
using all his strength
he wound the nets back up, up and up until they broke through the surface of the sea of galilee
fish brown fish blue fish shiny silver fish big small and everything in between
the net was bulging and wiggling absolutely full to bursting with a giant catch of fish
there were so many fish that Peter could not lift the nets up by themselves
in fact
if he had filled his boat with all those fish his boat would surely have sunk into the sea
in the meantime his brother Andrew along with James and John arrived in a boat
Andrew my brother
James John Jesus asked me to let down the net and we caught more fish than I have ever seen
will you come help us?
Andrew and others can see the huge bulging net almost splitting under the weight of the giant catch
they pulled up close to where peter held the net
and unloaded armfuls and armfuls of wet wriggling fish into their boats
their boat was soon piled with fish it was a truly miraculous catch
they'd never seen anything like it in their whole lives as fishermen
when they were back on dry land peter fell to his knees at Jesus's feet
he felt unworthy of Jesus's help and attention for he was just a poor fisherman
he could not believe that such an amazing thing had happened to him and the other fishermen
go away from me lord i am a sinful man
Peter felt afraid of the power and kindness that Jesus showed him
Jesus had chosen Peter Andrew James and John to take a special place in his life
and help him with the work God had given him
come follow me and I will make you fishers of man
what Jesus meant was that Peter Andrew and the fellow fishermen would have a new job now
instead of going out into the sea to catch fish every day
Jesus wanted them to travel with him and speak to people about god
so they would learn about him and follow god's teachings too
Andrew and their two fellow fishermen James and John
all pulled their boats right up off the water and onto the shore
they laid down their nets and their fishing tools and left them there on the banks of the sea of galilee
they vowed to follow Jesus to call him master to learn his teachings and to be his closest companions
as he walked the earth to spread god's word
as they were the most dedicated followers of Jesus who would travel with him
learn from him and carry out missions for him
these four men were called the first disciples of Jesus
they would see many amazing things as Jesus's disciples
although their work would not always be easy