Epilogue: 29 A.D
- May 25
- 11 min read
Updated: Jun 11
Luke 1:15-17, Isaiah 40:3, Luke 3, Matthew 3, John 1 and 2, Luke 5
Simon stepped outside the synagogue in Capernaum and ran his hand through his hair. He needed a moment to think. The entire village was buzzing with excitement. News had traveled to the Northern Galilee about thousands of people streaming into the desert to hear a man named John preach. Throughout Jerusalem and all Judea, the people were coming to John to repent of their sins and get baptised in the Jordan River. The Spirit of God was upon him!
This man, John, wore a tunic of camel hair, and a leather belt. Was he purposefully trying to look like the prophet Elijah? What exactly was he preaching about? Why were the people so stirred by his words?
Simon thought back to his days at the Synagogue School in Bethsaida. “Wasn’t there something about a boy named John? Who was raised in the desert? Could this be that John?”
It had been fifteen years since Simon had studied the Tanach with the others at Synagogue School. Since then, Simon’s abba had died. He and Andrew had taken over the fishing business, and decided to partner with their cousins, James and John, and of course their abba, Zebedee. In combining their efforts, and moving headquarters to Capernaum, business was booming. Simon was married to Hannah, now, and they lived in a beautiful home in Capernaum with other extended family, including Hannah’s mother, and of course, Andrew.
Andrew came outside, then, to speak to his brother. “Simon!” he called to him. “You know what I am going to say!” His eyes were dancing with excitement, as if he had formed a plan. We must go to Bethel Bara to hear the prophet! Can I take Philip with me? Should we all go?”
Andrew’s excitement spilled over as Philip appeared. “Do you remember years ago when our rabbi taught us about Elizabeth and Zachariah’s son, John? There was a prophecy spoken over him! Remember?” “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1: 15-17).
Peter grinned at his brother and Philip. “I will see if James and John can do without us for a while. It will take us three or four days to journey there. Do you think Nathaniel might also wish to go? We will take one of the boats to the southern end of the lake, and head out on foot from there.”
Philip nodded. “I will talk to Nathaniel. See if Hannah will pack up some provisions for our journey!”
A long week later, the four men arrived at Bethany beyond the Jordan. The scene was breathtaking. Groups of people were camped everywhere. There was excitement in the air. News traveled quickly throughout the camp that John was on his way up from the river where he had been baptizing the crowds. A group of Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem had just arrived, and there was sure to be some sort of confrontation!
As the men approached John and a group of his disciples, the tension was palpable, and the crowd became quiet. The Pharisees asked him, “ Who are you? Are you the Christ?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head.
“Are you Elijah?
“No.”
"Are you the Prophet?"
“No.”
“Well, then who are you?” (John 1:19-23)
John looked up at them, and then turned to the entire crowd speaking with authority in a loud voice, “I am the voice crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord! Make Straight paths for Him! Every valley shall be filled. And every mountain and hill brought low. The crooked places shall be made straight, and the rough ways smooth. All flesh shall see the salvation of God’ ”(Isaiah 40:3).
Then, turning back to address the delegation from Jerusalem, John yelled, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Luke 3:7-9).
So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?”
He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.”
Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.”
Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?”
So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages” (Luke 3: 10-14).
The people were energized by the words of John. People were flocking to the area to hear him speak and be baptized. They came all the way from Jerusalem and the surrounding area. Many of them reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, even though he denied it. John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water, but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn. But the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire” (Luke 3: 15-17).
Simon and the others looked at each other knowingly and without a word went to set up camp. Finally Philip spoke. “Do you remember what we learned in school? About the Promised One? John must be the forerunner to announce His arrival! Maybe, soon, we will see Him, God in the flesh!”
Simon was thinking the same thing. “Could this actually be happening? Would they know the Promised One when they saw Him? Would they be able to meet Him?”
As evening came, Andrew and Philip went to find John, to see if they could speak with him. They had so many questions! When they found him, he invited them to join his circle of disciples, who were cooking fish over a campfire.
Andrew and Philip arrived just in time to hear John share his experiences during the meal. The men were all quiet now but they welcomed the newcomers with smiles. John spoke with an undeniable authority. He was intense. “Days ago, now,” he said, “ I was baptizing people in the Jordan River. The young, the old, the rich and poor. All of a sudden, there He was! He asked ME to baptize Him!! I told him, no no, this cannot be! But he told me to allow it, as we would be fulfilling all righteousness” (Matthew 3:13-14).
“So I baptized him! God had told me this would be a sign that He was the One. I would see the spirit of God descending on him as a dove. And it happened! The Spirit landed on Him, just as The Lord had told me. Heaven was opened and I heard a voice, ‘This is my Beloved Son’ (John 1:32-36).
“I came baptizing with water, so that He would be revealed in Israel. But He will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire! I am sure that this is the One who is preferred before me, because He was before me” (John 1:30).
“Where is He now?” asked Philip. “I don’t know,” John admitted. “When he rose up from the water he was full of the Spirit of God. I watched him walk alone, out into the wilderness. That was weeks ago.”
Philip and Andrew thanked John and headed back to their own camp, where Simon and Nathaniel were waiting. Andrew filled in the others with what John had testified.
“Could this truly be the Promised One? The Prophet Greater than Moses? The Suffering Servant? The Son of God? Could this be the Meshiach? The Coming King? The Seed of the Woman?” The men debated these things long into the morning.
“Did John say his name? What is his name?” Simon asked.
“Yeshua, is his name! Salvation!” Philip added.
“The same Yeshua, that was born in Bethlehem? The one who taught the rabbis at the temple when He was twelve? The carpenter from Nazareth?” Simon wondered.
“The very same one. John confirmed it. They are cousins,” Philip nodded.
All the men, then, sat quietly. Contemplating. Where was Yeshua now? Would they have a chance to meet him? What would they say to Him if they did?
Andrew was up early the next day. He had decided to follow John, wherever he went, to see if he could learn anything more about Yeshua from Him. Another young man had joined Andrew as well, and he, too, was full of questions.
John sat with the two young men for a while, discussing the gospel of the Kingdom. They were basking in his knowledge of the scriptures, which he opened up before them! Then, John looked up and whispered excitedly! “Yeshua is back! There he is! Behold, The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”(John 1:35)
Andrew and his new friend said goodbye to John, and hurried to follow Yeshua. When they caught up to Him, he smiled up at them, as if he was not surprised at all to see them at that very moment. His eyes were unlike any they had ever seen—strength without harshness, authority without pride, and holiness without apology. “What do you seek?” Yeshua asked. (John 1:38) “Rabbi, where are you staying?” Andrew blurted out.
“Come and see!” He replied laughing (John 1:39).
“Wait,” he said to Yeshua. “I have to go find Simon!”
In a short time, Andrew located Simon at the campsite. “We have found the Christ! Come and see!” A short time later both men arrived, breathless.
Yeshua looked up at Simon and said to him, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Peter, the rock!” (John 1:41-42).
Simon was honored. “Rabbi, will you allow us to stay and learn from you? Will you teach us the scriptures?” Simon asked.
Yeshua nodded, “Sit a while with me.”
The following day, Yeshua was determined to leave for the Galilee with the others. On his way he found Philip. When He saw him, he said to Philip, “Follow Me!”(John 1:43). Philip, full of excitement, ran to find Nathaniel! “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Come and see!”(John 1:45).
Soon all of the men, Simon, Andrew, Philip, Nathaniel, and Yeshua were headed north toward the Galilee. Jesus had invited them to attend a wedding with him in Cana. They boarded their boat when they reached the Sea of Galilee, arriving home after the sun had set that evening.
Two weeks later, Simon, now called Peter, reflected upon all that had happened since they had met Yeshua! James and John had joined the group and they all attended the wedding in Cana. What an event that was! Peter was still reeling from all that had occurred. It was a miracle. When the wine ran out, Yeshua turned the purification water into wine! It was surreal. He did it quietly. Unnoticed. Well, not entirely. Yeshua’s mother knew. The servants knew. And Yeshua’s new friends knew! (John 2: 1-11).
Since then, Peter and the rest had returned to Capernaum, while Yeshua went on to Nazareth. Simon wondered when they might see Yeshua again. In the meantime, Peter thought, “I must concentrate on fishing.” That long night and early morning had produced nothing in any of the boats.
In the distance, Simon could see a lone figure approaching the lake. Squinting, he noticed there was also a crowd following the man. It was Yeshua! Soon, James and John left their boat and came to see the commotion. When he arrived, Yeshua grinned up at Simon. “Mind if I speak from your boat to the people?” he asked. A large group of people from the surrounding area was beginning to push in against Yeshua, and Simon reached down quickly helping Him into the boat. They had heard the news about what had happened in the synagogue in Nazareth. James and John also jumped in and they anchored just off shore (Luke 5: 1-3).
The morning passed as the crowd sat, mesmerized, listening to Yeshua teach about the Kingdom of God. Soon it was midday, and Yeshua dismissed the people. He turned to Peter and said, “Let’s go fishing!” (Luke 5:4).
“Master, we have not caught a single fish all night and this morning!” Peter admitted.
“Peter, launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch, ” Yeshua said, his eyes twinkling, yet commanding.
Reluctantly Peter answered, “At Your word I will let down the net.” Peter motioned to his men to move out away from the shore and let down their nets one more time.
One of the men yelled, “Fish! A huge number! Come, help bring in the net before it breaks!”
The fishermen jumped into motion. Peter signaled to James and John, now in the other boat, to come and help them. Laughing with joy, John jumped in Peter’s boat which was starting to sink from the weight of the fish, and together with his brother James started scooping the huge haul of fish into their boat. Messiah was grinning as he watched the men’s exuberance and joy. Soon, both of the boats were so full, they both started to sink!
Suddenly, Simon Peter, comprehending the miracle, fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (Luke 5: 5-11)
Jesus reassured Peter, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men!”
Quickly, they brought their boats to land, and began to process the fish. Simon looked over at James and John, and they nodded their heads. Today was the day. This was the moment. The Promised One had come, and was calling them to be His disciples! They all knew it. They would follow Him.
In the morning, Peter found his way down the path to the old synagogue school. He wanted to talk to the rabbi. Tell him the news. Share with him all that happened with John the Baptist and Yeshua. Mostly, though, he just wanted to thank the rabbi. Thank him for teaching them all so well from the Tanach. While guiding them through the scriptures, he gave them an understanding very few had of the Holy Book. Simon Peter quietly entered the school he had not attended for many years. Nothing had changed. The rabbi looked up, smiled, and said to Peter, “I was hoping you would stop by for a while. I hear you have found the Messiah, the Promised One! The Prophet Greater than Moses, the Shepherd. The Suffering Servant. Do you really think this is the One?
“ Yes, rabbi. It is He. He is the Anointed One,” Peter told him. “Come and see!”
Discussion Questions: For a Lesson Plan for this lesson, CLICK HERE!
What was your favorite part of this lesson?
Why do you think Jesus performed the fish miracle at that moment? What was he trying to say?
Why do you think God sent a messenger before Jesus? What did He hope to accomplish?
The scriptures say that " When they brought the boats to land, they immediately left and followed Him." What do you think this phrase really means? Was it true they left their families at that moment or is it something that happened in their hearts? That they made a commitment at that moment? Is there evidence in the scriptures that supports one or the other?
How does this set of lessons show how God had been preparing the hearts of his disciples long before Jesus arrived?
The Pharisees called Jesus' disciples "uneducated fishermen." Do you believe that was true? Why are they saying that? How does this remind you of what is said today of President Trump?
4 min.
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