Welcome and thank you for taking a bible break to test your knowledge of God's word. This week's question:

While Jesus walked this earth, He gathered up His disciples, many being fishermen, and then He told them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." (Matthew 4:19). Jesus knew at the end of His life on earth that the faith of His disciples would be tested as He encouraged them, "Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You shall seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, I now say to you also, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:33-35).

That brings us to our question, "Who said, 'I am going fishing.'?". The words that people say can mean so much in different settings and circumstances of life. There is no doubt that before His disciples were followers of Jesus that some of them said "I am going fishing" quite often as that was the livelihood of some of them. When Jesus told the multitudes that followed Him, "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." (John 6:54), and many of his followers then said, "This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?" (John 6:60) , And these were difficult words to understand at the time, "As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him any more." (John 6:66). Jesus then said to His twelve and said, "'You do not want to go away also, do you?' Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.'" (John 6:67-69). So we can see the conviction of the twelve concerning Jesus as the Christ as they have witnessed the miracles as did the people who discounted it to their loss, but His faithful understood that He was the Holy One!

Jesus then tells one of His disciples, "…, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you , when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." (Luke 22:31,32). So the test was going to be a difficult one for him, as Jesus was taken in the garden of Gethsemane and all the disciples scattered from his captors (Matthew 26:56), but this disciple follows at a distance (Luke 22:54) and gained entry into the courtyard where Jesus was held and after being questioned by some within the courtyard, he denied Jesus three times and upon making eye contact with Jesus, he went out and wept bitterly (John 18:12-27 & Luke 22:55-62). After false charges (Mark 14:55-59), Jesus was crucified and all hope for a physical kingdom on earth seemed to be dashed, even though Jesus had shown Himself after the resurrection.

Now, for the answer to our question we turn to the book of John and read, "Simon Peter said to them, 'I am going fishing.' They said to him, 'We will come also with you.' They got into the boat and that night they caught nothing." (John 21:3) . So there we have the answer to our question, as the disciple who said, "I am going fishing." is Peter! "But when the day was now breaking,Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus therefore said to them, 'Children, you do not have any fish, do you?' They answered Him, 'No.' And He said to them, 'Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you will find a catch.' They cast therefore, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. That disciple therefore whom Jesus loved said to Peter, 'It is the Lord.' and so when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea." (John 21:4-7).

A very similar account occurred when Peter first encountered the Lord as they fished all night with no catch and only at the beckoning of the Lord did they cast into deep water for a large catch which made the boats begin to sink (Luke 5:3-7). "And when Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus' feet, saying, 'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!' For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken." (Luke 5:8-9). Peter is once again amazed by the Lord and does overcome the "sifting" by Satan as he later speaks the first gospel sermon on that first day of Pentecost where about three thousand souls were baptized for the remission of their sins (Acts 2:14-41).

May we be as strong and yet as humble as Peter who recognized the Lord for who He truly is and was ready to speak the truth even to those who threaten their lives for standing for truth (Acts 4:8-22).