How did Jesus 'Rescue' People?

Key Vocabulary:

Jesus, rescue, Christian, The Bible, Disciples – Jesus’ special friends who followed him; Charity, Miracle - an act that is not humanly possible, but which Christians believe Jesus did, by the power of God.

We begin our new R.E unit by reflecting on  what the word 'rescue' means...
What does rescue mean?
Who is a rescuer?
What stories / television programmes / films can you think of that involve someone / something being rescued?
Discuss the role and actions of the rescuer.
Have you ever been rescued? If so, when and how? By whom?

Christians believe that Jesus is a rescuer and that he 'rescued; many people in difficult times. Over the next few weeks we will be looking at stories about how Jesus rescued people in different ways - these stories are from a special book that Christians call the Bible.

This week the story we are focusing on is of Jesus helping the disciples fill their nets...

John 21:1-14

Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples. Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”

“We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.

At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. He called out, “Fellows,  have you caught any fish?” ... “No,” they replied. Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he jumped into the water and headed to shore. The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore. When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.

 “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.

 “Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish.

Reflections

Have you ever felt hungry? Do you think the disciples were hungry after fishing all night and not finding any food? Why is it important to eat? How do you think the disciples felt when they couldn't catch any fish? How might they have felt when they heard Jesus? How did they feel when they listened to Jesus and caught the fish?

At the beginning of the story the disciples were sad and hungry because they couldn’t find any fish. Jesus helped them. (This was one of many times that He helped them.) These were Jesus’ special friends. Who are your special friends? Lots of people around the world don’t have enough food to eat. Who helps them? What could we do to help them?

Christians believe that Jesus helped people who needed food, so they wouldn’t be hungry and unhappy. They believe that Jesus still wants to help hungry people today and wants his followers, (Christians) to help other people so that no one is hungry.

Activities 

Please choose one unless you would like to do more.

1.  Make a collage on a paper plate showing your favourite meal. What would it be like if there were no (for example) chips, fish fingers, pizza, fruit, etc…?
2. Make some food to share. What does it feel like to make food for your friends /family?
3. On paper fish, write down wishes / prayers you have. The disciples wished for lots of fish; what do you wish / pray for? In the story, Jesus helped the disciples. What would you like help with?