ABOUT THE BOOK
A Lifelong Fisher Explores Christ's Connection to the Sea
Randal Teague has fished since he was five, and he's never stopped.
He's caught tarpon along Central America's Caribbean shoreline jungles and sailfish off its mountainous Pacific coast. Nile perch in East Africa's largest lake. Tuna and dolphin in the Gulf Stream. White salmon from the nearly frozen waters of Russian Siberia. The fierce vampire fish of the Orinoco River between Colombia and Venezuela. Halibut off Alaska's south coast. Flounder in the Atlantic's barrier island channels. Trout in streams too many to count. And lowly shad within sight of the Lincoln Memorial.
He's also had days—and bad nights—when he hooked nothing at all. In those moments, he finds comfort in remembering that Jesus's own disciples, future saints though they were, had their own frustrating nights of empty nets on the Sea of Galilee.
The Overlooked Story
When Teague walks the shorelines of that iconic sea, he sees what many overlook: the central role fishermen and fishing played in the life and ministry of Jesus.
Consider:
Jesus chose Galilee and its inland sea as the foundation of his ministry
He centered that ministry around fishing villages—especially Magdala and Capernaum
His first four disciples were fishermen
Three of the twelve who witnessed his transfiguration were fishermen
He filled his disciples' nets with abundant fish when they had caught nothing
He used Peter's fishing boat as a platform to address the multitudes
Jesus's knowledge of fish, fishing, and fishermen is a seldom-told story from the Bible.
More Than History
Jesus and His Fishermen weaves together Teague's own experiences on the water with deep biblical scholarship and archaeological discovery. Drawing on the latest findings—including the remarkable 2,000-year-old "Jesus Boat" discovered in the Sea of Galilee—Teague illuminates the world Jesus knew and the men he called to follow him.
But this is more than history. It's an exploration of what fishing for fish teaches us about fishing for souls—and what Jesus's choice of fishermen reveals about his expectations for each of us.