Chapter 13

The storm thrashed the boat back and forth as the disciples, Judy, and Nick clung to parts of the boat for dear life. The boat was relatively large, but the waves that were smashing against it were strong enough to rock it and probably tip it over.

As the cold, hard rain beat down on them, A large wave came up and splashed down. It sent James, John, and Judas sliding across the deck. Peter jumped forward from the steering wheel and grabbed James and John while Andrew took the wheel. Judas hit the side of the boat and would've fallen off, but Simon grabbed his hand/paw and pulled him back on.

Andrew pulled on the wheel as hard as he could, but it flung him back and started spinning wildly.

"Thomas! Bartholomew!" shouted Andrew. "Grab the wheel!"

Thomas and Bartholomew ran across the deck (slipping a small bit), climbed up the stairs to the steering wheel, and grabbed onto it, holding the spinning wheel with all their strength.

Judy and Nick clung to the mast of the ship as the cold water and rain beat down upon them mercilessly. They watched as other James and Matthew struggled to pull a line and tie it.

"I gotta help them!" Nick yelled to Judy through the storm. "Stay here and hang on! Don't let go or you'll be washed overboard!"

"Got it!" Judy replied.

Nick let go of the mast and with some quick maneuvering, got over to where the two disciples were. Together, the three of them pulled onto the line and tied it a part of the ship.

"Incoming!" yelled Thaddeus, climbing out of the crow's nest and onto the deck below. They all looked and saw another huge wave coming at them.

"Brace for impact!" yelled Peter, grabbing onto a sidebar of the ship.

Nick ran back to the mast while the Disciples grabbed onto a part of the ship. The wave came down with a vengeance, sending most of the disciples reeling.

"This is insane!" yelled Judas, who slammed into Andrew.

"What isn't?!" asked Andrew, who pushed Judas away.

"Oh God…" Judy prayed silently. "Please save us… Make a way for us out of this storm…"

They went through the storm for a few more minutes, getting hit and smashed by the rain and the wind. Suddenly, as Judas was clinging on for dear life, he saw something coming towards them through the storm.

"What is that?!" Judas yelled in fright, pointing towards at whatever was coming forth. The disciples saw it coming and were frightened. It looked like an animal, but it was floating across the water like it was a ghost.

"What is that thing coming towards us?!" asked Thaddeus, closing his eyes in fright.

"It's a ghost!" yelled Peter. "An entity of some kind is coming for us!"

Suddenly, the ghostly being that was coming towards them said in a familiar voice, "Don't be afraid. It is I."

"Wait a minute!" said Judy, wiping the rain from her face and staring into the raging storm. An amazed and excited look crossed over her face. "Its Jesus! He's coming to save us!"

"What?!" asked Peter in surprise. The disciples forgot all about the raging storm and ran to the side to see if it was true. And it was; there was the White Lion, walking across the water like he was taking an afternoon stroll.

"He's walking on top of the water!" said Nick in exasperation.

"It can't be…" Peter said silently. He then shouted, "Master, if it is you, then allow me to come onto the water with you!"

"Come on Peter!" replied the White Lion. "Join me!"

Peter bent down, took off his shoes, and then put one of his feet out of the boat. He slowly stepped onto the water and it felt like stepping onto firm ground. He then stepped out of the boat and placed both feet onto the surface of the water.

Peter let go of the boat and began walking slowly towards the White Lion, keeping his gaze transfixed upon him. The gorilla moved uneasy, like he was stepping on thin ice. But still, he kept his eyes on the white Lion and was almost near him. The other disciples, Nick, and Judy didn't say anything; they were too astonished to speak and they didn't want to break Peter's focus.

Then things started to go bad. Peter heard a wave crash and took his focus off the White Lion. He looked out and saw giant waves forming and coming straight towards him, and he instantly became afraid.

"LORD, SAVE ME!" Peter yelled in fear. Suddenly, the water he was walking on gave way and he started sinking fast. The group on the boat could do nothing but watch in horror as Peter started to fall into the raging sea.

The White Lion, to the surprise of everyone on board the boat, calmly walked over to Peter and grabbed his outstretched hand. He pulled him out from the sea and onto the firm water.

"You of little faith…" said Jesus. "Why did you doubt my word?"

Then the White Lion went back to the boat with Peter following him and got in. As soon as they got in the boat, the waves stopped crashing, the rain stopped pouring, and the night became calm.

Judy, Nick, and the disciples stood there in awe. This lion with pure white fur could multiply food out of almost nothing, walk on water, stop a storm from raging, and save them in their time of need. Judy and Nick slowly got on their knees and bowed towards the White Lion. The disciples did the same.

"You truly are the Son of God." said Peter, his head bent low.

Judas, however, was not bowing. He was sitting on a crate, grinning to himself about the White Lion.

"This white lion has superpowers…" Judas was thinking to himself. "With these powers, he'll truly free Zootopia and overthrow the religious leaders!"

But Jesus knew Judas' thoughts, and he also knew Judas was not in the right mindset. Jesus loved Judas, and he wanted him to transform his views… But he knew what the hyena was going to when he would tell his true plan…

…..

When they got back to the city, a group of animals that had witnessed the miracle on the Arpeggio Island had gathered around the docks. They wanted to speak with the White Lion about a personal matter of their own.

"White Lion, we have been waiting for you." said the leader of the group; a male armadillo wearing a coffee barista's uniform.

"You have been waiting for me, not because of the miracles I did but because of the food you ate." replied Jesus. "Don't give your life away for food that rots away, but for food that gives eternal life, which I will give you. For my father above has placed his seal of approval."

The armadillo then asked, "What must we do to do what God wants us to complete?"

"Believe in the one who he has sent."

"But what sign will you give us so that we can believe you? Our ancestors ate manna from heaven in the wilderness, as it is written in the word: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat'."

"Moses did not give you the true bread from heaven, but it was my father above who gave you it. For the bread that my father gives brings life to the world."

"Then give us this bread!" said the Armadillo, causing the crowd to shout their support.

The White Lion waited till they were quiet and then spoke, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day."

"Wait a minute!" said a person in the crowd. It was the tiger in the orange suit, who was at Tundra Town listening when Jesus was preaching. "You are the son of a carpenter. How you can say that you came down from heaven when you were clearly born on the earth?"

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day." Jesus replied. "The Prophets spoke in their writing that 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."

After he said this, the tiger in the orange suit left. Most of the people in the crowd left, thinking he was talking of cannibalism. However, he was speaking figuratively, in a spiritual sense. Only the disciples, Judy, Nick, and those who believe in him knew this.

Afterwards, Nick, Judy, and Jesus walked back to Judy's apartment. The disciples had gone off to find a place for them to rest for the night.

"We will see you again, right?" Judy asked when they stopped at her apartment.

"Yes," replied the White Lion. "In a few days, we'll head for Zootropolis. I have plans there to complete."

"Can we come with you?" asked Nick.

"I would be honored to have two officers of the ZPD join me." Jesus replied.

"Yeah, you might need us too." said Judy. "I hear the Zootropolis Police Force is pretty rough over there."

"Good… Meet me and my disciples' tomorrow night at the outskirts of town. A lot of people will be joining us for the journey to Zootropolis… the Passover's coming up."

"Alright." said Judy. "We'll see you there."

With that, she went into her apartment while Nick went on his way. The White Lion walked along the sidewalk, a somewhat pained look forming on his face. He looked up to the sky with a somewhat worried look on his face and said, "I know how this ends, father… I am truly afraid of what is going to transpire…"

He continued walking through the darkness, watching the sidewalk as he went…