This week, we are looking at
the final section of an account of Jesus life in the bible called the gospel of
John. Yesterday, we placed ourselves in the shoes of Peter, who gave up
everything to follow Jesus, but at the final exam, the big test, had failed
miserably. We talked about the reality that we often can relate to Peter as he
thought about going back to the safety and familiarity of fishing. Today, we
will see that unfortunately for the disciples the fish are not biting, and they
catch nothing. Then Jesus shows up in verse 4:
But when the
day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know
that it was Jesus. So Jesus 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." So they cast, and then
they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.
Does this sound familiar? It
may, because there is a similar event recorded in Luke 5:1-11. Let’s look at it
together;
Now it
happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word
of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; and He saw two boats lying
at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were
washing their nets. And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and
asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the
boat. When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into the
deep water and let down your nets for a catch." Simon answered and said,
"Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You
say and let down the
nets." When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish,
and their nets began to break;
so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help
them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink.
But when Simon Peter saw that,
he fell down at Jesus' feet, saying, "Go away from me Lord, 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; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee,
who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not fear, from
now on you will be catching men." When they had brought their boats to
land, they left everything and followed Him.
This sounds familiar because Jesus worked a similar
miracle in the lives of many on this boat when He first called them from
fishing to following Him. The disciples recognize the hand of Jesus once again
and again respond in verses 7-14:
Therefore
that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord." 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. But the other disciples came in the little boat,
for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging
the net full of fish. So when
they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread. Jesus said to
them, "Bring some of the fish which you have now caught." Simon Peter
went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and
fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said
to them, "Come and have
breakfast." None of the disciples ventured to question Him, "Who are
You?" knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave
it to them, and the fish
likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the
disciples, after He was raised from the dead.
As so often the case in the Gospels, we see John,
the disciple who Jesus loved, being the first to discern the hand of Jesus. In
the same way, however, throughout the Gospels, it was always Peter who was the
first to take action. Think of when John and Peter arrived at the empty tomb
that first Easter Sunday. While John arrived first, it was Peter who had the
courage and boldness to enter the tomb.
Remember back to when Jesus walked on water. When
Jesus walked on the water, we often think of Peter and rip on him because he
started to sink because of his lack of faith, but in reality Peter was the only
one to have the guts to get out of the boat and act on his faith.
So here is Peter again taking action by jumping into
the water to make a beeline to Jesus. The remainder of the disciples follow
Peter to shore in the boat carrying the incredible catch of fish. When the
disciples reach shore, they discover that a fire had already been started with
fish and bread cooking for breakfast. Jesus then asks the disciples to bring in
the fish so that they could cook some more.
But why would Jesus need to have them bring more
fish to grill? Wasn’t Jesus smart enough or prepared enough to have the right
amount of food? I do not think that is the issue. Jesus simply started
breakfast and allowed the disciples to contribute to the meal through His work
in and around them that morning.
Now imagine yourselves around that campfire eating
breakfast as one of the disciples. What would you be thinking? What would you
be feeling? You might feel joy, excitement, and even a sense of reassurance.
But would you still have questions?
How about Peter? Do you think it might be a little
awkward? “Sure, Jesus obviously is God, so He knows how bad I felt after
denying Him. He knows that I went and wept bitterly after failing Him so
miserably. As God, He has to know how sorry I am, doesn’t He?” Well as
breakfast is wrapping up, Jesus ratchets up the tension by calling out Peter in
front of the other disciples.
Friday, we will see John reveal what happened next…
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