Simon Peter went
up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and
fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken. Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.”
Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?”—knowing that it was the
Lord. Jesus then came and took the bread
and gave it to them, and likewise the fish. John 21:11-13
The disciples were a defeated, fearful, discouraged bunch
following the death of Jesus on the cross. Jesus appeared to them several times following
His resurrection in order to convince them the things that He had promised them
were true. This is an essential part of
our salvation-it really is the essence of the Gospel. This 21st chapter of John is actually the
third time that Jesus has manifested Himself to all or a large portion of the
disciples. The main point that most
people glean from studying this chapter is the fact that Jesus gave Peter a
chance to reaffirm his faith in and his love for Jesus. This
was in part to give Peter the strength that he would need as he became a vital
leader in the spread of the Gospel and the work of Christ.
However,
I want to look at the "smaller" [less well known] events from this
passage. Hidden in the details of the
scripture we often find beautiful treasures. Peter and six of the other disciples decide to
go fishing late one evening. They fished
all night, but they caught nothing. Early
the next morning, Jesus came to them walking on the shore of the Sea of
Galilee. The men were in a boat some 100
yards off shore. They could not tell
that it was Jesus. He called out to
them, "do you have any fish?" They stated that they had caught nothing, but
Jesus told them to cast the net on the right side of the boat. They did so, and they caught more than the net
should have been able to hold. John told
Peter that it had to be Jesus on shore. Upon
learning of this, Peter jumped into the water to swim to shore. The other disciples rowed the boat ashore
while dragging the net full of fish along beside the boat. The catch was too great to pull the net into
the boat, but the net did not break as they rowed to shore with 153 large fish.
When
the disciples arrived on shore, Jesus had cooked breakfast for them. They saw a charcoal fire upon which He had
cooked fish and bread. Jesus also asked
them to bring some of the fish that they had just caught. Not one of the disciples asked Jesus who He
was because every one of them knew that it was Jesus.
I think that there
are several ideas that we can learn from this unusual story:
·
Our needs are met even before we attempt to catch any fish.
·
However, God expects us to fish; but our efforts mean little if
they are not blessed by Him and directed by Him.
·
Jesus could have fed them had they caught no fish, but Jesus used
their fish….He uses our work in a cooperative effort so that we can become co-
laborers with Him in ministry. May we always remember though that Jesus does
not "need us"; we need Him!
Jesus
often provides more than is needed. Could that possibly be so that we will have
something to share?
Scripture to
Claim:
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond
all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him
be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and
ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21
Submitted by Deacon Pat
Cook
