FISHING LESSONS

Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. "I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?"

"No," they answered.

He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" John 21:1-7a

If I were Peter, I would have felt like a failure as a disciple - having denied Jesus (even though he was alive again!). It's as if Peter decided that the disciple gig might be up and that he should consider his options. Or he might have just been looking for a chance to get out on the water and clear his mind. Fishing had been his trade and I can imagine that he had been good at it. Trouble is, he can't even succeed as a fisherman - at least not on this particular night. How frustrated he must have been!

Three random observations: (1) Six of the disciples announced they were going with Peter. My thinking is that they were not going to let him be alone at such a down time in his life. Even if they had also wanted to get out, the end result was that these friends stayed with Peter. These men stuck together in difficult times.

(2) When Jesus told the men to try fishing from the other side of the boat, the intended outcome was certainly to help them realize he had appeared to them again. But it's also as if Jesus considered Peter's bruised ego and provided the huge catch to help him out. I see this as an example of how Jesus cares for us on so many levels.

(3) When Jesus performs a miracle, he does it up big. The catch of fish impresses the disciples so much that they make an exact count for the record book (153 large fish, according to verse 11)! It's good to quantify the things that God does so that we will remember them and can share them with other people.

Lord, thank you for your grace and care. Thank you that you do things in significant ways - 2000 years ago as well as now.

Following,
Jim