GOT FISH?
John 21:1-14
1) “Try the right side!” (1-6). Vs. 1-“Afterward”. Not sure how much time had passed since the appearance with Thomas and the others. Vs. 3-Adam Clarke’s commentary: ‘“Peter saith-I go a fishing.” Previously to the crucifixion of our Lord, the temporal necessities of himself and his disciples appear to have been supplied by the charity of individuals: Lu 8:3. As it is probable that the scandal of the cross had now shut up this source of support, the disciples, not fully knowing how they were to be employed, purposed to return to their former occupation of fishing, in order to gain a livelihood.’ I don’t think this means that they thought to abandon their calling. We’re not sure how much time had passed since Jesus met them last and they could very well have been low on funds. In any event they decided not to be idle but to be busy with what they were familiar with. Actually they had done what Jesus had instructed to Mary in Matt. 28:10, “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” “That night”. According to Aristotle, nighttime was favored in ancient times. Unfortunately, their efforts ‘netted’ then nothing. Vs. 4-Again, Jesus goes unrecognized (like when he went out to them walking on water, Mary thinking he was the gardener, the two on the road to Emmaus). This could have been due to the fact that it was early morning so visibility may have been an issue. Plus they were a little ways from shore, making it more difficult to see accurately. Vs. 5-Jesus asks the question that would provoke their embarrassment. Jesus knew they hadn’t caught any fish. Was he rubbing it in; was he making fun of their misfortune? No; he had a plan. I like how the disciples answered him-Just a flat out no. No excuses, no story of the big one that got away. How difficult was it to have to admit that despite being a professional fisherman who had worked hard all night, you’ve got nothing to show for it. What a humbling experience. Yet despite their embarrassment, despite their despondency, they didn’t offer excuses; they simply answered the question with the truth. Was Jesus testing their integrity here? They thought he was a stranger. They would need to be reputable men if they were to be carrying the gospel. I would say if it was a test to be truthful in answering an embarrassing question they passed. Vs. 6-If you were one of the disciples, what would you have thought about Jesus’ request? A prideful response would’ve been, “who’s this guy? I’m a professional fisherman I think I know what I’m doing.” I’m sure they had already tried fishing off that side of the boat and got nothing. Why would it suddenly work now? I would have been skeptical. I don’t know if they had any pride or skepticism but what we see them doing is obeying this ‘stranger’. They may have figured, ‘what have we got to lose’. In any event, whatever skepticism there may have been quickly went away when the great haul of fish came. Notice something about the timing of the miraculous catch. Jesus did not come to them until they had spent all night toiling. They were frustrated for lack of return for their efforts. Why had Jesus not come during the middle of the night and performed the miracle instead of waiting until the end of their excursion? Jesus could’ve caused the fish to swim into the net on the left side of the boat so why did he have them throw the net on the right side? One reason was to authenticate the miracle. At the end of the night all resources and opportunities would have been exhausted. No options left. So, Jesus coming at this time would have given no other reason to think this wasn’t a miracle. He also did it this way to test them. It was an issue of faith. It was an issue of obedience. Sometimes what Jesus asks us to do won’t make sense; it won’t seem like it will make any difference. But obedience doesn’t take understanding-it takes faith. It involves trust in the one who’s giving the command. There’s always a good reason for what Jesus asks us to do. “Wade Hughes, Sr. tells the story of a weak and sickly man. His condition grew worse, but he could not afford a doctor. He lived in the deep back woods in an old log cabin, and out in front of his cabin was a huge boulder. One night he had a vision. God told him to go out and push the massive rock in front of his home all day long, day after day, until he told him to stop. The man got up early in the morning, and with great excitement, he pushed on the rock as long as he could. After a rest he pushed some more. The vision from God inspired the man as he pushed against the rock. Each day he pushed a little harder and a little longer. Day after day he pushed. Days rolled into weeks, and weeks into months, as he faithfully pushed against the rock. After 8 months of pushing the rock, the man was getting tired of pushing the rock so much, and in his tiredness he started to doubt his dream. He measured from his porch to the rock, and after pushing the rock, he would measure to see how much he had moved the rock. After two weeks of pushing and measuring, he realized he had not moved the boulder a fraction of an inch. As a matter of fact, the boulder was in the same place as when he started 8 months prior. The man was disappointed because he saw his work had accomplished nothing. He was tired and his dream seemed dashed upon the very rock he had been trying to move. He sat on his porch and cried, because he had invested so much time for nothing. But as the sun was setting in the west, Jesus came and sat down next to the man. He said, “Son, why are you so sad?” The man replied, “Lord, You know how sick and weak I am, and then the vision you gave me built up a false hope. I have pushed with all that was within me for many months, and that old rock is right where it was when I started.” Jesus said to him, “I never told you to move the rock, I told you to push against the rock.” Jesus told the man to step in front of the mirror and look at himself. As an act of obedience the man stepped in front of a mirror. He was amazed. How could he have missed this? He had been so sickly and weak, and what he saw in the mirror was a strong muscular man. He also realized that he had not been coughing all night. It dawned on him that he had been feeling better for months, and it was all because he had been pushing—not moving—the rock. Then the man realized that the plan of God was not to change the position of the rock, but to change him.” God’s instructions might not make sense at the time but when we obey we will experience the success of his wise plans.
2) “It’s Jesus!” (7-8) Vs. 7-John recognizes it is Jesus. He realized that since a miracle had just taken place then it must be Jesus. John knew this wasn’t luck; it wasn’t coincidence-it was Jesus. The disciples had come up empty until Jesus came along. This shows that God is behind our successes. He is the one who supplies what we need; he is the one who gives in abundance. These were professional fishermen who had caught nothing. When God says so, the increase is given. No matter how skilled we are at our position, we need to remember who it is that gives us our provisions. What also could be behind John’s sudden recognition was that it reminded him of a previous incident involving fish and a net (Luke 5:1-11). “From now on you will catch men”. From that fish/net incident to the one in John 21, Jesus was preparing them for their transition from fishermen to fishers of men. However, as Jesus is the one behind the increase in a physical sense, he is also the one responsible for the spiritual increase. 1st Cor. 3:4-7. We need to remember who is responsible for all good things. We don’t save anybody-God does. We are the workmen but he and he alone is the Savior. If God doesn’t draw them to the net, no amount of effort on our part will change that. We have no notches in our spiritual belts. We can praise God over the souls we helped bring to Jesus but we can take no credit; only God gets the glory. We are just humble servants who understand the privilege of being part of this wonderful work. John was the first to recognize Jesus but Peter was the first to act on it. Like at the tomb. Although John got to the tomb first, Peter was the first to go inside. And there was also another incident involving a boat where we see Peter taking action. He was the one who climbed out of the boat to walk on the water to get to where Jesus was. Peter was zealous. Sometimes, like when he cut off Malchus’ ear, his impulsive actions got him into trouble. But here, like other incidents, it was to his benefit. Notice something in Peter’s reaction: he left the fish behind. In that moment he didn’t care about the fish; he only cared about getting to Jesus. Peter was a fisherman. A haul like this was major money. What if something happened to the fish? Peter didn’t worry about that. He left that net full of huge fish behind and all he thought about was Jesus. Peter showed his love for Jesus. Jesus should be what’s most important to us.
3) “Come and dine with me.” (9-14) Vs. 8-Adding to the miracle that it was probably rare to catch this many big fish so close to shore. Vs. 9-10-Jesus already had his own fire going with his own fish cooking. This shows that Jesus doesn’t rely on us, we rely on him. Vs. 11- “The net was not broken”. Yet the net was starting to tear in the other incident (Luke 5:6). Perhaps this shows the growth and readiness of the disciples to become fishers of men. “153 fish”. One of the early church fathers, Jerome, indicated that there were 153 different kinds of fish in the Sea of Galilee and each one was represented in the great haul. This signifies the incorporation of everyone, regardless of nationality, race or language, being invited to respond to the gospel. This is symbolic of the spiritual success they would have later (Acts 2:41; 4:4, 5:14, 6:7). Vs. 12-They were awestruck and overwhelmed by it all. Although they weren’t sure who this was before them they knew, because of the miracle, that it had to be Jesus. Vs. 13-Jesus is taking care of their needs. They had fished all night and caught nothing. They were exhausted and hungry. Jesus has a fire going and fish cooking. He invites them over for breakfast. Jesus takes care of us; especially when we’re tired. “Bring some of the fish”. Jesus was cooking his own fish but he invited them to cook some of theirs as well. Here we see the communal aspect of what Jesus is doing. He is highlighting the togetherness and combination of sharing ‘my fish with your fish’. He is signifying the union he had with them in the mission, the cause, the work of salvation. They would be fishers of men; they would be bringing the fish to Jesus but Jesus would be the one to clean them. Jesus invites us to share in the spoils, so to speak. The disciples were able to enjoy the fruits of their labors. We too, will be able to do the same, both physically and spiritually. We are bearing fruit that will last, we are building up treasures in heaven; and someday we will see the full extent of our efforts and we will rejoice in what our toil has accomplished for the kingdom of God. Jesus invites us all to come and dine with him. He invites us all to share in the feast; he wants us all to come and share in the master’s happiness. He wants all of us who have tasted that the Lord is good to share in the work of being fishers of mankind. Are you willing to go fishing? Are you willing to throw out your net? Are you willing to go out into the sea? Sometimes the waters will be rough. Sometimes it will seem like you’ve toiled all night and gotten nothing. Sometimes you may even want to throw in the net and give up. But we need to be like the disciples and keep throwing out the nets. And it doesn’t matter how good of a fisherman you are, with the Lord working through you, you’ll end up bringing Jesus more fish than you can count.
