We read in John 21:4, “Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus” (ESV)
They failed to recognize Jesus
It was indeed an unusual situation on the sea shore that day, as the resurrected Jesus stood on the shore, and his own disciples who had been with him for three and half years failed to recognize who He was. They had been with Jesus, walked with Him, ate with Him, saw the wonders and mighty miracles He performed, and yet on that day, they failed to perceive the Lord Jesus as He stood before them.
It may bewilder us as to how this could be possible, but this incident serves as a word of caution to all of us who follow Jesus. If that could happen to Jesus’ disciples who were so close to Him and who saw Him with their physical eyes, such a situation could also befall us, who have not seen Him, and experienced Him as they did.
Here’s a little background to the above mentioned verse; When Peter informed the other disciples that he was going fishing, immediately six other disciples joined the bandwagon, and went along with him. All of a sudden their focus had shifted from Jesus, and turned to fishing so they could fend for themselves. As they toiled all night and caught nothing, they return to shore to find Jesus standing there waiting for them, but they failed to recognize Him.
As long as Jesus was with them for three and half years, every day the disciples woke up with much anticipation to witness the mighty deeds that Jesus would perform each day. These disciples of Jesus were not only eyewitnesses, but were participants of all the amazing miracles that Jesus performed, and yet they had come to this juncture where they forgot their call and could not even recognize the risen Lord Jesus.
For those of us who have decided to follow Jesus and be His disciples, we must be aware that we too will be confronted with situations, wherein we may not be able to see and perceive Jesus, who is the core of our faith.
They chose to go back fishing
We read in John 21:2-3, “Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you."(ESV)
There was nothing wrong with the disciples wanting to go fishing, but the wistful part was that they had given up following Jesus to go after their profession. It was Peter who initiated the move to get back to fishing. As long as Jesus was with them Peter was happy and content, but after he had witnessed the arrest, trial, death and burial of Jesus and he had lost all hope and become totally discouraged though the risen Lord Jesus appeared to them.
Just think about it. We still talk about Peter only because he was a disciple of Jesus. If Peter was just another ordinary fisherman, none of us would have heard about him. Peter received fame, blessings, had his daily needs met, saw miracles and wonders only because He was with Jesus, but unexpectedly everything seemed to have come to an end when Jesus died. That same Peter was the one who gave up everything to follow Jesus, who walked on water, who trusted Jesus and caught a fish which had his tax money in its mouth, who experienced every awesome miracle that Jesus performed, was disheartened and tempted to give up on the Lord, and to go back to where he started.
If we are not watchful, it is possible that we too can backslide like Peter, and the other disciples did. The only way for one to not go astray, is to be rooted and built up firmly on the word of God. We must allow the written word of God, to be deeply embedded in our hearts, which alone helps to grow our faith in the Lord, and keeps us on course.
They did not heed what Jesus’ word
In Matthew 16:21 we read, “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”(ESV)
The disciples of Jesus were clearly instructed by Jesus while He was with them that certain events were bound to happen. He told them that He would go to Jerusalem where He would be tried, arrested, crucified, buried, and would rise again on the third day. Though the disciples heard these oft repeated words of Jesus, they did not pay close attention to listen and take note of what He told them, and probably forgot Jesus’ predictions of what was to come. That is the reason why they thought everything was over when Jesus died, and did not fully understand or comprehend the fact that Jesus would indeed rise again from the dead to be with them forever.
Some of us may be in such a situation where we too hear the word of God regularly, but are not really paying close attention to listen conscientiously to what the Lord is saying to us. It is only when one firmly believes, and accepts the word by faith, will our faith stand strong in the midst of trials, difficulties and discouragements.
It is a remarkable thought that this episode of Peter and the other disciples deciding to go back fishing, as recorded in John’s Gospel, happened after the resurrection of Jesus. It makes us wonder as to why they would have decided to go back to fishing when they had been eyewitnesses of the resurrected Jesus who appeared to them.
The chief priests on the other hand, whose only aim was to do away with Jesus paid more careful attention to Jesus’ words than did the disciples of Jesus.
In Matthew 27:62–63, we read, “On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, “Sir, we remember, while he was still alive, how that the deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise’”. (NKJV)
The chief priests and Pharisees were more keenly listening to the words of Jesus, and therefore went to Pilate to take extra precaution to see that Jesus’ words that He would rise again would not be fulfilled, and saw to it that the tomb of Jesus was safely sealed and guarded.
When Jesus calls us to be His disciples, He in no uncertain terms declares that we will certainly face problems and difficulties as long as we are here on the earth, but that also goes with the assurance as promised by Jesus in John 16:33, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”(NKJV) The assurance we have is that no matter how daunting our situations are, the Lord who called us is faithful, and He has promised us victory over every circumstance we face, no matter how grim it may be.
As long as the disciples were walking close with Jesus, there was only eager expectation, and no room for doubts and fears. It was only when they walked away that they started to stumble. If we do not chose to walk with Jesus every day we too can easily become dejected and discouraged. Each new day is God’s gift to us, and we must wake up with anticipation as to what the Lord will do for us, and through us. Instead of having a fatalistic view on life, our lives must be firmly set on God and His word, if we seek to live a life filled with meaning and purpose. It is the Lord alone who can turn all our hopeless situations to hopeful ones, and transform our areas of defeat to those of victory.
Here is a good way for us to check to see if God’s word is truly entrenched in our hearts. When faced with problems and difficulties, if all we do is grumble and complain, we can be sure that God’s word has no place in our hearts. On the other hand, if His word is deeply rooted inside of us, we will choose to speak words of faith and victory. The bible says in Proverbs 18:21 that “death and life are in the power of the tongue” which means that it is within our power to speak positively words of faith and victory over our situations, instead of doubt and defeat. It is important for us to learn to instead of constantly complaining to others about the hardships we face, to hand over everything to God, and allow His peace to rule in our hearts and minds.
Most certainly if the disciples had listened to the words of Jesus, and had taken it to heart, there would have been no way they would have gone back to fishing. By not remembering the words of Jesus and the assurance He left them, they were filled with fear, uncertainty, despondency, and decided to walk away from Him. The outcome was that they got back to where they were earlier, as they trusted only what they saw with their physical eyes. The call to follow Jesus and be His disciples is not a simple task, as it is a call to walk by faith, and with total trust in God and His word.
When Jesus first called Peter
In Luke 5:1-3, we read, “One day Jesus was standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret while the people pushed their way up to him to listen to the word of God. He saw two boats pulled up on the beach; the fishermen had left them and were washing the nets. Jesus got into one of the boat, it belonged to Simon and asked him to push off a little from the shore. Jesus sat in the boat and taught the crowd.” (GNB)
Jesus was on the shore of the Lake Gennesaret, and as he taught, he asked for Simon Peter to push his boat a little farther so He could get into it and teach from there. The Lord chose to use Peter’s boat only.
It is the Lord who has chosen, and called each one of us to be His children. We often question the Lord when we are in a quandary, and forget that the Lord in His grace chose us to be His children. The one who called us is faithful, and He will carry us through right to the very end.
The Apostle Paul understood this calling of God most vividly. Before his encounter with the Lord Jesus, he was a persecutor of the church of Jesus. However, after his conversion Paul realized that God had chosen him even before he was born as he aptly says in Galatians 1:15, “But God in his grace chose me even before I was born, and called me to serve him.” Not only did Paul know that God chose him, but he had the firm belief that nothing in all the world, not tribulation, famine, hunger or persecution could separate him from the love of God.
When the Lord first called Peter he was in a similar predicament as the one he found himself in after the resurrection of Jesus. He and the other fishermen, three of whom also became Jesus’ disciples had fished all night, and caught nothing. However, when Jesus told Peter to cast his net again he did so, only because he believed the words of Jesus. It was Peter giving heed to the words of Jesus that built up his faith in Jesus. After a whole night of wasted efforts, when morning came, it was only when Peter listened and obeyed the words of Jesus that their empty nets were now filled and teeming with fish like they had never seen before. If Peter had decided to go by his own logical thinking, and refused to obey Jesus’ simple instruction, they would have caught nothing.
Our faith is built up as we constantly hear the word of God. When the Lord instructs us to do something, and we obey implicitly, only then we will find victory in all that we do. When the Lord first placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden they did not need to toil and sweat. Sweat and toil was God’s curse on fallen man. All our human efforts are useless and in vain unless the Lord blesses our efforts and labor. Hearing the word of God increases our faith, and faith is what helps us overcome every difficulty, and gives us victory in the world. Instead of leaning on our own mind and thinking, we should learn to trust in the Lord with all our heart and success will be ours.
Peter gave it all up
After the miraculous catch of fish, Peter and the other disciples brought their nets full of fish to the shore. All that Peter toiled for the whole night was now accomplished, but what Peter did was astounding. When Jesus asked Peter to follow Him, He willingly left it all, and followed Jesus. It seemed strange that after having received this miraculous catch of fish that Peter was longing to have, that he willingly gave it all up to follow Jesus. The obvious reason for this transformation was that Peter realized that after he had found the Lord, the true giver of all blessings that he henceforth decided not seek after the blessings, but rather pursue the Lord, who is the originator and giver of all good things. Peter may have gone hungry before he met Jesus, but we can be sure that once he decided to follow Jesus there was not a day when his needs were not met by Jesus. Peter who had willingly left his profession, his boat and his nets to follow Jesus, was after three and half years tempted to go back to where he started.
To those of us who hold on to Jesus and follow after Him, the Lord promises to supply all our needs, and we will never be in want. There may be times of trials and temptations that confront us, when we too may be tempted to give up. Sometimes the temptation to give up on this journey with Jesus may come from those around us. Instead of being satisfied with leading mundane and mediocre lives, let us surrender our lives to the Lord, who can strengthen us and build up our faith so we can be a great blessing to others.
Peter’s decision to get back to fishing also affected the faith of six other disciples who decided to go along with him. The result was that they were back to square one, a place of toiling and emptiness. They labored all night, and ended up only with sheer exhaustion and failure.
When we chose to walk away from the Lord, not only does it affect us, but also our family and those around us. Our backsliding will usually result in others following suit. If we keep our eyes focused on our faithful God, we will not go astray. Also the kind of people we associate with will in many ways affect our walk with the Lord. It is beneficial to have fellowship with those who love the Lord and are being used by the Lord, as this helps us to keep focused and to shine for the Lord. Let us always remember that we are called to the salt of the earth, those who will influence others positively. If we like Lot’s wife look back, we will become pillars of salt that will be of no use to anyone.
When Jesus first called Peter and the others he called them from being ‘fishermen’ to becoming ‘fishers of men’. The difference between ‘fishermen’ and ‘fishers of men’ is huge. ‘Fishermen’ catch live fish and then kill them whereas ‘fishers of men’ are those called by the Lord to find men who are dead in their trespasses and sins, and help them find eternal life in Jesus Christ. Every one of us must choose to be either a ‘fisherman’ (those who take life) or ‘fishers of men’ (those who give life to others).
God’s call to us is to be those who give life to others. If we backslide, and go back to our old way of living, our lives will become fruitless and worthless to others. Let us decide to remain faithful to the Lord, and to His calling for our lives. May the Lord on His return find each one of us standing firm in our faith. As those who have decided to follow Jesus, let us press on with perseverance, and never turn back but keep running forward, looking only to Jesus who is the author, and the finisher of our faith.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
