I’m not a fisherman. My dad was. He loved fishing on Indiana lakes. I would often watch him come to shore with a string full of blue gills. I watched him clean them and my mom would fry them for dinner, and they were good! He tried several times to persuade me to join him and I occasionally did. I loved being in the boat on the water, but I always came back with an empty string; I caught no fish! Maybe the disciples felt a little like I did in this story that happened this way. . . . 

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Simon Peter persuaded his colleagues to go fishing on the Sea of Galilee where they had previously made their living as fishermen. But that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning someone standing on the shore called to them confirming they had no fish. Following his instructions, they threw their net on the right side and were unable to haul it in because of the weight of the fish. Now that’s a catch!

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Obviously the story continues but I’m pausing here. Is your imagination visual enough to picture this scene? Mine is. This is an up close and personal image of the 153 flopping fish the disciples’ net could hardly hold. Their emotions must have been over the top and they must have had many questions! Wow! Look at these fish! I can’t believe we just caught this many when we were here all night and didn’t catch even one! Who is this person giving fishing instructions? How did he know we didn’t have any fish when he was standing on the shore?

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Now you know there is more to this story and it goes deeper than fishing for fish. This is just one miracle Jesus showed the disciples to prove His love for them. After breakfast on shore, a conversation followed that brought Peter to a place of examination about his love for Jesus. He may have remembered three years earlier when he first encountered Jesus and decided to leave fishing for fish and followed Jesus as a fisher of men. Much happened in-between that time and this event but in the end, Peter realized Jesus knew him better than he knew himself and despite his failures, would prove his agape love for Jesus. The rest of the story lives on in the lives of all who have encountered Jesus; even you and me. 

 

John 21:1-17