Daily Bread 2010 - John 21
Daily Bread 2010 - John 21
Jesus and the Miraculous Catch of Fish
1Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: 2Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3"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.
4Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?"
"No," they answered.
6He 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.
7Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. 9When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
10Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught."
11Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. 13Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
As the disciples go back to their lives as fisherman, it makes sense that they would be out fishing. We can almost see Simon Peter’s face when he says, “I’m going out to fish.” They were probably all in shock from the death of Jesus and sometimes the best way to deal with grief is to go back what you know to be true. For the disciples this was fishing.
But on this day they weren’t doing very well out on the lake, which sets the stage for Jesus to show up in their midst. Jesus calls out to the disciples and tells them to try the other side of the boat. You would have thought they would have tried that already, but nonetheless they throw their nets over the side and bring in a huge haul of fish, too big to haul in. As Peter drags the nets and fish on shore, they count the number of fish to be 153.
Many throughout the centuries many have tried unlock the mystery of this seemingly random number. Most theologians are remiss to give it too much significance, but it is fun to read some of the theories of well known theologians such as Augustine. One theologian tried to prove (erroneously) that there were 153 species of fish. There many significant mathematical properties of 153 that you can fun with too. I.e. The first 17 integers add up to 153.
But the bottom line is it was a lot of fish and a sign that Jesus was truly alive and was glad to see His friends. The big catch reassured them that he still loved them and in this small way showed he was not only alive but glad to see them. You can almost see the grin on the disciples faces as if they might have said, “There he is again up to his old tricks!!”
The rest of the story is a poignant story of Jesus’ breakfast on the beach with the disciples and the reinstatement of Peter as one of his apostles. We see the grace of Jesus as he could have rebuked them for their lack of faith, but instead welcomed them back into His grace with a fish fry!
Jesus, there are many times we deny you but you continue to show up in our lives and say, “Why don’t you try the other side of the boat?” As we listen to your still, small fish we will catch many more fish. Thank you for your grace that restored Peter and the disciples, the same grace we need every day, In Your name we pray, Amen.
Jesus and the Miraculous Catch of Fish
1Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: 2Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3"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.
4Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?"
"No," they answered.
6He 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.
7Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. 9When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
10Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught."
11Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. 13Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
As the disciples go back to their lives as fisherman, it makes sense that they would be out fishing. We can almost see Simon Peter’s face when he says, “I’m going out to fish.” They were probably all in shock from the death of Jesus and sometimes the best way to deal with grief is to go back what you know to be true. For the disciples this was fishing.
But on this day they weren’t doing very well out on the lake, which sets the stage for Jesus to show up in their midst. Jesus calls out to the disciples and tells them to try the other side of the boat. You would have thought they would have tried that already, but nonetheless they throw their nets over the side and bring in a huge haul of fish, too big to haul in. As Peter drags the nets and fish on shore, they count the number of fish to be 153.
Many throughout the centuries many have tried unlock the mystery of this seemingly random number. Most theologians are remiss to give it too much significance, but it is fun to read some of the theories of well known theologians such as Augustine. One theologian tried to prove (erroneously) that there were 153 species of fish. There many significant mathematical properties of 153 that you can fun with too. I.e. The first 17 integers add up to 153.
But the bottom line is it was a lot of fish and a sign that Jesus was truly alive and was glad to see His friends. The big catch reassured them that he still loved them and in this small way showed he was not only alive but glad to see them. You can almost see the grin on the disciples faces as if they might have said, “There he is again up to his old tricks!!”
The rest of the story is a poignant story of Jesus’ breakfast on the beach with the disciples and the reinstatement of Peter as one of his apostles. We see the grace of Jesus as he could have rebuked them for their lack of faith, but instead welcomed them back into His grace with a fish fry!
Jesus, there are many times we deny you but you continue to show up in our lives and say, “Why don’t you try the other side of the boat?” As we listen to your still, small fish we will catch many more fish. Thank you for your grace that restored Peter and the disciples, the same grace we need every day, In Your name we pray, Amen.
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