John 38 Fishing With Jesus

FISHING WITH JESUS

#38

John 21:1-25

“1 After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself. 2 There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. 3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.

4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. 5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.

6 And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. 7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. 8 And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. 9 As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. 10 Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. 11 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. 12 Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. 13 Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. 14 This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.

15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. 19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.

20 Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?

21 Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? 22 Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. 23 Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?

24 This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.

25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen” (John 21:1-25).

I Am Going Fishing

Jesus has been raised. What now? The disciples are in awe. They believe in Jesus. They realize who He truly is. They know He promised them the Spirit so what do they do now? Peter looks around at the other disciples and says simply, "I am going fishing" (John 21:3). The other disciples agree to come along, and they get in a boat together. Peter decides to get back to living. He's a fisherman. That's who he's always been. Before Jesus, he was a fisherman; now, after Jesus, he'll be a fisherman too. Except he catches nothing. His net is empty. He cannot go back to his old life. There is nothing there anymore. Everything has changed.

During this fruitless fishing excursion, someone walks up to the shore and watches them. They don't know who it is. Even when He shouts to them, they don't recognize him. Like Mary talking to the gardener, they are talking to the stranger on the shore. They are fruitlessly trying to get back to life as usual when this stranger offers them some advice. "Cast the net on the right side of the boat" (John 21:6). They couldn't even haul the net in.

Once this stranger appeared, their lives were no longer fruitless. The beloved disciple is the first to realize what's happening. He turns to Peter, "It is the Lord" (John 21:7). This is Jesus' third and final appearance to the disciples in the Gospel of John (John 21:14).

Twice inside locked rooms and once on the beach. When Peter hears it's Jesus, he puts on his clothes and dives into the sea, swimming to the Lord as fast as he can. He leaves the fish behind and goes to Jesus.

Breakfast with the Lord

The other disciples go to shore in the boat, dragging the massive load of fish. Jesus is cooking on the beach. The fire is already going, He's already cooking fish, and has bread. This was the meal. Back in John 6:9, Jesus used to feed the 5,000. He could use this to feed His disciples right now. He got breakfast started, and He could turn this into as much bread and fish as He wanted. Yet He tells them to bring in their load also.

By themselves, they caught nothing, but with Jesus, the disciples brought the majority of the fish. 153, to be exact. They have brought in enough fish to feed the masses.

Jesus' ministry has not ended. He got breakfast started, but His disciples were to bring the rest of the feast. They can only do it by His instructions. They can only do it when they cast the net where He guides them, but they can do it. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, but in a few verses, He will tell Peter to become one who tends, feeds, and cares for the sheep. Jesus is the Bread of Life, but now His disciples are bringing the words that save men's souls. Jesus is the Light of the world, but now His disciples are challenged to open men's eyes to turn from darkness to Light. Jesus got breakfast going, but now we're called to bring the fish.

Jesus invites them to eat with Him (John 21:12). This is fascinating. The resurrection body can be grabbed by Mary, but it can also enter locked doors. It can stand and walk and eat fish and bread. Does it need fish and bread? Can it grow weak and starve? Can it overeat and get fat? We don't know. And neither do His disciples, although I think they have a ton of questions. John describes their confused state by saying, "None of the disciples ventured to question Him, 'Who are you?' knowing that it was the Lord" (John 21:12). What an odd detail.

I've never had a meal with somebody I knew and spent the whole time wanting to ask who they were. Why are the disciples having these thoughts? They want to ask, but they can't ask because they know. It's just hard to really grasp them sitting on the seashore eating with Jesus. He was just crucified! He was just laid in a tomb. They mourned for Him, but their mourning was turned to joy (John 16:20-22; John 20:20). Now they eat, as confusing as it may be, knowing it's the Lord. And Jesus breaks bread with them one last time (John 21:13).

A Farewell Challenge

John likes 3's. Jesus turned water to wine on the third day. Jesus was raised on the third day. Peter denied three times. Jesus appeared to His disciples three times.

Jesus makes Peter affirm his love three times. With each of these, Peter does claim to love the Lord, but he also switches the word "love" from agape to phileo. Jesus is asking for agape. Peter is giving Him phileo. On the third time, Jesus asks about phileo.

Peter is grieved about this third question, but again offers Him phileo. What does this mean? It does not mean Peter is unfit to tend God's sheep or become a shepherd of God's people. It perhaps implies Peter is not yet able to give Christ the sacrificial love Jesus challenges us all to have.

Jesus did not give up on His disciples. He did not give up on Thomas. And He does not give up on Peter. He knows Peter will grow. Phileo offers him a little more control, but agape takes him "where you do not wish to go" (John 21:18). Peter will go there though. Peter will have his arms outstretched on a cross in loving, sacrificial discipleship to Jesus. He will glorify God as Jesus did (John 21:19), and Peter must follow.

Do not go back to fishing, Peter. God has called you to something else. Do not turn to the beloved disciple (John 21:20-22). God has called you to follow. No one else can do it for you. You aren't competing with anyone else. You are not following anybody else. When it comes to washing feet, you follow Jesus. When it comes to leading others to the Light, you follow Jesus.

When it comes to the cross, you follow Jesus. "You follow Me!" (John 21:22).

His Testimony is True

The beloved disciple is the one we should thank for gifting us the Gospel of John. He is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know his testimony is true. There are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written (John 21:24-25).

This breathtaking Gospel ends by saying we've barely scratched the surface with Jesus, but what we have is enough.

The Gospel of John is the testimony of one who was there. His feet were washed by Jesus (John 13:5, 23). He heard Jesus pray (John 17). He saw Jesus beaten and mocked (John 19:1-3). He saw Jesus crucified (John 19:17-18). He spoke with Jesus on the cross and took Mary to be his own mother (John 19:26-27). He saw Jesus die, he saw the spear, he saw the blood and water (John 19:35). He saw the empty tomb (John 21:6-8). He saw the Resurrected Lord. He met with Him in the closed room. He ate with Him on the beach. He walked with Him along the shore. And he told us His story. The story is true. What will you do with it?

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Will you believe? Will you follow Jesus?