I’m Going Fishing!
John 21:1-14
Introduction: Fishing as a kid in NJ was never meant to bring home
dinner. The lake where I went had pickerel and catfish, and that was pretty
much it, so you had to choose to go for one or the other. Pickerel was more
fun, but not too good to eat, but at least it was something to do in the summer
that didn’t involve work! We would ride
our bikes to the lake, catch a couple, and then let them go. For these
disciples, they were not on a “catch and release” outing. They were going to
work. The question was, had they forgotten to include Jesus in their plans? Being
a Christ follower means walking with Jesus and entrusting every part of our
life to Him.
The Setting: John 20:30,31 almost sounds like a conclusion for
the book, but John 21, like an epilogue, reminds us that the story continues. It
reminds us that the story of Jesus was not just about His earthly ministry and the
teaching he gave to the disciples, but that story continues, it includes “those who would believe through
their word. There is a loose temporal reference to the events of Chapter 20, “After these things…” After the
appearances on the evening of Easter Sunday, and then a week later, when Thomas
was present with them in the closed room, Jesus appeared again, for a third
time, to the assembled disciples. We are
not sure at exactly what point they had made the trip from Jerusalem (where the
cross, resurrection, and first appearances had occurred) to Galilee in the
north, but that is where this chapter opens, on the shore of the Sea of
Galilee, also called the sea of Tiberias. It is almost certain that most of the
teaching during the 40 days post-resurrection / pre-ascension took place in
this region, a distance of roughly 75 miles from the scrutiny of the Jewish religious
leadership in Jerusalem.
The Big Idea: If we know Jesus we should follow Him through every
moment of life recognizing His presence and seeking His glory.
I. Turning
back to our old life is not an option for the believer, whatever we do, we must
do with Jesus at the helm of our life
(1-5). We read in John 21:1-5, “After
these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias…
3 Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We
are going with you also.’ They went out and immediately got into the boat, and
that night they caught nothing…”
So
begins this story which probably sounds a little familiar. That is because there was a parallel event at the outset
of the public ministry of Jesus in Luke 5:1-11, when Jesus called the disciples
to leave all and follow Him. We read there:
“So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to
hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, 2 and saw two boats standing by
the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. 3 Then He got into one of the
boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And
He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. 4 When He had stopped speaking, He
said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a
catch." 5 But Simon
answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught
nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net." 6 And when they had done this,
they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. 7 So they signaled to their partners
in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the
boats, so that they began to sink. 8
When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart
from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"
9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the
catch of fish which they had taken; 10
and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with
Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch
men." 11 So when they
had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.”
Since that episode appears in Luke and
was early in the public ministry of Jesus, how important is it to interpreting this
story which occurred more than three years later, after the resurrection? Most
scholars believe that John was writing toward the end of the first century,
decades after the other gospel writers. He was writing as an eyewitness, but he
didn’t need to report every detail, by then he could assume that his readers
knew certain parts of the gospel story: like John the Baptist baptized Jesus,
like the fact that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in fulfillment of prophecy, and
even that during that last gathering with His disciples in the upper room, the
Lord’s supper was instituted. None of
those facts are specifically mentioned in John. And the same is true the fact assumed
here: that Peter, John, and James, and some of the other disciples were
fishermen. In that earlier context in Luke
5:1-11 we see Peter, James, and John called from their profession of fishing, called
to follow Jesus. The promise was He would make them fishers of men. On
that occasion the miraculous catch of fish revealed to them that Jesus was no
mere man, Peter realized he was in the presence of holiness, fell on his knees,
and said “Depart from me, for I am a
sinful man O Lord!” Jesus answered, “Don’t
be afraid, from now on you will catch men…” They left everything and
followed Him. They had decided to follow Jesus. There was much to learn, and there
was no turning back.
When we see the disciples here in John 21, and
Peter said, “I am going fishing,” he
was not talking about going down to the pond for a few hours of relaxation. He
was returning to the work he had left when he was called to follow Jesus. Could it be that now Jesus was duplicating the
earlier episode in order to remind the disciples of the commitment they had
made to follow Him? Let me make
something clear: there was nothing inherently wrong with fishing, as long as it
included Jesus. There is no better place to be, except exactly where Jesus
wants you to be. What is essential is recognizing that He is there with you and
that you need Him.
First of all, notice that they fished all
night, and just like the episode in Luke, they had caught nothing. That was
unusual. They were professionals and knew what they were doing. When Stan (and his stern man Max!) put out their
lobster traps and start hauling them in a few days later, some days are better
than others, but they know where to find lobsters and how to get them. Fishermen on the sea of Galilee knew how
to fish. But Jesus is Lord, not only of believers, but of all creation. He had something to teach these disciples, so all
night long the fish avoided the nets, they caught nothing. Were they even by
then talking among themselves, “Remember
the last time this happened, and Jesus came and told us to put the nets out?”
Did they even begin to think about what else he taught them back then? It may
be going to far, but John has made so much of light and darkness, night and
day, could it be that the detail of their fishing at night indicates that at
least in one area they were still in the dark? That is, they needed to learn
that they could do nothing, not even what they thought they were best at,
without Jesus.
A side note: we don’t want to conclude
from this that so called “secular work” is unworthy of a disciple of Jesus.
We have all kinds of examples of people that were employed in a profession that
paid the bills, yet they still made serving Christ the center of their life.
The apostle Paul himself is one of the best examples: h supported himself as a
tent maker while he served Christ with his life. Your work matters to God.
It is important. Even before the fall God put the man and his woman in the
Garden, and gave them work, to tend the garden. The important thing is,
whatever you do, do it as unto the Lord. Take pride in your work. Do your best for your
employer. And most of all, depend on Jesus, seek His glory.
In 21:4,5
notice that the disciples didn’t immediately recognize Him, they needed to
learn to discern His presence and to hear His voice: “But when the morning had now
come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was
Jesus. 5 Then Jesus said to
them, "Children, have you any food?" They answered Him,
"No." We need to be attentive to what the Lord is saying
to us, first of all, through the pages of the Bible. That means we need to
be in the Word daily, allowing the Word of Christ to dwell richly within us.
We also need to be discerning of the teaching we hear and the counsel we
receive, testing it, like the Bereans in Acts 17, against the Word of God.
Jesus said earlier in this Gospel, “My
sheep hear my voice and I know them, and they follow me…” That is normal,
healthy Christianity. If we know Jesus we should follow Him through
every moment of life recognizing His presence and seeking His glory.
II. Jesus
knows our needs and is able to guide every aspect of our life if we will
recognize His presence and obey Him (21:6-14).
Even
though the disciples don’t immediately recognize Jesus, He nonetheless engages
them. The Master is still teaching. We read in 21:6, “And He said to them, ‘Cast the net on the
right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast, and now they
were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.” In Luke
5:1-11, the similar “sign” was used in the context of calling the
disciples… Then, they recognized Jesus was no mere man, and “left all and followed Him.” Do you think
they might have sensed a little déjà vu
even as the “directions” were given by the man on the beach? Why would they
follow the suggestion of a stranger? Could it be? A fruitless night of fishing,
just like that time three years earlier, and then a confident voice telling
them to cast the nets again?
One of them speaks up, “Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to
Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he
put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the
sea. 8 But the other
disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about
two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish.” John
was the first to say what the others might have been thinking, “It is the Lord!” Peter leapt into the
water. It’s kind of funny because it doesn’t say that he started swimming to
the beach, but the implication is he wanted to get to shore as quickly as
possible, let the others worry about the fish, he wanted to get to Jesus! When we recognize His voice, we come, hungry for
fellowship, thirsting for His presence.
“Then,
as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid
on it, and bread. 10 Jesus
said to them, "Bring some of the fish which you have just caught...” Then
we read in v.11, “Simon Peter went up and
dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and
although there were so many, the net was not broken.” Notice that Jesus is
serving them breakfast. Just as He had washed their feet in the upper room they
arrive at the shore and find a fire with fish already cooking. Some of their
fish could be added to the menu. The
disciples needed to know that they were completely dependent on Jesus… even in
their area of greatest competence (fishing!) they needed Him. He knows us well; intimately, every thought,
every struggle, every need. And He will meet us at the point of our need. So He feeds them physically, even as He is
giving them a spiritual lesson. Notice that there was fish already cooking when
they got there, breakfast would start even before they could ready some of the
catch they just pulled in.
153 fish, a very precise number! There may be some symbolism there (but I am
not yet convinced by the various ideas I have read), but for now all I can say
is that an exact number like that fits with the idea of an eyewitness
account, one more evidence that the beloved disciple, John, the son of
Zebedee and brother of James is writing this book. It was a lot of fish, and
the nets were not breaking. If we are in the Lord’s will, if we are working in
obedience to His word, He is going to bring about His good purpose in our
lives. That includes when we are about His word of fishing for men.
What is God saying to me in this
passage? There was nothing necessarily wrong with the
idea of a return to secular employment – the disciples had needs, and that was
one way to take care of those needs. Peter “fishing” would be no stranger than
Paul making tents! But there is no mention
that they took time to pray, to seek the Lord, and to ask His will. They
seem to have lost direction, a sense of the mission that Jesus had entrusted to
them. We’ve been looking at our vision and mission as a church – we’ll be
talking about that at our next quarterly meeting - and we need to ask about our
vision and mission as an individual follower of Jesus as well. Is it your
mission in life to know Jesus and to make Him known? One way we can do that
is by showing an uncommon commitment to do our best for your employer –
whatever we do, do it as unto the Lord. One thing I did as a heavy equipment operator,
after coming to Christ, I learned to be consistent, to work the same whether my
boss was present or not. That kind of committed service may eventually evoke
questions as to what our motivation is to be so diligent. Even if no one ever
notices, Jesus knows, and it pleases Him.
What would God have me to do in
response to this passage? Recognize
that if you have trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you have acknowledged
who He is and put all your hope in Him, that means you are a disciple, a Christ
follower. That means affirming your dependence on Him in every area of your life.
He told the disciples in the upper room that they needed to “abide” in Him, He
said “…without me you can do nothing…” (John 15:5). That was an important
lesson for these disciples to learn, and it is essential for us to recognize as
well. Think about that, AMEN.
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