“Did You See the Miracle of the Fish”?

            John 21:4–8 ⁴Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. ⁵Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” ⁶He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. ⁷That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. ⁸The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

            Have you ever been working hard at something, and no matter how much time and effort you put in to it you accomplish nothing?  Then when you are just about ready to give up somebody gives you the simplest suggestion and all of a sudden what you tried to accomplish just falls right in place.  Afterwards, have you caught yourself standing there thinking, that was so simple why didn’t I think of it?  We get so caught up in life sometimes we let the simplest solutions escape us.  When that happens to me instead of having an ah  hah moment it becomes an oh dah moment. 

            Likewise you are watching television and you see this infomercial that shows someone moving a large refrigerator. Applying a simple gadget, which applies just enough leverage, moves it.  With the correct leverage it allows moving any heavy object to be accomplished by one person.  Wow, the design of that gadget was so simple, why didn’t I think of that?

            Peter and the other apostles might of thought why did we think of that, the right side of the boat, oh dah, that was so simple.  This was the second time Jesus had instructed them as to where the catch of fish was, (Luke5:4ff), and both times the yield of fish was greater than they could handle.

The apostle that Jesus loved remembered that first big catch that Jesus helped them find.  This has to be our Lord who has instructed us again giving us great results.  It probably dawned on Peter that Jesus did this before as he heard John say the words “It is the Lord!”  What joy they must have felt. Who else could turn hours of futile labor into such a great success, but our Lord Jesus Christ.

John 21:9–14 ⁹When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. ¹⁰Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” ¹¹So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. ¹²Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. ¹³Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. ¹⁴This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

In that first time Jesus had instructed them to catch fish, (Luke 5:4ff), their nets were tearing, and afterwards Jesus told them they would be fishers of men.  This time their net did not tear despite the number of fish, for now they have become fishers of men. 

Did you see the miracle of the fish?  Jesus asked if they had any fish as if He was hoping for some for Himself.  But when they all got off the boat, Jesus was sitting by a fire that already had fish and bread on it.  It seems reminiscent of the time Jesus took two fish and five loaves of bread to feed the five thousand, (Matthew 14:13ff).  Jesus is showing us that we cannot provide anything for Him as He commands all things.  Jesus is also showing us that He can provide in abundance for us and all we have to do is put our faith on the right side, or rather in the correct place.  The correct place is putting our faith in Jesus and He will reward that faith abundantly.  Not that you will not receive an abundance if you do not have faith, because God abundantly provides for all of our needs whether we believe in Him or not.  But with belief comes life (John 7:38; 11:25-26) 

We struggle with our salvation and it seems that our efforts are a futile labor.  Listen then, Jesus gives us the simplest suggestion, put your faith in Him, and believe in Him.  He gives us the wisdom of our loving God in and through the Holy Scriptures, and the message is in God’s love.  Just follow my words, believe, and have faith for I will give you an abundance of life, and that life comes with joy, (Luke 15:7; John 15:11).

Now did you see the real miracle?  The miracle isn’t the over powering catch of fish, nor is it the fish and bread Jesus already had on the fire cooking.  Jesus appeared for the third time after His brutal death and glorious resurrection, standing on the shore speaking to His apostles.  That is a miracle but not the only one we should pay attention too.  The real miracle is that Jesus who died for our sins thought that we are the catch of the day.  Our Lord and savior creates the miracle of eternal life and relationship with our God to save all whom He loves dearly, and you are in that catch to live eternally in His love.  Amen.

Written by: Pastor Curtis A. May

Let us go forth in the Peace of our Lord and Serve the Lord who loved us first.