Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5 He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?"
"No," they answered.
6 He 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. John21:4-6
This is the second time that the fishermen have had their nets filled by a Carpenter. Fishing in Galilee was most successful at night - if the sun rose and your nets were empty, your fishing had failed.
When Jesus initially called Peter and some of his friends, He had also filled their nets against all expectations. At that time Jesus called Peter to follow Him and become a "Fisher of Men."
Now, after the resurrection, Peter goes back to fishing and we don't know whether he meant it as a permanent thing or just a "timeout." It doesn't really matter either way... what _is_ significant is that Jesus is there.
Their own efforts have been unsuccessful and so Jesus fills their nets again. By doing this He is reminding them:
1. They hadn't succeeded in their own efforts.
2. The age of miracles wasn't over
3. If they followed His lead they could experience great blessing.
But there is one more interesting perspective... If you read on to verse 11, you will see that they caught 153 fish. The church father, Jerome, observed that the scholars of the ancient world had counted the various species of fish and come up with the number of 153!
This could mean that this catch was saying "Disciples, you've (symbolically) caught all the fish you're ever going to catch - now follow me and fish for men! It could also mean that the gospel would go to all nations.
This intimate encounter on the beach was a sermon in action, a parable in events, it was meant to re-kindle the disciples' faith and re-vision them for the great commission.
Sometimes Jesus finds us in familiar places: a favourite hymn, a passage of Scripture we know well, a place where we have prayed significant prayers, or even in a place of familiar failure and He reminds us that we need Him, that He can miraculously bless us and that there is work to do.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
