We all love a good fish fry and so did Jesus. It is good to get together with the “buds.”
It was after the resurrection and the guys had time on their hands. There were 5 of them and some day church people would call them “apostles.” There was Thomas, Nathaniel, Peter, James and John. Now Peter, James and John had all been professional fishermen before following Jesus so they all knew how to cast a net or drop a hook. Nathaniel was from their home area. And Thomas he was along for the ride. Peter’s bro, Andrew, was out of town. So whaddya do with time on your hands-yep, you go fishin’.
So these 5 guys head for the Sea of Tiberias a.k.a. the Sea of Gallilee grab one of the family boats and head off to go fishing.
So off we go to John 21, verses 3-11:
Scripture: Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing” and they said to him “We will also come with you.” And they went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.
H.D. Comment. So what is so startling about this. H.D. never catches anything when he goes fishing. I guess the big deal is that these guys are pros, and they still caught nothing. Besides it was night fishing. We know that Peter was a married man –I wonder what his wife was thinking about him spending another night out fishing again.
Peter was called by God to do something. But right then was not the time to do any of them. So Peter went fishing. He obviously loved fishing, and besides it gave him time to think. He was probably a more humble Peter have denied Christ, and yet he was probably also very excited because of the resurrection. So whaddya do-You go fishing.
But thing seemed to back to their old ways. Perhaps nothing had changed after all. His efforts weren’t paying off. A whole night out on the lake and not one darn fish! Heck!
Scripture: But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. So Jesus said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you. They answered Him, “No.” And He said to them, “Cast your net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.
H.D. Comment. When Jesus comes onto the scene it is not uncommon for our night to go away and for there to be a daybrake in our lives, a son rise, so to speak. Note that Jesus called them “Children”-not friends, not brothers, not apostles. The resurrected Jesus is here to give counsel, provision and hope. Besides as every woman knows a bunch of men out fishing act like children, and I presume Jesus knew this too.
Also, Jesus as usual knows the right place to fish. He knows where the fish are, how many husbands the woman at the well had, and lots of other neat stuff that nobody knows how he knew. You know why, Jesus is tuned in. Supply is just around the corner (or the other side of the boat)—we just need a little guidance to find it.
Scripture: Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved, said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on for he was stripped for work and threw himself into the sea.
H.D. Comment: Note that John, the Beloved, knows the sound of the Lord’s voice. Peter has to have someone tell him.
As a kid I always wondered about Peter out on the Sea of Gallilee fishing in his underwear. Wasn’t that embarrassing and cold too. I never could figure out dress at the time and what people wore and did not wear. Some of the medieval artists could not figure it out and Peter is often seen in various stages of undress. Certainly not always dressed for Sunday School.
But note Peters enthusiasm. He doesn’t wait for the boat to get in. He puts on his cloak and dives into the water and does the Australian Crawl to the shore. Well, we sure know one thing. Peter could swim and he was pretty good at it too-well at least he could swim for 100 yards.
Scripture: But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about 100 yards away, dragging the net full of fish. So when they got out onto land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid and a fish placed upon it and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have now caught.”
H.D. Comment: OK, so who made the fire? Where did the fish come from? How did Jesus catch it? Where did the bread some from? All I know is that Jesus shows up and already has the fire going for the fish fry. And isn’t that the way it always is. Jesus is prepared, he is in charge. When Jesus shows up, our hours of not catching anything are over. Our dead church programs all of a sudden spring into life. There is excitement instead of depression and hope instead of despondency.
Scripture: Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.”
H.D. Comment. And so the Christian fish fry was born. I note that that there were a hundred and fifty-three instead of one hundred and fifty-four. I would like to comment on the spiritual significance of that but unfortunately neither you nor HarleyDad is ready for that. But someone counted every single fish. Not one got lost, not one was unnumbered, and the net did not break. In short, the disciples were back into their calling they were to be “fishers of men.” What’s more they would be successful fishers of men. They would catch many. And so many of us little fish have been caught in the net of Christ by these apostles. None of us has been lost. Every one of us has been counted and what is even better we count in the Great Scheme of Eternity-that men and women of many nations would come to Jesus Christ. And yes all fish are not the same. There are many differences like the fish in the sea-but we are in the net of Jesus Christ.
And what is more, the fish in turn become fishermen and fishwomen and they in turn catch fish.
You know Jesus and those apostles loved fish. They even had it for breakfast.
So now it is time for breakfast and HarleyDad is signing off with another fish story from the Scriptures.
H.D.
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