John 21:1-8. 1After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. 2Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
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.
Way back at the beginning of his ministry Jesus called his disciples while they were fishing. The had fished all night long and caught nothing. That’s hard to do, especially for professional fishermen. Do you remember what happened next? Jesus told them to cast their nets out one more time. Did they obey? Yes, they did, and they hauled in a tremendous catch of fish. So may fish that the boat started to sink.
Then what happened? Jesus called these fishermen to follow him, and they left behind their boats and their nets and they followed Jesus.
Our story from John 21 sounds very similar doesn’t it. But this is not the same story, it is a different story taking place at least three years later. Jesus has died on the cross and he has risen from the grave.
But now what?
The fishermen must have been wondering, “Are we still disciples? Probably not. Not after the way we ran away and hid when our teacher and best friend was crucified. There’s no way God will still use us after all our mistakes.” That’s probably why Peter said, I am going fishing.
The disciples were told to go to the sea and wait for Jesus. But once they got there they decided to go fishing. Not fishing for fun like we do; this is fishing as a job. They are going back to what it was like BEFORE they met Jesus.
Thanks goodness Jesus won’t let them, and he won’t let us, do that. When Jesus shows up he repeats the same miracle from three years earlier – a great catch of fish. Why does Jesus do this? Because he wants them to know that he loves them, and forgives them, and still wants to use them. This miracle is Jesus’ way of saying, “You are STILL my disciples.”
Yay! Aren’t you glad Jesus never gives up on us? I am too.
Even when we fail, Jesus never quits on us. Jesus will use us as long as we return to him and keep trusting him. Notice two things for our story:
First, the disciples didn’t have any fish until Jesus came to them. Children, do you have any fish?, Jesus asked. NO, was the answer. Then Jesus gave them fish (153 fish to be exact, see verse 11). What does this mean? It means Jesus doesn’t expect us to give anything to him, he just expects us to receive everything from him.
Second, notice how Peter responds to Jesus. He jumps out of the boat and swims to him. He can’t get to Jesus quick enough. What does that mean? It means we have to keep going to Jesus in order to get from him what he is giving to us – love, kindness, peace, hope, and joy.
In the Christian life you are going to fail sometimes, just like the disciples. But keep going to Jesus. Keep receiving from him all the grace and kindness he is giving to you. And never stop trusting his love for you.
You: Have you ever felt like God can’t use you because you make too many mistakes?
You with Jesus: What can you do to “go to Jesus?” How can you spend time with him today?
Prayer: Father, I know that you have forgiven me of all my sins through Jesus, but sometimes I still wonder if you can ever really use me. I know that with Jesus you can use anyone. Help me to trust you more and more as I become a fisher of men for you. Amen.
TLICfamily 