I have always been pretty good with names and with remembering people’s faces and stories. I believe it is a gift from God to be used to touch the lives of His people, reminding and reassuring them of His love and care. He is the faithful Good Shepherd!
In our passage today, we pick up the work of this Good Shepherd as we find the resurrected Lord waiting patiently on the beach for his disciples, who decided to take a midnight fishing trip. Peter initiates the fishing trip because he is driven to do something that takes his mind off his recent failure of denying the Lord. However, the trip does not help him; he catches nothing. Suddenly, there is a call from the beach, “Hey, have you caught anything?” (John 21:5). “No!” echoes across the water. “So, throw your net on the right-hand side of the boat…” Why does this sound so familiar? The disciple John thinks for a moment and proclaims, “It’s the Lord!” (John 21:7).
Jesus came to reveal himself to the disciples for the third time, and specifically to Peter, who had struggled to pick up the pieces of his shattered faith. The Lord’s revelation comes to remind the disciples of His love, His grace, and His mission. Jesus knows we need forgiveness, mercy, and grace.
Peter no longer wants to be the man in the boat, so he jumps into the water and swims to the shore. Once onshore, Peter gathers fish from the Lord’s supernatural catch to share with others. Through these acts, Peter’s faith lays hold of fresh manna: fresh fish and a fresh beginning to be a fisher of men.
Ultimately, no matter how many times we may fail in our own strength and effort, Jesus is always present—providing awareness of His love, abundant grace for our assignments, and reconnecting us to His purpose of fishing for people. Let’s accept the Lord’s offer, today.
John 21:1-14 NLT Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples
1 Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. 2 Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.
3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”
“We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.
4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. 5 He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?”
“No,” they replied.
6 Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.
7 Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. 8 The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore. 9 When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.
10 “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.
12 “Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. 14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.
Prayer: Lord, we know Your Voice, and we know when we hear it. Thank You for making Your presence known to us and helping us walk according to Your plans and purpose for our individual lives. Your goodness overflows and finds its way into our hearts, filling us with praise and gratitude. Thank you for faithfully feeding us Your living Word. In Jesus’ name. Amen.