THE APPEARANCES (PART 6)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Afterward Jesus appeared again to His disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way:

Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.

“I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

“No,” they answered.

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.

Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”

As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”

So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn.

Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.”

None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.

Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish.

This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

John 21:1-14

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Sometimes things come around full circle. Like you end up in a place where you started.

Such was the case with Jesus’ disciples as we see in the opening fourteen verses of the final chapter in the Gospel of John.

There we find a group of the disciples, which included Peter, Thomas, Nathanuel, James, John, and two other disciples not named specifically, fishing on the Sea of Galilee. They went out on the sea in their boat but weren’t having any luck as the scriptures tell us they had not caught anything well into nightfall.  

Now Jesus had already made two post-resurrection appearances to His disciples but as we see in this passage, three times would be a charm. For as the disciples were out on the sea in their boat, no doubt begrudging they had caught nothing, Jesus shows up on the shore but the disciples didn’t realize it was Him.

We read where Jesus greets them and overstates the obvious, asking the disciples if they had caught any fish. After told that this wasn’t the case, we find Jesus providing them with a command:

“Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.”   

And when the disciples did so, their nets filled to overload with a large number of fish, one hundred and fifty three to be exact. Peter jumped out of the boat to assist getting the nets to shore which was only around a hundred years away. While this was going on, John, the author of this Gospel who always referred to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”, tells Peter, “It is the Lord.” At that point, Jesus was recognized.

Well, the disciples finally managed to get the boat and net full of fish onto the shore where they found a nice fire full of burning coals with food already prepared, fish and bread ready for eating. It was obviously near first light because Jesus invites His faithful followers to “Come and have breakfast.”

And so they did. Jesus served them bread and fish, sharing one last moment of fellowship before He ascended. Tomorrow, we’ll see that Jesus did have a very personal exchange with Peter but this event at the Sea of Galilee was His final appearance to a group.

So why was this a “come-around-full-circle” kind of moment?

We go back to the Gospel of Luke and Jesus calling His disciples to follow Him during their very first encounter:

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around Him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then He sat down and taught the people from the boat.

When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.”

So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed Him. Luke 5:1-11

Can you see the similarities here?

The disciples were fishing at the Sea of Galilee (also known as the Sea of Gennesaret) and weren’t having any luck catching anything.

Jesus is with them and gives them a command to put their nets into the water.

The disciples obey Jesus and end up with a miraculously large catch.

They give thanks to their Lord who promises them they will eventually fish for people.

And as we move back to the end of John’s Gospel from Luke, that’s exactly what is about to happen. Jesus is soon going to ascend to sit at His Father’s right hand, ruling and reigning with the full authority given over the heavens and earth.

The disciples will carry on the work that He started, seeking and searching for the lost, and then aid them in knowing Jesus and finding their own salvation.

Today, Jesus disciples are still in the business of fishing for people and will do so until Christ returns. Thanks be to God that we serve the greatest Fisherman ever, the One who still helps us put our nets down where we can be sure to “catch” those who need saved.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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