Lovers of God

Second miraculous catch of fish at the sea of Tiberias

Jn 21:4-11 1 After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way. 2 Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will also come with you." They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing. 4 But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 So Jesus said to them, "Children, you do not have any fish, do you?" They answered Him, "No." 6 And He said to them, "Cast the 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. 7 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. 8 But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net full of fish. 9 So when they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish which you have now caught." 11 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.

If you are familiar with the story of Joseph, you will remember that he went from being the favorite son to almost getting murdered, and then being sold to eventually becoming Potiphar’s slave. Even though he was extremely faithful in Potiphar’s house, he ended up in the dungeon. Even while there, he excelled in behavior and was put in charge. He helped the chief cupbearer who promptly forgot him. Of what use was his great character – it only brought him trouble and disappointment. He fished all night and caught nothing!

The story of Moses is similar… He was once prince of Egypt, a man mighty in word and deeds. One good deed resulted in him losing his place in Egypt, and then he spent the next 40 years in Midian serving his father-in-law. It was as if nothing was going to come out of his life.

But then, God – who had a great plan for each of them – remembered them and lifted them up and gave them a great ministry.

The disciples were in a similar situation. They spent all that time with Jesus, and they witnessed great things during that time. But now, Jesus was gone, and so they went back to fishing. But they fished all night, and they caught nothing. Nothing – not even a single fish! They thought that it was all over, but in fact, it was just the beginning of a great ministry. We all know what happened next, after the Pentecost.

If the story of your life is, "I fished all night and caught nothing," then it might just be the time to raise your eyes and behold the handiwork of the Master.

Before God can use us for His glory, we need to understand and internalize the extent of our true capability – which is that we can accomplish nothing without God’s help. Unless we come to a point where we recognize that even in our area of strength we can be useless and fruitless unless God blesses the work of our hands, God cannot use us for His glory. That is why Jesus had to take His disciples through this experience of fishing all night and catching nothing.

In saying, "Bring some of the fish that you have now caught," Jesus is gracious to give His disciples the credit for catching the fish.

They caught a lot of fish, but the net was not torn. When God lifts us up and makes us useful, He will do it without any adverse side effects. Our family will not suffer when we serve God.