Wednesday in the Word...John 21:1-6...from empty to full and a sermon post

Have you ever met "that guy" who isn't fishing but he is telling you who is fishing, how to fish?  "That guy" is full of information for you to try while he just looks on.  "That guy" is a little irritating.  Seems funny to put Jesus in the category of "that guy" but that is who He is in this event given to us by John.  The guy on the beach is yelling out what the 7 disciples in the boat should do after a night of "no fish."  Will they listen?

Today's Wednesday in the Word takes us into the last chapter of the Gospel of John, chapter 21 and verses 1 through 6 which read,

v.1 - After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way. 

Jesus has made Himself known to the 10 disciples and the women and then a week later to Thomas.  John, the disciple and gospel writer, make known to us and the original audience of this gospel why we were given these words and works of Jesus, "so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name."  

Jesus is going to appear again but it is very important how He will appear.  The words and the elements of this appearance are important so John sets it up with this commentary.  The Sea of Tiberias is the same as the Sea of Galilee.  It was renamed in honor of Caesar Tiberias by one of the Herods.  John may have used this name because at the time of the Gospel's writing, in the late 1st century, it was the more common name to those of that region.

v.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. 

Out of the 11 we have 7:  Simon Peter the leader; Thomas the doubter but also proclaimer; Nathanael who first was suspect of Jesus because of His hometown of Nazareth but then instantly amazed at Jesus' ability to tell him where he was at under the fig tree; James and John, the sons of Zebedee and also known as the sons of Thunder, those of the inner circle with Peter, and two others who are not named.  This event will have to be conveyed to the other 3 just like Jesus' appearance to Thomas when he wasn't there the first time.  John is the only one who records this event along with other events and interactions with Jesus following the resurrection.  We have plenty of eye witnesses here.

v.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.

Remember that Peter and Andrew and James and John are fishermen of this body of water.  Some of the other disciples might also have been fishermen but some were definitely of this area and probably had fished the Sea of Galilee from time to time.  This was their home turf when it came to "finding the fish."  

Jesus is not with them and what does Peter suggest?  Let's go back to fishing.  That is where they were when they first met Jesus.  They were fishing but the result was...

Then they brought the boats to land, left everything, and followed Him.  Luke 5:11

This event that will unfold will mirror that first meeting.  In Luke 5:1-11 we find Peter and his fellow fishermen mending their nets and the report to Jesus is that they had fished all night and caught nothing.  The lesson to be learned was 3 years in the making.  Peter is right back where he started but a familiar Someone is going to make a reappearance.

Just a note to the leaders also.  Followers follow and so even though Peter is leading them back to the past, Jesus is going to challenge Peter and the rest to lead people into the future.  A significant event has happened, the resurrection of Jesus, and it continues to propel us to go forward rather than go back. 

v.4 - But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 

How many times did they throw out the nets and retrieve them through the night and saw nothing but empty nets?  How tired were they as they labored through the night and maybe thinking about the end of their sorry night by the light of dawn approaching?  A mending of the nets would be required when they got to shore but then a meal and some siesta time was probably on their minds.  A lone figure stands on the beach observing what they are doing.  They always ask.

v.5 - So Jesus said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.” 

"Children?"  Okay, that would set some old crusty fishermen on edge or even some of the younger ones who are not children anymore.  There is always one "lookie lou" who wants to know how you did while out in the boat.  He asks the question he already knows the answer to.  "You don't, do you?"  Doesn't that bug you when someone does this to you?  It feels like a little "rub it in" moment.  I think with this address of "children," the answer "no" was probably not in a polite form.  It probably had some harshness to it. "Who is this guy and who does he think he is addressing us this way?" 

v.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.

"Right, sure, we will show you that you are wrong.  We will humor you man on the beach.  Just watch."  Maybe the practice was to cast the nets on the left side of the boat.  It typically is not going to be any different on the other side of the boat.  The order is so specific.  The right side and what will happen when the man on the beach instructions are followed, they will find a catch.  

Whatever the motivation for putting down the nets again, one more time, with the specific instructions from the man on the beach, these 7 disciples lowered the nets and something had to click about what happened 3 years ago.  Peter was there.  James and John were there.  They probably had told the story to the other disciples about when they first met Jesus.

It resulted in two boats so full of fish, they were about to sink.  Peter confesses his sinfulness to the Lord.  Jesus gives His plan of what He will do for Peter and the others by training them to be "fishers of men."  They brought the fish laden boats to shore and left them to follow Jesus.  The harvest of fish must have gone to others.  Keep these things in mind as we move forward through this account next Wednesday.  How will this very similar encounter end? 

Who can't identify with a seemingly step backwards in your faith?  What is desperately needed at those times is a man on the beach calling out to you in a way that gets your attention.  He is going to ask you to do something you have done before and probably something maybe you haven't been doing.  He is going to ask you to obey what he says.  You won't see the way back unless you obey.  I hope that is enough of a set up for moving forward in this event next Wednesday.

Pastor Adam