April 10th, 2023
John 21:4-6
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.
I have to tell you that I have always thought this was a little silly. I mean, why would they throw the nets on the other side simply on the advice of some guy that they couldn’t really see? The only way that I can figure they would have done that is that they were either desperate, or they were so tired they would have taken any suggestion that sounded in any way plausible.
These were professional fisherman, they would have been able to know that the fish don’t really just hang out on one side of the boat. Fish, as I understand it, don’t really care what side of the boat they are on. I would also guess that if there were so many fish on the other side of the boat that these guys would have noticed that the other side was where all the other fish were hanging out.
Regardless of all of this musing, the narrative tells us that Jesus asked them to move the nets to the other side. When they do, they couldn’t haul in the net due to how many fish they had caught.
That must have been so amazing and relieving for those fishermen who had come up short all those hours during the night. I feel we learn a few things through this story. 1) We learn that when Jesus is involved, the miracle is always a gift of abundance. He never leaves us with inferior wine, or just a few fish, or not enough loaves. No, when Jesus considers a miracle, he makes sure it was worth his while and ours. And 2) Jesus was not interested in leaving his disciples out in the cold with a sense of failure. Rather, he wants to make sure that they are not only taken care of, but overwhelmed by his love, care and provision for them.
In the same way, we find that Jesus is constantly taking care of us and the needs that we find we have. He does not want us to go through life without an understanding and experience of abundance. A life with Jesus is a life of abundant love, grace, and even provision in times of need.
These were professional fisherman, they would have been able to know that the fish don’t really just hang out on one side of the boat. Fish, as I understand it, don’t really care what side of the boat they are on. I would also guess that if there were so many fish on the other side of the boat that these guys would have noticed that the other side was where all the other fish were hanging out.
Regardless of all of this musing, the narrative tells us that Jesus asked them to move the nets to the other side. When they do, they couldn’t haul in the net due to how many fish they had caught.
That must have been so amazing and relieving for those fishermen who had come up short all those hours during the night. I feel we learn a few things through this story. 1) We learn that when Jesus is involved, the miracle is always a gift of abundance. He never leaves us with inferior wine, or just a few fish, or not enough loaves. No, when Jesus considers a miracle, he makes sure it was worth his while and ours. And 2) Jesus was not interested in leaving his disciples out in the cold with a sense of failure. Rather, he wants to make sure that they are not only taken care of, but overwhelmed by his love, care and provision for them.
In the same way, we find that Jesus is constantly taking care of us and the needs that we find we have. He does not want us to go through life without an understanding and experience of abundance. A life with Jesus is a life of abundant love, grace, and even provision in times of need.
- When has Jesus provided for you?
- Have you ever experienced the abundance of God through Jesus?
- How did you experience it and what did it look like?
Posted in After
Recent
Archive
2023
January
Lovewell: A Theology - Day 1Lovewell: A Theology - Day 2Lovewell: A Theology - Day 3Lovewell: A Theology - Day 4Lovewell: A Theology - Day 5Lovewell: A Theology - Day 6Lovewell: A Theology - Day 7Lovewell: A Theology - Day 8Lovewell: A Theology - Day 9Lovewell: A Theology - Day 10Lovewell: A Theology - Day 11Lovewell: A Theology - Day 12Lovewell: A Theology - Day 13Lovewell: A Theology - Day 14Lovewell: A Theology - Day 15Lovewell: A Theology - Day 16Lovewell: A Theology - Day 17Lovewell: A Theology - Day 18Lovewell: A Theology - Day 19Lovewell: A Theology - Day 20Lovewell: A Theology - Day 21Lovewell: A Theology - Day 22Lovewell: A Theology - Day 24Lovewell: A Theology - Day 23Lovewell: A Theology - Day 25Lovewell: A Theology - Day 26Lovewell: A Theology - Day 27Lovewell: A Theology - Day 28Lovewell: A Theology - Day 29Lovewell: A Theology - Day 30Lovewell: A Theology - Day 31
February
Lovewell: A Theology - Day 32Lovewell: A Theology - Day 33Lovewell: A Theology - Day 34Lovewell: A Theology - Day 35Season 1 - IntroductionUncomfortable (S1) - Day 1Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 2Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 3Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 4Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 5Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 6Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 7Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 8Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 9Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 10Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 11Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 12Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 13Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 14Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 15Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 16Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 17
March
Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 18Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 19Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 20Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 21Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 22Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 23Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 24Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 25Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 26Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 27Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 28Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 29Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 30Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 31Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 32Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 33Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 34Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 35Campus WeekAfter - Day 1After - Day 2After - Day 3After - Day 4After - Day 5After - Day 6
April
After - Day 7After - Day 8After - Day 9After - Day 10After - Day 11After - Day 12After - Day 13After - Day 14After - Day 15After - Day 16After - Day 17After - Day 18After - Day 19After - Day 20After - Day 21After - Day 22After - Day 23After - Day 24After - Day 25After - Day 26After - Day 27After - Day 28
Categories
Tags
1 Corinthians
1 John
1 Peter
1 Samuel
2 John
3 John
Acts
Advent
Belonging
Campus Week
Certainty
Christmas
Church
Clarity
Colossians
Community
Compassion
Connect Group
Crosswalk
Daily Study
Dave Ferguson
Deconstruction
Easter Week
Easter
Ecclesiastes
End of Series
End of the Week
Faith
Galatians
Galations
Gathering
Genesis
Gratitude
Group Study
Hebrews
Holy Wednesday
Hosea
Isaiah
James
Jeremiah
Job
John
Jonah
Joshua
Light
Lovewell: A Theology
Lovewell
Love
Luke
Mark
Matthew
Micah
Mike Rhynus
Paddy McCoy
Philippians
Proverbs
Psalms
Revelation
Romans
Sabbath
Service
Small Group Guide
Small Group Study
Small Group
The Little Letters
Timothy Gillespie
Uncomfortable
William Johnsson
Witness
Zechariah
choices
patience
rules
small group guides
No Comments