After - Day 16

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.