Text: John 21: 1-14
Text verse: John 21: 9
In His previous appearance to the disciples, Jesus said to them, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” (John 20:21).
When Jesus sent the disciples out like that the last time, He commanded them to go without a purse or a travel bag (Luke 10: 4), for He would provide for all their needs.
Now the circumstances have changed. Jesus was crucified and although He rose from the dead, it was no longer the same. He appeared to them for brief moments. The underlying question is therefore whether Jesus will still take care of them.
Peter who usually acts impulsively (also see vs. 7) then decides to make a plan himself and therefore he suggests that they go fishing. It is somewhat ironic that they fish all night without any success. It is only when they are obedient to Jesus, that they succeed. They cast the nets on the other side and voila!
We also often see Peter’s impulsive behaviour in our own lives. This happens especially when we decide that we are not getting an answer from the Lord quickly enough. As a result, we begin to make plans to meet our own needs.
The problem is that the plans we make, take us off course. We abandon the Lord’s commands and pursue security and prosperity. You may be making wrong choices just to keep your colleagues happy and thus not lose your dream job. Perhaps you go over the speed limit to be on time for the important meeting, only to arrive there and see that you were not late at all.
In this passage Jesus reaffirms to his disciples – and to us - that He will take care of us even if we do not see him.
He is in charge
Jesus allows a miracle to happen. They struggle all night to provide for their own needs and then Jesus changes it with a few words. The disciple’s obedience to Jesus’ command to cast out the net on the other side, is rewarded. Likewise, Jesus gives us the assurance that He will provide for our needs when we obey Him. This does not necessarily mean that we will be rich and prosperous, but it does mean that He will provide richly in all our needs. We can trust Him, as long as we do His will.
He gives abundantly
What Jesus further teaches us is that He provides in abundance. When the disciples pulled out this net, there were 153 large fish. So much so that they were worried the net might tear.
On top of that, it is ironic that they try to fish throughout the night and when they come to Jesus on the beach, a fire is burning and there is fish on the fire and also bread to eat.
This should remind us that Jesus’ body wrought complete reconciliation for us. We are concerned about earthly things, but Jesus looks far ahead. He also provides for our spiritual needs. The spiritual needs that we often conveniently ignore. Jesus provided in abundance by paying for our sins on the cross.