The miraculous catch of fish

After his resurrection, Jesus met some of the disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee with a freshly cooked breakfast (John 21). The disciples had been fishing all night but with no success. When Jesus told them where to fish, they caught so many fish they could not get them into the boat and had to tow the net to shore.

I love these stories of Jesus and the miracles he did because they are so full of important details that we can learn from. Peter and the disciples had tried to fish all night with no success and this speaks of trying to do things in our own strength and not succeeding. When Jesus comes though and gives the word, the unsuccessful works suddenly become a miraculous work of God. We notice too that Jesus already had fish on the fire for the breakfast – where had they come from? However Jesus also adds some of their catch, which he had given them, to his own! This speaks of using our God given talents to be part of the work God is doing. We can also see that it took all of the disciples to haul the net in. This speaks of joining together to manage the harvest but notice the nets were not torn – nothing was lost despite its great size. If we put this in terms of souls saved, it is very encouraging what can be achieved if we pull together. 

Peter was called to become a fisher of men following the first miraculous catch of fish (Luke 5: 4 - 11). For the next three years he trained with Jesus with some success but he had not fully come into his calling. Following the second miraculous catch of fish, I wonder if Peter remembered the first miracle three years previously, for it was after the second miracle that he really started to fulfil his calling as a fisher of men. The breakthrough came on the day of Pentecost when, following Peter’s preaching, 3000 were saved. The book of Acts is full of times when Peter saw many people saved.

When we start out on the road to our God given calling, we may see a small amount of success at first but we need to keep training, keep letting God use us, keep persevering through the good and bad days. Like Peter, we need to keep going through our disappointments and our own weaknesses and failings. If we don’t give up, if we keep trusting God, then like Peter we will come into the fullness of all that God has planned and purposed for our lives. Today let us determine to keep going till we come to maturity.