Jesus Showed Discouraged Disciples the Right Way to Catch Fish

What Did Jesus Do?

“Cast the net on the right side of the boat…”
John 21.6

The last thing the boatload of discouraged disciples, who had spent an entire night fruitlessly casting their nets up the water, wanted to hear was some wiseacre on the shore tell them they’d been fishing from the wrong side of the boat! But such was the advice of the figure who called to them out of the grayness of the early morning mists upon the Sea of Tiberias (Galilee). Their muscles already tired, and their hearts discouraged, the seven fishermen had nothing to lose, so they tossed their net over the other side, the right side of the boat. At least they could then go ashore and tell the fool that he knew nothing about fishing. Of course, they were the ones who had nothing to show for their night’s labors, until…

Whoa! Either the net caught on a sunken boat, or there was a whole lot of fish in the lake where there hadn’t been any all night. Heave! Pull! It was no use, the net was simply too heavy to bring aboard because of the quantity of fish it suddenly held. While the others struggled with the load, wondering how the man on the shore had known exactly where the fish were, the apostle John who, along with Peter and Thomas, Nathaniel, and John’s brother James and two other unknown disciples, had had no luck whatsoever fishing all night, realized that it wasn’t just some stranger who happened to be out for an early morning walk along the beach who had showed the right way to catch fish, it was the Lord! Hearing John utter this declaration, Peter did not hesitate, but plunged into the water and quickly swam the hundred yards to shore. The others, clinging to the suddenly bulging net, brought the boat in to the beach.

As it turned out, the nets held 153 fish, which might not sound like a lot to those who today employ huge nets to catch tens of thousands of fish in one haul. But Peter and the others were not in a deep-sea trawler, but a small boat that would probably have foundered and sunk under the wieght of 153 fish being brought aboard. Empty nets also meant empty stomachs, but Jesus had already begun to prepare a breakfast of bread and fish, to which would be added some of the fresh catch. A long, frustrating, discouraging night was turning into a glorious new day, and it was Jesus who had worked the transformation. Just imagine, one of the worst nights of fishing trasformed into the best and most fondly remembered fishinhg trip ever! But that is what happens when we let Jesus show us the way—we are transported from worst to best, discouragement and frustration are transformed to encouragement and success.

Here’s a question for you. How’s the fishing been? I don’t mean how many haddock have you hauled in—what I’m asking is, how have you been making out as a “fisher of men?” Have you been working hard, casting your net, with little or nothing to show for your effort? Have days and nights of discouragement moved you to fold up your net and shove it in a closet and forget about it? Are you thinking that there may be others whom Jesus sends out to “catch” men, women, and children, and bring them in to his kingdom, but he must have some other work for you? The truth is, evangelism, like fishing, isn’t easy. And, again like fishing, if you don’t know what you’re doing, success will be hard to come by.

One of the keys to successful fishing is to know where and when to cast your net. One of the keys to successful evangelism is to continually seek the Lord’s counsel. Jesus knows the right way to catch men. The Lord knows the right places, the right times, and the right words to bring in hundreds of thousands, millions, even billions, to the kingdom. The key is to look for the Lord, and to listen to him before you frustrate yourself casting about in the wrong place, at the wrong time, the wrong way, and wind up as discouraged as the seven disciples were until Jesus showed them the right way to catch fish.

A few short days after their encounter with Jesus on the shore of Tiberias, the apostles saw the Lord lifted up into heaven. In their ears were his parting words of advice, whereupon they remained in Jerusalem for the day of the coming of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 1.4-9). On that day, which we know as Pentecost, Peter and the disciples were in the right place, at the right time, and used the power Christ himself gave them through the Spirit, to cast out irresistable words of grace and truth, and “haul in” over three thousand souls. We may never have a catch such as Peter’s on Pentecost, but, with Jesus showing us the way, we will surely succeed in bringing in souls to the kingdom of God.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4