As I was studying John 21 I realized that the text says that Jesus had appeared now three times to the disciples, after his resurrection, while they are fishing by the Sea of Galilee. The text also says that the disciples had been out fishing the night before and had caught nothing; then it was early in the morning when Jesus appeared to them. And then a few things hit me. There's something about spending time with Jesus early in the morning. There's something symbolic about the break of day. Something fresh. Something new. Something quiet. Something still. Something uninterrupted...where we can hear God clearly and come into obedience with Him to start off our day.
When the disciples had obeyed Jesus, and followed his commandments, that's when their overflow came! The Word says, "they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish".
Don't miss that. Our abundance, our overflow, our fruitfulness, and our success are in our obedience. Let Jesus be Lord of your life and watch things shift from barrenness (empty nets) to more than enough. Faith says, that just like the disciples, we can go from 0-153 instantly. Whatever place in our lives that feels "empty," Jesus can fill it beyond capacity.
John 21
Jesus and the Miraculous Catch of Fish
21 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee.[a] It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus[b]), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No,” they answered.
6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.[c]9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Image by lavistachurchofchrist.org
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