by Michele Connell

Created on: July 30, 2008   Last Updated: July 31, 2008

In the book of John, chapter 21, we are reintroduced to the down-trodden disciples. Their beloved leader and Savior - Jesus Christ had been crucified on the cross, and Simon Peter - known for being adamantly vigilant, and then all around traitor to his best friend - looked at the others and said (v.3),"I am going fishing."

In the beginning, when Jesus called Peter, he was a fisherman. The Lord said then that he would no longer catch fish, but Peter would be a fisher of men. Now, it appeared that all that was over. Jesus was dead - with rumors of resurrection - but Peter had gone too far. He knew that his denial - three times - was prophesied, and though he staunchly proclaimed it would never happen....well, it did. All appeared to be over, and the only option was to return to the former things. The Word says that they went out and immediately got in the boat, and that night they caught nothing.

Look at verse 4, "But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus." All night they had cast their nets but nothing happened. Sometimes, we as Christians, can become entangled in the nets of nighttime, but oh, when morning finally comes! I love the scripture in Romans 13:12, "The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light." Thus speaking of a better day, a resting assurance of relief from the long dark night.

I can't imagine how Peter must have felt, knowing that he denied his friend and Savior. The Bible says that he ran out and wept bitterly. He was human, just as you and I are human, and must have been severey vexed by the error of his ways. Then in verse five the man on the shore calls out, "Children, have you any food?" When they answered no, Jesus replied, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." When the net became full to overflowing (reminiscent of their first call from Jesus), they knew immediately that the stranger on shore wasn't a stranger at all, but the Almighty Lord.

When I read verse 7 I can almost feel the desperation in Peter as he hears the affirmation that the Lord is on the shore. It says, "Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea."

Why did he put on his outer garment? And why did he plunge into the sea, when in verse 8 it adds the fact that they were not far from land? Peter was disgraced by his

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>