THE DISTANCE BETWEEN 0 AND 153

“Jesus called out to them, ‘Friends, haven’t you any fish?’ ‘No,’ they answered. 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. 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. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish you have just caught.’ 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.”  (John 21:5-11 NIV)

First-century fishing boats were seven and a half feet wide. So what’s the point of trying the other side? What difference does ninety inches make?

Then Jesus gives them an unforgettable object lesson: sometimes ninety inches is the distance between 0 and 153. You may be only seven and a half feet from a miracle – but you have to try the other side!

Miracles don’t just happen when we believe God for big things. Miracles happen when we obey God in the little things. When we do little things like they are big things, God will do big things like they are little things. 

-- Mark Batterson in “The Grave Robber: How Jesus Can Make Your Impossible Possible” 

#6346

NET FISHING IS A TEAM EFFORT

"So [some of the disciples] went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, ‘Friends, haven’t you any fish?’ ‘No,’ they answered. 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.”  (John 21:3b-6 NIV)

Are you better at working solo than working as a team? Are you afraid of surrendering some of your control and power to others? Net fishing is a team effort. You can’t do it by yourself. How did Jesus send His followers out to take the world? In teams. “I can’t be me without you” is one of my mantras. We need each other. Most especially, we need Christ. As the disciples found out, apart from Christ we can do nothing (John 15:5). They caught nothing that night. Without Jesus’ help, they finished in vain. Disciples of Jesus never catch anything without the help of Jesus.

Net fishing is best done with a team of experts who will diminish their own interests for the sake of the success of the team. The ideal team is a team of harmonious difference; not where like meets like, but where difference meets difference. Just as genetic diversity is imperative to the survival of any ecosystem, so pluraformity is imperative to the success of any endeavor. The difference between pluraformity and pluralism? In pluraformity, there are wide divergences around a common core; in pluralism, there is no core and no connections, only centrifuge. The experience of Pentecost – the reversal of Babel – empowers us to recognize and respect differences so that, in Paul’s words, “We may be strengthened in the faith, I by yours and you by mine.” 

-- Leonard Sweet in “A Cup of Coffee at the Soul Café”

#5664

CAST YOUR NETS ON THE OTHER SIDE

“So the disciples went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, ‘Friends, haven’t you any fish?’ ‘No,’ they answered. 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.”  (John 21:3b-6  NIV))

Ted Koppel conducted an interview with a man who had been trapped on an oil rig during a fire. Koppel asked the man how he had the courage to jump from a platform fifteen stories high into water engulfed in flames. The man replied, “Because I was going to fry if I stayed on the platform!”

That’s what makes us jump. The platform we have been living on… is crumbling under our feet, and we are forced to cast our nets on the other side.

For whatever reason, whether they were too tired to protest, or they were totally desperate for things to be different – the disciples take the stranger’s advice. With what results? The outcome was beyond anyone’s imagination! Success came from the obedience of Peter and the other disciples to the words of Jesus. They found more fish than they ever had, and what’s more, the net held, even with such a large catch.

John Calvin in his commentary on this verse says that “Christ showed His power, first in their taking in so large a draught of fish, and secondly, when by His hidden power He preserved the net which must otherwise have been torn and burst.” Notice the disciples only recognized Christ when their nets were so full of fish they couldn’t haul them on board. Finally, one disciple said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Jesus was recognized, not by His words, not by His appearance, not even by His voice. Jesus was recognized by His impact on other people’s lives. Jesus is known by the [power] of His transforming touch. 

– Leonard Sweet in “A Cup of Coffee at the Soul Café”

#5616

EXPANDING FAITH THREE SIZES

“Afterward Jesus appeared again to His disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ‘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. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.”  (John 21:1-4 NIV)

Thinking all is lost after the crucifixion, some of the disciples go fishing on the Sea of Galilee -- a dismal, depressing, fishing expedition. Hot, naked, and exhausted, the disciples try valiantly to return to the way things were before they met Jesus. Suddenly a voice from the shore (big rock thrown here): “Catchin’ anything?” “Nah,” they shout back, more depressed than ever. “Then try the other side of the boat!” the voice yells again. Peter stands up to see who this wise guy is. Wait -- no, it can’t be -- but, yes, it is: the Lord! Suddenly Peter can’t move fast enough. He leaps into the water, and swims to shore, leaving the others to haul in a miraculous catch. His faith grows three sizes in a matter of minutes. The boundaries of what he thinks God can do explode, and his love and gratitude for what God is doing in Jesus Christ, Lord of Life, is simply too large to fit in the boat any more. 

-- Kenda Creasy Dean and Ron Foster in “The Godbearing Life”

#5581

GONE FISHING

"Simon Peter said, 'I am going fishing.' [The disciples] said to him, 'We will go with you.' They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just after daybreak, [the resurrected] Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, 'Children, you have no fish, have you?' They answered Him, 'No.' He said to them, 'Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.' So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish." (John 21:3-6 NRSV)

The events we call tragedies, set-backs, and failures are opportunities for God. He knows how to draw glory even from our ruin. The hour of deepest humiliation, when we feel defective and utterly disqualified, may be the hour that God uses us in unparalleled ways. Years of "wasted" efforts may be the years when God plants an eternal harvest; though we have fished all night and caught nothing, the Great Angler is still double-baiting His hooks.

-- David Roper in Seeing Through


#3194