Fish
This week's study is on John 21:1-11:
These verses got my attention due to a rabbit trail I got on with a footnote in a study Bible. The word Jesus uses when asking the disciples if they have any fish is a word used for a kind of dipping sauce used with bread. In areas with a lot of Greek influence in those days, people would eat bread as their main starch and dip it in other stuff as a meal. But the word can also mean fish, which is how they translated it.
But Jesus likes to play on words in some of his conversations with the disciples, and given that the disciples have laboured all night with no results, he could be almost teasing them. "Hey did you guys even catch one fish? Even something we could cook in some oil and dip some bread in it? A tin of kippered herring? Anything?" He knows as well as them that they haven't got a thing, despite being experts, and despite being out through the night.
It's a really friendly creative way of pointing out that what they can do in their own strength, even at their best, is not all that impressive. If there were fish to find, you'd think that seasoned professional fishermen would be the ones to find them, and yet they came up empty handed. So Jesus is like "Hey guys, are you having some problems out there?" And with one command, standing on the shore, he enables them to do what they couldn't do on their own.
Not only was the blessing miraculous but so was their ability to receive it. The overloaded net didn't rip, despite being full of large fish, not just a few sardines for a sandwich. What's funny too is that Jesus already has a fish for himself, as if to prove he wasn't asking out of his own need, but as a pretext for blessing the disciples.
There are a few things we can get from this, as far as how God blesses us. Jesus' love for us is evident in how he addresses the disciples. God knows us enough to be able to tease us. He is familiar with us, not far off and distant. And his blessing is ready in our times of weakness and need. He only needs to draw our attention to it with his words. He meets us where we're at and helps us to get to where we need to be. And when he blesses us, we are both entitled and equipped to handle what he is giving us, even if it seems bigger than we can handle. He knows us, remember?
Think of how fast things turned around for the disciples. One minute they're going back to fishing, and failing at it, and the next they have a full haul and are sharing a meal with a guy they thought they'd lost forever. Next time it feels like your weaknesses are being pointed out, consider that it could be a prelude for God's blessing. And not just an appetiser but the full haul of fish.
After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias. Now this is how he did so. Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael (who was from Cana in Galilee), the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples of his were together. Simon Peter told them, “I am going fishing.” “We will go with you,” they replied. They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
When it was already very early morning, Jesus stood on the beach, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. So Jesus said to them, “Children, you don’t have any fish, do you?” They replied, “No.” He told them, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they threw the net, and were not able to pull it in because of the large number of fish.
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” So Simon Peter, when he heard that it was the Lord, tucked in his outer garment (for he had nothing on underneath it), and plunged into the sea. Meanwhile the other disciples came with the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from land, only about a hundred yards.
When they got out on the beach, they saw a charcoal fire ready with a fish placed on it, and bread. Jesus said, “Bring some of the fish you have just now caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and pulled the net to shore. It was full of large fish, one hundred fifty-three, but although there were so many, the net was not torn.
These verses got my attention due to a rabbit trail I got on with a footnote in a study Bible. The word Jesus uses when asking the disciples if they have any fish is a word used for a kind of dipping sauce used with bread. In areas with a lot of Greek influence in those days, people would eat bread as their main starch and dip it in other stuff as a meal. But the word can also mean fish, which is how they translated it.
But Jesus likes to play on words in some of his conversations with the disciples, and given that the disciples have laboured all night with no results, he could be almost teasing them. "Hey did you guys even catch one fish? Even something we could cook in some oil and dip some bread in it? A tin of kippered herring? Anything?" He knows as well as them that they haven't got a thing, despite being experts, and despite being out through the night.
It's a really friendly creative way of pointing out that what they can do in their own strength, even at their best, is not all that impressive. If there were fish to find, you'd think that seasoned professional fishermen would be the ones to find them, and yet they came up empty handed. So Jesus is like "Hey guys, are you having some problems out there?" And with one command, standing on the shore, he enables them to do what they couldn't do on their own.
Not only was the blessing miraculous but so was their ability to receive it. The overloaded net didn't rip, despite being full of large fish, not just a few sardines for a sandwich. What's funny too is that Jesus already has a fish for himself, as if to prove he wasn't asking out of his own need, but as a pretext for blessing the disciples.
There are a few things we can get from this, as far as how God blesses us. Jesus' love for us is evident in how he addresses the disciples. God knows us enough to be able to tease us. He is familiar with us, not far off and distant. And his blessing is ready in our times of weakness and need. He only needs to draw our attention to it with his words. He meets us where we're at and helps us to get to where we need to be. And when he blesses us, we are both entitled and equipped to handle what he is giving us, even if it seems bigger than we can handle. He knows us, remember?
Think of how fast things turned around for the disciples. One minute they're going back to fishing, and failing at it, and the next they have a full haul and are sharing a meal with a guy they thought they'd lost forever. Next time it feels like your weaknesses are being pointed out, consider that it could be a prelude for God's blessing. And not just an appetiser but the full haul of fish.
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