December 14, 2023
Fishing With The Right Guide
“And He said to them, ‘Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.’ So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.”
John 21:6 (NASB)
My dad used to love to fish. He had a boat when we lived in San Mateo Florida. We used to fish in the St. Johns River all the time. I, on the other hand, didn’t like fishing. For me, it was a time of fending off gnats, and mosquitos. I never caught anything except trash-fish. Later, we moved to St. Augustine after my father retired. My dad took our family on an off-shore fishing boat charter on the Sea Love. We went out about 40 miles. When we arrived, the boatmen came and handed you a pole. Then they told you where to let your line out. One said, “You will have something on your line in a few minutes.” He was right. Within a few minutes, my pole bent suddenly. I had a fish! A real fish! When I brought the fish on board, the boatman said, “I told you.” It was a huge red snapper. That day I learned to listen to someone who knew fishing. Although I still don’t enjoy it, I learned some people instinctively know where to fish.
“And He said to them, ‘Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.’” “The Lord began the second lesson by calling out ‘to them, Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.’ The disciples were no doubt exhausted and frustrated after their failed fishing expedition and did not know at first who was speaking. They must have been tempted to tell this bold stranger to mind his own business. After all, they were experienced fishermen; who was he to tell them what to do? And did he think the fish knew the difference between one side of the boat and the other?”[1] But the Lord knew something they didn’t. He was going to show them His power and knowledge of the deep. Jesus controls all life on this earth. He knew exactly where the fish were and when to cast the nets so they would receive the bounty He laid before them. “So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.” Hughes says this: “The fishermen, a picture of the church toiling on the restless seas of life, found it was Christ who brings the increase and that apart from him they could do nothing. They also found that his resources were sufficient, whatever the catch. Morris discusses with great insight the fact that the net did not break. With Christ in the midst directing the work, unlike the first miracle, the resources are never overstrained. Nothing, in a person or a group of persons, is beyond his power and grace. Serving Christ in our own strength, trying to do it our own way, is like going after Moby Dick with a pickle fork. But led and sustained by Christ’s strength, the net will never tear.”[2] John holds off on mentioning the amount of fish until verse 11 (153 large fish). What a catch! What is hilarious is what Peter does in tomorrow’s reading. He was changed after meeting the resurrected Lord.
I reflected as I read this story to that day at sea with my family. My dad had one of the biggest smiles I have seen on his face in years. He was doing something as simple as fishing. What is also interesting is that day, we didn’t clean little, tiny fish when we got back to the dock. We only caught large fish. But if we wanted bigger fish, we had to go deep. When Jesus told them where to let the nets down, He spoke to the fish to come near. Near enough that Peter could still swim to shore to greet Jesus. What a feat by the Creator and His provision once again!
[1] (John MacArthur, 2006). 392.
[2] Hughes, R. K. (1999). (p. 465). Crossway Books.