December 17, 2023
The Net/ Rope Holds
“Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.” John 21:11 (NASB)
While spending some time fishing with friends years ago (my least favorite hobby) near the bayfront in St. Augustine, something took away the boredom of waiting on the fish. The tide was coming in at the time. We anchored about 60 yards from shore in his 16-foot boat. Then we noticed a large sailboat (about 50 feet in length) lose its mooring. It began to drift toward the bridge. Noting no one was around to help, we sprang into action. My friend handed me a rope. He said, “When we get close enough let’s see if we can tie up to it and we will drag it away from the bridge.” As we got closer, I jumped on board the sailboat. I noticed the anchor line had drifted into the piling of the bridge. The anchor was caught and did not come loose. I cut the line (before it drifted into the bridge), and we towed the sailboat from danger (now less than 20 yards from the bridge). We took the boat to a nearby marina and told the harbormaster what happened. He agreed to hold it for the owner. After rolling up our rope, I noticed it had a small tear in the rope. It was amazing this little half-inch line was able to tow such a large vessel. It held! After a few weeks, I called the harbormaster to see if the owner was located. He said the owner was in New York. The owner was upset and wanted us to pay for the anchor and line. The harbormaster explained his vessel would have been lost if it were not for people who took the time to help…
“Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three…” Several commentators have input into what they viewed as what occurred at this time. We know Peter jumped into the water. Apparently, Peter swam faster than the boat since he was able to assist others in bringing the large fish net to shore. Newman draws the closest conclusion: “… the most satisfactory interpretation is that Peter got into the boat to help the other disciples pull in the load of fish. In Matthew 14:32 and Mark 6:51, the verb is used with the meaning ‘to go aboard,’ and is accompanied by the phrase ‘into the boat.’ Since the net full of fish was dragged behind the boat as the men rowed to shore, Peter would have to get into the stern of the boat to help drag the net onto the shore. Symbolic interpretations of the number a hundred and fifty-three have been suggested, but fortunately the translator is concerned only with the literal meaning. The description of the net and the fish may require several paratactically combined sentences, for example, ‘Simon Peter went back aboard the boat and helped drag the net ashore; the net was full of big fish; altogether there were 153 fish.’ The net did not tear may be rendered as ‘no holes were made in the net’ or ‘no part of the net broke.’ (John 21:12).”[1] and although there were so many, the net was not torn.” It is truly amazing that when God is ready to perform another miracle, it works outside the human understanding.
When I look back to that day rescuing that sailboat off the bridge, I can only imagine what would have happened if we hadn’t intervened. I was also miffed at the man who wanted us to pay him for an anchor and a rope instead of his $100K boat. But the more amazing thing I think of now was that little, tiny rope that held the whole time towing that boat to safe passage. I think God honored our efforts that day and helped us until we got to safe harbor. Jesus allowed the nets to hold so the disciples would see Him once again as the Messiah. Do you see it?
[1] Newman, B. M., & Nida, E. A. (1993). (p. 629). United Bible Societies.