“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." – John 21:3
It is so easy to drift back to the area of comfort and security in life. Each year, for 2 weeks we celebrate Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, and many of us are focused on the most important event in the Christian church – the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord – Jesus Christ. What a glorious event to celebrate and take hold of, for through belief and faith in this we find redemption and salvation and enter into His grace. The problem I have seen, though, is that life can immediately overwhelm us the rest of the year if we are not careful and mindful of His presence.
Peter and the other disciples, having observed the crucifixion of their Lord and Savior and having seen the empty tomb, come to the shore ready to get back to work. I must believe that the events they had just lived through left them somewhat confused and uncertain about what lay ahead. These men were fishermen before Christ had called them “Follow Me”, and therefore it was in their blood. The last few years had been filled with learning from the Master, fellowshipping with Him daily and never worrying about where their provisions might come from. Consider, that in no circumstance does the scriptures discuss how the disciples made a living over that period of walking with the Lord. Yet, we see multiple times when Jesus met their needs for food, nourishment, and a place for rest. It must have come to the disciples that after His death, they must get back to their work once again to put food on their table and make a livelihood for themselves.
Secondly, I believe they must have been saddened and felt somewhat abandoned by the death of their Master, their friend. In Zechariah (13:7) it speaks of striking the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. The disciples of Jesus Christ on the eve of His crucifixion were scattered amongst the hills of Jerusalem. Each his separate way, lost, abandoned, and feeling helpless against the Romans and the powerful leaders of the Jewish nation at that time. Peter more so than others, for he had sworn to Jesus that he would not turn away from his Lord but would fight to the death. Now, here he was after seeing his Savior beaten, scourged, crucified, buried, and resurrected; feeling ashamed for his inability to stand up for Jesus Christ when confronted.
Finally, as they pursued their livelihood in the manner that was second nature to all of them, they caught nothing. These men had been fishermen before Christ called them. It was in their blood, and they had learned the trait for years before His ministry in their life. They knew how to fish and provide for their families. Yet, here we read of their adventure on the open water coming up empty, completely void of any catch whatsoever. Not a single fish is harvested from their efforts doing what they knew how to do. In the following verses though (John 21:5-6) Jesus calls to them and tells them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat. Following His instructions, they haul in an extraordinarily large harvest of fish. It is then that they realize that it is Jesus upon the shore calling to them.
Here we find man trying to do it his way and coming up empty and an abundance when we listen to the righteous way of the Lord. We also see that even post-death and resurrection, Jesus Christ is taking care of the needs of His sheep as we are seeking His work in our lives. It is not known why the scriptures mention casting the net to the right side of the boat, but one may interpret that to mean the righteousness of God. For when we are working within His righteousness, as fishermen of souls the harvest will be plentiful. When we are working within our own ways and the ways of the world, we will come up empty. The ways of the Lord are given to us through His word. The scriptures are the teachings and directions for our life, and when we apply these in our daily walk with God, the impact on the world is tremendous, larger than we could have ever imagined.
Just because it's not Easter does not mean we are to fall back to the worldly ways of life. No far be it from us to try to take on this life alone, within our own means. God has provided for us a path to righteousness and His word as a tool for expanding His kingdom on this earth. It is easy to become complacent and habitual about our life plans, but I implore you to break out of that mold and cast your nets with the righteousness of the Lord and His word. In doing so, He will use you to bring real change into this world, change with an eternal impact.
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