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. 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 (John 21:4-8).
A sleepless night spent fishing with nothing to show for it except empty nets. A command to cast the nets one more time. A miraculous catch that couldn’t be brought into the boat.
Sound familiar?
I have to imagine that Peter, James, John, and the other disciples whom the Lord had called from their former work as fishermen to be fishers of men were struck with a strange sense of déjà vu in the account quoted above. About three years earlier, they had been in a similar situation where Jesus showed his power as Lord over all creation.
A sleepless night spent fishing with nothing to show for it except empty nets. A command to cast the nets one more time. A miraculous catch that couldn’t be brought into the boat.
But this time around, the reaction to the miracle is different. “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” Peter had cried (Luke 5:8). Now we see him jump out of a boat into the water to swim about 100 yards to shore because he needed to be by his Lord. He needed to be near him.
Why? Because Peter was no longer a sinful man? Of course not. He knew his sins as surely as you and I know our own. The length of a football field is about 100 yards—that’s no short distance to swim. What might have been going through Peter’s mind with each kick and stroke?
Even if everyone else deserts you, Lord, I never will . . . I’ll never deny you—I’ll die with you . . . I wasn’t with him . . . I tell you, I don’t know the man!
Peter knew he needed to be near Jesus because Peter was a sinful man. He needed to hear his friend, teacher, Lord, and God pronounce words of forgiveness and restoration to drown out the guilt and shame that threatened to swallow him whole.
We need that too.
As sinful people, our natural inclination is to get as far away from that which is holy as possible. And the devil delights in making us believe that we must stay away—that if we fall into sin, we have no place being in our Father’s house, worshiping him alongside our brothers and sisters. We have no right to be a part of God’s family. We don’t deserve to be loved and forgiven by a holy and righteous God.
And you know what? If we were looking at ourselves and what we’ve done, we absolutely wouldn’t have a place in God’s house or any right to be a part of his family or deserve whatsoever to be loved and forgiven.
But we’re not looking at ourselves and what we’ve done. We’re looking at our Savior who bids us come, who welcomes us into his Father’s house, who promises us that there is a place for us there, who brings us into God’s family, and with the shedding of his precious blood assures us that we are fully forgiven and dearly loved.
Wherever you find yourself, dear Christian, jump out of the boat into the water and start swimming for shore. Hear your Savior’s words of forgiveness and love in his Word and sacraments.
Know that being by your Savior’s side, being near him your whole life through—that’s where you need to be. And by God’s grace, through faith in him, that’s where you’ll be.
Christ: He Is My Lord is an easy-to-read book that reveals who Jesus is from what the Bible says about him. He wasn’t merely a prophet or a good man—he is the sinless Son of God. Learn what that means for you today.
Did you enjoy this post? Subscribe for free devotional content every week!
Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.
Leave a Reply