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On Goin a Fishin' As we move into the month of June, the thoughts of many people turn to relaxation and outdoor activities. One such pursuit is fishing. Now there isn't anything inherently wrong with that, in fact, I even enjoy getting out with a rod and reel from time to time. But the lure—pun intended—of such recreation can encourage us to put our seeking of the Lord and our going deeper in Him on the back burner. We have so many distractions, both recreationally and otherwise, that many think that religious mediocrity will do just fine, and anything deeper than that is just not necessary. A.W. Tozer, the great preacher of the last century, once wrote, "I am convinced that anyone who brings up the question of consequences in the Christian life is only a mediocre and common Christian." I would add, "…if even a Christian at all." Dr. Tozer went on to declare that he had known many who had been interested in the deeper life, but began asking questions about cost, safety, and convenience. He continued, "What must the Lord Jesus Christ think of the Church when His work and His witness are dependent on these concerns? No element of sacrifice, no bother, no disturbance—the Church, by and large, has stopped and pitched its tent halfway between the swamp and the peak." But, Oh, the mercy of God—the Lord is not done! Throughout these weeks before Pentecost, we at Christ Our Rock Bible Church, have been looking at the mercy of God as He repeatedly showed the early church that He is not willing to let any stone go unturned—from the literal stone at the mouth of the tomb, to the spiritual stones that can hinder any spiritual progress in any one of us. We saw the stone of unbelief in Peter and John overturned on Easter morning; we saw the stone of Mary's own understanding overturned immediately thereafter; we saw the stone of fear overturned as the disciples gathered that night; and we saw the stone of doubt rolled away in the latecomer Thomas, a week later. Now, Jesus—in His amazing mercy—is about to take them deeper…much deeper! One day, some of the disciples decided to go fishing. Peter said to some others, "I go a-fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing." (John 21: 3) Now, this was not your average summer vacation, sprinkled with plenty of rods, reels, and relaxation. No—they were returning to their old profession—no leisurely casting of baited lines, but a lot of hard work casting and hauling in huge nets. Why? Well, many have speculated on a variety of things, but let's not go beyond the Scriptures—and they are peculiarly silent on this matter. And I think the Holy Spirit's purpose is precisely this—it just doesn't matter. God's mercy will come no matter the situation, reason, or excuse. Jesus had some stones to roll, and roll they would. See what I mean?—"But when morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children have ye any meat? They answered Him, No. And He said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes." (vss. 4-6) Even here, at the end of Jesus' earthly ministry, this amazing event should have been like dejavu—reminding them of a similar time at the beginning of their association with Jesus. When Jesus first called them to follow Him, He used one of their boats as a pulpit, due to the immense crowds. Finishing His message, He asked Peter to "Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught." (Luke 5:4) Peter explained that they had been out all night and had caught nothing (ring a bell?) but because it was Him who had asked, he would do it. I think you know what happened next. Yes, the nets were filled—so much so that they called for James and John to bring their boat over and help them. There were so many fish, that the boats began to sink. Verses 8-11 tell us what ensued—"When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him…And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed Him." You see, Jesus had gone a-fishin', too. And He hauled in quite a catch, as well—His first disciples, the beginnings of His world-forsaking Church. But now, after the resurrection, that Church would need to go deeper. Andrew Murray once wrote, "This great work of bringing the knowledge of Christ to every creature has been entrusted to a church that hardly thinks of her responsibility and what the consequences of her neglect will be." To help stem this tide, just look at both events, side by side, and see the call to go deeper. In the first story, Jesus is right there, side by side in the boat—up close and personal. And that was fine, even needed, as they began their relationships—to see His glances, His expressions, even His facial features—to know what He was thinking, to know even His expectations. But at the end of His ministry, that would no longer be available. He was about to ascend to the Father, and they would need to know His closeness in other ways. He had even told Thomas, "Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou has believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (John 20: 29) Perhaps this is why Jesus was not in the boat this time—100 yards away on the shore. They would need to know it was Him, even from a distance—soon, He would no longer be there. Jesus Himself had once said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." (John 10: 27) Notice it was John, the one who had been so close to Jesus, who now tells Peter, "It is the Lord." (John 21: 7) At that, Peter can't wait to get to Jesus—he dons his fisher's coat, for he had been stripped down to his tunic for work, and "cast himself into the sea." No casting of lines; no casting of nets; now, he casts himself—right into the deep—Jesus' point exactly! Very soon, they would be called to wait for the promise from on high—to be immersed, even baptized, in God's Holy Spirit. From that moment on, Jesus would be present with His people through His Holy Spirit—a deeper presence, even living within them—even to the fullest. And did you notice this contrast? In the first story, the great numbers of fish are emphasized—so many that it takes one and all to bring them in. No doubt, this is a powerful picture of the call upon the whole Body of Christ to be empowered by Him to be "fishers of men.” (Mt. 4: 19) In the second story, Jesus, calling them "children", asks if they had any "meat." This, by the way, was not His version of the modern colloquialism, "Hey, didja' catch anything?" No, first of all, when He calls them "children", it sounds like a term of endearment, but in the Greek, it means infant or half-grown; it implies weakness and childishness—even spiritual immaturity. Many today would take that as an insult, but Jesus is attempting to turn over a few stones—He makes it clear that they have the need to grow up and go deeper in His love and mercy. So much for the stone of mediocrity. Remember—Jesus was fishin'. As He casts out this line to His followers, He made yet another startling point. The Greek word for "meat" refers to little tiny fish, used to make a spread or a dip, which is then used to increase the flavor of other foods. No, they didn't have any. Even after they pull in the 153 big fish, they don't have any. In fact, notice that as they all get to shore, Jesus asks Peter to bring their catch over, but He doesn't use them—He already had the breakfast prepared, and now says to them, "Come and dine." (vs. 12) He isn't looking to use your greatness for His purposes. In fact, He can only really use you when you recognize His greatness. You and I can't bring anything to our salvation, but ourselves, surrendered to what He wants to do in us. We can't even bring any of our own abilities and strength to our spiritual growth—it's all Him, He has prepared it all. Our part is to come and dine, at His merciful request! Dejavu, all over again?— When He fed over 5,000 people, there was one "small" boy, one "small" lunch, and two "small" fish—the same word as he used on the beach. From beginning to end—and even in between—the mercy of God makes clear that only as we recognize our "smallness" and His "bigness," do we really get anywhere spiritually. This summer, go a-fishin'—let the stones of mediocrity towards God, and its traveling companion, "bigness" of self-importance, be rolled away. Jesus did, and now He calls out to us to go a-fishin', too. Launch out into the deep, and just watch the Lord bring lost souls in! Copyright (c)
2005 Christ Our Rock Bible Church. |
