After
these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the
Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself: Simon Peter,
Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons
of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together.
Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to
him, "We are going with you also." They went out and immediately
got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. But
when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the
disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Then Jesus said to
them, "Children, have you any food?" They answered Him, "No."
And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the
boat, and you will find some." So they cast, and now they were
not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.
Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is
the Lord!" Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he
put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged
into the sea. (John 21:1-7)
The dust had settled. Everything was
quiet. Jesus Christ had been buried. They had rumors about
His resurrection but they were not sure, because they have
never seen a man that died and resurrected himself. The
disciples were all in state of quandary. They were somehow
confused and downcast. They must have wondered, “How could
the Savior who had delivered others in the time past died
like that?” “If he could not deliver himself, who will
deliver us from the hands of the people if we come out to
preach the gospel,” they thought. The disciples hid
themselves. There was no preaching of the gospel because
there was no one to champion the course and lead other
disciples and therefore no miracle took place. But how long
can a man hid? Peter summoned up courage. Perhaps he said to
himself, “I cannot be hiding myself for ever.” He told the
rest of the disciples, “I am going out to fish”
The
Sea of Tiberias is also known as the Sea of Galilee. “After this
things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of
Tiberias.”
(John 6:1) There are many events that tied to the Sea of Galilee in
the mission of mercy of Jesus Christ on earth. It was from this sea
that Jesus Christ called the first two disciples. ‘And Jesus,
walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter,
and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were
fishers. And he saith unto them, “Follow me, and I will make you
fishers of men.”’ (Matthew 4:18-19) It was on this sea that
Jesus calmed the tempest. “And behold, there arose a great
tempest in the sea, in so much that the ship was covered with the
waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke
him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, “Why
are ye fearful, O yet of little faith?” Then he arose, and rebuked
the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.” (Matthew
8:24-26) This was the sea that the Peter grew up to know.
Perhaps the sea had been bringing their livelihood to them in the
past before they became the disciples of Jesus Christ. It was not an
abomination for fishermen to fish in this sea, but it is a disaster
for Fisher of Men to fish in the Sea of Tiberias because it is a
spiritual failure.
The
power of a leader is measure in terms of the crowd he pulls.
Foresightedness is one of the unique attributes of leadership. When
a leader cannot envisage what could be the likely effect of his
decisions on others is a leadership failure. When Peter abandoned a
boat filled with fish to follow Jesus Christ, his brother Andrew
behold his foresightedness and his leadership qualities, he came
along with him. In the same manner, when Peter told the other
disciples of Jesus Christ that he was going out to fish, all of them
followed him. That was the first leadership role he played after the
death of our Lord Jesus Christ and was in the wrong direction.
There are many ways God is speaking to man. The principle of sowing
and reaping is real and is one of the natural principles of life.
The once upon a time professional fishermen went to the sea they
grew up with, the sea knew very much and were aware of the
characteristics of the fishes in the ocean to a fishing expedition.
As fishermen, they were at the right place to do the right thing.
They toiled all night but they did not catch a single fish. They sow
but they did not reap. Undoubtedly something was wrong. How can
professional fishermen fished in an ocean without catching a single
fish? Perhaps the fishes went on vacation. Absolutely not! The
fishes are abundant in the ocean but the so-called fishermen are
doing something wrong. When a man is in a wrong business, no matter
how hard he works, he will eventually fail. The fishermen did not
realize that they have been transformed. For the past three years,
the Son of Man had been shaping and molding Peter and other
disciples to become Fisher of Men. The mission had been completed on
them but they did not realize this. The Fishers of Men cannot go on
fishing expedition on the sea to fish because men do not live in the
sea. They were at the wrong place doing the wrong business and that
is why the law of sowing and reaping did not manifesting increase in
their efforts. That was why the Fisher of Men toiled all night and
did not catch any fish. They had been prepared to catch men that
were at the verge of destruction in the hell fire. They were trained
to rescue men out of the clutches of Satan and lead them to
salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ. They were prepared to bind the
strong man in their territory in order to sow the seed of gospel.
They were trained to bring light into the darkness of the world
around them. They were the instrument that the Creator had prepared
from the beginning of the world to bring salvation to the whole
world. They were undoubtedly chasing after winds when they were in
the wrong business of fishing in the sea of Tiberias.
God
was talking to the disciples loud and clear that they have placed
their right steps in the wrong direction but they were not sensitive
enough to pick up the spiritual signals. Perhaps Christ was pointing
to Peter in this event that I called you out of the fishing boat on
this sea to be a Fisher of Men, that he was not suppose to return to
the same sea looking for fish. Perhaps the Lord was pointing to him
that upon this sea I showed you to be an over comer when He calmed
the tempest that Peter may know that he was above the storm of this
world. Perhaps the Lord was reminding Peter that I bid you to come
to me from the boat, and you walk on the water by my power
indicating that his spiritual stature has been raised above the
power of nature. Perhaps Jesus Christ was telling Peter that I
commanded you to cast your fishing hook in to this same sea, in
order to fetch coin from the mouth of the fish to pay tax indicating
to Peter that his means of livelihood is no longer in the product of
the sea but by Me, Jehovah Jireh, the Lord that Provideth.
Perhaps Peter and the rest of the disciples were at the very spot
where Jesus called Peter and his brother, Andrew in order that the
Lord might reveal a complete cycle of life of a sinner. “Cast your
net to the right side of the ship,” is a powerful command from the
Creator of the universe. It is also a powerful metaphor that is
applicable to our day to day situations. Peter had heard this
instruction at the beginning of his calling. In obedience he
followed it and miracle manifested. He abandoned the provision and
decided to follow the Provider.
The
same word came to Peter and other disciples after they had toiled
all night fishing on the sea of Tiberias. ‘Cast your net to the
right side of the ship’ could be interpreted as, ‘focus your
spiritual leadership qualities on righteous ventures.’ Or it could
be, ‘concentrate your potentials on the right profession’ and lastly
it could be, ‘As a leader, your decision carries weight, and carries
others along with you, therefore make a righteous decision that will
give glory to God. Perhaps, literarily, Peter listened to the
instruction of Jesus Christ, he caught many fishes. Peter listened
again and in submission he cast his net to the right side of the
boat he caught many fishes, yet he had not realized.
Although the disciples were stretched out and tired but not all of
them were spiritually sleeping. They were not bargaining for any
surprise at all. But one big surprise was waiting for them. John the
beloved disciple whom Jesus loves realized and said to Peter, “It is
the Lord.” The Lord was waiting at the shore for soldiers of Christ
that had abandoned their posts. Not with a rod of punishment, not
even with harsh words of rebuking. He was waiting for them to apply
love against their unfaithfulness. He was waiting at the shore of
Tiberias to extend His caring hands instead of His consuming anger.
He asked the disciples to come and dine – a rare invitation you
extend to children that have messed up. He did not complain about
their disappointing behaviors. He did not ask them why they returned
to fishing profession within the short time. Jesus Christ did not
even demand for an apology. He was teaching them a unique lesson.
When a true child of God blew it, he does not need anybody to tell
him that he had sinned. Holy Spirit will convict him of his
unbecoming behaviors. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways. . .” (Isaiah 55:8) Our Lord Jesus
Christ in His divine wisdom that is different from ours, He covered
all the human errors of the disciples with His immense love.
“Love covereth all sins.” (Proverbs 10:12) He communicated to
them in a special way that made them become remorseful of their
actions. They all listened to Him and were all restored.
Because of spiritual insensitivity, many people have gone astray
from the path of life. There are many great servants of the Lord
that began the eternal journey very well but along their spiritual
pathway, they derailed and crashed. They fall astray because they
failed to perceive the voice of the Lord. Solomon began very well.
He built the temple of God in Jerusalem and he led the entire
Israelites to the house of the Living God to worship the Creator.
God demanded only one thing from him, ‘the integrity of heart and
uprightness of mind.’ He discarded the law of God and began to
live according to his wisdom. His wisdom led him to marry seven
hundred wives and three hundred concubines of foreign nations as
against the law of God, in order that he may achieve peace that he
craved. He got the needed peace but at the expenses of the divine
favor of God and His divine blessings. He ended up his journey in
the presence of detestable idol god of Chemosh, and his kingdom
became degenerated and divided into fractional units. Demas was a
co-labourer with Paul in his calling as an apostle to the Gentiles.
He forsook Paul because he loved this present world and departed
from faith. (II Timothy 4:10)
If
you are toiling all day long in your Christian journey, and it seems
that you are getting no where, perhaps you are fishing in the sea of
Tiberias, at the wrong side of the boat. At this point the arm of
your Creator is stretched towards you to deliver you. He is
communicating to you in a unique way that is specially designed for
you to hear Him so that you can understand His directives. You have
to examine yourself and pay a close attention to your situation.
Listen to the voice of your Creator and follow His directives and
begin to operate on the right side of the boat you will experience
your breakthrough.
