John 21:1-19
May 4, 2025
I was trying to quickly log in to an account last week with an organization where I needed to check the status of an upcoming meeting, but before I got into my account I got that annoying message on my computer screen that always seems to appear when I’m in a hurry. The message: “It’s time to change your password. Please choose a password that contains at least 8 characters. One must be an upper case letter, one must be a number, and one must be a special character, such as an exclamation point, an asterisk, or the number sign.” So I tried entering one of my old passwords for the account, thinking that would work, but it was rejected. Finally I entered a new password that was accepted and I was able to get into my account.
It seems like we have a lot of numbers we have to remember: PIN numbers, passwords with numbers, and the 3 digit security code on the back of our credit card. Some numbers are fun to remember, such as your wedding date, the money you saved by purchasing an item on sale, or your best golf score. Other numbers are not so pleasant to remember: such as the amount you had to pay in taxes this year, the losing score of a game, or the date of a loved one’s death. If I were to ask you to name some memorable numbers from the Bible you might say 10 for the 10 Commandments, or 40 for the 40 days it rained while Noah was on the ark, or maybe 5000 for the number of people Jesus fed with the 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Numbers are so important in Scripture that we even have a book of the Bible titled, “Numbers.” But out of all the numbers you might think of from the Bible, I don’t believe anyone here today would say 153.
Apparently, though, that number was important to John, the writer of our Gospel lesson. When John was describing the fish that the disciples caught, saying in verse 11, “So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn.” You will notice that he did not say the disciples caught so many fish that their “nets were full,” or that they caught “over 150 fish.” No, instead John gave us an exact number – 153. Many people throughout the ages have tried to find some kind of symbolic value in the number 153, but that’s really missing the point. 153 was important to John, because those fish were evidence of a miracle that Jesus used to inspire and assure His disciples that He would always care for them as He sent them out into the world as His witnesses. To us and to most people, those fish might have appeared to be nothing special, but once you consider how and why they got there, I think you will realize that those were 153 life-changing fish.
Life-changing, because of who put them there. It was not luck that enabled the disciples to catch those fish. It was a miracle from Jesus, who caused those 153 fish to fill the disciples’ net. But the life-changing thing about this miracle was simply that Jesus was there.
Last week we heard how Jesus all of a sudden appeared to His disciples in a locked room and showed them the scars on His hands from the nails and spoke to them to prove that He really was alive, He had actually come back from the dead. So you would think that would have changed their lives to the point that they would be telling everyone they knew, “Jesus is alive, Alleluia!” But they don’t do that, instead they go back to their old trade as they spend the night fishing.
On the one hand, you could say these 7 disciples might as well be 21st century Christians by the way they acted or responded to Easter, as things quickly seemed to have returned to normal in their lives. These guys spent 3 years walking with Jesus. They listened to His teachings, witnessed His miracles, they experienced the grief of the cross, and the joy of the resurrection, but in response to all this, what do they do? They go back to their boats as if the past 3 years meant nothing. “Easter’s over, so it’s back to the routine.” Sounds a little bit like us, doesn’t it?
Two weeks ago we celebrated our Lord’s resurrection. The church was filled, some of you traveled to be with friends or relatives for Easter, and we heard the Good News that Jesus defeated death and the devil so that we can live with Him now and forever in heaven. But that was 2 weeks ago, now the lilies are gone, students are back in school, and things are back to normal. Has the news that Jesus has risen from the dead made any difference in our lives?
On the other hand, maybe the disciples just did not know what to do with this incredible news or what they should be doing. I would equate it to waking up on a Saturday morning at 7:00am. You know there are several things that have to get done: the garage needs cleaning, the grass needs cutting, the garden needs weeding, the house needs vacuuming, and the laundry needs to be done, so what do you do? You roll over and go back to sleep, because you just don’t know where to begin. Something similar may have happened with the disciples. Maybe they did not know what to do, so they go fishing – they go back to the ordinary routines of their lives. And what happens? Verse 3 tells us, “They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.” Then, from the shore a person calls to them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. So they did. The Bible doesn’t tell us why they listened to that person, but when they catch this large amount of fish, they all of a sudden realize that the person on the shore was Jesus.
Jesus’ appearing to His disciples in this ordinary event serves as a reminder to them and to all of us what Jesus meant when He said, “I will be with you always.” Many times we don’t look for Jesus in ordinary circumstances or common events. Instead, we often look for Jesus only when we’re facing storms, difficulties, or undertaking some new or big project. Even though the crises of our lives might be the things we remember the most, it’s in the common, ordinary things of life that we need to see Jesus, such as when you go to class, sit at your computer in the office, work outside in the yard, or run errands. Jesus is and wants to be involved in our lives, and not just as a last resort when we’re scared or facing a huge challenge, but as our constant companion and friend, as we sit down at meals, talk with our family and friends, and do our work around the house. Jesus’ disciples weren’t doing anything extraordinary that morning, but Jesus met them and blessed them where they were. Those 153 fish remind us that He wants to do the same for us, to bless us in amazing, extraordinary ways in ordinary times and places.
While these disciples certainly followed Jesus’ instructions about putting their nets down on the other side of the boat, I’m sure we all know that they did not always follow or obey Jesus perfectly. The first 2 disciples mentioned in this text are Peter, who denied ever knowing Jesus when Jesus was on trial, and Thomas, who doubted that Jesus was alive on Easter. These were not perfect disciples with perfect faith whom Jesus was rewarding with a perfect catch of fish; rather they were sinners like you and me, who needed Jesus’ love and forgiveness, because they had no way of saving themselves or making up for all the ways in which they had offended, denied, or doubted Jesus.
Everything Jesus did for them and does for us flows entirely from His grace – His undeserved love for undeserving sinners. And as Jesus provided fish for these disciples and then prepared a simple breakfast for them, His message to them was come as you are. They didn’t have to be perfect, they didn’t have to be worthy, they didn’t have to change in order to be welcomed by Him, and neither do we. While Jesus says to all of us today, “Come as you are,” at the same time He does not want us to “Stay as we are.” What I mean is, we come to this place for worship and to this altar for Holy Communion with all of our sins and imperfections, but after hearing God’s Word and receiving this meal, hopefully we leave here as changed individuals.
Those 153 fish helped change the disciples as they realized that Jesus would not only take care of them in an emergency, but He would take care of them at all times. And the same is true for us. No matter what you are going through, in times of peace or in times of crisis, Jesus will always take care of you. Those 153 fish can really change your life when you see the lesson in this story, that being: Trust in the Lord always, for He is always with you. That’s an amazing, yet simple story of our Savior that our world needs to hear from all of us.
