Catching nothing
Children, have you any food?” They answered Him, “No”(John 21:5).
It is extraordinary how the Lord uses the simplest of activities to teach us profound spiritual lessons. Peter had left his occupation as a fisherman to follow the Lord and become “a fisher of men” (Luke 5:1-11). In John 21 we see Peter returning to his occupation and taking others with him. That night they caught nothing. On the face of it, this seemed a pretty straightforward event. But it tells us so much about what happens when we decide to act in our own strength. Despite all our efforts and persistence, there is no blessing. Peter was not at peace, because he had denied the Lord, and the matter had not been settled. So what did he do? He went back to what he knew best. His friends and fellow disciples were equally unsettled and followed him. Peter, for all his failures, was a leader; wherever he went, others followed. How important it is to realise that, when we go in the wrong direction, we can also lead others to do the same.
But the incident also gives us an insight into how we should serve the Lord, particularly in evangelism. Fishing was a picture the Lord Jesus used in the Gospels to describe evangelising: “I will make you fishers of men.” He visualises how the widespread preaching of the Gospel would lead vast multitudes to Himself. However, evangelism can never be successful unless it is done under the direction of the Lord and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Here, they had caught nothing, and the Lord told them in the most precise way, “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
This wasn’t the first time that Peter and his friends had toiled all night and caught nothing. In Luke 5, after speaking to the crowds, the Lord Jesus told Peter: “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Peter replied, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” That day they caught so many fish their nets began to break. But something else happened: Peter fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” He discovered that he was in the presence of the Person he would later confess as “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Peter was afraid, and felt a deep sense of his unworthiness. But the Lord said to him, “Do not be afraid. From now on, you will catch men.” Then Peter and his friends forsook all and followed Jesus.
In the opening verses of John 21 we see the amazing grace of the Saviour. Whilst the disciples struggled, the Saviour waited for the moment when they realised all their efforts were fruitless and there was nothing more they could do. Then the Lord asked them a simple question, “Children, have you any food?” And they answered Him, “No.” The Lord did not want them simply to discover weakness and fruitlessness, but to know Himself and His extraordinary grace. As we shall see, He is the source of all blessing.
