OFFeR FoRGiVNeSS - - - John 21 : 1-14

Jesus and the Miraculous Catch of Fish

1Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: 2Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3"I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

4Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

5He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?"
"No," they answered.

6He 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.

7Then 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. 8The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. 9When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

10Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught."

11Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. 13Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

I used this week's bible study for my quiet time today. This passage, like Joe said, a scene right out of a movie. This scene depicted in this passage is so beautiful it just makes me so warm on the inside <3.

After Jesus has risen from the dead and disappeared from the earth, his disciples go back to their daily lives as fishermen. They are unlucky and come back with no fish. But the next day, a man was with them when they were fishing. The man told them to cast down their nets on the other side and with that, they caught a bountiful amount of fish. Then they ate breakfast with the man.

What does this have to do with forgiveness? Forgiving someone is probably one of the hardest things to accomplish in a lifetime. Depending on how badly the person wronged you probably determines the amount of time you would give them until you at most considered reconciling with them. I believe that this is one of the single most terrible downfalls of man. If you think about Jesus not forgiving mankind for mercilessly murdering Him on the cross, things wouldn't be too cool right now.

But in this passage, Jesus steps down from His throne again to see the men that has denied Him. This is like the prodigal son but even better!

I see two pictures in this passage. When the disciples were without Jesus, they were unable to do anything. But when Jesus was with them, they were able to catch fish like before. Basically, we need to be in Jesus and what he stands for. Even if we wrong Him, do not believe that He will not love us again. I for one has done stuff that I'm not proud of, but I pray and ask for forgiveness. Praise the Lord for being so merciful!

Forgive like Jesus forgave us and let this church grow and the fish be plentiful.

Amen.