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If I told you that Jesus is here right now, would you believe me? Most of you would, or would at least want to. You’d remember that he said, “Where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” (Matthews 18:20) and take his presence here on faith.

So, let me ask you: if he is here, why doesn’t he do something to let us know? If he is with you on Thursday at work, why doesn’t he let you know? When you are going to the hospital for a test, why doesn’t he reveal himself. Couldn’t he at least make it so that when you turn on the radio, you’d hear the lyrics, “Fear not, I am with you”?

Why do we go through days and weeks without sensing him? As an atheist once said to me, “If he really exists and wants everyone to believe in him, why doesn’t he write us a message across the sky that everyone can see?”

If God’s goal was to prove that he exists, perhaps that is what he would do. But if his goal is to transform human beings into genuinely free, authentically good people who can intelligently engage with him in his plan for creation, that might not be helpful. An appearance a minute on his part, or even an appearance at the last-minute to save the day, would not accomplish what he’s after and might even delay it.

But if he isn’t going to show himself – at least not in the way my atheist friend suggested – where does that leave us? Are we just supposed to pray and read the Bible all the time? Do we dare do something just because we enjoy it? What are we supposed to be doing?

The apostles must have wondered the same thing after Jesus’s resurrection. He was no longer with them all the time, as he had been. Over a period of 40 days, he came and went, but mostly he went. What were they supposed to be doing when he wasn’t there?

They had not seen him for a while when (verse one) “Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias.” There are three things to note in this sentence. First the word “appeared.” A literal translation would be – but we don’t talk this way in English – “Jesus appeared himself.” It means to “make visible what would otherwise be unseen.” The idea is that Jesus was with the disciples even when they didn’t see him. When he made himself visible to them, it was at his discretion and for their good. That he wasn’t always visible to them was a new kind of good. Remember, he had told them, “It is for your good that I am going away” (John 16:7).

Over that forty-day period when Jesus appeared and, just as importantly, disappeared,he was teaching his disciples to trust that he was present even when they didn’t see him. They would need to know that in the days ahead. We need to know that too.

The second word to notice is again. This certainly refers to the previous appearances – one week apart – in the upper room. But John, who loves double meanings, might also be referring to an earlier time when Jesus revealed himself to his disciples on this same body of water. When they were caught out on the lake in a terrible storm, Jesus calmed the wind and the waves with a word. That’s was a revelation to the disciples. St. Luke writes, “In fear and amazement, they asked one another, ‘Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.’”

The third thing to notice is the name of the lake: Tiberias. Herod Antipas founded the city of Tiberias on the shores of Galilee in 20 A.D. in honor of the emperor. That’s when the name of the lake was officially changed, but locals continued calling it “Galilee.” In the New Testament, only John ever calls the lake by its official name. I think that’s because he was writing fifty or sixty years later to people living in modern-day Turkey, who would know the lake (if they knew it at all) as the Sea of Tiberias. When you think of it, this is supporting evidence for the authenticity of this gospel.

Verse two gives us the names of the disciples who were together. First, Peter. That is no surprise: he is always mentioned first in every list of the apostles. But notice that Thomas is mentioned second—the only time that ever happens. Then Nathaniel. Then James and John, the sons of the commercial fisherman Zebedee. And then there are two unnamed disciples.

Peter, who had failed miserably – and publicly – a few weeks before, is still a part of the group. In fact, he is still its leader. When he says, “I’m going fishing,” the other six chime in, “We’ll go with you.”

Preachers often fault Peter for going fishing. One says that Peter “was turning back to his old life,” and lists four evidences that the disciples were in the wrong. He says that, (1) the darkness indicated “that they [were] not walking in the light; (2) they had no direct word from the Lord; (3) their efforts met with failure; (4) they did not recognize Christ when He did appear, showing that their spiritual vision was dim.”^[1]

I think that preacher misread the situation. (1) When Jesus appears, he does not rebuke Peter and the others for fishing; and, in fact, (2) he helps them. And (3) while they had no direct word from the Lord, neither do we on many occasions. And (4) Jesus went on to commission Peter right then and there, with the others as witnesses. I don’t think Peter and the others were doing anything wrong.

But whether the fishing trip was blameworthy or commendable, one thing is clear: it was not successful. Verse 3: “That night” (nighttime was the prime time to fish on Galilee) “they caught nothing.”

Now, verse 4: “Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.” The preacher I mentioned faulted the disciples for not recognizing Jesus, but would they recognize him from a hundred yards away in the gray light of dawn? I doubt a man would recognize his own father under those conditions.

So, Jesus stands in the half-light on the shore and, verse 5, calls out to them: “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” The Greek reads, Children rather than Friends. It would be like an Englishman calling out, “Lads, you don’t have any fish to eat, do you?” (That’s the way the question is phrased in the original language.)

Their reply is a terse “No.” When you have been fishing all night and you haven’t caught even a little one, and somebody says, “Well boys, you didn’t catch anything, did you?” you don’t feel very talkative.

Today, people would criticize Jesus for being insensitive to their feelings. I think Jesus asked the question because he knows that until we admit that what we’re doing isn’t working, we won’t try something else. So, he draws the admission from them, however reluctantly. Then, when he tells them to throw out their net on the right side of the boat, they were willing to give it a try. When they did, they made a huge catch of fish.

Everyone sprang into action, pulling nets, shoving oars and equipment out of the way, making room in the boat. They tried hoisting their catch over the gunnel, but it was too heavy. While they were debating what to do, the beloved disciple, whom most scholars think was the Apostle John, had an “Ah, ha!” moment. The man on shore was Jesus! He was sure of it.

Everyone else was so excited about the catch that they hardly gave a thought to the man on shore (which, by the way, happens in churches, too. We can get so caught up in church work that we ignore the church’s Lord.). But when the beloved disciple said to Peter, “It is the Lord,” Peter knew he was right. Every church needs people like the beloved disciple, people who are quick to recognize the Lord. They are often not the first to act, but they are the first to perceive, the first to recognize that some leading is from the Lord.

Once Peter knew it was the Lord, he wrapped his outer garment around him and jumped into the water. Now, if I was going into jump in the water, I would take my outer garment off. Why did Peter put his on?

He wanted to be dressed when he greeted Jesus. In Judaism, a greeting was a religious act, just as it is today in Islam. Even the Greeks would not greet one another when they were not suitably clothed. For example, no one exchanged greetings in the public baths.

Whatever was the case with Peter, he did not wait for the others. He wanted to see Jesus. And that is just like what we know of Peter. Always the first to act. Always the leader. The others followed in the boat. Unable to hoist the net over the gunnel, they had decided to pull it behind the boat until they got to shore.

When they arrived, they found a charcoal fire with some fish cooking on it, as well as some bread. Jesus said to them, verse 10, “Bring some of the fish you just caught,” and Peter (once again) took the lead. He climbed aboard, untied the net, and dragged the fish to shore. Some commentators see this as a miracle. They say Peter was given supernatural strength to lift the net. I’m not so sure. For one thing, dragging the net is a very different thing than lifting it. For another, just because Peter responded first does not mean that others did not join in. I doubt they would just sit there and watch their friend do all the work.

John tells us that the net was full of large fish, and he mentions a specific number – 153. That number has fascinated Bible readers ever since. Some have found great significance in it—or at least, they assume there is great significance in it – and they have come up with some novel theories to explain it.

The church father, Jerome, claimed that the total number of species of fish in the world is 153, and that one of each was in the disciples’ net. (Jerome was only off by about 37,000 species.) Other people added the numerical value of Simon’s name, 76, to the numerical value of the Greek word ἰχθύς (fish), 77, to come up with 153. Still others see the number 100 as representing the Gentiles, the number 50 as representing the Jews, and the number 3 as representing the Trinity. There are other ideas out there besides.

I think they are all suspect and some are just plain silly. I think the real reason John said there were 153 fish was because – don’t be shocked – there were 153 fish. John has a penchant for being precise, which we see throughout this gospel. If he were here today and you asked him the time, he wouldn’t say, 10:50; he would say 10:51. That was just the kind of guy he was.

And he was another kind of guy, as well, which we mustn’t forget. He was a fisherman – and a commercial fisherman, at that. I once went on a fly-in trip to a remote Canadian lake. One day, my friends Dave and Bill fished for pike and caught 70 of them. How do I know? If you were a fisherman, you wouldn’t need to ask. Fisherman keep track, especially of big catches. If I were to call Dave up today, twenty years later, and ask how many fish they caught that day, he would know. If universities required biblical exegesis majors to take an immersive study abroad in fishing, it would make for better biblical scholarship.

So, what does all this mean for us? First, what we have here is a visual, real-life commentary on John 15:5: “Apart from me you can do nothing.” The professional fisherman caught nothing until Jesus joined them. We, too, need him to join us: in our marriages, our parenting, at work, at school, and especially at church. When he joins us, it makes all the difference. You can work (for instance) on your marriage. You might do everything you can think of, but if he is not in it with you don’t expect too much. But ask him to join you – better yet, ask to join him in his plans for your marriage – and watch what happens.

Next, the beloved disciple was the first to recognize Jesus. Every church needs its beloved disciples – the people who discern the Lord in the events of everyday life. How did he know it was the Lord? I think he put together the sound of his voice (remember – my sheep hear my voice) with what resulted from following his directions.

Those are keys for us, too, if we want to recognize him. First, we need to learn to distinguish his voice when he speaks to us. We can start by familiarizing ourselves with its tones. The principal way we do this is by spending time – significant time – in the Scriptures. (Anyone who ignores his voice in Scripture yet expects to hear him speak in time of need is just fooling himself.)

Here are some truths about his voice: He speaks with authority. He never whines. His voice is never grating. A person struggling with guilt need never think the voice that says, “You stupid jerk!” is his. That is not how he speaks. If you want to be like the beloved disciple, want to alert the rest of us, “It is the Lord,” you must learn to recognize his voice. That means spending time with the Scriptures.

Secondly, when the effects are greater than the effort, the Lord is near. When John saw the great catch of fish, he immediately discerned the Lord’s hand in it. When the American evangelist D. L. Moody went to England to preach, Dr. R. W. Dale made a point of attending the meetings. He wanted to discover the secret of Moody’s effectiveness. After two or three days he made an appointment to see Moody, and this is what he told him: “The work here is plainly of God, for I can see no relation between you and what is being accomplished.” In other words, “How could an uncultured, uneducated yokel like you accomplish what is happening here? It must be God.”

(Moody, by the way, was not offended in the least. He laughed and said that he would be very sorry if it were otherwise. He knew that when the results are incommensurate with our efforts, the Lord is at work.^[2]) 

Cal Road needs its beloved disciples, the people who are quick to recognize the Lord. Will you be one of them? Will you learn his tones, discern his hand? But we also need men women like Peter, who jump right in, people who lead the rest of us in following Jesus. Maybe God is calling you to be one of those people. If so, don’t let anything get in your way.

Peter could have let his recent failure – he had denied his master, betrayed his trust, and disgraced himself – get in his way. Yet he rushed to be with Jesus. Why? Because he knew the kind of person Jesus is: forgiving, loving, great to be around, always a faithful friend. Perhaps he had been hesitant to see Jesus before, but not now.

Maybe you are hesitant to come near to Jesus because something in your past is holding you back. If you only knew the kind of person Jesus is, you’d come. He is forgiving – he won’t look down on you, whatever you’ve done. He’ll welcome you. If you ask his forgiveness, you’ll have it, and he won’t keep bringing up your fault. He wants you to be with him.

One last thing. On three different occasions, Jesus said something like, “Whatever is concealed will be revealed.” We take that as a warning that our secret sins will be exposed, and that may be the case on one of those occasions, but the principle is broader than that. We’ve been talking about how Jesus is concealed now, at least from most eyes most of the time, but it will not always be so. Now, when we don’t see him, we still believe in him, as St. Peter said. But the day is coming when we will see him, and just one look will change us forever.

God grant us that look, and may we be glad of it.

Blessing/Sending (Psalm 67; John 14)

May God be merciful to you and bless you. May He smile with kindness upon you, that His ways may be known throughout the earth, and His saving power among people everywhere. Now go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

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^[1]Wiersbe, W. W. (1992). Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New Testament (p. 269). Victor Books.

^[2] From Dallas Willard, Hearing God, IVP © 1999 p. 49