Fishing like Jesus

How does Jesus teach us to fish?

‘⁵ He {Jesus} called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No”, they answered. ⁶ He 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.’ - John 21:5-6

There’s a lot of fishing in the Gospel. It was a big source of income for many of the people we read about. Their full-time job. The part I love is that wherever we read about fishing, Jesus also seems to appear alongside it. He always seems to make some sort of comment or have some involvement in the quest to catch lots of fish. In John’s Gospel, Jesus calls out to His disciples from the shore and asks them, “Haven’t you any fish?”. Instead of asking ‘Have you caught any fish?” and allowing them to respond positively, Jesus begins His question with ‘Haven’t’ as He already knows the answer. When they reply with “No”, Jesus responds with a commandment. Throw your net over the right-hand side. Not, “You could try…” or “Maybe this will work…” but “Throw your net”. They probably think, ‘Come on, Jesus, we’ve been at this all night. You don’t think a load of fish are just going to magically appear, right?’. Still, in their obedience to Jesus's command, the disciples show us the strength that comes from following Christ's guidance. They catch fish in such large quantities that they can’t haul the net in. I love this story for a few reasons. It teaches us valuable lessons that apply to our lives today.

With Christ, All Is Possible

First and foremost, we learn that with Christ, anything is possible. Mountains can move, and seas will roar. That little whisper in your ear telling you you can’t do it is crushed and washed away. We are new, perfect creations and have the King of Kings and creator of the universe working through us, fighting in our corner.

“¹⁶ For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.” - Colossians 1:16

Paul and Timothy do a pretty good job of capturing just how powerful and Holy Christ is here. There’s not much more I can say to emphasise His great power, but I will say this: If Christ is in you, He will back you up. If you love and trust Christ with all your heart, He will not abandon you. The Kingdom of God is not so much in words but in power. When we preach His name, Christ will perform. Christ is with those who have tried a hundred times, persevered through the darkness of night, and have only a smidgen of energy left. I’m sure the Disciples were feeling that. This is their livelihood, their source of money, their food. Yet, they trusted Jesus, and they had more fish than they knew what to do with. There are countless examples of this throughout the Bible, Joseph in Genesis, David, Mary, Sarah, the list keeps going. It’s only when we try without Christ, that the limitations can doom in on us. We are called to have faith. Keep faith, for Christ is working.

Fishing With a Net

The second reason I love this story is the net. Random, right? As Christians, we are called to go out and spread the Good News of Jesus Christ, but how many of us are quite anxious about doing that? They might judge me or think I’m weird. What if they treat me differently? I’m still combating that every day. When people fish today, and I mean people who do it recreationally, not as a living, they use a hook. They hope one hungry fish will come swimming and get caught on it. Out of our anxiety, we look for one who seems the most open and talk to them about Jesus, hoping they might encounter the Holy Spirit. Let’s hope they are hungry and hook them on. That certainly isn’t a bad thing, but Jesus shows us how to fish with a net. See, with a net, you can catch loads of fish all at once, whether they are hungry or not. The fish are caught before they even realise that they are caught. If we spread the Good News with a net, we will catch many more people than we realise, and if it turns out that they are not hungry, then we let them go. With a net, we can save those who didn’t know where to turn next, who had lost hope, to those who didn’t even realise they needed saving. Some may encounter the Holy Spirit there and then, and others may encounter Him years from now because of the seed you planted. Yes, it may be scary, but remember that Jesus will back you up. When you fish with the net of Jesus, anything is possible.

Fishing On The Right

I keep wondering about the significance of the right-hand side. I suppose, most obviously, the disciples were fishing on the left and hadn’t tried the right yet, but also, that seems illogical as fish would have been swimming all around and under the boat. There is no wall keeping them from crossing. I wanted to unpack this a bit. Firstly, Jesus is teaching us to stop following our wants and start following what He wants. When we try things our way, and not in the way of Jesus, we will not get the best result; we won’t catch any fish. If we stop and listen to what God is telling us, we will be blessed, and the results will be better than we could ever have imagined. As born-again Christians, we are joined by Christ, who sits on the right-hand side of the Father. In the Bible, the right-hand side is something of honour and reverence. We can see the significance of the right-hand countless times: Romans 8:24, Psalm 110:1, Colossians 3:1, Luke 22:69, Mark 16:19, the list continues. Christ is worthy, honoured, revered and equal to the Father within the Godhead, and we are placed with Him through His sacrifice. This is also a great miracle from God as He directed the fish to be there in great numbers. Sometimes, I need to remind myself just how amazing it is that God has control of literally everything; He has dominion over every little thing. Recall Jonah; God directs the big fish to deliver him to safety (Ch2) and directs what seems like an insignificant worm to chew on the plant, that was giving him shade (4:7). It’s amazing how the command, “throw your net on the right-hand side” has so much meaning and significance for us to look out for.

It’s even more amazing how God can communicate with us through the Bible all these years after these events. I didn’t think I would get so much out of some disciples doing their daily fish, but God does certainly work in mysterious ways. The Bible is full of instances like this, and I pray that we seek them out daily.

Lord Jesus,

Thank you that your Word is living, unchanging and unfailing. Thank you that, with you in our corner, we are unstoppable. I ask that you give us the wisdom and discernment to understand what you are telling us and that when we read the Word, new things are revealed through your Holy Spirit. Please be with those who feel lost, disheartened and broken and lift them in the warm embrace of your light and love.

In Your name, Amen🙏🏼