Ninth Appearance

Ninth appearance (John. 21: 1-23)

The Lord appeared to the disciples at the lake of Tiberias at Galilee, where they had gone fishing. The disciples had toiled all night and had caught nothing Early in the morning Lord Jesus Christ appeared to them and said, “Children, have ye any meat?” They answered Him, “No.” And he said unto them, “Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find”. (John 21: 5,6). They obeyed Him immediately, and were not able to pull the net in to the boat for great number of fish. There were 153 large fishes and yet the net was not broken (John 21: 11). By this miracle the Lord taught His servants the disciples, the secret of an abundantly fruitful ministry in His service. Many of us go on struggling hard in the Lord’s work and yet see no result because we go here and there without finding God’s plan. We depend too much upon our own zeal and wisdom. But when we learn the secret of finding God’s plan for our ordinary activities we find the Lord coming in and making our labors fruitful. At the same time He taught His disciples that just as the fishes obeyed the Lord Jesus Christ when He commanded them to go into the net without struggling, we have to obey His command and do what he asks and give Him what He demands from us. What an orderly manner these great fishes came into the net without any striving because they had heard the voice of the Creator. Similarly, in His service we have to keep ourselves under His subjection free from any spirit of striving or Jealousy.

When the disciples came to the shore they saw a fire, and fish upon it, and bread (John 21: 9). There by the Lord showed them that as they obeyed Him He made every provision for all their needs. The same applies to us. Fire speaks of the Love with which He prepared it to keep them warm. At the same time it speaks of the fullness of the sprit, which we enjoy in His service when we obey Him fully. The fish speaks of the souls who are saved through us as we obey His commandments, and the bread, speaks of the Word of God upon which we have to feed daily to receive extra strength. Then the Lord questioned Peter, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?………Feed my lambs …. Feed my sheep”(John 21: 15,16). This shows how our love can be real only when we learn to feed His lamb, and His sheep and shepherd them. It is only by helping others in their need and in bearing the burdens of each other with joy and sacrifice that we bring satisfaction to the loving heart of the Lord Jesus Christ, our great Chief shepherd.