Recognizing Jesus

This morning I read John 21:1-14, where Jesus appears to his disciples while they are out fishing. There is something so captivating about the ways that Jesus did things. He did things in a way that makes you recognize him, and know that you are encountering something truly magnificent.

The disciples had gone out to fish, something that many of them would have been good at. They made a living out of it before any of them had met Jesus. But this night, they didn't catch a single fish. Have you ever gone fishing only to not actually catch any fish? It's very discouraging. And in their day, they were using nets. They would have been exhausted, hungry, and disheartened. 

The disciples knew Jesus was still alive at this point, but for some reason, chose to return back to the familiar; to the "before Jesus" days. I believe they were doing a little soul searching. Perhaps they were unsure of what to do next. We can't be sure, but sometimes uncertainty can drive you back to familiar times, even if those familiar things act in opposition to the identity or calling God has given you today.

So there they are: exhausted, hungry, disheartened, and soul searching. One thing is becoming clear: they desperately need Jesus.

After the disciples spend their night fishing to no avail, Jesus appears on the shore and shouts out to them, "Children, do you have any fish?" 

"No."

"Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." 

Desperate to catch something, they throw the net out, and before long they are overloaded with fish. Then something important happens. 

John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, recognizes Jesus. In John 21:7 is says "That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, 'It is the Lord!'" Therefore seeing what had taken place, John recognized Jesus. The intervention and action of Jesus in this situation was something familiar to John that he was able to see.

Peter's response is a great picture of how our hearts were meant to work when our Lord enters the situation. It says that he "threw himself into the sea" to swim out to Jesus. He couldn't wait for the boat to get there. His Lord had come. 

But here's perhaps the most interesting part of this passage. It says in verse 12, "Now none of the disciples dared ask him, 'Who are you?' They knew it was the Lord." This shows me that Jesus' physical appearance was different enough that there was even some question as to who this man was. But that didn't matter. Jesus heart was the same.

Jesus saw everything they needed in that moment. He gave them a renewed energy and vigor. He encouraged them and gave them a catch. He fed them breakfast to satisfy their hunger. But most of all, he restored to them their identity and purpose. He reminded them, much as he had at the first, to leave their nets, take up their crosses, and be fishers of men.

He didn't walk with them for 3 years on Earth, revealing mysteries and wonders, discipling and training, pruning and shaping them, for them to continue as fishermen.

Are you continuing in the purpose, calling, and identity that God has shaped for you thus far, or are you picking up old nets? Do you look at your situation and recognize the Lord's presence and intervention like John and Peter, or are you just looking at your empty catch?

Choose today to see the Lord. Let it restore you. Let it captivate you. Let it change you. Whatever God is doing in your life right now, I can guarantee, it is truly magnificent.