Sunday, April 30, 2006
Déjà Vu
"Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. '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. Early in the morning, [a certain man stood on the shore]. ... He called out to them, 'Friends, haven't you any fish?' 'No,' they answered. 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. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved [and author of this story, John] said to Peter, 'It is the Lord!'" (John 21:2-7 NIV)
Many times I read the Bible as a guide on how to live. But as Joe read this story this morning in Sunday school, I was reminded that the Gospel of John was a personal story from the eyes of John, whom Jesus loved, the son of Zebedee. Unlike the Qur'an or Book of Mormon, this book was not written to be a holy book but a personal story. John seems to have been a good friend of Peter. He saw the transfiguration of Jesus with Peter; he went a little further into the garden at Gethsemane with Peter; and he went to the empty tomb with Peter. To the casual reader, the above story is just another story about Jesus and his disciples. But John was telling the story with certain feelings. I can imagine John grabbing his friend Peter by the shoulder and saying, 'It is the Lord!' How did John know? The section I edited read, '... Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.' So it was not by appearance. Why did John address Peter? Because of something from the past ...
"He [Jesus] got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, 'Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.' Simon answered, 'Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.' When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat [remember this phrase] to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, 'Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!' For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners [recall previous phrase]. ... So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him." (Luke 5:3-11)
The impression of the second catch would impact John so much that he would remember the number of fish they caught after seeing Jesus alive: 153! (John 21:11) God is a personal God; for real.
Many times I read the Bible as a guide on how to live. But as Joe read this story this morning in Sunday school, I was reminded that the Gospel of John was a personal story from the eyes of John, whom Jesus loved, the son of Zebedee. Unlike the Qur'an or Book of Mormon, this book was not written to be a holy book but a personal story. John seems to have been a good friend of Peter. He saw the transfiguration of Jesus with Peter; he went a little further into the garden at Gethsemane with Peter; and he went to the empty tomb with Peter. To the casual reader, the above story is just another story about Jesus and his disciples. But John was telling the story with certain feelings. I can imagine John grabbing his friend Peter by the shoulder and saying, 'It is the Lord!' How did John know? The section I edited read, '... Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.' So it was not by appearance. Why did John address Peter? Because of something from the past ...
"He [Jesus] got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, 'Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.' Simon answered, 'Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.' When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat [remember this phrase] to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, 'Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!' For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners [recall previous phrase]. ... So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him." (Luke 5:3-11)
The impression of the second catch would impact John so much that he would remember the number of fish they caught after seeing Jesus alive: 153! (John 21:11) God is a personal God; for real.
# posted by Wesley Son of Cornelius @ 9:20 PM 
