Sunday Soak: Why did the disciples return to fishing?

A fresh take on John 21:1-14

The first brown trout I ever euro nymphed unsupervised. Stoke level: HIGH.

My mentor in euro nymphing always told me, “It’s not the fly; it’s the drift,” and I have a rule that I won’t change a fly out until I know I’ve got my drift right, because no matter how hatch-matched or enticing that fly is to the fish, they’re not biting if it doesn’t look natural in the water. So this past weekend, as I realized just how many months it had been since I had my euro rod out, I fished for probably a good 90 minutes before changing a fly.

It was frustrating and somewhat embarrassing, because sometimes I feel like I’m relearning things I already learned and did well before, and I just want to get out and catch a fish on the first cast. I don’t really want to spend time getting back to the fundamentals.

With that in mind, let’s get back to our fishermen in John 21 this evening. Here’s a refresher:

Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “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.

4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

5 He 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.

7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. 9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

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Why, after Jesus had risen, were the disciples out fishing that night?

Some modern writers¹ are in the habit of looking back in disgust at the disciples for fishing for fish instead of for men, like Jesus had said He would teach them in Matthew 4:19. They look at this as if they were prodigal sons returning to the pig sty. They cast shame on these men as if they had something to repent of by doing anything but evangelizing during this period. 

But is that really what we see in the text?

First, let’s consider who these men are and what they’ve been through. These were seven disciples who knew Jesus, who walked with Him in life, and who went through something traumatic and difficult to understand in his death and resurrection. We don’t know all that Jesus told them when He appeared to them twice before this, nor the exact instructions they were given on where to go and what to do during the time between the Resurrection and Ascension. (Acts 1:3 would indicate that there were many interactions not recorded in the synoptic gospels.) 

But we do know that they didn’t know the rest of the plan yet. They had not received the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-17), nor instructions on the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4), and the Spirit wasn’t yet received (Acts 2:1-13). Their paths were still unknown (John 21:18-19). 

On one occasion in Bethany, before He ascended into Heaven, Jesus actually said, “You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city [of Jerusalem] until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:48-49)

This third appearance at the Sea of Galilee while they’re fishing was before this command, so it clearly was not His plan for them to go around evangelizing in this interperiod. Instead, this was a time of waiting and a time of major change and uncertainty, even if filled with incredulous joy. 

So where did they go? Fishing!

Yes, fishing. This is where Jesus first found Peter, John, Andrew, and James at the start of His ministry. This is where they waited for the Messiah all their lives, and this is where the Messiah first appeared and told them to follow Him when He said they would fish for men. He gave a miraculous catch then, too. 

Do you see this? The disciples returned to the place Jesus first found them. Where He first called them. Where they first knew the sound of His voice and the power of His Word. Where they first knew that obedience to Him produces a harvest we cannot imagine. 

Why are we so against this? I’m not just talking about scholars, but we as humans.

Let me give you an example. I’ve had a really hard couple of years in general. They’ve been riddled with change and hardships. There have been many joys, such as getting married (and we all know how easy wedding and the first year of marriage can be). But hardships have come one after another - making a major career shift, leaving my church, and watching my dad suffer and pass away. 

I went from a high in ministry - feeling like I poured out my heart and soul for Jesus every day - to going through spiritual dryness where I struggled to pray or worship at all. This produced in me feelings of doubt that I was really saved at all and guilt that I wasn’t doing more for the Kingdom. At times that I knew I had missed an opportunity to share the love of Christ with someone, I felt simultaneously like a failure and a fraud, and completely disconnected from who I thought I was as a Christian. “I should be fishing for men,” I would tell myself, which compounded my inability to face God and walk through the hard things with Him.

This came to a head as I faced dark lows in my struggle with grief and depression. I knew I was believing lies about myself, but I feared sliding backwards in my walk with Christ. I didn’t want to have to battle for the truth.  I mean, a woman who has been an active member of the body, a passionate Bible lover, and a fervent pray-er for 15 years should have it together and be able to move forward confidently, right? I was a “mature” Christian. I shouldn’t have to go back to the basics. Again, the problem compounded.

But where I wanted to be wasn’t where I was, and it was in a critical series of weeks when all felt lost that I finally began to return to some fundamental truths. I returned to the building blocks of my testimony - just me and the Bible. I made it a daily practice to rise before the sun, open my Bible, and, as I study a chapter, write out everything that is true about God and everything that is true about me, verse-by-verse. I started in Galatians and moved through some of Paul’s shorter epistles, then to James, now Hebrews.

And do you know what I discovered? That God - the same God I avoided in prayer and worship - was waiting there for me, right where He found me at first as a desperate young woman 15 years ago who didn’t know where to turn. He showed me that my faith was not lost, not backpedaled, and not downgraded, but in need of renewal to bring me to new heights, new depths, new distances.

Miraculously filled with joy I could not explain, I soon realized that what seemed horrifyingly basic to me was actually the food that I need to eat every day for sustenance. That food is the Gospel truth that I am saved by faith alone through the saving grace of Jesus Christ alone alone. I need to remember my testimony and proclaim the Good News to myself as I seek the Lord in prayer - desperately, humbly, and joyfully each and every day. 

So let’s return to the Scripture. 

My imagination plays it like this. After a night of fishing with no catch, the weary crew isn’t that bothered. They were just passing time anyway as they lived in a state of uncertainty and waiting, longing to see Him. He had risen from the dead, just as He had said, so there was no reason to doubt that He would appear again and direct them. They missed Him, though. They hungered and thirsted for His Presence.

Suddenly from ashore, a Voice filled with laughter rings out, “Cast again on the other side!” People knew the story from three years prior, so maybe it was just someone playing around.  They couldn’t quite see, but still they threw the net out, just in case. And the result was the miracle we talked about last week - the 153 large fish. “It’s the Lord,” John said, and Peter hurled himself into the sea, unable to contain his excitement for Jesus. 

Do you want to know what’s not in this passage? The idea that Jesus shamed them for going back to fishing. That is a man-made shame narrative that they should have been fishing for men at that moment. That was not Jesus’s response.

Far from shaming them, Jesus called to them. He greeted them with a miracle.  He had breakfast cooking over a warm fire, inviting them to share a meal after a long night of work. He nourished them, body and soul. He was there, right where He had found them at first. 

We know this is Jesus’s response, because not only does the text say so, but we have a God who calls us to return and receives us with open arms. He called Jacob to return to Bethel. He returned Moses to his people. He returned the Israelites to the Promised Land. He returned them again after the exile. God told them, "Return to the stronghold, You prisoners of hope. Even today I declare That I will restore double to you.." (Zechariah 9:12)  Jesus told the story of the Prodigal Son, returning to the father who ran out to receive him (Luke 15:11-32). And the book of Revelation stirs us with those words to the church at Ephesus, "Return to your first love." 

And do not miss this here with the disciples. He returned them, too. In Matthew 28:10, when Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, He sent her to the disciples to tell them to go to Galilee, where they would see Him.

Return, return, return. It absolutely echoes through these holy pages. For the disciples, it’s as simple as a miracle followed by a meal shared with their precious Teacher.

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You, my friend, may have felt that you “should” be somewhere you’re not in your relationship with God or your ministry. You may have heard this passage preached and feel that same shame of that narrative echoing, “I should be fishing for men”, not going back to the basics. You watch others share the Word boldly and go on mission trips, and you think, “That’s where I should be”, and it may not be where God has you right now or where you thought He would have you at this point. But the Gospel is daily food that we all need to eat, no matter where we are in our faith journeys. Yes, it’s important to grow and to feed others, but we also need to return to it again and again and again ourselves, right where Jesus found us in our desperation, so that we do not forget that we need Him as much today as we did when we first cried out His Name. 

Do not listen to the lies of shame. When you feel distant from the Lord, uncertain of your next steps, and weary from the waiting, return to your first love. Let Him be the one to call you out of the boat and into mission. Feast on the love of Jesus, who died for you to save you and to be with you eternally, and He will renew your strength for this journey.

Let’s bring this full circle, back to that drift. I implore you - because many of us have the habit of making life changes before we make heart changes - to resist the urge to change your fly before you examine your drift.  Before you switch small groups, second-guess your calling, buy another book from the latest Christian author, switch churches, change your social media strategy, mission strategy, or marketing strategy - make sure you’ve got your drift right. Make sure you remember the Gospel, where you came from, and who you are in Christ: chosen, holy, and loved, and made for great purpose.

There’s a detail in this passage I still want to cover next week.  Have you been praying about that unbroken net, friends? I have, and I cannot wait to share with you and hear what God revealed to you.

Until then, may all that is created testify to His power and divine nature, that you may be encouraged by His love all around you.

Share your thoughts on this passage in the comments!

1. Many others, including St. Augustine, suppose that the disciples were simply earning a living for their impending ministry, similar to Paul sewing tents. Read Augustine’s commentary here: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1701122.htm.