Several weeks had passed since our Lord rose from the dead. The disciples were in Galilee, near the Sea of Tiberias (the Sea of Galilee), waiting for the Lord Jesus. Earlier the Lord Jesus had told them that He would meet them there, so that is where they went.

John tells us that seven of the disciples were together in one place: Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, the sons of Zebedee (John and James), and two other disciples whose names are not revealed. Where they were we do not know. Most likely they were in the home of Peter who lived close to the Sea of Galilee. Evidently they came together to keep one another company and pass the time as they waited for the Lord Jesus to appear.

As they sat together one evening, Peter – impetuous and impulsive as always – suddenly announced that he was going fishing. Why Peter decided to go fishing is not clear, nor does it matter. All we know is that Peter decided to go, and the other disciples decided to go with him. They fished all night long, but they caught nothing. This reminds us of a similar occa­sion that took place several years earlier (recorded in Luke 5). At that time, too, the disciples had fished all night but had caught nothing.

As morning approached, Jesus suddenly – appeared – but the disciples did not know it was Jesus, either because He was too far away or because, in His glorified body, He had assumed a different appearance. Whatever the case, He called out to them from the shore and asked them: “Chil­dren, have ye any meat?” (v. 5).

Notice that Jesus addressed the disciples as “children.” In doing so, Jesus was not making fun of them or speaking down to them. The word means “boys” or “lads.” It is a term of affection, camaraderie, and friendship.

What is more, the form of the question in the original Greek expects a negative answer. Thus, Jesus really said, “You haven’t caught any fish, have you?” By posing the question this way, our Lord sought to remind His disciples that without Him they could do nothing. He had taught them this lesson the first time they fished all night but had caught nothing; now He had to teach them this lesson again. So He asked them, “Have ye any meat?” To which the disciples answered­ no doubt somewhat dejectedly, “No.”

Has the Lord taught us this lesson? How prone we are to think that we can do it all ourselves. There is a little – in some cases, a big – Pharisee deep down inside every one of us. That is why the Lord has to teach us–again and again, and sometimes after much frustration and even pain – that without Him we are nothing. Such was the case here as well.

But notice what Jesus does. As He did the first time they had caught nothing, Jesus commanded them to cast their net on the other side of the boat – which they do. Then something amazing happens. “They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes” (v. 6). What a mir­acle! The Lord had caused a huge school of fish to swim into the net in almost the exact same spot the disciples had been fishing the entire night. There were so many fish that seven burly fishermen could not lift the net into the boat, but had to drag it behind them as they made their way back to shore.

Do you see what our Lord was teaching His disciples? He was teaching them – for the second time – that if they looked to Him and trusted in Him to supply all of their needs, He would do so. How they needed to learn that lesson. In a few weeks, He would commission them to go into all the world and preach the gospel and build up His church and kingdom. How could they – poor, uneducated fishermen from Galilee – do this? Humanly speaking, it was impossible. But what is impossible for us is possible for God (Mark 10:27). He can do exceedingly more abundantly than we ask or think. And He proved it here. The disciples caught so many fish, they were not able to haul them into the boat.

Like the disciples, the Lord has also given believers a great task. We are to mortify the old man and quicken the new; we are to resist the devil, keep the commandments of God, live a holy life, raise our children in the fear of the Lord, and live as salt and light on the earth. When we consider everything that we are supposed to do and how far short we come in so many areas, we may feel like giving up in despair. Who can do all of this? But when we look to the Lord, when we draw from His power and His grace, then all things are possible. Then we can say with Paul,

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.Phil. 4:13

Therefore, dear believer, look to Him. Draw from His fullness and you too will find that your net will be full (John 15:5; Matt. 28:18).