John 21:1-7 NIV[1] 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.

I have always been intrigued by the story that concludes the Gospel of John (and John is my favorite Gospel). It doesn’t seem to be the grand finish that Matthew uses to conclude his Gospel, one where Jesus appears and commissions his disciples to go into all the world, share his message, and make disciples. But I have come to appreciate John’s ending much more as I have studied his Gospel more.

Now there is nothing wrong with fishing. Fishing is a noble profession. The description of fishing from the NIV First Century Study Bible reveals it to be a profession of skill and hard work:

“Fresh-water fishing along the shores of the Sea of Galilee was a profitable and noble profession. In the city of Bethsaida (meaning “house of fishing”), where at least three of the disciples were from, archaeologists have uncovered jar handles with fishing seals as well as seals of weights, anchors, hooks and every sort of ancient fishing implement. Fishermen needed to be skilled in boating, in several types of fishing, and in smoking, drying, pickling and salting fish. The fishermen also made, prepared and cleaned their nets, some of which were hundreds of feet long.”

To set the context of John’s description of the fishing trip, Peter had denied the Lord three times and had been filled with sorrow and remorse as he saw the disappointment of his Lord as his eyes met Jesus’ eyes. Peter had done what he emphatically (three times) declared that he WOULD NEVER DO! He denied he even knew Jesus. Most of us have made similar declarations (I WILL NEVER DO THAT! Or I WILL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!). And most of us have experienced the agony of failure as we caved in in the moment of weakness and renounced what we had resolved to do. Peter’s bitter weeping gave evidence of the deep disappointment he felt in his failure. As we all know, though, we cannot go back and rectify past failures. So how do we move forward?

Peter went fishing. And as the leader of the group, the other disciples with him joined him in the endeavor. But what was Peter really doing?

This is what Louie Giglio says in his book, The Comback:

“By going fishing, Peter was saying that he was finished. He had had his chance at following Christ, but he blew it and denied him three times. We do the same. Whenever we fall down, it lessens our confidence in God. The Enemy comes in to attack and says, “You’ve let God and yourself down. Don’t even bother going back to God. Don’t pray about it. God’s fed up with you. He won’t listen. You’ve blown it for the last time.”

Peter finds that without Jesus nothing is the same. Peter had probably experienced fishing failure before, but the failure is heightened here. He goes back to the life and profession he had known before following Jesus. He had been good at it, good enough to support his family, and now, fishing all night, catches nothing. Jesus had tapped these disciples to become “fishers of men” and they have resorted to “fishing for fish.” Then Jesus appears. Under his direction they catch a boatload of fish! Jesus makes all the difference!

What do you do when you have failed (I mean, BIG TIME!)?

Often we try to find comfort in the old ways. We try to go back to the way things were before. We try to establish some success in what we already know and are good at accomplishing. We want to lessen the feelings of failure and disappointment. Maybe we just want to find some distraction from those feelings for a brief moment. But we find that there is no going back to “the way things were.” We aren’t ready to launch out into the unknown and set sail toward a new adventure. We aren’t ready for the challenge of the calling we know we should pursue. So we settle. But things can never be the same after Jesus comes into your life.

Going back isn’t the way forward. Peter tried to go back to fishing, thinking his calling to be a fisher of men was over. He had denied the Lord. When he had failed to follow, how could he challenge others to follow? The challenge Jesus put before him that day to “feed my sheep, my lambs” was an encouragement to forsake the feelings of failure and follow him anew. He was encouraging Peter to embrace a future that would move him forever from his past.

Going back isn’t the way forward. Let me speak frankly about the church. Often we want to go back to the old ways, to the glory days. We want to recapture the way things were before the present days of low attendance, waning loyalty, spiritual dullness, Biblical illiteracy, and church neglect. The way forward is to embrace the calling of God on our lives as individual disciples and as the church of the living God. We must not fear the future, nor should we cling to the past. We must not be paralyzed by failures.

Jesus said to Peter (and to us as well):

Matthew 16:18 NIV And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.