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Blog of Kay Haines A message to self-righteous people ... God’s grace might be richly displayed ... focus would be on Jesus ... Jesusa background simular to yours and mine ... "Jesus understands the way you feel. He came from a disreputable family. His family tree was decorated with notable sinners. He knows what it is like to have relatives who embarrass you. He knows all about a dysfunctional family situation" http://www.keepbelieving.com/sermon/1992-12-20-Four-Women-in-Jesus-Family-Tree/ Verses 1-6 ‘The Sea called Tiberias’ was another name for Lake *Galilee. That night, Simon Peter had decided to go out to fish. This used to be his occupation before he met Jesus. The other *disciples joined Peter. They fished at night because that was the best time to *catch fish. But they did not *catch any fish. This was unusual. Probably, they felt tired, hungry and confused. They did not recognise Jesus’ voice when he shouted to them. However, they obeyed his instructions. And they caught many fish in the net. Verses 7-8 Jesus had done a similar *miracle before (Luke 5:1-11). But, on that occasion, the net was so full that it had torn. Perhaps the *disciple whom Jesus loved remembered the previous incident. This may be why he suddenly recognised Jesus. Immediately, Simon Peter put on his outer clothes and he jumped into the water. Perhaps he knew that he needed to speak to Jesus more than the other *disciples. The other *disciples had run away when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus. Only one *disciple, probably John, had remained. The other *disciples had not been loyal to Jesus. Perhaps Peter felt that he had been even less loyal. This may have been because he had promised to die for Jesus. But, only a few hours later, he had told people that he did not even know Jesus. He was afraid of what they would do to him. When he saw Jesus again, Peter probably felt very guilty about this. But he did not hide. Instead, he rushed to meet Jesus. Verse 9 This account is more than just a story about when the *disciples were *catching fish. Like the other *miracles in John’s *Gospel, it is a *sign. It shows to us more about who Jesus is. And there are several things that we can learn from it. Sometimes when we do work for God, we use only our own strength and skills. But we really need God’s help to guide us. The *disciples had worked hard by themselves all night. But they had no success. They needed Jesus to tell them what to do. They needed his power and authority. And when they obeyed him, a *miracle happened. Already Jesus had fish, which he was cooking on a fire. So he did not actually need the fish that they had *caught! This teaches us an important lesson. Jesus can give us what we need. He does not need our help to do this. But we need his help to work for him. http://www.easyenglish.info/bible-commentary/john-ma-lbw.htm |
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