Jesus and Eating Big Fish in John 21

Send us Fan MailJesus had a lot more in common with the civil rights leaders like John Lewis and Martin Luther King Jr. than your typical pastor. This makes people uncomfortable, because they think there is no politics in the Bible. But they usually say this because they don't like what it says about it. Freeing poor people is what the gospel is all about. We really see this in the symbols of John 21. In this episode, I show how catching fish and eating them is an act of resistance. It's a much more meaningful and fun story than most people realize. If the gospel doesn’t make you an activist, then you aren't reading it. Later, Jesus himself appeared again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. This is how it happened: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two other disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter told them, “I’m going fishing.”They said, “We’ll go with you.” They set out in a boat, but throughout the night they caught nothing. 4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples didn’t realize it was Jesus.5 Jesus called to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?”They answered him, “No.”6 He said, “Cast your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.”So they did, and there were so many fish that they couldn’t haul in the net. 7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard it was the Lord, he wrapped his coat around himself (for he was naked) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they weren’t far from shore, only about one hundred yards.9 When they landed, they saw a fire there, with fish on it, and some bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you’ve just caught.” 11 Simon Peter got up and pulled the net to shore. It was full of large fish, one hundred fifty-three of them. Yet the net hadn’t torn, even with so many fish. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples could bring themselves to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread, and gave it to them. He 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.