Leap Into The Water

Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. Several of the disciples were there – Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples. Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.” “We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night. At dawn the disciples saw Jesus standing on the beach, but they couldn’t see who He was. He called out, “Friends, have you caught any fish?” “No,” they replied. Then He said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get plenty of fish!” So they did, and they couldn’t draw in the net because there were so many fish in it. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water and swam ashore. The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about three hundred feet. When they got there, they saw that a charcoal fire was burning and fish were frying over it, and there was bread.

John 21:1-9

This portion of John struck me because of the simple fact that Peter didn’t wait to haul in the catch but leapt from the boat into the water simply to be with Jesus. It’s even more striking when you think about the fact that he was the one who wanted to go fishing. It’s mind-blowing when you think of the utter despair that filled him at his triple denial of Jesus.

There is so much available to speak to us from this section of scripture but I’m going to mention only a few things.

Primarily, I was struck by the fact that they willingly returned to what they were familiar with, though Jesus was risen and they had been told so. I use to look at this as a form of weakness, as a person returning to a former habit or sin when life throws one a curve ball. You can’t deny that a curve ball was, indeed, thrown at the disciples. However, today, I was given a completely different angle to look at this venture of theirs. As the man stated on the program I listened to today, only a fisherman could understand. Basically, it wasn’t that they’d given up hope and returned to the familiar as a way to pick up where they left off but rather as a way to get away from the press and the worry. Just to take off in a boat with your friends and fish, to turn off your brain and relax, to let things fall away as you fish, that is where they were. They were fishing for the sake of something to do, not for the sake of abandonment.

Second of all, the forsaking of the familiar is evident in the fact that, as Jesus calls to them from the shore, they are willing to change the way they fish to try the way of a stranger. Fishermen were (are?) very superstitious folks. They cast their net always over the same side and left the docks at the same time every day and wouldn’t sail when the sky was red in the morning but believed a good day came with a red sky at night. So, for them to opt to cast their net on the other side of the boat reveals a great deal about Jesus’ work in their lives. The fact that they remained together shows a great deal about their love for each other. Ultimately, they haul in a great catch which reveals to John that Jesus stood on the shore.

Leaping from the boat. That’s what captivates me in this section of John. Peter clothes himself and leaps from the boat into the water. Though the others remain behind and haul in the great catch, Peter leaps from the boat, unable and unwilling to wait, unable and unwilling to deny the fierce longing in his heart to be with Jesus once more. I always looked at this as a passionate display of love. How I’ve longed to leap from the boat and swim to shore to spend intimate moments with my Beloved! I have done so a few times but there are a great many more when I chose to remain on the boat and haul in the catch. Distractions are a horrid thing when the Beloved calls. The gentle tugging of His voice on your heart, the pulling of His hands on your soul, lures one to His side. And, though the water is cold and deep, the territory unfamiliar, one must leap and leave those who chose to remain in the boat behind.

Who knows what things of deep intimacy were said when Peter and Jesus were alone on the shore? Who knows what deep healing was imparted? Who knows? Deep in my heart, I crave that and receive it from Jesus often. The moments of quiet solitude when it’s just Him and me and we sit and He heals me, reveals things to me and sets me free. Those quiet times on the beach when others remain in the boat and I sit beside Him, watching and listening to His loving words.

There is no doubt in my heart that He loves me. I desire to love Him more. I desire to leap from the boat without hesitation. I desire to worry not about what others are or aren’t doing, if they are coming or staying, for in those moments of loving obedience and passionate impulse toward Him are the intimate treasures only my Prince can give to me.

Lord Jesus, I will leap from the boat and swim to Your side, no matter what the day calls from the boat.

~ by mystdancer50 on March 27, 2008.