The Need For Full Obedience

John 21:1–14
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Jesus now appears at the Sea of Galilee. Peter, Nathaniel, James, John and two other unnamed disciples were together (vv. 1-2). Peter, the man of action, said he was going fishing and the other disciples decide to go too. That night they fished but caught nothing (v. 3). The next morning Jesus tells them where to cast the net. They obeyed and now the result was a multitude of fishes (vv. 4-6). No doubt in “their” fishing  they were sincere and worked hard but there were no results. Notice the difference when they followed Jesus’ direction. It was interesting to note that John was the first to realize that the stranger on the shore was the Lord Jesus (v. 7). Jesus had prepared breakfast for His disciples on the beach and now Jesus gives Peter opportunity to have his hunger satisfied and enjoy some fellowship before talking with him about his spiritual condition (vv. 8-13). This was the third time that Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead (v. 14). Some observations:

1. They didn’t know it was Jesus (v. 4)
2. They didn’t have any fish to eat (v. 5)
3. They learned that it pays to obey (v.6)
4. They caught a multitude of fish (v. 6)
5. They ate breakfast with the risen Lord! (v.12)

Application

One of the things that the disciples did right in this story was.....they obeyed! Jesus said “cast the net on the right side.” Their response was full obedience, and my response should be full obedience as well! They caught 153 fish! I need to remember that I am not the only one who needs to fully obey! Even Jesus, according to Hebrews 5:8, was subject to this kind of obedience!