“Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.” (John 21:10-11 KJV).
The Holy Bible carefully use Words with messages that establish our faith and intimate relationship with our Father and Lord Jesus Christ. It doesn’t need to use Words just to fill up its pages. Every detail, to the least article, conjunction and preposition, bear messages of great importance. So do with numbers, parables and illustrative stories it tells. Here, in these passages, Apostle John with the unction of the Spirit of the Lord, conspicuously reveals the number 153 fishes caught for a reason. It is therefore with consciousness that we uncover the message of this revelation.
In this early morning, we find the Lord Yeshua by the shore grilling fish for the disciples returning from a catch-less night of fishing. He called them out to cast their nets on the right side of the boat. They did and hauled in 153 large sizes of fish, that Apostle Peter counted. Yet, their nets didn’t break. For me, this is an assurance that as we follow the Lord’s Words of instruction we can always hope for abounding blessings.
The Lord Jesus in His messages use fish as the metaphor for humanity. He invited His first disciples, to ““Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”” (Mark 1:17 NIV). When He died on the cross, He paid the penalty of humanity’s sins - past, present and future. His resurrection freed us all from the power of sin and death and empowered us for a mission to be “fishers of people”. By faith in Christ Jesus we are totally freed from sin because He has risen (1 Corinthians 15;14&17). This, He accomplished by being crucified on the cross during the feast of “the Passover” or “Ha Pesach” in Hebrew. With Hebrew alphabet being represented by numbers, adding the numbers representing "Ha Pesach" gives a total of 'an hundred and fifty and three'.
This great catch of fish is therefore a message reminding the disciples and us who put our faith in Christ Jesus. The Messiah died on the day of Passover feast and rose from the grave to give us new life. Now, in Him, we are made a new creation as ‘fishers of people’, as it is written: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV).
And I say, AMEN!
Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries
When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.
Partners For Christ Ministries, INC
P. O. Box 773716
Ocala, FL 34477
Touching lives in Cambodia, The Philippines, The Middle East, The USA, and... other countries.
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