John 21:1-11

 After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way. 2 Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.

4 But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 So Jesus said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.” 6 And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. 7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea. 8 But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net full of fish.

9 So when they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have now caught.”  11 Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.

Here in this story is one of the last earthly appearances of Jesus. And it is much like an earlier story (in Luke 5:1-11). In that story, about three years earlier, Jesus told Peter to go out into the deep water and let down his net for a catch. And Peter said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say…” And, as you remember, they caught so many fish that their nets began to break. And you remember also that Peter was amazed and also humiliated at his sinfulness (unbelief), so much so that he didn’t feel worthy to be in the presence of Jesus.

In this story, three years later, the situation is almost exactly the same, except that the nets did not break. And when John said to Peter, “It is the Lord,” he had the exact opposite reaction. Instead of feeling ashamed of his sinful unbelief and wanting to go away from Jesus, he quickly made himself more presentable (he put on an outer garment), jumped out of the boat, and ran through the water to meet Jesus. What was the difference? The difference, no doubt, was whatever he gained from his meeting with Jesus after His resurrection (Lu. 24:34). It was a sanctification, a renewal of spiritual strength and new life.