153 Fish

In our final class about the book of John, we were discussing chapter 21. In this chapter, which primarily a redemption story about Peter, the disciples are fishing but not catching anything. Jesus tells them to throw the net over the right side of the boat. They catch so many fish that they can't draw the net back into the boat.

Peter looks at the shore, recognizes Jesus, gets dressed (I think that's funny; I never noticed it before), jumps overboard and swims to shore. The other disciples bring the boat and its catch to shore. In the net are 153 fish. Why 153?

Someone in class, as we compared Jesus on the shore, with a charcoal fire cooking fish to Jesus feeding 5000, said, "Think how many people Jesus could feed with 153 fish."

That comment stuck with me. How many people could Jesus feed with 153 fish? That many fish is an abundant number. It's an overflowing net. It's a whole bunch of fish. Jesus could feed a miraculous number of people with that many fish.

Feed my sheep. We are equipped with abundance to feed God's sheep. The overwhelming number of fish didn't tear the nets or wreck the boats. It was abundance, but the disciples were equipped to deal with it. How many people can Jesus feed with that many fish?

As many as we will.