Ask Mr Bible

Jesus’ final miracle is recorded in John 21, the supernatural catch of fish.  Our Lord then cooked breakfast for His disciples on the banks of the Sea of Galilee.

●        Following both the miracle and the meal, Jesus asks Peter a question:

 “So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs” (John 21:15).

Jesus’ question, “Lovest thou me more than these?” may have referred to at least one of three things.  He could have meant:

1.       “Do you love me more than you love these men?”

2.       “Do you love me more than fishing?”

3.       “Do you love me more than these men love me?”  It would seem that Jesus had the third meaning in mind, based on Matt. 26:33. ”Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee,yet will I never be offended” (Matt. 26:33).

●        Three times he is asked if he really loves the Savior.  Three times he answers in the affirmative.  Peter had once denied Christ three times in the presence of the Savior’s enemies.  Jesus was now giving him the opportunity to affirm his love three times.  God is the God of the second chance.

1.            As seen in the life of Jonah—“And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee” (Jonah 3:1-2).

2.            As seen in the life of John Mark—This young man had once failed God by abandoning Paul and Barnabas during their first missionary journey (see Acts 13:13; 15:36-39).  But Mark, like Jonah and Peter, served the God of the second chance.  Years later, just prior to his martyrdom in Rome, the Apostle Paul testified of this: “Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry” (2 Tim. 4:11). 

● One of the most famous New Testament miracles also had to do with a sleeping Hebrew prophet in a boat during a storm.  The Old Testament prophet was Jonah.  The New Testament prophet was Jesus.  The second would later use the experience of the first as a sign to an unbelieving generation:  “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matt. 12:40).

● The Greek word here refers to a violent storm, a furious squall of hurricane proportion.  The Sea of Galilee, situated in a basin surrounded by mountains, is particularly susceptible to sudden, violent storms.  Cool air from the Mediterranean is drawn down through the narrow mountain passes connecting the two bodies of water, and clashes with the hot, humid air lying over the lake.  Thus, in a matter of seconds, the quiet Galilean waters can be turned into a howling, life-threatening watery nightmare for all those sailing upon it.

● Note the words as recorded by Mark’s account:

 “And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm” (Mark 4:39).

The language of this verse strongly suggests that the vicious storm may have been caused by satanic activity, perhaps in an attempt to drown Jesus.

1. The Greek word for rebuke is epitimao, a word Jesus used in denouncing both Satan and his demons.
a. The rebuking of demons (Luke 9:42; Matt. 17:18)
b. The rebuking of Satan (Mark 8:33; Jude 9)

2. The Greek word for peace, phimoo, used only here and in Mark 1:25 (where Jesus denounced a demon), means literally, “be muzzled, be gagged.”  This action often referred to the muzzling of a wild dog.

● There are many lessons to be learned today from this miracle.  Three questions should be asked when the storms of life beset the Christian.

1. Is this storm one of punishment or purification?  That is, am I being chastened for my sin (as was true in the case of Jonah), or is this simply a trial allowed by God to purify me (as was true here with the disciples)?

2. Have I made room for him on board?  Am I aware of his presence?

3. What does He want me to do in the time of the storm?  In a nutshell, three things:

a. He wants me to thank Him for the storm.  “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thess. 5:18).

 b. He wants me to fellowship with Him in the storm.  “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17).

c. He wants me to trust Him through the storm.  “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths”  (Prov. 3:5-6).

But it isn’t what you think it is!

Almost everyone has heard the story of the huge sea creature that swallowed Jonah, and about Jonah’s pitiful prayer for deliverance while inside its stomach (Ch. 1-2).  But the real fish story takes place in chapter 3.  To understand this, consider an event that would transpire some seven centuries later in northern Israel:

“And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Pater, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.  And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fisher of men.  And they straightway left their nets, and followed him” (Mt. 4:18-20).

In this passage Jesus taught that the ‘fish’ God is looking to catch are sinful men, and the real ‘fishermen’ are soulwinners!  In Jonah 3, after the prophet’s preaching, history’s greatest revival took place.  In other words, Jonah caught more ‘fish’ in his net than ever before—thus we have the greatest fish story of all time!