Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, we also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, no. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye will find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. John 21:3-8
Have you ever done something as a pure reaction? With little or no thought, you simply react. This is the third time we find Simon Peter in a boat. In Luke 5: 4 and 5, there was no reaction, just the obedience, “Nevertheless at thy word,” before he is called to follow Christ. In Matthew 14: 24-31, we witness Simon Peter’s moment of unbelievable faith with, “Lord if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water,” that allowed him to walk on water toward Jesus. Now in chapter 21 of John, Jesus has been crucified and resurrected. He has appeared to the disciples twice so they know he is alive. There would have been no surprise. So what would make Peter react in such a way? When John said it was the Lord, there was little to no thought. He forgot the fish in the net. He paid no attention to what the others were doing. He grabbed his coat, jumped out of the boat and swam the hundred yards to shore. Why?
I think it had something to do with his journey. We often talk about people who are too focused on something as having blinders on. They can see nothing but their target, whether it’s good or bad. Peter obeyed and followed a teacher. He later realized Jesus was the Son of God. Now Christ had been crucified, buried and resurrected. And there, I believe, lies one point of this Scripture; after everything Simon Peter had experienced, witnessed and heard since becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ, what else could stir him to the point of pure reaction except the glory of the risen Lord?
Too often throughout our day, our focus is on everything except Christ. Our days are so filled at times it can almost seem to minimize our risen Lord. So I will pose the question – What are you focused on? What would merit such a reaction and cause you to jump out of your boat?
P4G 