NOTHING WITHOUT CHRIST

JOHN 21:4–5

But when morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

(John 21:4)

In a very loving manner, the Lord of glory addressed the disciples as “lads” or “boys” or “little children.” John also uses this language in 1 John 2:18 where he writes, “Little children, it is the last hour …” The designation indicates the helplessness of the disciples and their dependent relationship to the Lord. They needed Him desperately. They fished all night, and morning had come too soon. Despite their efforts, they still caught nothing. Notice the passage doesn’t say they caught a little bit but that they caught “nothing” (v. 3). This is the fruit of a ministry without Christ. It all comes to nothing, for we have neither the means nor the power to bring people into the kingdom. Only by the call of Christ can the fisherman’s labors bear fruit.

Jesus, whom they did not recognize either because of lack of faith or merely because He was too far away, asked them the penetrating question, “Have you any food?” Hendriksen comments, “He asks this question in order to rivet their attention on the fact that their return to the former occupation has been a complete failure. They had failed to reckon sufficiently with God’s plan for their lives. It is as if He were saying ‘You have caught nothing at all now, have you? Without Me you can do nothing. Please learn that lesson once and for all. And now I will show you where you should cast the net in order to catch fish.’ ”

One would wonder why they did not recognize the authority of the Lord once He asked the question, but doubt had clouded the minds of the disciples. Peter especially, cast about on an ocean of fear and even despair, had not yet been reconciled to his Lord. The disciples were alone. Their Teacher was not with them, and they were struggling in their own strength to do a task they had known all their lives, but they still could catch no fish.

By this illustration, Jesus wanted to press home the point that if they could not even catch fish by their own strength, how much less could they catch as “fishers of men” if left to themselves. Soon, the disciples would put down their nets and go spread the Good News. They would need to know, more than ever before, their need to depend totally on the power and strength of Christ.

CORAM DEO

Ezekiel 47–48

1 John 1

What does it mean to depend totally on Christ, to rely on the strength and power of God rather than on yourself? Think about what this means in practical terms. One example is not doing things your way, but doing things according to God’s Word. In what areas do you trust your opinion rather than God’s?

For further study: Ps. 37 • Prov. 28:16 • Isa. 40:27–31

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