John 21:9–14

Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.”

Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken. Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?”—knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish.

This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.

Make no mistake; this is a miracle. Remember, the disciples had been fishing all night and caught nothing. Jesus tells them to cast their net on the right side of the boat, which is, what, ten feet away from the left side of the boat, and they catch 153 fish. No way.

There’s no special meaning to the number 153. Fishermen count their catch, and this one was big.

But notice that Jesus already had fish roasting on the coals. He invites the disciples to add to the feast from their catch, but some breakfast is ready now.

The striking thing about this encounter is its normalness. Readers mostly notice the size of the catch, and the net not being broken, but the laid-back breakfast is what this is really all about.

John’s point is merely that this is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.

Each one of these encounters includes a miracle, either Jesus passing through locked doors or delivering a boatload of fish, but the miracles are just props. They enable the scenes, but they aren’t what the scenes are about. The main storyline is Jesus just being a normal guy.

The disciples get all excited, but Jesus stays as cool as a cucumber.

Jesus’s resurrection is the most important miracle in history. It validates the most important fact in history—that Jesus is Lord. Jesus shows Himself many times to prove it, yet He suppresses the spectacle.

This is a curious bookend to how it all began, when the angels appeared to the shepherds watching their flocks by night. That was a great spectacle, which blew away its eyewitnesses, but it was only for the shepherds. It wasn’t very public.

This is of a type with Jesus using ordinary people like you and me (and His disciples) to spread His gospel. He’s perfectly capable of big, showy miracles, but He rarely does things that way.

That’s just not His style.

These Monday—Friday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. The Saturday DEEPs are written by Matt Richardson. To subscribe to all the DEEPs click here:

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.