153 Fish

153 large fish

John 21:9-14 153 Fish

JOHN 21:9-11 9 Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.” 11 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.

How many "large fish" (John 21:11) did they catch?
153, so many so that "they were not able to draw it" (John 21:6) into the boat.

So who provided the food for the breakfast?
Jesus. He already had "fish laid" (John 21:9) on coal and "bread" (John 21:9) prepared, and even the 153 fish were His doing. He just let the disciples enjoy the privilege of participating in His work.

What does "one hundred and fifty-three" (John 21:11) imply?
Someone counted the fish to number 153.

Were most of the 153 fish released after they were counted?
Fishing wasn't a sport back then. The fish were an important source of protein for the population, and the 153 fish had been "dragged ... to land" (John 21:11), so they were eaten.

By whom?
153 fish / 8 people including Jesus = more than 19 fish per person. Since these were "large fish" (John 21:11), Jesus and His disciples didn't eat all of them.

Then who ate most of the fish?
Most of the 153 fish caught must have been distributed to the people in the area, who undoubtedly also heard the Gospel from the fishers of men.

JOHN 21:12-14 12 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. 13 Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish. 14 This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.

What had Peter and the others who were experienced fishermen caught before Jesus showed up?
"Nothing" (John 21:3).

What lesson is there for us and the so-called 'modern' techniques of evangelism?
The church in the West is awash in seminars, conferences, books and videos on strategies and techniques of evangelism. Yet when the dust settles, the number of 'fish' that can be dragged ashore and presented before the Lord are few. In contrast, the church in the developing world neither has nor even knows about such strategies and resources. All they have is the Bible and prayer, yet their nets get filled with large fish. When people in the "developed" West depend on human knowledge and expertise, which is sold for money, to do God's will, is it any wonder that He lets them catch as much as the disciples caught during the night by relying on theirs? If we want our nets to be filled again, we must clean out the Christian bookstores, seminars and conferences, and fill them with the Word of God, and then drop to our knees and pray to God to do His will His way through the power of the Holy Spirit, and to receive all of the credit and glory for the catches.