One hundred and fifty-three large fish filled with fish.

 

One hundred and fifty-three large fish filled with fish.

 

John 21:8-11 『And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it was two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. As soon as they came to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus said to them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.』

The fish symbolizes Jesus Christ, and the net means being in Christ. The fish in the net symbolize the saints who have entered Christ. The sea symbolizes the law. And Simon Peter pulled the net onto land. The land, which is in contrast to the sea (the law), symbolizes the gospel. Those who were under the law were drawn into the gospel, and many fish were caught. The fact that the net was not torn is the fact that salvation is not canceled. When a saint enters Christ, Jesus Christ becomes the master, so no one can take it away.

John 10:28-29『And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them to me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.』

『Full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three』 One hundred and fifty-three means full of fish. It means that the fish that came up onto land will be full of the people of the kingdom of God who have the life of resurrection. One hundred means the kingdom of God as the millennial kingdom. It is the law of the coming Pentateuch that we must die to sin, and it symbolizes the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Three symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Therefore, one hundred and fifty-three means those who died on the cross with Jesus Christ, were resurrected with the resurrected Christ, and received the life of resurrection. These are the ones who have achieved the kingdom of God in their hearts.

John 21:12-13 "Jesus said unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples asked him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. Then Jesus came, and took bread, and gave them, and fish likewise." Jesus ate breakfast with his disciples, bread and fish. Morning signifies the beginning. Bread and fish remind us of the five loaves and two fish.

In John 6:9, it says, "There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?" The child symbolizes those who are imprisoned by the law and do not know the gospel of the kingdom of heaven. The five barley loaves he has represent the law of the Pentateuch. Since he is imprisoned by the law, it means that he is a sinner who deserves to die before God. The two fish represent Christ Himself. One is the first man who came into the world with a body of sin, and the other is the last man who was resurrected, Jesus Christ.

The five barley loaves and two fishes are passed from the child of the law to Jesus, the subject of the gospel. This means that Christ is found in the law. When Christ is found, it becomes the gospel. In the law, through the situation where sinners are freed from sin through the death of the atoning lamb, finding Christ is discovering the promised seed (Christ), the descendant of the woman who will come. In the end, through the sacrifice of Jesus who died on the cross, sinners are freed from sin and participate in the resurrection of Christ.

This is the fruit-bearing of the seed of promise. If it remains as a seed, it does not bear fruit, but if the seed dies (death of the cross), it bears the fruit of life (resurrection). The five loaves and two fish received from the child come down as a blessing from heaven through Jesus. Instead of bread that temporarily revives the flesh that must die, Jesus says that he will give the bread of eternal life (resurrection).

Jesus is the first fruit of the resurrection, and the disciples become the next fruits. That is why they eat the fruits of the resurrection together at breakfast. The disciples who were with Peter also receive the life of the resurrection and become those who eat his fruits.

In order for the saints to eat the fruit of the resurrection life, they must first receive the resurrection life and bear much fruit, which means catching fish in a net. There are two ways for fishermen to catch fish by casting nets in the sea. They can cast nets to catch fish, or they can cast nets in places where there are many fish and forcefully catch fish. At that time, fishing technology was not developed, so they cast nets in the sea and waited for fish to be caught.

In John 21:3, "Simon Peter said unto them, I will go fishing. They said unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing." The fact that they caught nothing means that there are no fishermen who have the resurrection life yet. Therefore, they cannot share the resurrection life. Many fish were caught as instructed by Jesus, who is the resurrection life, which means that the resurrection life can be shared in the name of Jesus.

John 21:6 "And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes." In order to catch a lot of fish, do as Jesus said. The ship on the right side of the ship symbolizes the ark in Noah's time. The meaning of the ark symbolizes the death and resurrection of the cross. Entering the ark is death, and coming out of the ark is becoming a new creation. Therefore, being on the ship means dying with Jesus and being resurrected with him. The right side is an expression of God's power. The saints being at the right hand of God in Christ means that they have been given God's power.

The power of God is the power to forgive sins and the power to give the resurrection life of heaven. God gave the power to Jesus Christ, and Jesus gave this power to his disciples. Today, believers also receive this power from Jesus. Baptism symbolizes this. Matthew 28:18-20 『Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.』

A believer without the power of resurrection cannot save the life of heaven. Only those who have the life of resurrection can save sinners with the life of resurrection, just as fish are caught in a net. John 21:15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’’ We become people who love Jesus when we share the life of resurrection with our neighbors.