Epaggelia

One day, the crowds at the sermon of Jesus were so large, he had to get into Peter’s boat and teach off the shore of Lake Galilee. When Jesus finished speaking He told Simon to go out in the deeper water and let down his nets. Simon replied “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if You say so, we will try again”. And this time the nets were so full, they began to tear. A shout for help brought in another boat and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking. It was during this miracle Jesus told his closest disciples, “Do not be afraid, from now on you will be fishing for people’s souls. See Jude v23. Never forget that in their day, the fishermen were only as good as their nets, if it tore, getting help was urgent & mandatory. Fellowship in fishing for the souls of men is a necessity. No Christian does this by yourself, even an apostle needed an apostleship. They had miraculous power and eye-witness testimony, but working as a team is still mandatory. 

Even when Jesus blessed Peter’s fishing business with miraculous gain, it was not for a larger profit. It’s goal was to give Peter who was still holding on to a physical goal, into a new spiritual goal. Proving that Jesus does give courage to Christians who are exhausted and/or anxious. See Romans 5:3-6, remembering that Jesus tells each of us to carry our cross, Luke 9:23, but even he needed help. Luke 23:26 & John 19:16-17. Read Galatians 6:9. 

If we are shown just a single person is interested in God’s message in Jesus, we should try to fish for them. Prayerful patience turns physical followers into spiritual students and none of us knows how many fish that will lead to. See Colossians 4:2-4. In another analogy Paul used, we are like brilliant glints of light in the darkness & no one knows how far we shine. Philippians 2:15, Revelation 21:11 & Ephesians 5:8-11.

Spiritual courage is not like physical courage. One takes faith in Christ who is bigger than you, the other takes faith in yourself as bigger than other people. We should value spiritual courage as better than physical courage, Matthew 13:47 & Acts 2:4 & 18:9 & 27:24, Ephesians 6:10, 1st Peter 4:11 & 2nd Corinthians 8:23.
Jesus repeated this miracle, after his resurrection, as his third sighting with the bewildered apostles, John 21:4-11. Do we know why? Because even eye-witnesses of his power need to be taught & reminded of our source.