I’m going fishing,” Simon Peter told them… but that night they caught nothing.” — John 21:3
The Great Fifty Days — A Season of Restoration
In the ancient Church, Easter was never a single day. It was a season — the Great Fifty Days — stretching from Resurrection Sunday to Pentecost. This number echoes the Old Covenant’s Year of Jubilee, the fiftieth year when everything was restored to God’s original intention: debts forgiven, land returned, relationships renewed.
In Christ’s resurrection, that Jubilee has arrived for us.
Through the glorified, incarnate Son, God restores what was lost and brings us back into the relationship He always intended. Easter is not just something we celebrate — it is something we enter. It is the beginning of a new life, an Easter Life, lived in and through the risen Jesus.
Going Fishing — The Pull of the Old Life
Even after Jesus appeared to His disciples and showed them His risen glory, the truth had not yet transformed them. They believed He was alive, but they had not yet learned to live in the power of His resurrection.
So they did what many of us do when we don’t know what comes next:
they returned to what was familiar.
Peter said, “I’m going fishing,” and the others followed.
Not because they rejected Jesus — but because resurrection had not yet reshaped their imagination.
But life cannot continue as it was after encountering Jesus outside the bounds of death.
The risen Christ calls us into a new way of being.
Empty Nets in the Night
Seven disciples returned to the Sea of Galilee.
Back to the boats.
Back to the nets.
Back to the life they once knew.
But the night was empty.
They cast their nets again and again.
They moved from place to place.
They worked in the dark.
And every effort ended the same way:
“But that night they caught nothing.”
This is what happens when we try to live a post‑resurrection life with pre‑resurrection expectations.
The old patterns no longer work.
The old identity no longer fits.
The old life no longer satisfies.
Jesus on the Shore
As dawn breaks, a voice calls from the beach:
“Children, do you have any fish?”
They don’t recognize Him yet.
They only know their nets are empty.
Then Jesus gives a simple instruction:
“Cast the net on the right side of the boat…”
They obey — even without understanding — and suddenly the nets strain with abundance.
The difference is not technique.
The difference is not location.
The difference is Jesus.
Where He stands, there is life.
Where He speaks, there is fruitfulness.
Where He directs, there is abundance.
“It Is the Lord!” — Recognition and Renewal
It is John who first realizes the truth:
“It is the Lord!”
Peter plunges into the water and swims to Jesus.
The others follow, dragging the overflowing net behind them.
On the shore, they find a fire, bread, and fish already prepared.
Jesus has set a table for them — a table of fellowship, restoration, and resurrection clarity.
In that moment, they understand:
Life can never return to what it was.
Not after this.
Not after Him.
Fishers of Men — The Calling Renewed
Jesus uses this moment to remind them of their true calling:
“Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
They were never meant to return to their old profession.
They were meant to gather humanity into the life of Christ.
This fulfills Ezekiel’s prophecy of fishermen spreading their nets along restored waters (Ezek. 47:10).
The catch is not fish — it is people.
The net is not rope — it is the gospel.
The strength is not their own — it is the risen Christ working through them.
But this calling can only be lived by those whose lives have been transformed by the resurrection.
Otherwise, like the disciples in the night, we labor with empty nets.
The Power of a Transformed Life
St. Paul understood this deeply. He let go of his old life — his achievements, his identity, his status — because he had seen the surpassing worth of knowing Christ.
He writes:
“I want to know Christ — yes, to know the power of His resurrection…”
— Philippians 3:10
This is the heartbeat of the Easter Life:
to know Christ,
to be transformed by His resurrection,
to live in the power of His risen presence.
“Do You Love Me?” — The Easter Life in Action
After breakfast, Jesus turns to Peter with a gentle but piercing question:
“Do you love Me?”
Three times He asks.
Three times Peter answers.
Three times Jesus responds:
Feed My lambs.
Take care of My sheep.
Feed My sheep.
This is the shape of the Easter Life:
A life that nourishes others.
A life that reveals Christ.
A life that brings resurrection hope into the world.
We cannot return to life as it was.
We are called to live a life that feeds, blesses, restores, and points others to the risen Jesus.
Prayer
Risen Lord,
Let my life be transformed by Your resurrection.
Keep me from returning to old patterns, old fears, or old identities.
Teach me to live the Easter Life —
a life that feeds Your sheep,
a life that reveals Your presence,
a life shaped by Your risen glory.
Amen.
Benediction
May we each and all ever live that Easter Life
which our Lord has risen for us to have —
today, tomorrow, and forevermore.
Amen.
Rev. Todd Crouch, Pastor
Topinabee Community Church
Topinabee, Michigan
If You Would Like to Know More About or to Support the Ministry of Topinabee Community Church You Can go to Our Web Site.
You Can Follow Topinabee Community Church on Face Book
"If It Is Not About Jesus, It Is Not About Anything"
