There are several places in the Bible that Jesus speaks about fishing nets. I want to focus on two specific times. The first occurred before Jesus called His disciples and the second instance was after He was resurrected.

The first set of verses are found in Luke 5:4, which says,  “When he (Jesus) had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.” ⁵ “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” ⁶ And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! ⁷ A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.”

Notice how Jesus told them to drop their nets, more than one net. He could have said just drop one net. At this point, Simon (who is later called Peter) and the other fishermen, had no idea they were interacting with the Son of God. But Peter begins to understand there is something special about this Man. In verse 8 of the same chapter in Luke we read, “When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” ⁹ For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. ¹⁰ His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.”

The second set of verses I want to focus on where Jesus talks about casting nets starts in John 21:3. “So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.⁴ At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. ⁵ He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?” “No,” they replied. ⁶ Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.”

At this point, Jesus has been crucified. He has risen and is visiting believers before He returns to heaven. In Luke 5:4, Jesus told Simon Peter to let down his “nets”. Yet after Jesus is resurrected, He tells Peter to let down just one “net”. After Jesus was resurrected, the disciples had spent a lot of time with Him, they knew Who Jesus was and what He was capable of. There was no need for multiple nets to build up their confidence and trust in Jesus as when they first met Him. They had seen Jesus heal the sick, raise the dead and be raised from the grave Himself. Once Jesus was resurrected, they already knew Who He was, so only one net was needed.

Where is God calling you to trust Him? Where is He calling you to step out in faith and to drop your net? Trust Him. Even if you have been working tirelessly to no avail like Peter, if He calls you to cast your net, what have you got to lose? Drop your net and watch the Lord’s provision flow.

Father in heaven, thank You for Your Son. We love You and worship You for Your mercies, blessings, forgiveness and patience with us. Thank You for loving us even when we can be so unlovable. Help us to show You to others. In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.