…Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We also will come with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, "Children, have you caught anything to eat?" They answered him, "No." So he said to them, "Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something." So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord."…
So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn…
… because they realized it was the Lord. (Jn 21, 1-14)
When Jesus was standing on the shore the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. It is strange. They had lived with him right through his time of public ministry. They were his close friends, yet they did not realize that it was Jesus. Was it because they did not expect him there? Or, were they not convinced that he was raised from the dead? Or were they ready to go back to their original life style?
Jesus told them to cast the net over the right side of the boat. They obeyed him and there was a big catch. This miracle should have had a message for the disciples. Jesus who had asked them to leave the boats and nets to follow him; and he in stead would make them fishers of men, now asked them to cast the net. There were one hundred and fifty three large fish in the net. There is a traditional interpretation which says that, at the time of Jesus, the Jews believed that there were only 153 types of fish in the sea. So the net that was cast by the disciples at the command of Jesus got all types of fish.
So the message could be that the mission given to the disciples in the world (sea) would hold all types of people. The kingdom (net) would drag in all types of people. This miracle (turned) message is equal to the synoptic saying: go and preach to the whole world etc.
When the mission is given to them, then the disciples realized that it was the Lord.
