A Fish Story - Kathy Jernigan

The shore and the cast net open the call of Jesus with plain, everyday pictures. Jesus says, “Follow me and I’ll make you fishers of men,” and the disciples leave their nets. The net does not clean the fish after it catches them. The Lord does the cleaning, and the believer’s part is to cast out, bring people in, and trust God to teach them what they need.

Matthew 14 puts the disciples in the middle of the sea with the wind contrary and the boat tossed by waves. Jesus comes walking on the sea, and fear makes the disciples cry out like they have seen a ghost. Jesus answers fear with, “Be of good cheer. It is I. Do not be afraid.” Peter walks on the water while Jesus stays in focus, but when the wind gets his attention, he starts to sink.

The lost-glasses picture makes that plain. When Jesus is not in focus, everything gets blurry, fuzzy, and out of place. When Jesus is the focus, direction gets clear because he is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus is Lord, Savior, dearest friend, prayer answer, provider, rock, fortress, and strong tower from the enemy.

The old song “Walking the Sea” gives words for troublesome times. Angry waves and contrary winds are real, but Jesus is “ever at your side walking the sea.” The lives of faithful women who endured widowhood, child loss, cancer, and dementia show that hard seas do not have to take the eyes off Jesus. Even when memory failed, hymns, prayer, tongues, and love for God remained.

Mark 4 shows Jesus asleep in the boat while the storm fills it with water. Jesus has already said, “Let us cross over to the other side,” so the storm cannot cancel his word. Fear asks, “Do you not care?” but Jesus rebukes the wind and says to the sea, “Peace, be still.”

The coin in the fish’s mouth shows that Jesus knows the exact need and the exact provision. The Lord knows the fish, the coin, the bill, the sickness, the hurt, and the decision. Hebrews 6 calls hope “an anchor of the soul,” sure and steadfast, because Jesus has gone behind the veil. Philippians 3 calls everything else loss compared with knowing Christ, the God who parts seas, brings down Jericho walls, stands in the fire, guides David’s stone, gives Gideon victory, dies on the cross, rises again, and is coming soon.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Keep Jesus in clear focus When Peter looked at Jesus, the water held under his feet. When the wind became larger in his sight than Christ, sinking began. Spiritual sight works the same way, because fear does not always remove Jesus from the scene, but it does try to blur him until the storm looks more true than his presence. [09:50]
• 2. Fear and doubt fight trust Fear and doubt are not harmless emotions when they take command of the heart. They pull attention away from the Lord’s power, knowledge, and nearness, and they make the soul feel abandoned even while Jesus is present. Prayer, the Word, gratitude, worship, and praise become the way the mind is brought back to what is actually true. [20:39]
• 3. Jesus knows the exact fish The coin in the fish’s mouth shows a God who does not provide in vague ways. Jesus knows the first fish, the exact money, and the need before Peter ever speaks it. That kind of provision means the believer’s lack, sickness, hurt, and hard decision are not hidden from him or beyond his timing. [22:29]
• 4. Hope anchors the battered soul Hebrews calls hope an anchor, not a decoration for calm days. The anchor matters when the ship is battered and the sails are torn. Because Jesus has entered behind the veil, hope is tied to his finished work and not to the condition of the weather. [26:57]
• 5. Knowing Christ outweighs everything Paul counts every gain as loss because Christ himself is the treasure. The point is not that earthly things have no weight, but that none of them can save, hold, raise, or bring a soul home. To know the crucified and risen Jesus is to have the one thing that cannot be taken by storm, fire, giant, sickness, or death.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [01:03] - First Sight of the Ocean
• [01:29] - Leaving Nets to Follow Jesus
• [03:15] - Fishing Stories and the Shark
• [04:14] - The Alyssa Tall Ship
• [06:58] - Matthew 14: Jesus Walks the Sea
• [09:29] - Lost Glasses and Spiritual Focus
• [13:20] - Walking the Sea Through Troubles
• [17:28] - Mark 4: Peace, Be Still
• [21:19] - The Coin in the Fish’s Mouth
• [25:57] - Hope as the Anchor of the Soul
• [28:39] - Counting All Things Loss
• [30:07] - Knowing the God of Miracles
• [34:07] - Invitation to Know Jesus
• [35:20] - Closing Blessing

Bible Reading

Matthew 14:22-33
Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God." [07:04]

Mark 4:35-41
On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side." Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!" [17:28]

Matthew 17:24-27
When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, "Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?" He said, "Yes." And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?" Peter said to Him, "From strangers." Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free. Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you." [21:19]

Hebrews 6:16-20
For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. [25:53]

Philippians 3:7-10
But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, [28:39]

Observation questions

1. In Matthew 14, what changed for Peter between the moment he walked on the water and the moment he began to sink? [09:50]
2. In Mark 4, what had Jesus already said before the storm began, and what did the disciples say to Him when the boat started filling with water? [18:25]
3. In Matthew 17, what details show how specific Jesus’ provision was for Peter’s need?
4. What picture was used to describe the difference between having Jesus in focus and having everything else blurry and out of place? [09:29]

Interpretation questions

1. In Matthew 14, why does fear become so dangerous when it shifts attention from Jesus to the wind, even though Jesus is still near? [20:39]
2. In Mark 4, Jesus said, “Let us cross over to the other side” before the storm came. What does that suggest about how believers should think about God’s word when circumstances look like the opposite? [18:30]
3. The coin in the fish’s mouth was not a general promise of help but a very exact provision. What does that reveal about how Jesus knows and cares for ordinary needs, bills, decisions, and troubles? [22:29]
4. Philippians 3 says that everything else is loss compared with knowing Christ. Why is knowing Christ more valuable than keeping control, comfort, success, or even answers to every question? [30:07]

Application questions

1. What has felt most like “the wind” lately in your life—fear, grief, uncertainty, finances, sickness, or something else? How has that been trying to pull your eyes off Jesus? [10:01]
2. Fear and doubt try to take over the heart. When that starts happening for you, what helps put your mind back on the Lord in a real and practical way—prayer, Scripture, gratitude, worship, or something else? [21:01]
3. Jesus told His disciples to cast the net and follow Him. Is there a person in your life right now that you sense you are meant to reach, invite, encourage, or bring closer to Jesus? What would “casting the net” look like this week? [02:28]
4. The net catches fish, but it does not clean them. Is there any place where you have been trying to fix, control, or clean up someone else instead of trusting the Lord to do His part? [02:43]
5. Hope is an anchor of the soul when the ship is battered. What storm has been testing your hope lately, and what would it look like to anchor your heart in Jesus instead of in a change of circumstances? [27:14]
6. Some faithful lives have shown that even deep suffering does not have to take the eyes off Jesus. Who has modeled that for you, and what part of their example do you most need to follow right now? [14:38]
7. Paul said he counted all things loss in order to gain Christ. Is there anything in your life that has been competing with simply knowing Jesus more deeply? What would it mean to loosen your grip on that and value Him above it? [29:56]