The name "153" comes from John 21 and the story of the disciples' experience with our risen Christ as they fished. But before we read this passage, let's take a look at the first time disciples, while fishing, met Jesus. Let's turn to Luke 5:1-11:
1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,
2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.
4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.
We see in verse 4 that Jesus gives Peter instruction on how to fish. Though doubtful, Peter complies and, in verse 6, we see that they caught a great muiltitude of fishes, so much so that their net broke and some of the fish no doubt escaped.
Then, in verse 10, Jesus tells Peter and James and John that they would be fishers of men. They forsook all in verse 11 and followed Him.
For the next three years, Jesus taught the disciples how to fish for men. At first, they just watched Him as He fished for men (ministered), and learned from Him. After a while, they began fishing for men with Jesus. And eventually, He would send them out at times by themselves to fish for men, having taught them the way. By the time Jesus was crucified, the disciples had learned wht they would need to know fish for men, with the help of the Holy Spirit, after His death, resurrection, and ascension.
Now let's fast forward to John 21. Jesus has arisen and the disciples meanwhile have decided to go back to their old occupations. This is where Jesus finds them in John 21, fishing for fish again. The exchange that follows between Jesus and the disciples not only reminds them that they have been called to fish for men, but that they have been taught to do so to proficiency by the Master Himself. Let's read John 21:1-11:
1 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias.[a] It happened this way:
2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.
3 "I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5 He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered.
6 He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.
8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.
9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught."
11 Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn.
We see in verse 6 that Jesus again gives instruction to the disciples, just as He had when He first met them, about how to fish. Again, in the same verse, they haul in a great catch. They then remember their first experience with Jesus, and John realizes that it id He that is speaking to them from the shore. The disciples make their way to shore to meet Him.
But notice in verse 11:
11 Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn.
The net was full after the disciples first encounter with Jesus and during the last. But during the first encounter, their nets had broken and some of the fish had escaped. Having just met Jesus, these men were unable to effectively fish like He did. And so Jesus called them to follow Him and told them that He would teach them to be fishers of men.
Now, in John 21:11, after three years of teaching by the Master, the men see a sign from Christ that they are ready to fish on their own. The net that Peter dragged ashore was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. The men had learned their lessons well. They were ready to go out and be the fishers of men that Jesus had taught them to be.
As we follow Jesus, He teaches us to be fishers of men, as well. If we follow Him closely, through both the examples of Him left to us in God's Word and as we follow Him personally through God's Holy Spirit, we will learn of Him and his ways. We will learn to be fishers of men, dragging nets ashore to Christ that are full and yet untorn.
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The name 153 House Churches Network is a name that is used for clarity both here at this website and when speaking to others about God's gathering together of believers.
However, it is not a name that we regularly use amongst ourselves. Neither do we, amongst ourselves, refer to each individual house church by a name. When identifying the location of the next gathering, we generally refer to the location by the name of the family that lives there; in other words "the Hardin's house" or "Martin House," etc.
We are seeking to bring down the walls that exist between our own hearts and our churches and the hearts and churches of other believers. Our internal approach to "church names" is one small way that helps us to further eliminate things that seek to separate, segregate and delineate believers and churches from one another and from the oneness for which God created us. Those who are His are all one Body of Christ, all over the world, through God's Holy Spirit.
To read a wonderful scriptural revelation of this oneness entitled The New Coat, please click here.
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We are a network of believers, house churches, Internet ministries and creative ministries located throughout North America, Africa, Asia and on the Internet. We consider ourselves believers who are one with all God's people, and not churches that are separate from others. We work together in the harvest as led by God's Spirit to win souls and make disciples for our Lord Jesus Christ, to the end that "we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ (Ephesians 4:15)."
We are committed to the manifested oneness of the Body of Christ at large, and not just certain factions of it. In pursuit of this, we work closely and actively with many institutional, house church and para-church ministries.
