Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken.
John 21:11

For hundreds of years, commentators have wondered why John specifically said the disciples caught 153 fish when they drew up the nets at Christ’s command. Jerome believed there were 153 varieties of fish in the Sea of Galilee, and the catch of fish represented the full reach of foreign missions. Augustine explained the number using a formula involving multiples of the Ten Commandments and the seven spirits of God.

There’s probably no symbolic meaning to 153, but it’s an indication of how detailed our Lord is in His knowledge and calculations. He’s a Savior who knows every fish in the sea, every bird in the air, every hair on our heads, and every step of our pathway. He knows when we get up and when we lie down. He knows our thoughts before they spring into our minds; and every fact and factoid of creation is recorded in His omniscient wisdom.
He calls us to be fishers of men, and every individual is known, valued, and loved by Him. As the shepherd numbers his sheep and the fisherman his catch, so Jesus knows each one whose name is written in the Book of Life.
The number of the saved is to us a matter of which we know nothing definitely, yet secretly and invisibly the Lord has counted them even to the odd one.
Charles Spurgeon