John 21:1-14
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
21 Afterward Jesus appeared
again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. 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. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the
disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the
bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third
time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
I love this story
because I see it as one in which the disciples show a true brotherhood to one
another and because Jesus shows His love, in a simple way, to His disciples.
This story shows how the
disciples had reacted to the trauma they had recently gone through, they stuck
together. When one wanted to go out and
fish, they all decided to go along. He
wasn’t just doing a little morning or afternoon fishing along the seashore; he
was getting in a boat at night and was going to fish until he caught something,
even if it took all night.
About the time he was
ready to give up and come in, a man on the shoreline tells them that they are
fishing off the wrong side of their boat.
Rather than questioning His authority, they cast their nets on the other
side and they caught fish, lots of fish!
When they came ashore, breakfast was being prepared for them. The wood had been gathered and the fire was
going, ready to cook some fresh fish. I
would imagine that if coffee was the breakfast drink, it would have been
perking! It reminds me of a camping
scene!!!
Have you ever seen any other passages in the
Bible that have spoken about Jesus preparing the food? There are many stories regarding Him eating
with others but I don’t recall a time, other than this, where Jesus was actually prepared the fire,
cooked, and ate a meal with the disciples or anyone else. I think of times they sat around the table
and were served, or when He took the fish and broke it and served it to many,
but in this story He was actually cooking the food. It warms my heart to see Jesus in this story
as one who cares for the physical needs of His followers, a king, who would
lower Himself to the position as chief cook.
Just think about it, wouldn’t it be so cool to have Jesus sitting at our
campfire, gathering wood, and cooking for us?
Jesus, the risen King, became a cook in order to meet the needs of His
disciples.
What about us? Are we willing to lower our status, to get
are hands dirty for those who are around us whom we call our friends? Or do we grumble and complain when we are
asked to do the less desirable task of serving others.
As you seek Him,
remember that even He humbled Himself for the sake of His friends and for our
sake. We too should do likewise, go and
serve those who are our enemies but remember to stick close to those who believe
as you and serve them as you serve Him together.
Seeking Him with all my
heart,
Sheila
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