RESURRECTION OF THE SON OF GOD
THIRD APPEARANCE OF THE LORD TO DISCIPLES
John chapter 21:1 to 14
The Lord Jesus only showed Himself intermittently to His disciples after His resurrection, whereas previously He had been always with them. Was He preparing them for His permanent absence?
This was the third time that He appeared to them as a group - there were seven present in this instance, fishing in the sea of Galilee, which was then called after Tiberias, the capital city of the Roman province of Galilee built on its shores. This was not the place in Galilee, a mountain, prearranged by the Lord to meet them (Mark 16:7; Matthew 28:7, 16).
Of these seven, at least four had been with Him since the very beginning of His ministry (Peter, Nathanael and the sons of Zebedee, James and John). We might regard them as the problem children: Simon Peter, impulsive, impetuous, warm-hearted but failing and walking afar off; Thomas, the sceptic; Nathanael the wisecracker, who was also a doubter at the beginning; and the sons of thunder, James and John; the two others are not named.
Many worthy commentators condemn these men for going fishing, but the Lord did not rebuke them when He appeared to them. Peter's proposal to go fishing had been natural, for most of them were professional fishermen: they were probably waiting in Galilee for the appointed meeting with Christ on the mountain and thought they could spare the time. They caught nothing, but that night of failure was in the plan and purpose of God for them.
Dawn was coming on but it was still dark when the Lord spoke to these frustrated men from the shore. Although He was in His glorified body, already known to them, they did not recognise Him in the dark, about a hundred yards away.
The word translated children is a colloquial expression like my boys, and His question is a polite one expecting a negative answer, as we would now say "haven't you any food?" Their answer was a short "No." It's typical of how emphatic one can be and how little one likes to talk about failure. They answered Him, but they didn't want to talk about it. This is a question He is bound to ask every one of us some day: "Didn't you catch anything? What results have you had from your service to me down on earth?" Will our answer also be "No, nothing?"
But the Lord Jesus knew where the fish were. He told them where to cast the net, they followed His instructions, and were abundantly rewarded for it. In a similar way He directs the lives of His own, and gives them His instructions. When they are obeyed, there is an abundant prize, for the net fills. Notice the net did not break even though it was full. The net was strong, like the gospel of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, of which they were witnesses.
John was the first to realise who this man with supernatural power over nature could only be: it was the Lord! Notice that he did not say "Jesus": an example of respect to be followed! Three years before, the Lamb of God, as John the Baptist introduced Him, had called them at perhaps the same spot. They had gone back to fishing and the Lord had called them again to fish for the souls of men.
Peter characteristically could not wait now for a boat to take him to shore: he threw on the upper garment or linen blouse worn over his waist cloth, tucked it under his girdle, jumped into the water and swam over. He wanted to be close to his Lord. In Oswald Chamber's Daily Devotional "My Utmost for His Highest", the passage for 17th April is based on John 21:7, and reads:
Have you ever had a crisis in which you deliberately and emphatically and recklessly abandoned everything? It is a crisis of will. You may come up to it many times externally, but it amounts to nothing. The real deep crisis of abandonment is reached internally, not externally. The giving up of external things may be an indication of being in total bondage.
Have you deliberately committed your will to Jesus Christ? It is a transaction of will, not of emotion; the emotion is simply the gilt-edge of the transaction. If you allow emotion first, you will never make the transaction. Do not ask God what the transaction is to be but make it in regards to the thing you do see, either in the shallow or the profound place.
If you have heard Jesus Christ's voice on the billows, let your convictions go to the winds, let your consistency go to the winds, but maintain your relationship to Him.
The fishing boat was too large to come closer, so the other disciples got into a little boat and paddled over.
This is the last miracle of our Lord mentioned in the Bible, and the only one recorded after His resurrection. It has a special meaning for us because we are concerned about the ministry of Christ after His resurrection.
Paul wrote, ". . . Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer." (2 Corinthians 5:16). We are not joined to the baby in Bethlehem but to a resurrected, living, glorified Christ at God's right hand. This is why His ministry after His resurrection is so vital for us.
The Lord used what people had as the basis for His miracles: the disciples were fishing and caught nothing, but the Lord Jesus gave them a harvest of fish. Similarly He asked Moses what he had in his hand, Moses said it was a rod, and with that rod, God performed His miracles for Israel. David was faithful as a shepherd with his shepherd's crook, and God gave him a sceptre to hold in his hand. Whatever is in our hand, God can use. If God can't use you right where you are, He probably cannot use you somewhere else.
What God does He does in abundance: the nets were filled with fish, the water pots were full of wine, there were baskets of food left over after the 5,000 had been fed. Blessings abound on whoever obeys Him.
The Lord Jesus had fish laid on a bed of coals for their breakfast on the shore of Galilee, yet He asked for some of the fish which they had caught. Having fished at His command, He accepted what they brought. What blessed fellowship there is in this kind of service!
Peter was called to feed the sheep and to feed the lambs. With what? With the Word of God. With the gospel of a risen, glorified Christ. The gospel will not only save, but it will hold. Even in their failures, believers are kept by the power of God through faith. We see in this incident that Jesus Christ has a purpose for His own. He wants to direct our lives. If we obey, He will bless and have wonderful fellowship with us. He is the Lord of our wills.
"Come and eat breakfast": before going into all the world and preaching the gospel (see Mark 16:15), He would rather we would come and have breakfast with Him, the resurrected Lord.
R David Jones
1 After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself:
2 Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together.
3 Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We are going with you also." They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing.
4 But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
5 Then Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any food?" They answered Him, "No."
6 And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.
7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.
8 But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish.
9 Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread.
10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish which you have just caught."
11 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.
12 Jesus said to them, "Come and eat breakfast." Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, "Who are You?" - knowing that it was the Lord.
13 Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish.
14 This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.