Following the Master - 11 (Breakfast)

John 21:1-14 (TNIV)

  1 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. 1 It happened this way: 2Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as 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.

Additional Questions to Ponder:

1.  How is it that the disciples recognize Jesus?  Why would this be significant (given that the main way they recognize Him after the resurrection is different from the way the did before the resurrection)?

2.  Did you notice that Jesus had already prepared food for them before they had the fish they had caught to add to what He had prepared?  It there significance to their primary source of nourishment not being the results of their labor?

3.   Take a few moments to ponder the response of Peter to the realization that it was Jesus.  How did Peter know?  How did Peter respond?  What do you notice about the various ways the different disciples reacted?

4.   Ponder the way the Jesus interacts with the disciples here.  Play the scene in your imagination, and think about his tone of voice, the expression on His face, the feelings he conveyed.  What do you notice here?

Guess who's invited to breakfast?  What a great thing it would be to see Jesus on the shore after a long and seemingly fruitless night of labor, and hear Him inviting us to come and have breakfast with Him.  This week Pastor Jon invites us to consider the amazing post-resurrection appearance of Jesus to the disciples where He does exactly that.  Once again, it is in the context of a shared meal that Jesus is present with them (something worth pondering all on its own).

It is interesting that when Jesus "shows up" among His followers after the resurrection, it never quite seems to be the way they would expect.  And yet, what that experience is like, and what He has to share, encourages and challenges them in profound ways.  If you would like to take a few moments to listen to the sermon once again as Pastor Jon describes this experience, you can click here to access our sermon library.

Recalling a similar morning . . .

It was a scene similar to this one that many of these disciples had experienced together at the beginning of their journey of following Jesus.  I wonder if those earlier memories came back to them that morning as Jesus once again invited them to come and be with Him -- To join Him for breakfast -- and the beginning of a new day that was new in ways that could hardly imagine.  This song below might capture a bit of what may have come drifting back to them that morning as they both recalled the road they had been over, and contemplated the one that lay ahead.