Scripture Reading(s)
John 21:1-19
21:1 After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way.
21:2 Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples.
21:3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
21:4 Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
21:5 Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.”
21:6 He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish.
21:7 That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea.
21:8 But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.
21:9 When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread.
21:10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.”
21:11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn.
21:12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord.
21:13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish.
21:14 This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
21:15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
21:16 A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
21:17 He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
21:18 Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.”
21:19 (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”
Reflections
I love this beautiful and peaceful scene that we see being displayed before us. The disciples were back in the place where Jesus had found them the first time He called them to be His disciples. Instead this time, He had come to prepare them to take on the hard and even dangerous task of preaching the Gospel. This time they had seen and experienced who Christ really is and their faith was tested and proven to be genuine. They were now ready to do the work that He had been training and encouraging them to do.
In this scene we see God’s love and Grace being displayed in two ways. First it is through His constant care and provision for them and second it is extending His hand of forgiveness towards Peter.
- His constant care and provision: in the first half of this passage we see Jesus showing love and care towards His disciples and making sure to provide for them. The disciples had experienced no success in catching fish. When Jesus appeared to them, He lovingly performed a miracle for them and it was instantly then that they recognized who He was. He had been lovingly providing for them throughout the course of His ministry and it is only by His power that these miracles can come to be. Jesus deeply loved His disciples and He extends that same love towards you and I. He extends the same hand of provision towards us as well. We are also His children and we can always find hope and rest that He is taking care of us.
- Extending His Hand of Forgiveness: In the second half of this passage we are faced with a beautiful picture of God’s Grace in full display. Peter had denied Christ deeply and even still, Jesus never stopped loving Him and He knew in Peter’s heart that He never stopped loving Him in return. Peter was being restored from his sin and God was about to use Peter to spread the Gospel in amazing ways. Shy, quiet, put your-foot-in-your-mouth Peter became bold, eloquent and fearless in preaching the good news of Jesus Christ. What an amazing picture of God’s Grace covering our sin and erasing it from our record. He forgives our sins, erases them from our record and gives us strength to keep on living each day to Glorify and Honour Him.
I can only imagine how Peter must have felt that day when Jesus showed up. Peter’s last moments around Jesus was denying him and then watching him get taken away to his crucifixion. With Jesus now gone Peter was left to himself to ruminate in his thoughts. Probably why he randomly said “I’m going fishing,” while hanging with the other disciples.
But that moment when Peter realized Jesus had returned was the highest high he ever had. All the fears and doubts washed away. His lost opportunity to seek Jesus’ forgiveness for the betrayal is also now restored. If I were Peter I would have also jumped out of the boat and swam to the shore.
[Featured image from faithunited.ca]