John 21:1-14
Breakfast with Jesus

After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. 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. 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.

Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" They answered him, "No." 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. 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. 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.

When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught." 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. 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. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

New Revised Standard Version

In John's gospel, the first two times Jesus appeared to the disciples was in a more formal setting. Both times, they had gathered together in an upper room, once praying together out of fear, and the second time out of wonderment. In those occasions, Jesus taught them and commissioned them for the work God called them to do.

Three appearances spoke of the heavenly calling Jesus gave them, since three is the number of the Trinity. But this third time was different. They weren't in Jerusalem, but back home in Galilee. They weren't praying together, but working at an everyday chore. We don't know why Peter decided to go fishing, maybe because they needed the money, or maybe they went for recreation, but I'm partial to the idea that Peter found it easier to think when he was doing physical activity. I think Peter was wrestling with unanswered questions about Jesus, and with Peter in a state of "hard at work" prayer, Jesus came to give him those answers.

But Jesus didn't make this third appearance just for Peter, even though the passage that follows these verses is a touching, intense dialog between those two. It seems to me if this appearance had been just for Peter, Jesus would have walked across the water again, inviting Peter to step out and come to him again. Jesus had first called several of these seven disciples from their fishing boats, and he had taught all his disciples they would fish for people, so Jesus wanted this intimate appearance to be personal for each of them. It started so simply, "Hey, boys, caught any fish?" "No, old man, we haven't!" "Try the right side of the boat..." You can almost hear the hope rising in Peter's voice as he yells at his cohorts, "You heard the man, throw the net out on the right!" As the net lines jump and pull under the frantic thrashing of the captured fish, John states what by then is so obvious... "It's Him!"

The other of these resurrection experiences were focused on teaching, instructing, and sending out the Galilean fishermen who would carry salvation to the world. This one is about... breakfast.

I've already pointed out the commonplace activity in which Jesus finds his friends. There's a friendly humor in the banter between the professional fishermen and that odd fellow standing on shore. There's the inclusion of all seven in the personal way Jesus touches them with this miracle. And when they finally come on shore, they see Jesus didn't need their fish at all! There, already on the coals, are frying pans of scrambled eggs, sausage, gravy, and fresh baked biscuits waiting for them (you can tell I'm southern...), and the greatest Waiter the world has ever known would serve them.

There's a sentence in this passage that doesn't make much sense in English and in our modern context. Of course these seven disciples knew by the time they were on shore this was Jesus. But this time, they didn't ask him why he was there (the Greek word translated "who" is sometimes translated "why"), or what meaning they were to place on this appearance. They knew the answer, for this was their wandering Rabbi, sitting down with them on the shore as He had done many times before. He was there to be with them, to enjoy their companionship, to show them how much He loved these, his friends.

Peter by now comprehended that the God of heaven, full of agape love, had forgiven him for denying he knew Jesus early that Good Friday morning. He knew that the One who taught forgiving other seventy times seven times would do the same, but I think Peter hadn't felt it yet. It was a logical conclusion his mind had drawn, but his heart ached for how he had betrayed his Master, fallen so far short of the brave man he thought he was, and failed so thoroughly at so basic a temptation. I think that pain, that inner guilt, that disconnection between his heart and his head sent Peter out on that boat that night. He wasn't going to sleep anyway, and he'd rather be fighting waves and nets on the lake than pacing around the house.

What Peter found on shore was more than just the God of perfect, selfless agape love. He found his Teacher, Jesus, full of filios love, "brotherly love," we often translate it, magnified to holy perfection. Peter jumped off the boat and swam to shore to confront his own brokenness. He had dreaded this one-on-one meeting with the One he had failed, but he was even more terrified he would never have this chance. So he stood rigidly, dripping wet, scared of what Jesus would say, but much more frightened of the emotions that had ripped him apart in those past weeks. He would have looked directly in Jesus face, as if to say, "I know I deserve this rebuke, and I will take all the punishment you give, just bring it on now."

He wouldn't know what to do with the twinkle in Jesus' eye, the grin on His face, and he would stand stunned as Jesus sauntered over and gave him a giant hug. "It's good to see you, friend," Jesus might have whispered in his ear. Then He slapped Peter on the shoulder and said, "Hey, would you bring a few more fish over here?" Peter, who can't believe what just happened, can't believe the forgiveness acted out by his Master, would have done a double-take, and cried "Sure!" as he, with superhuman strength and typical Peter brashness, hauled the whole catch single-handedly off the boat.

There are two parts to forgiveness. We know how this works when we forgive someone else: there's the conscious, willful decision not to respond to a wrong done to us, and there's the decision to restore the relationship with the one who wronged us. We know how that feels from the other side, too, when we go to the one we wronged, admit that we were wrong, and ask to be forgiven. Sometimes we get hurt because of our admission of guilt. Sometimes the person isn't ready to forgive. We can cope with the failure of that first forgiveness step, because we did our part, we admitted we were wrong, and so we've done what we can. What often haunts us, though, is the broken relationship that never healed.

It is the same in dealing with sin in our lives. We must go to God and admit we were wrong. We have to confront our failure and face who we are. We know that God is eager and quick to forgive us! But that just completes the first step for us -- we know logically that God wants to restore that relationship with us, too, but knowing it and embracing it can be very different.

When you're caught at that point in embracing God's forgiveness... God still invites you to breakfast. I know there are myriads of ways that God is showing you now how much you, personally, are loved! As I was writing this paragraph, I looked out the window at how the morning sun lit the new growth on an oak tree, illuminating a startling green against a pale blue sky, and I know my quick glance was just that kind of gift from God, because it reminded me so specifically of one personal encounter I had with God three years ago when I was out taking photographs. (Click here to see those photographs!) I am sitting here crying about the miracle I just witnessed, a miracle no one else could possibly recognize, because God loves you so much that God gave me that little sign to pass along to you. Just as sure as the sun is out this morning, God is sending you tokens of love, signs of restoration, gifts to celebrate your relationship with your Abba, your Father in heaven. Every now and then, those signs may be as obvious as a man on the shoreline frying fish on a campfire. Sometimes they're a sound, a phrase, a sight that triggers a memory. Other times, they are little events that just make you smile... and just underneath the innocuous appearance of those little events is your Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer, and Friend saying, "I love you!"