John 21:9-14 - Eating Breakfast with Jesus

John 21:9-14

9 So when they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have now caught.” 11 Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.

12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples ventured to question Him, “Who are You?” knowing that it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise. 14 This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead.

Message: Eating Breakfast with Jesus

Time: John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)." 

What the Lord is Saying: The disciples have left the boat after encountering Jesus. They were in the boat out at sea, and Peter jumped into the water after seeing Jesus. Not sure where Jesus was at exactly upon seeing him but the other disciples sailed back to shore. Arriving at the shore is now where verse 9 states they arrived to the land only to see a charcoal fire with fish and bread already there. I can imagine the scene - "Who left this?" or "Wow, someone is looking out for us." And yet in verse 10 Jesus is there and tells them to bring some of the fish they caught. Peter goes to get more fish at Jesus' request, and there is a lot - 153 fish to be exact and they go to have breakfast with Jesus. 

There is not much else to speak of regarding this passage. Tabletalk does reference other verses for further study:

Deuteronomy 6:13 - You shall fear only the Lord your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name. - God is it in our life. The only one. The only one to fear, to worship and uphold. 

Mark 9:2-8 - 6 days later, Jesus took Peter, James, John to a high mountain and was tranfigured before them; garments radiant and really white; Elijah appeared and Moses and spoke to Jesus. Peter said, "This is good here; I will be build 3 tabernacles for each of you, but then a cloud came and spoke, "This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!” All at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone. -- Again, Jesus is it for us. Our authority. If God's word says only fear God and Jesus is the one we are to listen to then there must be a correlation between the two. 

Summary: The disciples arrive to the land and have fish and bread breakfast with Jesus, at his beckoning. 

Promise: Jesus is the incarnate Lord of glory whom we should fear in reverent awe. Let us worship Him this day. 

Prayer: You are God alone. You are one I fear. Give me a holy fear of You and reverence and esteem awe. Thank you for showing yourself to people Jesus and testifying of yourself following your resurrection. 

Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.

John 21:1-8 - The Disciples Go Fishing

John 21:1-8

1 After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way. 2 Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and 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 will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.

4 But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 So Jesus said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.” 6 And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. 7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea. 8 But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net full of fish.

Message: The Disciples Go Fishing

Time: John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)." 

What the Lord is Saying: This is an interesting passage to me. It almost seems like after leaving the room where they had been hiding ("After these things..."), the disciples including Simon Peter start off on the trek to go fishing. Most recently, Jesus had visited with the disciples and seen him, Jesus shows himself to Thomas. And now the disciples are going fishing. It is almost as if life is back to normal. But they aren't having any luck catching and so Jesus directs them (though it isn't apparent that they are recognizing him from the telling of the passage), but after doing what Jesus has told them to do, suddenly they were able to haul in a great number of fish. It is at this time that Peter recognizes Jesus and proceeds to go to him. 

Verse 1 mentions that John has recorded that "Jesus manifested Himself again." Johann Albrecht Mengel (1687-1752) mentions, "More than eight days, as it seems, having intervened, for they had now no longer an expectation of another manifestation as verse 4 states, "the disciples did not know that it was Jesus" so they were not expecting to see Jesus again. 

It is also interesting in verse 2 as mentioned by Alexander Maclaren (1826-1910) that the disciples are together. That is, after the resurrection of Jesus and his appearance and then now some time or days since last being together, the disciples have not dispersed, but instead remain together. Sheep scatter, but these disciples remain together. Seven are mentioned here. 

And Simon Peter led them to go fishing, at night, which is the most opportune time to go fishing. They returned to their role where they had been at first. 

So in verse 4 is the disciples returning to their trade and Jesus is there. They don't realize it, but he is there - with them. This has been Jesus. He is with us. As we return to work, he is there. He mentions when He leaves at some point, the Holy Spirit is with us. God with us is the outcry to us. He is near. I think I can never lose sight of this reality that God is near, Jesus is near, the Holy Spirit is near. Despite the loneliness that I feel, see the promise that God is there. And Jesus understands out situation and understands our struggles. Jesus says to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” - He knows our situation and in this situation he speaks to them and speaks His provision and His solution. 

And like clockwork, once His presence and provision is seen, the disciples wake up to the realizing that He is present. The sad thing about our existence is this, that we need to see God provide before we acknowledge Him. John says to Peter, "It is the Lord." They recognize him and then life goes on. Peter is excited it is the Lord. The rest of the disciples gather the fish. 

Summary: The disciples go on with their lives having not seen Jesus for 7+ days, and fish, but struggle, then Jesus sees them and provides a large catch. And then the disciples recognize Him. 

Promise: From Tabletalk, "Although Peter frequently talked and acted before he should have done so, surely his eagerness to be with Jesus serves as a model to us. We should likewise be eager to spend time with our Savior."

Prayer: O God, you are Savior and You are Lord. I praise you for your presence in my life and for being present with me always. You are there. You are right by my side. Help me to see this and know this, recognize this, believe this and like we said yesterday in our study about the sexual union of a husband and wife, help me to act in way that is glorifying to You always. I want to be excited to be near You God. I do love Your word and love conversations with people about You. Place more of these opportunities in my life - both online but also in real life. Help me to seek them out. Show them to me. Lord, be a light in my life and Lord, help me to be diligent always in my service to You.  

Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.

My Utmost for His Highest - October 1 - The Sphere of Exaltation

 Jesus leadeth them up into a high mountain apart by themselves. - Mark 9:2

     We have all had times on the mount, when we have seen things from God's standpoint and have wanted to stay there. The test of our spiritual life is the power to descend; if we have power to rise only, something is wrong. It is a great thing to be on the mount of God, but a man only gets there in order that afterwards he may get down among the devil-possessed and lift them up. We are not built for the mountains and the dawns and the aesthetic affinities, those are for moments of inspiration, that is all. We are built for the valley, for the ordinary stuff we are in, and that is where we have to prove our mettle. Spiritual selfishness always wants repeated moments on the mount. We feel we could talk with angels and live like angels, if only we could stay on the mount. The times of exaltation are exceptional, they have their meaning in our life with God, but we must beware lest our spiritual selfishness wants to make them the only time. 

     We are apt to think that everything that happens is to be turned into useful teaching, it is to be turned into something better than teaching, viz., into character. The mount is not meant to teach us anything, it is meant to make us something. There is a great snare in asking--What is the use of it? In spiritual matters we can never calculate on that line. The moments on the mountain tops are rare moments, and they are meant for something in God's purpose. 

-- Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)

 - From Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost for His Highest" - Classic Edition

Highlights and Underlines are courtesy of Mom from her print edition