“Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter. It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus saith unto them. Come and dine. And none of them durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead” (John 21:7-14).
Even though the disciples hadn’t recognized Jesus standing on the shore, it was John who remembered a similar event about catching a multitude of fishes. (Luke 5:1-11) Some believe it was that memory that could have caused him to speak up and tell Peter, “it is the Lord.” Often times we feel guilt and want to run and hide. Peter was no exception. However, when John made his declaration, Peter ,who had been naked from the waist up, grabbed his outer garment and jumped in the sea. He wanted to rush to be with Jesus ahead of the other disciples. Peter was sorry for being so disloyal. He needed Christ’s forgiveness and restoration.
In the meantime, the disciples were hungry and tired. One commentary I read said Jesus already had fish on the fire so He said to them, “Come and dine.” We learn from this how He could take care of their need without their help. They needed this time of food and fellowship with the Savior. They had to recall the wonderful memories of sharing fish and bread with Jesus. Tomorrow we will learn about a very important talk with Peter.
Sue Winchester
Missouri
PRAY TOGETHER: Please pray for Marc and Casie Neppl, associate missionaries in Suffolk, Virginia. The Neppls are assisting home missionaries David and Charity Sexton in planting the Crosspointe FWB Church. Suffolk is a growing city with plenty of business opportunities and an average of 1,000 new homes built each year. Yet, at the last census, 64% of the population claimed to be unchurched.
