Jesus Cooks Breakfast

April 16, 2023 Background Scripture: John 21 - 14 Lesson Passage: John 21:1 - 14 Old habits are very hard to break. When we engage in an activity for an extended period, it takes more than a made-up mind to stop doing it. We are creatures of habit Three years prior to the events in today's text, Jesus told two fishermen to follow Him and He would make them become fishers of men. At that time, they immediately left their fishing business and their father and followed Jesus. After three years of witnessing miracles, hearing astounding doctrinal teaching, and seeing a wrongful arrest and crucifixion and miraculous resurrection three days after the crucifixion, Peter said, "I am going fishing." Peter was one of the two men Jesus called to follow Him and become fishers of men. After three challenging years of learning from Jesus through His examples and precepts, Peter returned to what was more familiar to him—fishing. And when Peter announced his intention to go fishing, six of the other disciples said, "We are going with you also." They went out and immediately got into a boat. (Note that after three years of following Jesus, they still had their fishing equipment.) We are not told what time it was when they got into the boat, but we are told that they were in the boat all night until the morning. They did not catch any fish that night. That morning a man stood on the shore and called out to them and asked if they had caught any fish. They answered no. The man told them to cast their net on the right side of the boat and they will find some fish. After casting their net as instructed, the net was so filled with fish that they could not pull it into the boat. They had to drag the net to the shore with the fish. By that time, they knew that the man on the shore was Jesus. When they arrived on the shore, Jesus was cooking fish and bread. Jesus told them to bring some of the fish they had caught. Jesus invited them to come and eat breakfast. Jesus then served them bread and fish. Those seven men knew Jesus had called them to become fishers of men. Jesus had demonstrated everything He asked them to do. They had made a commitment to follow Jesus. After Jesus was arrested, their commitment proved to not be very deep. Although their commitment was not very stable, Jesus was just as committed to them as ever. He was still demonstrating the principle, "He who would be the greatest of all must be a servant of all." Jesus had recently defeated death and the grave and He was still willing to serve those who could not make a firm commitment to follow Him. Rather than chastise them for returning to fishing, Jesus told them how to be successful while fishing. He knew they would be hungry in the morning, so He had prepared food for them to eat when they arrived at the shore. Jesus expressed "agape" love to them. Expressing agape love is an act of the will and the one who does so is motivated by the needs of the one loved and not necessarily by their desires. The one who loves in this manner also finds joy in doing so. Jesus' love for His disciples was not based on who they were, but it was based on who He is. Christians are affected by Jesus' love for us. The evidence that His disciples were affected is suggested by the fact that this was the last recorded fishing trip they took in the Bible. The remainder of the biblical record shows them fishing for men in the Book of Acts. Jesus loved them into obedience. Robert C Hudson April 1, 2023