Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. John 21:12-14
On the shore of the Sea of Galilee a reunion of sorts is occurring. The Lord has met with His disciples twice after His resurrection. Ten of the disciples (Thomas was missing) met with Him on the night of His resurrection. A week later while all 11 were in a home in Jerusalem the Lord appeared to them again. Now in Galilee the Lord meets with 7 of his disciples for the third time.
We keep our eye on Peter. He, like many of us, is walking the path that the prodigal son walked. He knows the only place he wants to be is with Jesus. Yet He failed Him greatly. Now he realizes what he has lost – he is not worthy to be a son but maybe he can be the Lord’s slave. On the shore the Lord meets with his way-ward disciple (like the father met his prodigal son), to restore him to fellowship.
Jesus said to them His invitation is not what they likely expected especially to one of His disciples.
“Come and have breakfast.” What they have done many times before the Lord now invites them to do once again. The Lord desires fellowship with his disciples who have run in fear and hid after His death. In this group is Peter who has denied Him three times after pledging his undying loyalty. He must wonder, “Does he mean me too?” He knows a slave never eats with the Master.
Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” Initially this statement shocks us. How could they not know the Lord? Remember He is in His glorified body. His deity shines through His
humanity. Only Peter, James and John has seen him this way on the Mount of Transfiguration.
They knew it was the Lord. John tells us clearly, they knew (the word implies a deeper, intuitive knowledge or awareness) that this is the Son of God. How could they know? First, the Lord spoke with
authority. Second He performed miracles. Third His presence shows His glory. Fourth, they could see the marks of the nails in His hands and His feet. Lastly, He desired fellowship with them. Make no mistake – when we arrive in heaven there will be doubt in our minds who the risen Savior is.
Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. The Lord then took action that the disciples had seen and enjoyed before but probably never fully appreciated. His nail-scarred hands takes the fish and the bread that is cooking on the fire, breaks it and shares it with his disciples – even Peter.
What can we learn? This scene reminds us of the joy of the Father when the prodigal returns home. We are told how the father called
his household together and killed the fatted calf to hold a feast celebrating his son’s return. What we see is the great love of the Lord for His children. The Lord knew before He went to the cross that Peter would deny Him three times, he knew the disciples would flee in fear and hide from the Lord’s enemies. He knew these weak frail men, who did not show it, loved Him. So after this death He summons them and provides for them and fellowships with them. There is no failing that the Lord will not forgive and restore. But there is a problem. Sin must be addressed for fellowship to be fully restored. While the Lord could forgive Peter and the disciples, they could not forgive themselves.
The Lord knows that Satan desired to use Peter’s past sin to defeat him, to destroy any future service or ministry to the Lord. (It is likely Peter never forgot his great sin but the Lord’s forgiveness helped him to overcome it.) Therefore after the breakfast the time has come for the Lord and Peter to address the sin He has committed. The parable of the Prodigal Son does not show us this truth but it is critical if we are to serve the Lord after a devastating sin against Him. Praise the Lord that He initiates this intervention in love for shame would keep Peter (and us) from doing so. (God always reaches out to us – remember how He went looking for Adam and Eve in Eden after their sin?)
He seeks us which shows us His “agape’ love!