Breakfast on the Beach
Savory treats, sweetened with love
After his resurrection, Jesus prepared breakfast for his disciples.
One evening, Peter invited Thomas, Nathanael
and a couple of Jesus’ disciples on an overnight fishing expedition. A few days earlier, Thomas
had thrust his hand into Jesus’s side, and the truth dawned on him. Jesus had
risen from the dead, and this was his Lord and his God.
But Peter had sunk into despair, acutely aware
he’d denied his Lord. A fisherman and a man of action, he could not sit
motionless under the weight of nagging guilt. There’d been hints
that Jesus may forgive him, but nothing definite, and they were probably too good to be true. They rowed out to sea, casting
their nets at twilight and waiting, checking the nets as the long moonlit hours
dragged on. By dawn, they had caught nothing. As they steered the vessel to
shore, someone appeared on the sands, and his voice carried across the rippling waves
in the crisp morning light.
“Friends, haven’t you caught any fish?”
“No.”
“If you throw your nets on the right side of
the boat, you’ll find plenty.”
They cast again, and the net filled to
overflowing.
Who was this stranger? That voice?
“It is the Lord!”
John recognized him at once! He jumped
into the water while the other disciples followed in the boat, excited, tired
and hungry, towing heavy nets through the shallowing waters to the shore. As they
gathered around the orange flame, a curl of white smoke wafted skyward in the crisp calm of the early morning light.
Jesus had lit the fire and baked fish and bread
in the hot coals.
“Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”
Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. Although they’d caught 153
fish, the net had not torn.
Jesus invited them to breakfast, and he passed around
slabs of hot bread, topped with steaming flaky fish, and they ate, filled and refreshed after a wearisome night on
the Sea of Tiberias. It tasted and smelled wonderful, soft, and salty, baked to perfection.
Although nothing could have tasted better, guilt and shame
stuck in Peter’s throat. Had Jesus truly forgiven him? He'd given Peter special mention after the resurrection, but he wasn’t worthy to be called a disciple of Jesus. Why had he surrendered to fear? Peter had never questioned whether he’d remain faithful, but
when the crunch came, he'd failed. He heard the rooster crow and he remembered Jesus' words.
"Tonight, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." Matthew 26:34
When they had finished eating, Jesus turned to
Peter. It was now or never.
“Do you love me, Simon?”
“Yes, Lord, you know I love you.”
“Feed my lambs.”
What went through Peter’s mind? He knows I
love him and He wants me to feed his lambs. What does he mean, and how is it possible after what I've done to Him?
“Do you love me, Peter?”
“You know I love you.”
“Care for my sheep.”
Jesus repeated his question again, and I imagine Peter’s chest
constricted. He loved the Lord, but Jesus was God, who knew the sinfulness of his heart. Was he actually offering Peter a second opportunity to be a disciple by passing the
responsibility of shepherding the church to him?
Despite his cowardice and shame, Jesus had forgiven his
betrayal and cowardice. He trusted Peter with the enormous privilege of serving
him and suffering for him, never doubting Peter loved his Lord and Savior. Jesus stayed faithful to his Father's assurance. "I will forgive their wickedness and remember
their sins no more.” Hebrews 8:12.
Faithful to this promise, Jesus demonstrated perfect love that keeps no record of wrongs. Jesus had paid Peter's debt of
sin with his own blood.
With a simple command, Jesus commissioned Peter and renewed his commitment: “You must follow me.” As Peter left the beach, no guilt or bitterness remained,
only the sweet assurance that Jesus loved loved him because he had suffered, died and rose
again on his behalf.
Jesus' love is unconditional to all who place their trust in his death and resurrection. He waits and longs to for us to confess our sins and receive the gift of salvation. Have you tasted forgiveness, digested it, to be satisfied by the peace of God?
Jesus! He is good beyond measure, removing our sins as far as the east is from the west. Psalm
103:12. Will we follow him? If we have 'tasted'- identified with - his suffering and
been washed in his blood, we have feasted on him.
He is the ‘Bread of Life,’
the sweetest flavor of all.
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