Weekly Devotional

Breakfast Anyone? (February 22, 2012) by Jim Crosby

 

Now come and have some breakfast! Jesus said.  And no one dared ask him if He really was the Lord because they were sure of it.  Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish.  This was the third time Jesus had appeared to His disciples since He had been raised from the dead.       John 21:12-13

 

It must have been a little foggy that morning.  You know, the kind of haze that often settles in over a body of water at night and  at dawn is still lingering over the water.

So, the disciples, who had spent a frustrating and unfruitful night on the Sea of Galilee in which they had caught not a single fish, could barely see the figure of someone standing on the shore and calling out to them.

           

The man’s voice came out across the waters to their boat:

           

            “Friends, have you caught any fish?”

 

They could only see the outline of the man on the shore so they really didn’t know who it was.  They replied in the negative.

           

            “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will get plenty of fish,” said the man.

           

            They had nothing to lose by doing that, so they did.

           

Result.  Caught so many fish they couldn’t haul the net in.  How many? The Bible is very specific.  153 large fish.

           

Gosh I wonder if there is a message here?  Could it be if we do what Jesus tells us to do we will have success?

 

Jesus had done this before.  He had instructed them on net-casting with the same result.  So now it began to dawn on them just who the shadowy figure on the shore was.

           

When John says to Peter “It’s Jesus”, then the impetuous one jumps into the water and swims ashore. The rest of the crew wrestled to get the net full of fish under control.

 

Now when they all got to shore they had a welcome sight.  Well, yes they saw Jesus…this was the third time he had appeared to them after the resurrection.  But also welcoming were his words.

           

            “Come on and have some breakfast,” said Jesus.

 

While they had been fishing Jesus already had fish and bread cooked for them over a charcoal fire.          For a tired, hungry, frustrated bunch of fishermen this was a very welcome sight indeed.

This was the third time Jesus had appeared to them after the resurrection.  It is interesting that this type of setting was chosen by the Lord for this appearance.

 

Breakfast is a meal to be enjoyed at a lesurely pace.  Sure it doesn’t always work out that way.  Sometimes we are rushed because we are late.  We even eat as we drive on occasion. But, ideally sitting down to a nice hot breakfast with a good cup of coffee sets the stage for a positive day.

 

Contrast this scene to the last meal Jesus had with his disciples before the crucifixion. The Upper Room meal was overshadowed by the information that was dispersed.  Jesus told them he would be betrayed and they would be tested.

 

At that time Jesus had served them bread and wine.  Here he was serving them fish and bread.  The key term is “serve.”  Jesus…the Messiah, the Lord and Master, God in person was serving, not commanding or ordering he was serving His disciples. The one whose “sandals they were not worthy to unlace” was serving them.

 

Jesus had explained this to them.  “You know that in this world kings are tyrants and officials lord it over the people beneath them. But among you it is quite different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all.”

           

 

Jesus is saying sure as believers we can come to Him to have our needs met, but if we emulate him we will help others in their time of need. 

 

After breakfast Jesus had a talk with Peter, who might have still been feeling a little uneasy about having denied knowing Him three times.

 

So Jesus asked him three times…”Do you love me.”  The answer from Peter was “Of course I love you.”

 

Each time Jesus’ response was then “Feed my lambs.”

 

Jesus would not be around to be a servant any more.  So it would be up to the Disciples to display His Love in the same way He did by being a servant.

 

Jesus also gave Peter subtle instructions for getting over the great heartache he still had as he regretted his denial of Jesus. The way he could move past it was to become the same kind of servant that Jesus had been.

 

I guess this idea of servanthood is kind of a foreign concept to  us these days. And maybe we feel that instead of gaining we will lose by doing this servant thing.  But, that is not the case.

 

Just think about sometime that you have done something nice for another person.  How did that make you feel?  Good, right? 

 

Yes, it is that gift of giving that we have talked about in devotions before.  Dave Ramsey stressed it in his Financial Peace University…we read it throughout the scriptures. 

 

It doesn’t mean deserting all the things that you like and just constantly denying yourself any of the fun or good stuff in life.  Conversely it means gaining those things by helping others.  It could start out with a compliment…an encouraging word to someone or just doing or saying something that makes somebody feel good.

 

That’s a start.  It can lead to even bigger things.  In fact, breakfast is a good starting point.  It is a time to consider just what opportunities you might be able to avail yourself of that day that will help someone else.  If you do that I think a lot of good things will surprisingly fall into place for you.

 

Have a good breakfast and a great day!

 

 Prayer: Thank you Lord for all the good breakfasts in our lives that start our days in positive way and help us to be better servants.  Amen!

           

***author’s note:  Breakfast is special.  Enjoy and give thanks for each one.