What kind of normal, human skills did Jesus have? We know that from His teen years until age thirty, Jesus worked as a carpenter in His foster father Joseph’s shop. We also know that Jesus was a very good teacher, often using very relatable parables as spiritual lessons to teach the crowds. However, did you ever think of Jesus as a cook? In our Gospel reading today we’ll see where the Lord Jesus prepared a meal, which I’m sure was the tastiest meal one could ever eat!
As our Scripture opens, we see that the disciples had traveled up to the Sea of Galilee, possibly out of obedience to what the angels and Jesus had told the women at the tomb (Matthew 28:5-10). Seven of the eleven disciples decided to go fishing - Peter, James, John, Thomas, Nathaniel, and two others (vs. 1-3). As was the custom, they took their boat out onto the lake overnight, fishing with nets. However, that night they had no luck, so they started to head back. As they slowly got closer to shore, a gentleman standing on the beach shouted out to them, asking whether they had any luck (vs. 4-5). When they answer back that they hadn’t caught anything, He suggests casting the nets once again on the right side of the boat. Doing so, they caught a great amount (vs. 6). Immediately after the catch of fish, John must have recalled a similar event from the early days of being Jesus’ disciples, and he recognized that this man on the shore was Jesus. When he told the others, Peter immediately jumped off the boat and swam to shore to be with the Lord (vs 7-8). When the others brought the boat in, they were greeted by Jesus and the breakfast He had prepared for them (vs. 9-10).
So what can we learn from this event that happened a couple of weeks after the Resurrection? We see, first of all, as we have throughout each of the Gospels, that Jesus has sovereignty over all of creation. Here He demonstrated His divine authority over nature by directing the disciples to a miraculous catch of 153 fish after their unsuccessful night of fishing.
The disciples show us here that blessings will follow when we obey what the Lord tells us. At first they didn’t recognize Him, perhaps because they weren’t expecting to see the Savior humbly making breakfast along the shore. However when they willingly followed what the Lord instructed them to do, it resulted in an abundant provision for them. When we obey what Jesus tells us, it will lead to both spiritual and material blessings.
It was on the shores of the Sea of Galilee early in His ministry, perhaps right near the same spot, that Jesus had called Peter, Andrew, James, and John to be His disciples, telling them that He would make them fishers of men (Matthew 4:18-22). Now, in a few short weeks, Jesus would be sending them out into the world to do just that.
How did Peter feel, just days after having denied knowing Jesus? Did he feel forgiven, or that he wasn’t worthy to be with Jesus, or part of that group? When we have a big failure in our life, do we give up and live a defeated life, or do we believe that God can restore us? Some people believe that after having denied Jesus, Peter no longer felt worthy to follow Jesus in full-time ministry, so that is why he was out fishing that night. They believed he was returning to his life as a fisherman. However, Jesus and the angels had told the disciples to leave Jerusalem and go to Galilee, which is why they were there. Fishing that night was just probably a way to occupy their time until Jesus showed up. Peter had believed and accepted the Lord’s forgiveness and restoration.
Jesus had predicted Peter’s fall with his denial, but He also prayed for Peter’s faith, and that Peter’s failure would not be the end of the story. Jesus knew that Peter would stand again, and that he would strengthen others (Luke 22:31-32). God can use our failures to prepare us to be more effective for Him. If we humbly turn to the Lord Jesus, He’ll give us a fresh start.
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