Page 17 - Florida Sentinel 4-6-18

Recognizing Jesus
When He Appears John 21:1-14
John 21:1 Later, Jesus ap- peared again to the disciples be- side the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened.
2 Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.
3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.” “We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.
4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was.
5 He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?” “No,” they replied.
6 Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.
7 Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore.
8 The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore.
9 When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them — fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.
10 “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said.
11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.
12 “Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.
13 Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish.
14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disci- ples since he had been raised from the dead.
This lesson begins after Jesus leaves his tomb. After His resurrection, Jesus appeared numerous times to His disciples and followers, providing them with convincing proof that He was risen indeed.
Several of these appearances happened in Jerusalem (John 20:10- 17, 19-23, 26-29; Matthew 28:9–10; Luke 24:13-27, 33-34, 50-51) and two occurred in Galilee — meet- ing the disciples at the Sea of Galilee (John 21) and gather- ing with followers on a moun- tain (Matthew 28:16).
Scripture also records that Jesus appeared to James (1 Corinthians 15:7) and to Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1- 9).
Often Jesus was not recog- nized immediately by His disci- ples when He appeared to them. His words and actions caused them to know Him. The histori-
cal fact of Jesus’ resurrection is core to Christian belief. Jesus was condemned to death be- cause He claimed to be the Son of God (Matthew 26:63-65). By rising from the dead, He gave irrefutable proof that He was who He said He was.
By the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, the disciples went on to perform miracles (Acts 2:43) and preached that salvation and re- mission of sin were available be- cause of Jesus’ resurrection (Luke 24:47).
Doing What You Know (John 21:1–3)
The women who went to Jesus’ tomb met an angel who told them to go and report to Jesus’ disciples that He has risen and they should meet Him in Galilee (Matthew 28:5).
Galilee was in the northern part of Israel, and several of Jesus’ disciples lived and worked there. Though they had followed the instructions to go to Galilee, they didn’t know what to do next.
Peter decided to go fishing and the others joined him. A long night on the waters went unrewarded —often the result of an occupation like fishing. Wait- ing for God’s next direction is a challenging spiritual discipline for many people; it goes against the natural inclination to make things happen.
What do you do when you are waiting to hear from God? How do you remain patient?
Doing What Jesus Says (John 21:4–6)
Jesus showed up on the shore and inquired whether the disciples had caught any food. They responded no, and Jesus told them to cast their nets to the right side of the boat.
After their night at sea, it would have been reasonable for the disciples to be too tired to try again, or question the direction of a stranger on shore, but they followed Jesus’ words and were rewarded with a large quantity of fish.
When we stay open to in- struction and the wisdom of God, we often experience the blessing that follows obedience. How can we convince others to develop a greater trust in the promises of God?
Experiencing Unimaginable Results (John 21:7-14)
This miraculous catch caused John to remember an- other time a man had told them
to cast down their nets.
John exclaimed to the other
disciples that the man on shore was Jesus (Luke 5:1–11). Upon hearing this news, Peter couldn’t wait for the boat to return to shore; he grabbed his clothes, jumped in the water, and swam to meet Jesus.
As the others came to shore, they saw that Jesus had pre- pared bread and fish for them to eat.
Often considered an impetu-
ous person, Peter gets to Jesus as quickly as he can. He realizes that Jesus is now waiting on them, and Peter doesn’t want to miss this opportunity to be in His transforming presence.
Jesus, always caring and compassionate toward His peo- ple, invited His disciples to a meal with Him when they ar- rived on shore. The long night of unrewarded struggle was over; the invitation was to dine on what Jesus offered.
This was time to sit and renew their relationship with Christ. In sharing this meal and fellowship around the campfire, the disciples didn’t have to ask who was present with them; they knew without a doubt He was their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The risen Christ looks for op- portunities to express His love; He is a very present help to those experiencing failure, loss, or dis- illusionment.
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