Luke in tells us in Acts 1:3 that there was a period of forty days from the time of the resurrection of Jesus to His ascension. “After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” During this period of forty days, the four gospels do not give us much detailed information about what Jesus said or did.
When reading in the gospels about this forty-day period, we need to keep in mind that there were forty days from resurrection to ascension and ten days from ascension to Pentecost. During this forty-day period each gospel writer gives us a different emphasis about different events that happened in this period of time.
In Matthew 28:16-20, Matthew writes about Jesus in Galilee giving to the eleven disciples what is commonly known as the “The Great Commission”.
The oldest existing manuscripts used to translate the gospel of Mark do not contain Mark 16:9-20. The New International Version gives us this footnote. “The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9-20.” Taking this into consideration, the last point that Mark writes about is the day of Jesus’ resurrection in Mark 16:1-8, is the angel giving the women instructions to, “…go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.'” Mark 16:7.
Luke in Luke 24:11-33 gives us the detailed story of what happened later on that day of Jesus’ resurrection on the road to Emmaus with two of the disciples. In the same chapter in verses 36-49 Luke tells us what Jesus said and did that same night to the Eleven and the others who were with them.
The apostle John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23) gives us four detailed events of what Jesus said and did during the forty days after His resurrection. The last three happened on the same day.
Starting with John 20:24-31, John tells us about Jesus’ interaction with Thomas. Next in John 21:1-14, we have the account of the miraculous catch of fish. Then continuing with one of the most intimate interactions of Jesus with His disciples, breakfast on the beach. And finally, the account in John 21:15-23 of the very personal conversation with the commissioning of Peter.
One of the challenges that we confront when reading the Bible is, personal application, “how do I apply what I am reading to my life personally?”. Some good study Bibles helps us understand the context of what is happening and the usage of the Biblical language, Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic in the text. But it is the Holy Spirit that gives us the understanding to be able to apply the spiritual principles in the Bible to our daily lives and situations we confront.
John 16:13, But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
John 14:26, But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.
When reading these personal pre-ascension appearances in all four gospels, our challenge is not only to understand what happened then, but it is especially important in these personal and intimate instances to decern or recognize the heart of Jesus when he is interacting and speaking to His disciples. Then we can apply them with a personal and intimate understanding to our relationship with him and our daily life experiences.
John 6:35
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life.
He who comes to me will never go hungry,
and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
If we take the approach when reading our Bibles that we are just reading a story or interesting history we will miss out experiencing in our relationship the Bread of life Jesus and the meaning of what He told Satan Matthew 4:4, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'” We also will be shortchanging ourselves of experiencing the transforming power of God’s living Word in our lives. John 17:17, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”
“A new command I give you: Love one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
John 13:34
John 21:1-14
21 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No,” they answered.
6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. 9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”
11 Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
NIV
In the account of the “Miraculous Catch of Fish”, John 21:1-8, John does not tell us what the reasons were of Jesus showing up on the beach one hundred yards from the exact location where the disciples were fishing off shore. If you had the opportunity to ask Jesus questions about that morning, what questions would you ask Him concerning His appearance and the instructions to the disciples of where to throw their net and the results. “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” John 21:6.
We need to be very careful not to spiritualize and add to the scripture what was not written. Some Bible commentators and preachers like to inject their theories concerning why the disciples went fishing. Some also put symbolisms or allegories to why Jesus told the unsuccessful fishermen to throw the net on the right side of the boat. Some will even try to put a spiritual significance to the one hundred and fifty-three large fish and why the net did not break.
Reading one of the most intimate interactions of Jesus with His disciples, was when He prepared and served breakfast on the beach to them, it should stimulate us to ask many questions about the intentions or heart of Jesus. Yes, the disciples were hungry and discouraged after a hard and unproductive night of fishing. We have all heard the cliché, “Actions speak louder than words.” So, what does Jesus’ actions teach us about His love for the disciples by going very early in the morning to the very location where they were fishing? What was Jesus’ intentions or how did He want to impact the tired and hungry disciples by having breakfast waiting for them on the beach?
Asking questions about what Jesus did can be interesting and of some importance. But first what we always need to remember is to ask questions about the love and motivation of Jesus. We should ask questions such as; What is it I need to learn about who Jesus wants to be in my life by these events in the lives of His disciples that morning on the beach? What can I learn about Jesus’ love, and His intentions that motivated His actions? And how important it is for me to recognize Jesus’ love for me in my relationship with Him by what He does for me?
The apostle Paul summarizes about the love we all need to “understand” and experience in our relationship with Jesus when prayerfully reading John’s account of the miraculous catch of fish and Jesus preparing breakfast on the beach.
Ephesians 3:16-19 NLT
16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Pastor John
