Jesus was standing on the beach

JESUS WAS STANDING ON THE BEACH
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
John 21:4 New International Version
Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the
disciplesdid not realize that it was Jesus.
New Living Translation
At dawn Jesus was standingon the beach, but the
disciplescouldn’t see who he was.
English StandardVersion
Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet
the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
A New ManifestationOn An Old Scene
John 21:1
D. Young

I. THE OLD SCENE. This verse gets all its suggestivenessjust as we
remember the place which Jesus chose forthis particular manifestation.
Persons and time and place were all combined togetherinto one complete
lessonof truth. Capernaum stoodon that sea, the one place that came nearest
to a home for him who all the years of his public life had no true home. While
walking on the margin of its waters, Jesus calledhis first disciples to become
"fishers of men" (Luke 5:1-11). To the disciples of Jesus gatheredonthe
shores of this lake everything should have been eloquent with stirring
memories of their Master. Everything in the way of circumstance and
associationwas made, as far as it could be, into a hook and a help.
II. WHAT WAS CHANGED SINCE THE COMPANYHAD BEEN THERE
BEFORE?The interval could not have been very long; yet what momentous
things had happened in it! There was no change to speak ofin the scene;a
spectatorfrom some coign of vantage would have seenpretty much the same
as before. Nor would there be much change in the disciples. A great
preparation was going on; but the change itself had yet to come. But in Jesus
himself, what a glorious change!The mortal had put on immortality, the
corruptible had put on incorruption. A greatgulf separatedhim and his
disciples - an immense difference added on to all the differences existing
before. Bestof all, the difference was laden with hope and encouragementfor
all who could look at it in the right way. The change in Jesus heraldedand
initiated a change in every one of these disciples, and through them a change
in many with whom they would have to deal.
III. THE ESSENTIALJESUS STILL REMAINED. He had not to make
confessionofformer errors and new discoveries.The change in Jesus was but
a metamorphosis;the change in the disciples was a regeneration. Jesus would
look different, for he had put on the body of his glory. Before long, the
disciples, looking outwardly the same, would have been profoundly changed.
IV. THE NEED OF A NEW MANIFESTATION TO US IN THE OLD
SCENES OF OUR LIFE. Mostpeople have to spend their days among scenes
that are as familiar to them as ever the shores ofGalilee were to these seven
disciples. Life may become very dull and monotonous in these circumstances.
But a manifestationof Jesus will make a wondrous change. Then, and only

then, will there be sense and comfort in the utterance, that "old things have
passedaway, and all things become new." The Galilaeancities are gone long
ago;but humanity remains, needing all the manifestations of Jesus as much as
ever it did. - Y.
Biblical Illustrator
But when the morning was now come, Jesus stoodon the shore.
John 21:4
The risen Saviour on the shore
C. New.
Note —
I. THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE RISEN SAVIOUR TO HIS PEOPLE. And
we see at once that —
1. That is the same as before. Jesus miraculously supplying their food, calling
them to eat with Him — that is what He had been doing ever since they had
known Him. Death had not altered what was essentiallyHimself. Our friends
on the other side of death are the same as before! What a revelation to those
who now think they are uncared for! Let them read what He was to His
servants before He died, and remember that "tie is the same yesterday, to-
day, and for ever."
2. It is continued with greaterpower. Jesus was "onthe shore;" not in the
boat, as in the former miracle. For Him the tossings oflife were over, "I am
no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to Thee."
Wonderful powerwas His before;by miraculous energy, and wisdom, He
caredfor and protectedthem, but whatever He had then, He had more when
"all powerwas given unto Him in heaven and on earth." It was indeed much
to have Him with them in the dripping, heaving boat, but it is more, whilst we
are in the boat, to have Jesus for us on the shore.

3. In fulfilling this relationship the risen Saviour may be recognizedby His
people. It is possible to go through life everseeing Jesus on the shore or
knowing that He is invisibly there. But the opposite is possible. "The disciples
knew not that it was Jesus."Evenwhen the meshes strainedwith the fishes
enclosedatHis bidding, only one of them was quick to detectthe stranger.
The state is to be watched against;it is greatimpoverishment. No doubt He
adopts disguises still, coming to help us through human speechand effort, but
to a heart trained to sympathy with Christ, the living Saviour is seenwithin
the disguise. We cannotestimate the joy and strength which would fill our life,
if in our cares and toils we had the assurancethat He is near.
II. THE INFLUENCE OF THE RISEN SAVIOUR ON THE WORK OF HIS
PEOPLE. We mostly think of other aspects ofour Lord's resurrectionlife. Its
bearing, for instance, on the Atonement as proof of the Father's acceptanceof
it, and of the consequentacquittal of those whom He represents;or its bearing
on His mediatorial work, admitting Him to that state in which "He ever liveth
to make intercessionfor us," securing the permanency of the salvationHe
bestows. Butthere is another aspect. Life is much like that Sea of Galilee,
sometimes dark and turbulent, sometimes bright with the quiet reflection of
heaven; now rewarding us with success,and now mocking us with
disappointment; the sevendisciples were but symbols of eachof us, we are all
toilers on the sea, but in our case, as in theirs, Jesus is watching, guiding,
helping the toilers. It remains to recognize this to be blessed.
1. His interest in our work is its sanctification. Whatdoes Christ upon the
throne mean but that what transpires in our lives is His appointment? It may
be arduous, common, unrecognized, but it comes within the rule that the
Mastergives to every man his work. So Christ, then, takes the deepestinterest
in the home cares ofthe mother, the lessons ofthe child, the toll of the bread-
winner, the duties of the servant, the burdens of the sufferer. Whether our net
be full or empty is nothing to the world, but it is much to Him.
2. His guidance of our work is essentialto success. Whatis Christ King for but
to guide us, so that there is nothing we ought to do but we may say, "Lord,
show us how to do it!" But we do not unreservedly follow His guidance, nor
believe that He understands our business better than we do, and that only He

knows the road to success. Whatknows He about the right side of the ship?
He is no fisherman, is He aware that we were born by this lake, and have
fished its waters for twenty years, what can He teachus? But they cast, and
"now they were not able to draw," &c. Only that work will prosper which is
guided by the risen Saviour from the shore.
3. His blessing on our work makes it a constantmeans of grace. Thatblessing
is most manifest where anxiety comes in. If those disciples had filled their boat
that night, they would not have knownthe Divine power of the Strangeron
the beach, and might have passedHim by. We have tried to succeed, we say,
but canonly look for failure; then sudden successhas come, and we could only
exclaim, "It is the Lord!" We have much to do and bear, we say that we shall
sink beneath it; but a secret powerhas upheld us ("for all there were so many,
yet was not the net broken"), we have borne and done it all; then we could
only say in wonder, "This must be one of Christ's miracles;it is the Lord!" It
is a greatblessing when thus the tasks oflife are an opportunity of discovering
the nearness, the faithfulness, the tenderness of Christ.
III. THE COMMUNION OF THE RISEN SAVIOUR IN THE WEARINESS
OF HIS PEOPLE. ForHe was not there merely to watchand help, but also to
give them rest. "Come and dine." Our wearinessmay be removed by the
supply which He provides. Busy people, after a day when things have gone
wrong and their spirit is vexed, feellike those disciples. But on the beach
yonder — the beachof the quiet seclusionoftheir closet — Jesus is standing
then, and He has a hidden fire and fish laid thereon and bread.
(C. New.)
The Beachand the Sea
Alexander Maclaren
John 21:4
But when the morning was now come, Jesus stoodon the shore:but the
disciples knew not that it was Jesus.

'When the morning was now come, Jesus stoodon the shore; but the disciples
knew not that it was Jesus.' -- JOHN xxi.4.
The incident recordedin this appendix to John's Gospelis separatedfrom the
other appearances ofour risen Lord in respectof place, time, and purpose.
They all occurredin and about Jerusalem;this took place in Galilee. The bulk
of them happened on the day of the Resurrection, one of them a week after.
This, of course, to allow time for the journey, must have been at a
considerablylater date. Their object was, mainly, to establishthe reality of the
Resurrection, the identity of Christ's physical body, and to confirm the faith
of the disciples therein. Here, these purposes retreat into the background; the
objectof this incident is to revealthe permanent relations betweenthe risen
Lord and His struggling Church.
The narrative is rich in details which might profitably occupy us, but the
whole may be gatheredup in two generalpoints of view in considering the
revelation which we have here in the participation of Christ in His servants'
work, and also the revelation which we have in the preparation by Christ of a
meal for His toiling servants. We take this whole narrative thus regarded as
our subjecton this Eastermorning.
I. First we have here a revelation of the permanent relation of Jesus Christ to
His Church and to the individuals who compose it, in this, that the risen Lord
on the shore shares in the toil of His servants on the restless sea.
The little group of whom we read in this narrative reminds us of the other
group of the first disciples in the first chapter of this Gospel. Fourout of the

five persons named in our text appear there: Simon Peter, Nathanaelof Cana
in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, James and John. And a very natural
inference is that the 'two others'unnamed here are the two others of that
chapter, viz. Andrew and Philip. If so, we have at the end, the original little
group gathered togetheragain;with the addition of the doubting Thomas.
Be that as it may, there they are on the shore of the sea, and Peter
characteristicallytakes the lead and suggestsa course that they all accept:'I
go a fishing.' 'We also go with thee.'
Now we must not read that as if it meant: 'It is all over! Our hopes are vain!
We dreamed that we were going to be princes in the Messiah'sKingdom, we
have woke up to find that we are only fishermen. Let us go back to our nets
and our boats!' No! all these men had seenthe risen Lord, and had received
from His breath the gift of the Holy Spirit. They had all gone from Jerusalem
to Galilee, in obedience to His command, and were now waiting for His
promised appearance. Very noble and beautiful is the calm patience with
which they fill the time of expectationwith doing common and long-
abandoned tasks. Theygo back to the nets and the boats long since forsaken
at the Master's bidding. That is not like fanatics. That is not like people who
would be liable to the excessesofexcitement that would lead to the
'hallucination,' which is the modern explanation of the resurrection faith, on
the part of the disciples.
And it is a precious lessonfor us, dear brethren! that whatever may be our
memories, and whatevermay be our hopes, the very wisestthing we cando is
to stick to the common drudgery, and even to go back to abandoned tasks. It
stills the pulses. 'Study to be quiet; and to do our own business'is the best
remedy for all excitement, whether it be of sorrow or of hope. And not seldom
to us, if we will learn and practise that lesson, as to these poor men in the

tossing fisherman's boat, the accustomedand daily duties will be the channel
through which the presence ofthe Masterwill be manifested to us.
So they go, and there follow the incidents which I need not repeat, because we
all know them well enough. Only I wish to mark the distinct allusion
throughout the whole narrative to the earlier story of the first miraculous
draught of fishes which was connectedwith their call to the Apostleship, and
was there by Christ declaredto have a symbolical meaning. The
correspondencesandthe contrasts are obvious. The scene is the same;the
same greenmountains look down upon the same blue waters. It was the same
people that were concerned. They were, probably enough, in the same fishing-
boat. In both there had been a night of fruitless toil; in both there was the
command to let down the net once more; in both obedience was followedby
instantaneous and large success.
So much for the likenesses;the contrasts are these. In the one case the Master
is in the boat with them, in the other He is on the shore; in the one the net is
breaking;in the other, 'though there were so many, yet did it not break.' In
the one Peter, smitten by a sense of his own sinfulness, says, 'Depart from me,
for I am a sinful man, O Lord!' In the other, Peter, with a deeper knowledge
of his own sinfulness, but also with the sweetknowledgeofforgiveness, casts
himself into the sea, and flounders through the shallows to reach the Lord.
The one is followedby the callto higher duty and to the abandonment of
possessions;the other is followedby restand the mysterious meal on the
shore.
That is to say, whilst both of the stories point the lesson of service to the
Master, the one of them exhibits the principles of service to Him whilst He was
still with them, and the other exhibits the principles of service to Him when
He is removed from struggling and toiling on the billows to the calm of the
peacefulshore in the morning light.

So we may take that night of toil as full of meaning. Think of them as the
darkness fell, and the solemn bulk of the girdling hills lay blackerupon the
waters, and the Syrian sky was mirrored with all its stars sparkling in the still
lake. All the night long castafter castwas made, and time after time the net
was drawn in and nothing in it but tangle and mud. And when the first streak
of the morning breaks pale over the Easternhills they are still so absorbed in
their tasks that they do not recognise the voice that hails them from the nearer
shore:'Lads, have ye any meat?' And they answerit with a half surly and
wholly disappointed monosyllabic 'No!' It is an emblem for us all; wearyand
wet, tugging at the oar in the dark, and often seeming to fail. What then? If
the lastcasthas brought nothing, try another. Out with the nets once more!
Nevermind the darkness, and the cold, and the wetting spray, and the
weariness.You cannot expectto be as comfortable in a fishing-boat as in your
drawing-room. You cannot expectthat your nets will be always full. Failure
and disappointment mingle in the most successfullives. Christian work has
often to be done with no results at all apparent to the doer, but be sure of this,
that they who learn and practise the homely, wholesome virtue of persistent
adherence to the task that God sets them, will catchsome gleams ofa Presence
most real and most blessed, and before they die will know that 'their labour
has not been in vain in the Lord.' 'They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.'
And so, finally, about this first part of my subject, there stands out before us
here the blessedpicture of the Lord Himself, the RisenLord, with the halo of
death and resurrectionround about Him; there, on the firm beach, in the
increasing light of the morning, interested in, caring about, directing and
crowning with His own blessing, the obedient work of His servants.
The simple prose factof the story, in its plain meaning, is more precious than
any 'spiritualising' of it. Take the fact. Jesus Christ, fresh from the grave, who
had been down into those dark regions of mystery where the dead sleepand
wait, and had come back into this world, and was on the eve of ascending to

the Father-- this Christ, the possessorofsuch experience, takes aninterest in
sevenpoor men's fishing, and cares to know whether their raggedold net is
full or is empty. There never was a more sublime and wonderful binding
togetherof the loftiestand the lowliestthan in that question in the mouth of
the RisenLord. If men had been going to dream about what would be fitting
language for a risen Saviour, if we had to do here with a legend, and not with
a piece of plain, prosaic fact, do you think that the imagination would ever
have entered the mind of the legend-makerto put such a question as that into
such lips at such a time? 'Lads, have ye any meat?'
It teaches us that anything that interests us is not without interest to Christ.
Anything that is big enough to occupy our thoughts and our efforts is large
enough to be taken into His. All our ignoble toils, and all our petty anxieties,
touch a chord that vibrates in that deep and tender heart. Though other
sympathy may be unable to come down to the minutenesses of our little lives,
and to wind itself into the narrow room in which our histories are prisoned,
Christ's sympathy can stealinto the narrowestcranny. The risen Lord is
interestedin our poor fishing and our disappointments.
And not only that, here is a promise for us, a prophecy for us, of certain
guidance and direction, if only we will come to Him and acknowledgeour
dependence upon Him. The question that was put to them, 'Lads, have ye any
meat?' was meant to evoke the answer, 'No!' The consciousnessofmy failure
is the pre-requisite to my appealto Him to prosper my work. And just as
before He would, on the other margin of that same shore, multiply the loaves
and the fishes, He put to them the question, 'How many have ye?'that they
might know clearlythe inadequacy of their own resources forthe hungry
crowd, so here, in order to prepare their hearts for the reception of His
guidance and His blessing, He provides that they be brought to catalogue and
confess their failures. So He does with us all, beats the self-confidence out of
us, blessedbe His name! and makes us know ourselves to be empty in order
that He may pour Himself into us, and flood us with the joy of His presence.

Then comes the guidance given. We may be sure that it is given to us all to-
day, if we wait upon Him and ask Him. 'Castthe net on the right side of the
ship, and ye shall find.' His command is followedby swift, unanswering,
unquestioning obedience, whichin its turn is immediately succeededby the
large blessing which the Masterthen gave on the instant, which He gives still,
though often, in equal love and unquestioned wisdom, it comes long after faith
has discernedHis presence and obedience has bowedto His command.
It may be that we shall not see the results of our toil till the morning dawns
and the greatnet is drawn to land by angel hands. But we may be sure that
while we are toiling on the tossing sea, He watches from the shore, is
interestedin all our wearyefforts, will guide us if we own to Him our
weakness,and will give us to see at lastissues greaterthan we had dared to
hope from our poor service. The dying martyr lookedup and saw Him
'standing at the right hand of God,'in the attitude of interested watchfulness
and ready help. This Eastermorning bids us lift our eyes to a risen Lord who
'has not left us to serve alone,'nor gone up on high, like some carelessgeneral
to a safe height, while his forsakensoldiers have to stand the shock of onset
without him. From this height He bends down and 'covers our heads in the
day of battle.' 'He was receivedup,' says the Evangelist, 'and saton the right
hand of God, and they went forth and preachedeverywhere.'Strange contrast
betweenHis throned restand their wandering toils for Him! But the contrast
gives place to a deeper identity of work and condition, as the Gospelgoes onto
say, 'The Lord also working with them and confirming the word with signs
following.'
Though we be on the tossing sea and He on the quiet shore, betweenus there
is a true union and communion, His heart is with us, if our hearts be with
Him, and from Him will pass over all strength, grace, and blessing to us, if
only we know His presence, and owning our weakness, obeyHis command
and expectHis blessing.

II. Look at the other half of this incident before us. I pass over the episode of
the recognitionof Jesus by John, and of Peterstruggling to His feet,
interesting as it is, in order to fix upon the centralthought of the secondpart
of the narrative, viz. the risen Lord on the shore, in the increasing light of the
morning, 'preparing a table' for His toiling servants. That'fire of coals'and
the simple refreshment that was being dressedupon it had been prepared
there by Christ's own hand. We are not told that there was anything
miraculous about it. He had gatheredthe charcoal;He had procured the fish;
He had dressedit and prepared it. They are bidden to 'bring of the fish they
had caught'; He accepts their service, and adds the result of their toil, as it
would seem, to the provision which His own hand has prepared. He summons
them to a meal, not the midday repast, for it was still early morning. They seat
themselves, smitten by a greatawe. The meal goes onin silence. No word is
spokenon either side. Their hearts know Him. He waits on them, making
Himself their Servant as well as their Host. He 'taketh bread and giveth them
and fish likewise,'as He had done in the miracles by the same shore and on
that sadnight in the upper room that seemedso far away now, and in the
roadside inn at Emmaus, when something in His manner or actiondisclosed
Him to the wondering two at the table.
Now what does all that teachus? Two things; and first -- neglecting for a
moment the difference betweenshore and sea -- here we have the factof
Christ's providing, even by doing menial offices, for His servants.
These sevenmen were wetand weary, cold and hungry. The first thing they
wanted when they came out of the fishing-boat was their breakfast. If they
had been at home, their wives and children would have gotit ready for them.
Jesus had a greatdeal to say to them that day, a great dealto teach them,
much to do for them, and for the whole world, by the words that followed;but
the first thing that He thinks about is to feed them. And so, cherishing no
overstrainedcontempt for material necessitiesand temporal mercies, let us

remember that it is His hand that feeds us still, and let us be glad to think that
this Christ, risen from the dead and with His heart full of the large blessings
that He was going to bestow, yetpaused to consider: 'They are coming on
shore after a night's hard toil, they will be faint and weary; let Me feedtheir
bodies before I begin to deal with their hearts and spirits.'
And He will take care of you, brother! and of us all. The 'bread will be given'
us, at any rate, and 'the watermade sure.' It was a modest meal that He with
His infinite resources thought enoughfor toiling fishermen. 'One fish,' as the
original shows us, 'one loaf of bread.' No more! He could as easily have spread
a sumptuous table for them. There is no covenantfor superfluities, necessaries
will be given. Let us bring down our wishes to His gifts and promises, and
recognise the fact that 'he who needs leastis the nearestthe gods,'and he that
needs leastis surest of getting from Christ what he needs.
But then, besides that, the supply of all other deeperand loftier necessitiesis
here guaranteed. The symbolism of our text divides, necessarily, the two
things which in fact are not divided. It is not all toiling on the restless sea here,
any more than it is all rest and fruition yonder; but all that your spirit needs,
for wisdom, patience, heroism, righteousness, growth, Christ will give you in
your work;and that is better than giving it to you after your work, and the
very work which is blessedby Him, and furthered and prospered by Him, the
very work itself will come to be moat and nourishment. 'Out of the eaterwill
come forth meat,' and the slain 'lions' of past struggles and sorrows, the next
time we come to them, will be 'full of honey.'
Finally, there is a greatsymbolical prophecy here if we emphasise the
distinction betweenthe night and the morning, betweenthe shore and the sea.
We canscarcelyfail to catchthis meaning in the incident which sets forth the
old blessedassurancethat the risen Lord is preparing a feaston the shore
while His servants are toiling on the darkling sea.

All the details, such as the solid shore in contrastwith the changeful sea, the
increasing morning in contrastwith the toilsome night, the feastprepared,
have been from of old consecratedto shadow forth the differences between
earth and heaven. It would be blindness not to see here a prophecy of the glad
hour when Christ shall welcome to their stable home, amid the brightness of
unsetting day, the souls that have served Him amidst the fluctuations and
storms of life, and seenHim in its darkness, and shall satisfy all their desires
with the 'bread of heaven.'
Our poor work which He deigns to acceptforms part of the feastwhich is
spread at the end of our toil, when 'there shall be no more sea.'He adds the
results of our toil to the feastwhich He has prepared. The consequencesof
what we have done here on earth make no small part of the blessednessof
heaven.
'Their works and alms and all their goodendeavour
Stayed not behind, nor in the grave were trod.'
The souls which a Paul or a John has won for the Master, in their vocationas
'fishers of men,' are their 'hope and joy and crownof rejoicing, in the
presence ofour Lord Jesus.'The greatbenediction which the Spirit bade the
Apocalyptic seerwrite over 'the dead which die in the Lord,' is anticipated in
both its parts by this mysterious meal on the beach. 'They rest from their
labours' inasmuch as they find the food prepared for them, and sit down to
partake;'Their works do follow them' inasmuch as they 'bring of the fish
which they have caught.'

Finally, Christ Himself waits on them, therein fulfilling in symbol what He has
told us in great words that dimly shadow wonders unintelligible until
experienced:'Verily I sayunto you, He shall gird Himself, and make them to
sit down to meat, and will come forth, and serve them.'
So here is a vision to cheerus all. Life must be full of toil and of failure. We
are on the midnight sea, and have to tug, weary and wet, at a heavy oar, and
to haul an often empty net. But we do not labour alone. He comes to us across
the storm, and is with us in the night, a most real, because unseenPresence. If
we acceptthe guidance of His directing word, His indwelling Spirit, and His
all-sufficient example, and seek to ascertainHis will in outward Providences,
we shall not be left to waste our strength in blunders, nor shall our labour be
in vain. In the morning light we shall see Him standing serene on the steadfast
shore. The 'Pilot of the Galileanlake'will guide our frail boat through the
wild surf that marks the breaking of the sea of life on the shore of eternity;
and when the sun rises over the Easternhills we shall land on the solid beach,
bringing our 'few small fishes'with us, which He will accept. And there we
shall rest, nor need to ask who He is that serves us, for we shall know that 'It
is the Lord!'
STUDYLIGHTRESOURCES
Adam Clarke Commentary
Knew not that it was Jesus - Probably because it was either not light enough,
or he was at too greata distance, or he had assumed another form, as in Mark
16:12;otherwise his person was so remarkable that all his disciples readily
knew him when he was at hand: see John 21:12.

Albert Barnes'Notes onthe Whole Bible
Knew not that it was Jesus - Probably it was yet twilight, and in the distance
they could not distinctly recognize him.
The Biblical Illustrator
John 21:4
But when the morning was now come, Jesus stoodon the shore
The risen Saviour on the shore
Note
I.
THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE RISEN SAVIOUR TO HIS PEOPLE. And
we see at once that
1. That is the same as before. Jesus miraculously supplying their food, calling
them to eat with Him--that is what He had been doing ever since they had
known Him. Death had not altered what was essentiallyHimself. Our friends
on the other side of death are the same as before! What a revelation to those
who now think they are uncared for! Let them read what He was to His
servants before He died, and remember that “tie is the same yesterday, to-day,
and for ever.”
2. It is continued with greaterpower. Jesus was “onthe shore;” not in the
boat, as in the former miracle. For Him the tossings oflife were over, “I am no
more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to Thee.”
Wonderful powerwas His before;by miraculous energy, and wisdom, He
caredfor and protectedthem, but whatever He had then, He had more when

“all powerwas given unto Him in heaven and on earth.” It was indeed much
to have Him with them in the dripping, heaving boat, but it is more, whilst we
are in the boat, to have Jesus for us on the shore.
3. In fulfilling this relationship the risen Saviour may be recognizedby His
people. It is possible to go through life everseeing Jesus on the shore or
knowing that He is invisibly there. But the opposite is possible. “The disciples
knew not that it was Jesus.”Evenwhen the meshes strainedwith the fishes
enclosedatHis bidding, only one of them was quick to detectthe stranger.
The state is to be watched against;it is greatimpoverishment. No doubt He
adopts disguises still, coming to help us through human speechand effort, but
to a heart trained to sympathy with Christ, the living Saviour is seenwithin
the disguise. We cannotestimate the joy and strength which would fill our life,
if in our cares and toils we had the assurancethat He is near.
II. THE INFLUENCE OF THE RISEN SAVIOUR ON THE WORK OF HIS
PEOPLE. We mostly think of other aspects ofour Lord’s resurrectionlife. Its
bearing, for instance, on the Atonement as proof of the Father’s acceptanceof
it, and of the consequentacquittal of those whom He represents;or its bearing
on His mediatorial work, admitting Him to that state in which “He ever liveth
to make intercessionfor us,” securing the permanency of the salvationHe
bestows. Butthere is another aspect. Life is much like that Sea of Galilee,
sometimes dark and turbulent, sometimes bright with the quiet reflection of
heaven; now rewarding us with success,and now mocking us with
disappointment; the sevendisciples were but symbols of eachof us, we are all
toilers on the sea, but in our case, as in theirs, Jesus is watching, guiding,
helping the toilers. It remains to recognize this to be blessed.
1. His interest in our work is its sanctification. Whatdoes Christ upon the
throne mean but that what transpires in our lives is His appointment? It may
be arduous, common, unrecognized, but it comes within the rule that the
Mastergives to every man his work. So Christ, then, takes the deepestinterest
in the home cares ofthe mother, the lessons ofthe child, the toll of the bread-

winner, the duties of the servant, the burdens of the sufferer. Whether our net
be full or empty is nothing to the world, but it is much to Him.
2. His guidance of our work is essentialto success. Whatis Christ King for but
to guide us, so that there is nothing we ought to do but we may say, “Lord,
show us how to do it!” But we do not unreservedly follow His guidance, nor
believe that He understands our business better than we do, and that only He
knows the road to success. Whatknows He about the right side of the ship?
He is no fisherman, is He aware that we were born by this lake, and have
fished its waters for twenty years, what can He teachus? But they cast, and
“now they were not able to draw,” &c. Only that work will prosper which is
guided by the risen Saviour from the shore.
3. His blessing on our work makes it a constantmeans of grace. Thatblessing
is most manifest where anxiety comes in. If those disciples had filled their boat
that night, they would not have knownthe Divine power of the Strangeron
the beach, and might have passedHim by. We have tried to succeed, we say,
but canonly look for failure; then sudden successhas come, and we could only
exclaim, “It is the Lord!” We have much to do and bear, we saythat we shall
sink beneath it; but a secretpowerhas upheld us (“for all there were so many,
yet was not the net broken”), we have borne and done it all; then we could
only say in wonder, “This must be one of Christ’s miracles;it is the Lord!” It
is a greatblessing when thus the tasks oflife are an opportunity of discovering
the nearness, the faithfulness, the tenderness of Christ.
III. THE COMMUNION OF THE RISEN SAVIOUR IN THE WEARINESS
OF HIS PEOPLE. ForHe was not there merely to watchand help, but also to
give them rest. “Come and dine.” Our wearinessmay be removed by the
supply which He provides. Busy people, after a day when things have gone
wrong and their spirit is vexed, feellike those disciples. But on the beach
yonder--the beachof the quiet seclusionof their closet--Jesusis standing
then,and He has a hidden fire and fish laid thereonand bread. (C. New.)

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
But when day was now breaking, Jesus stoodon the beach:yet the disciples
knew not that it was Jesus.
It was very early, still not full daylight; and the disciples were still a hundred
yards offshore, and this was reasonenough why they had not at that point
recognizedthe Lord.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
But when the morning was now come,.... The day began to dawn, and light to
appear, very early in the morning; for Christ visits his right early, and is a
present help to them in their time of trouble.
Jesus stoodon the shore: on firm ground, whilst his disciples were beating
about in the waves, and toiling to no purpose. So Christ, risen from the dead,
is glorified, is in heaven; but not unmindful of his people amidst all their
afflictions in this world:
but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus;though he was so near them that
they could hear what he said; but it not being broad daylight they could not
distinctly discern him, or their eyes might be held that they could not know
him. So Christ is sometimes near his people, and they know it not.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Jesus stood— (Compare John 20:19, John 20:26).
but the disciples knew not it was Jesus — Perhaps there had been some
considerable interval since the last manifestation, and having agreedto betake
themselves to their secularemployment, they would be unprepared to expect
Him.
People's New Testament

When the morning was now come. The Revision is correct:"Whenthe day
was now breaking."
Robertson's WordPictures in the New Testament
When day was now breaking (πρωιας ηδη γινομενης — prōias ēdē
ginomenēs). Genitive absolute and note present middle participle (dawn
coming on and still dark). In Matthew 27:1 the aoristparticiple (γενομενης —
genomenēs)means that dawn had come. For “beach” (αιγιαλον — aigialon)
see Matthew 13:2.
Was (εστιν — estin). Presentindicative retained in indirect assertion.
Vincent's Word Studies
Was come ( γενομένης )
The best texts read the present participle, γινομένης , is coming. Rev., when
day was now breaking. The A.V. does not agree so wellwith the fact that
Jesus was not at once recognizedby the disciples, owing in part, perhaps, to
the imperfect light.
On the shore ( εἰς τὸν αἰγιαλόν)
Rev., beach. See on Matthew 13:2. The preposition εἰς , to, makes the phrase
equivalent to “Jesus came to the beach and stoodthere.”
Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
They knew not that it was Jesus — Probably their eyes were holden.

The Fourfold Gospel
Simon Petersaith unto them, I go a fishing1. They sayunto him, We also
come with thee2. They went forth, and entered into the boat; and that night
they took nothing.
Simon Petersaith unto them, I go a fishing. As usual, Peter was the leader.
They say unto him, We also come with thee. These apostles, thinking that
their apostleshiphad terminated, had returned to their old like as fishermen.*
*NOTE.--Wecannotagree in this. Jesus had said too many things indicating
his future need of the apostles forthem to think that he was through with
them (Matthew 16:19;Matthew 24:9-13;Luke 22:32; John 15:16,20,27John
16:1-3). He had told the apostles to go to Galilee, and that he would appear to
them there; they had done this and were waiting for his appearance. Peter,
because ofhis denials, may have waveredin his loyalty, but the others surely
did not. By going a-fishing they did not mean to abandon their apostleship;
they were merely putting in the time, while they waitedfor developments; but
by thus returning to their old occupationthey were subjecting themselves to
strong temptation (Luke 9:62).--Philip Y. Pendleton
James Nisbet's Church Pulpit Commentary
A MANIFESTATION OF THE RISEN LORD
‘Jesus stoodon the beach:howbeit the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.’
John 21:4 (R.V.)

Perhaps of all scenesassociatedwith the manifestations of the RisenLord the
scene upon the lake shore is the most comforting and helpful. Peter, Thomas,
Nathaniel, James and John the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples
unnamed, go forth with nightfall to fish upon the lake. The morning breaks,
and still there has been no success.Theyare wearyand disappointed, and it is
just the moment when they are leastlooking for, least‘ready’ for the Presence
of Christ. Then He comes to them in the grey, breaking dawn; but they do not
know Him till His tender regardfor their need has first drawn from Him
words and actions full of powerand graciousness andself-revelation. He
enters into their life at just that moment that He may thus assure them of His
Presence init at all moments, ‘even unto the end of the age.’Let us mark each
step in that Royalentry of the Risen Lord into the lives and work of His
servants.
I. He was watching them all the while.—Think of it, not as a beautiful picture
of what once happened on the Galilæanlake, but as equally true for to-day
and for our modern life.
II. He was standing on the eternal shore.—Notnow in the ship, asleep, for
utter human weariness.Notnow even ‘walking on the sea and drawing nigh
unto the ship.’ Pastall shock ofstorm, all powerof change, all peril of death;
my point of rest, my goalof hope, the Eternally-glorified One, ‘from
henceforth expecting,’able from that lofty vantage-groundto direct the work
of His servants; to watch their varying fortunes; to send, if need be, to their
help.
III. From thence He proves the hearts of His servants.—He will see whether
they will own their need. ‘Children, have ye any meat?’
IV. He comes to us in our failure.—It was direction we needed so much. He
alone could see the true drift of our work, and so He alone could direct it. In
order to take a proper estimate of life in its forces, its possibilities, its aims,
you must see it from eternity. You must stand and look down upon it as a
completed whole. You must view it in the light of God. He alone can do that.
‘Castthe net on the right side of the ship.’ ‘They cast, therefore, and now they
were not able to draw for the multitude of the fishes.’Realising the entry of

Godheadand Eternity and Highest Wisdom into our work, that work itself
receives a new joyousness, a new direction, a new power. The blessing is sure
because something higher even yet—the Presence—is sure.
V. He calls His disciples to His feet.—‘Bring of the fish which ye have now
caught.’ They go up into the ship and draw the net to land, ‘full of great
fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was
not the net broken.’The work is sure, the results are testedand proven,
brought thus to land at His feet, even though all the deep is not emptied.
Rev. T. A. Gurney.
Illustration
‘I recalla scene some years ago in my former parish. It is the deathbed of a
young, splendid fisherman. The last years of his life had been embittered by
specialcauses, and these had intensified the spiritual reserve of a reserved
nature. No word would he hear about God whilst in health. Now he had just
takenhis lastfarewellof the sea he loved so well, turning from one lasthungry
gaze over the bright still waters with passionate sobs, as one wishes farewellto
life’s dearestlove before going forth to fight with death. We spoke togetherof
those tired fishermen, the grey dawn of disappointment the question flung
across the waters, the figure of One they loved self-revealedupon the shore.
How they had parried with the question rather than admit the depth of need!
How the dimly-revealed Lord had loved them all the while! His heart drank it
all in; I cannever forgetit. It was Christ standing there once more on another
shore tenderly drawing another weary fisherman to Himself.’
John Trapp Complete Commentary

4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stoodon the shore:but the
Ver. 4. But when the morning] Mourning lastethbut till morning, Psalms
30:5. Flebile principium melior fortuna sequetur, Poorbeginnings come
before better fortune, said Queen Elizabeth, when she was to be sent to the
Tower.
Expository Notes with PracticalObservations onthe New Testament
Observe here, 1. Christ was near, very near to his disciples, but they perceived
it not: Jesus stoodon the shore, but they knew not that it was Jesus.
Learn, Christ is not always discernedby us when he is present with us; it is a
double mercy to enjoy his company, and to know indeed that it is he.
Observe, 2. Although they had laboured all the night in vain, yet at Christ's
command they go to work again, and with greatsuccess:They were not able
to draw the net for the multitude of fishes.
When Christ is about to do greatthings for his people, yet will he have them
exert all possible endeavours of their own; and the want of former success
must not discourage from future endeavours.
Observe, 3. What a proof Christ here gives of his divinity and godhead:how
were all the fish in the sea athis pleasure, and obedient to his command! he
knew where they swam, and brings them from one part of the lake to the
other, where the disciples had toiled all night, and caught nothing. Christ our
Mediatoris true God, and as such he had a sovereignpowerand providence
over all the creatures;the cattle on a thousand hills, and all the fish swimming
in the sea, are obedient to his power, and observant of his commands.

Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography
Burkitt, William. "Commentary on John 21:4". Expository Notes with
PracticalObservations onthe New Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wbc/john-21.html. 1700-1703.
return to 'Jump List'
Greek TestamentCriticalExegeticalCommentary
4. ἔστη εἰς] See reff. A sudden appearance is indicated by the words.
The ἐστιν after ᾔδεισαν is quite in John’s manner: see reff.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography
Alford, Henry. "Commentary on John 21:4". Greek TestamentCritical
ExegeticalCommentary.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hac/john-21.html. 1863-1878.
return to 'Jump List'
Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament
John 21:4. πρωΐας, the morning) when they had been toiling for a
considerable length of time.

Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
Probably their distance from him was the cause that they did not know him,
though they had seenhim once and againsince his resurrectionfrom the
dead: others think, that by the providence of Godtheir eyes were holden that
they should not know him, as Luke 24:16.
Alexander MacLaren's Expositions ofHoly Scripture
John
THE BEACH AND THE SEA
John 21:4.
The incident recordedin this appendix to John’s Gospelis separatedfrom the
other appearances ofour risen Lord in respectof place, time, and purpose.
They all occurredin and about Jerusalem;this took place in Galilee. The bulk
of them happened on the day of the Resurrection, one of them a week after.
This, of course, to allow time for the journey, must have been at a
considerablylater date. Their object was, mainly, to establishthe reality of the
Resurrection, the identity of Christ’s physical body, and to confirm the faith
of the disciples therein. Here, these purposes retreat into the background; the
objectof this incident is to revealthe permanent relations betweenthe risen
Lord and His struggling Church.
The narrative is rich in details which might profitably occupy us, but the
whole may be gatheredup in two generalpoints of view in considering the
revelation which we have here in the participation of Christ in His servants’
work, and also the revelation which we have in the preparation by Christ of a
meal for His toiling servants. We take this whole narrative thus regarded as
our subjecton this Eastermorning.

I. First we have here a revelation of the permanent relation of Jesus Christ to
His Church and to the individuals who compose it, in this, that the risen Lord
on the shore shares in the toil of His servants on the restless sea.
The little group of whom we read in this narrative reminds us of the other
group of the first disciples in the first chapter of this Gospel. Fourout of the
five persons named in our text appear there: Simon Peter, Nathanaelof Cana
in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, James and John. And a very natural
inference is that the ‘two others’unnamed here are the two others of that
chapter, viz. Andrew and Philip. If so, we have at the end, the original little
group gathered togetheragain;with the addition of the doubting Thomas.
Be that as it may, there they are on the shore of the sea, and Peter
characteristicallytakes the lead and suggestsa course that they all accept:‘I
go a fishing.’ ‘We also go with thee.’
Now we must not read that as if it meant: ‘It is all over! Our hopes are vain!
We dreamed that we were going to be princes in the Messiah’sKingdom, we
have woke up to find that we are only fishermen. Let us go back to our nets
and our boats!’ No! all these men had seenthe risen Lord, and had received
from His breath the gift of the Holy Spirit. They had all gone from Jerusalem
to Galilee, in obedience to His command, and were now waiting for His
promised appearance. Very noble and beautiful is the calm patience with
which they fill the time of expectationwith doing common and long-
abandoned tasks. Theygo back to the nets and the boats long since forsaken
at the Master’s bidding. That is not like fanatics. That is not like people who
would be liable to the excessesofexcitement that would lead to the
‘hallucination,’ which is the modern explanation of the resurrection faith, on
the part of the disciples.
And it is a precious lessonfor us, dear brethren! that whatever may be our
memories, and whatevermay be our hopes, the very wisestthing we cando is
to stick to the common drudgery, and even to go back to abandoned tasks. It
stills the pulses. ‘Study to be quiet; and to do our own business’ is the best
remedy for all excitement, whether it be of sorrow or of hope. And not seldom
to us, if we will learn and practise that lesson, as to these poor men in the

tossing fisherman’s boat, the accustomedand daily duties will be the channel
through which the presence ofthe Masterwill be manifested to us.
So they go, and there follow the incidents which I need not repeat, because we
all know them well enough. Only I wish to mark the distinct allusion
throughout the whole narrative to the earlier story of the first miraculous
draught of fishes which was connectedwith their call to the Apostleship, and
was there by Christ declaredto have a symbolical meaning. The
correspondencesandthe contrasts are obvious. The scene is the same;the
same greenmountains look down upon the same blue waters. It was the same
people that were concerned. They were, probably enough, in the same fishing-
boat. In both there had been a night of fruitless toil; in both there was the
command to let down the net once more; in both obedience was followedby
instantaneous and large success.
So much for the likenesses;the contrasts are these. In the one case the Master
is in the boat with them, in the other He is on the shore; in the one the net is
breaking;in the other, ‘though there were so many, yet did it not break.’ In
the one Peter, smitten by a sense of his own sinfulness, says, ‘Depart from me,
for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’ In the other, Peter, with a deeper knowledge
of his own sinfulness, but also with the sweetknowledgeofforgiveness, casts
himself into the sea, and flounders through the shallows to reach the Lord.
The one is followedby the callto higher duty and to the abandonment of
possessions;the other is followedby restand the mysterious meal on the
shore.
That is to say, whilst both of the stories point the lessonof service to the
Master, the one of them exhibits the principles of service to Him whilst He was
still with them, and the other exhibits the principles of service to Him when
He is removed from struggling and toiling on the billows to the calm of the
peacefulshore in the morning light.
So we may take that night of toil as full of meaning. Think of them as the
darkness fell, and the solemn bulk of the girdling hills lay blackerupon the
waters, and the Syrian sky was mirrored with all its stars sparkling in the still
lake. All the night long castafter castwas made, and time after time the net

was drawn in and nothing in it but tangle and mud. And when the first streak
of the morning breaks pale over the Easternhills they are still so absorbed in
their tasks that they do not recognise the voice that hails them from the nearer
shore:‘Lads, have ye any meat?’And they answerit with a half surly and
wholly disappointed monosyllabic ‘No!’ It is an emblem for us all; wearyand
wet, tugging at the oar in the dark, and often seeming to fail. What then? If
the lastcasthas brought nothing, try another. Out with the nets once more!
Nevermind the darkness, and the cold, and the wetting spray, and the
weariness.You cannot expectto be as comfortable in a fishing-boat as in your
drawing-room. You cannot expectthat your nets will be always full. Failure
and disappointment mingle in the most successfullives. Christian work has
often to be done with no results at all apparent to the doer, but be sure of this,
that they who learn and practise the homely, wholesome virtue of persistent
adherence to the task that God sets them, will catchsome gleams ofa Presence
most real and most blessed, and before they die will know that ‘their labour
has not been in vain in the Lord.’ ‘They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.’
And so, finally, about this first part of my subject, there stands out before us
here the blessedpicture of the Lord Himself, the RisenLord, with the halo of
death and resurrectionround about Him; there, on the firm beach, in the
increasing light of the morning, interested in, caring about, directing and
crowning with His own blessing, the obedient work of His servants.
The simple prose factof the story, in its plain meaning, is more precious than
any ‘spiritualising’ of it. Take the fact. Jesus Christ, fresh from the grave, who
had been down into those dark regions of mystery where the dead sleepand
wait, and had come back into this world, and was on the eve of ascending to
the Father-this Christ, the possessorofsuch experience, takes aninterest in
sevenpoor men’s fishing, and cares to know whether their raggedold net is
full or is empty. There never was a more sublime and wonderful binding
togetherof the loftiestand the lowliestthan in that question in the mouth of
the RisenLord. If men had been going to dream about what would be fitting
language for a risen Saviour, if we had to do here with a legend, and not with
a piece of plain, prosaic fact, do you think that the imagination would ever
have entered the mind of the legend-makerto put such a question as that into
such lips at such a time? ‘Lads, have ye any meat?’

It teaches us that anything that interests us is not without interest to Christ.
Anything that is big enough to occupy our thoughts and our efforts is large
enough to be taken into His. All our ignoble toils, and all our petty anxieties,
touch a chord that vibrates in that deep and tender heart. Though other
sympathy may be unable to come down to the minutenesses of our little lives,
and to wind itself into the narrow room in which our histories are prisoned,
Christ’s sympathy can stealinto the narrowestcranny. The risen Lord is
interestedin our poor fishing and our disappointments.
And not only that, here is a promise for us, a prophecy for us, of certain
guidance and direction, if only we will come to Him and acknowledgeour
dependence upon Him. The question that was put to them, ‘Lads, have ye any
meat?’ was meant to evoke the answer, ‘No!’ The consciousnessofmy failure
is the pre-requisite to my appealto Him to prosper my work. And just as
before He would, on the other margin of that same shore, multiply the loaves
and the fishes, He put to them the question, ‘How many have ye?’ that they
might know clearlythe inadequacy of their own resources forthe hungry
crowd, so here, in order to prepare their hearts for the reception of His
guidance and His blessing, He provides that they be brought to catalogue and
confess their failures. So He does with us all, beats the self-confidence out of
us, blessedbe His name! and makes us know ourselves to be empty in order
that He may pour Himself into us, and flood us with the joy of His presence.
Then comes the guidance given. We may be sure that it is given to us all to-
day, if we wait upon Him and ask Him. ‘Castthe net on the right side of the
ship, and ye shall find.’ His command is followedby swift, unanswering,
unquestioning obedience, which in its turn is immediately succeededby the
large blessing which the Masterthen gave on the instant, which He gives still,
though often, in equal love and unquestioned wisdom, it comes long after faith
has discernedHis presence and obedience has bowedto His command.
It may be that we shall not see the results of our toil till the morning dawns
and the greatnet is drawn to land by angel hands. But we may be sure that
while we are toiling on the tossing sea, He watches from the shore, is
interestedin all our wearyefforts, will guide us if we own to Him our
weakness,and will give us to see at lastissues greaterthan we had dared to

hope from our poor service. The dying martyr lookedup and saw Him
‘standing at the right hand of God,’in the attitude of interested watchfulness
and ready help. This Eastermorning bids us lift our eyes to a risen Lord who
‘has not left us to serve alone,’nor gone up on high, like some carelessgeneral
to a safe height, while his forsakensoldiers have to stand the shock of onset
without him. From this height He bends down and ‘covers our heads in the
day of battle.’ ‘He was receivedup,’ says the Evangelist, ‘and saton the right
hand of God, and they went forth and preachedeverywhere.’Strange contrast
betweenHis throned restand their wandering toils for Him! But the contrast
gives place to a deeper identity of work and condition, as the Gospelgoes onto
say, ‘The Lord also working with them and confirming the word with signs
following.’
Though we be on the tossing sea and He on the quiet shore, betweenus there
is a true union and communion, His heart is with us, if our hearts be with
Him, and from Him will pass over all strength, grace, and blessing to us, if
only we know His presence, and owning our weakness, obeyHis command
and expectHis blessing.
II. Look at the other half of this incident before us.
I pass over the episode of the recognitionof Jesus by John, and of Peter
struggling to His feet, interesting as it is, in order to fix upon the central
thought of the secondpart of the narrative, viz. the risen Lord on the shore, in
the increasing light of the morning, ‘preparing a table’ for His toiling
servants. That ‘fire of coals’and the simple refreshment that was being
dressedupon it had been prepared there by Christ’s own hand. We are not
told that there was anything miraculous about it. He had gatheredthe
charcoal;He had procured the fish; He had dressedit and prepared it. They
are bidden to ‘bring of the fish they had caught’; He accepts their service, and
adds the result of their toil, as it would seem, to the provision which His own
hand has prepared. He summons them to a meal, not the midday repast, for it
was still early morning. They seatthemselves, smitten by a greatawe. The
meal goes onin silence. No wordis spokenon either side. Their hearts know
Him. He waits on them, making Himself their Servant as well as their Host.
He ‘taketh bread and giveth them and fish likewise,’as He had done in the

miracles by the same shore and on that sad night in the upper room that
seemedso far awaynow, and in the roadside inn at Emmaus, when something
in His manner or action disclosedHim to the wondering two at the table.
Now what does all that teachus? Two things; and first-neglecting for a
moment the difference betweenshore and sea-here we have the fact of
Christ’s providing, even by doing menial offices, for His servants.
These sevenmen were wetand weary, cold and hungry. The first thing they
wanted when they came out of the fishing-boat was their breakfast. If they
had been at home, their wives and children would have gotit ready for them.
Jesus had a greatdeal to say to them that day, a great dealto teachthem,
much to do for them, and for the whole world, by the words that followed;but
the first thing that He thinks about is to feed them. And so, cherishing no
overstrainedcontempt for material necessitiesand temporal mercies, let us
remember that it is His hand that feeds us still, and let us be glad to think that
this Christ, risen from the dead and with His heart full of the large blessings
that He was going to bestow, yetpaused to consider: ‘They are coming on
shore after a night’s hard toil, they will be faint and weary; let Me feedtheir
bodies before I begin to deal with their hearts and spirits.’
And He will take care of you, brother! and of us all. The ‘bread will be given’
us, at any rate, and ‘the watermade sure.’It was a modest meal that He with
His infinite resources thought enoughfor toiling fishermen. ‘One fish,’ as the
original shows us, ‘one loaf of bread.’ No more! He could as easily have
spread a sumptuous table for them. There is no covenantfor superfluities,
necessarieswill be given. Let us bring down our wishes to His gifts and
promises, and recognisethe factthat ‘he who needs leastis the nearestthe
gods,’and he that needs leastis surest of getting from Christ what he needs.
But then, besides that, the supply of all other deeperand loftier necessitiesis
here guaranteed. The symbolism of our text divides, necessarily, the two
things which in fact are not divided. It is not all toiling on the restless sea here,
any more than it is all rest and fruition yonder; but all that your spirit needs,
for wisdom, patience, heroism, righteousness, growth, Christ will give you in
your work;and that is better than giving it to you after your work, and the

very work which is blessedby Him, and furthered and prospered by Him, the
very work itself will come to be moat and nourishment. ‘Out of the eaterwill
come forth meat,’ and the slain ‘lions’ of past struggles and sorrows, the next
time we come to them, will be ‘full of honey.’
Finally, there is a greatsymbolical prophecy here if we emphasise the
distinction betweenthe night and the morning, betweenthe shore and the sea.
We canscarcelyfail to catchthis meaning in the incident which sets forth the
old blessedassurancethat the risen Lord is preparing a feaston the shore
while His servants are toiling on the darkling sea.
All the details, such as the solid shore in contrastwith the changeful sea, the
increasing morning in contrastwith the toilsome night, the feastprepared,
have been from of old consecratedto shadow forth the differences between
earth and heaven. It would be blindness not to see here a prophecy of the glad
hour when Christ shall welcome to their stable home, amid the brightness of
unsetting day, the souls that have served Him amidst the fluctuations and
storms of life, and seenHim in its darkness, and shall satisfy all their desires
with the ‘bread of heaven.’
Our poor work which He deigns to acceptforms part of the feastwhich is
spread at the end of our toil, when ‘there shall be no more sea.’He adds the
results of our toil to the feastwhich He has prepared. The consequencesof
what we have done here on earth make no small part of the blessednessof
heaven.
‘Their works and alms and all their goodendeavour Stayednot behind, nor in
the grave were trod.’
The souls which a Paul or a John has won for the Master, in their vocationas
‘fishers of men,’ are their ‘hope and joy and crownof rejoicing, in the
presence ofour Lord Jesus.’The greatbenediction which the Spirit bade the
Apocalyptic seerwrite over ‘the dead which die in the Lord,’ is anticipated in
both its parts by this mysterious meal on the beach. ‘They rest from their
labours’ inasmuch as they find the food prepared for them, and sit down to
partake;‘Their works do follow them’ inasmuch as they ‘bring of the fish
which they have caught.’

Finally, Christ Himself waits on them, therein fulfilling in symbol what He has
told us in great words that dimly shadow wonders unintelligible until
experienced:‘Verily I say unto you, He shall gird Himself, and make them to
sit down to meat, and will come forth, and serve them.’
So here is a vision to cheerus all. Life must be full of toil and of failure. We
are on the midnight sea, and have to tug, weary and wet, at a heavy oar, and
to haul an often empty net. But we do not labour alone. He comes to us across
the storm, and is with us in the night, a most real, because unseenPresence. If
we acceptthe guidance of His directing word, His indwelling Spirit, and His
all-sufficient example, and seek to ascertainHis will in outward Providences,
we shall not be left to waste our strength in blunders, nor shall our labour be
in vain. In the morning light we shall see Him standing serene on the steadfast
shore. The ‘Pilot of the Galileanlake’will guide our frail boat through the
wild surf that marks the breaking of the sea of life on the shore of eternity;
and when the sun rises over the Easternhills we shall land on the solid beach,
bringing our ‘few small fishes’with us, which He will accept. And there we
shall rest, nor need to ask who He is that serves us, for we shall know that ‘It
is the Lord!’
Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools andColleges
4. ἐπὶ τὸν αἰγ. Pregnantconstruction;‘He came to and stoodon the beach.’
Comp. John 1:32-33, John 3:36 (John 19:13, John 20:19); Matthew 3:2. ΄έντοι,
howbeit or nevertheless, implies that their not knowing was surprising:
μέντοι, besides here, occurs four times in S. John (John 4:27, John 7:13, John
12:42, John 20:5); elsewhere three times [11]. Forοὐκ ᾔδεισαν see on John
20:14.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
4. Knew not that it was Jesus—The distance andthe dimness of the morning
light might accountfor their not knowing him. But still the narrative
intimates that our Lord maintained a supernatural reserve, so that his

apostles couldscarce discernhis identity. So, while his ministry and Church
are here on this sea oflife, he ever stands on yonder high shore of immortality,
earnestlywatching them, though but dimly recognized by them.
Expository Notes ofDr. Thomas Constable
Likewise the breaking of this new day is perhaps symbolic of the new era that
was opening up for them as Jesus" disciples, thoughthey did not realize that
yet. Jesus" instruction would change the course of their lives forever.
The disciples could not identify Jesus as He stoodon the shore within shouting
distance from where they fished ( John 21:8). This may have been due to the
twilight, the distance, Jesus" alteredappearance, orsome other reason(cf.
Luke 24:16).
Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament
John 21:4. But when morning was now coming, Jesus stoodon the shore; the
disciples howeverknew not that it was Jesus. Nightpassedaway, and the day
beganto break. Then Jesus stoodon the shore, but they did not recognise
Him,—it may be that the light was insufficient, it may be that it was not yet
His wish that He should be known.
The Expositor's Greek Testament
John 21:4. πρωΐας δὲ ἤδη γενομένης, “but early morning having now
arrived,” i.e., when all hope of catching fish was past, ἔστη ὁ ἰησοῦς εἰς [or
ἐπὶ] τὸν αἰγιαλόν, “Jesus stoodupon the beach”;for ἔστη, cf. John 20:19;

John 20:26. It seems to indicate the suddenness of the appearance, οὐ μέντοι
… ἐστί, “the disciples, however, were not aware that it was Jesus”.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged
disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Perhaps there had been some
considerable interval since the last manifestation, and having agreedto betake
themselves to their secularemployment, they would be unprepared to expect
Him.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(4) Jesus stoodon the shore.—Comp. John20:19;John 20:26. The words
express the sudden appearance without any indication of His coming. He was
then standing in the midst, or on the shore, but no one knew whence or how.
The disciples knew not that it was Jesus.—Comp. John 20:14.
Treasuryof Scripture Knowledge
but
20:14;Mark 16:12;Luke 24:15,16,31
The Bible Study New Testament

As the sun was rising. This is after they had fished all night without success.
Ver. 4. "But when the morning was now come, Jesus stoodonthe shore;but
the disciples knew not that it was Jesus."
Morning is the type of dawning salvation: comp. on ch. John 20:1; Psalms
30:6; Psalms 59:17;Psalms 90:14;Psalms 143:8. For πρωΐας, comp. ch. John
18:28, John 20:1, in both casesπρωΐ. We have in Matthew 27:1 the full πρωΐας
δὲ γενομένης literally. That passage andMatthew 20:1 are the only two
besides this in the New Testamentwhere πρωΐ occurs;and both times in a
connectionwhere the guilt and the rejectionof the Jews are spokenof, when
the new day of Christ's glorificationbreaks among the Gentiles: comp. ἡ
ἀποβολὴ αὐτῶνκαταλλαγὴ κόσμου, Romans 11:15;and τῷ αὐτῶν
παραπτώματι ἡ σωτηρία τοῖς ἔθνεσι, Romans 11:11.—"Onthe shore:" the
combination of ἔστη and εἰς is as in ch. John 20:19; John 20:26. Here Jesus
stands on the margin. At the first fishing, Luke 5:4, He went up into the ship;
in ch. John 6:19, He came to the disciples on the sea. That He here remained
standing on the bank, points to the fact that now, withdrawn from the sea of
the world. He belongedto anotherstage of being. To Him applied what will
one day be true of all His people, "There was no more sea," Revelation21:1
(compare my commentary on this passage).ThatHe was on the bank, and His
disciples on the sea, was anillustration of His word, ch. John 17:11, "I am no
longerin the world, but these are in the world." In the parable of the net, in
Mark 13 , the margin signifies in ver. 48 , according to ver. 49 , the future
state, the "end of the world."
"The disciples knew not that it was Jesus:" so preciselyof Mary Magdalene,
ch. John 20:14, "And she knew not that it was Jesus."Here againour Lord
appeared"in another form," because it was not His will to be recognisedat
once. In this manner the impression upon the disciples would be deepened;at
the same time they would be led into a perceptionof the truth, that Jesus was
always with them, although their eyes might not always be able to discern
Him.

PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
WILLIAM BARCLAY
It may be that it was because it was the grey dark that they did not recognize
Jesus. But the eyes of the disciple whom Jesus loved were sharp. He knew it
was the Lord; and when Peterrealized who it was he leapedinto the water.
He was not actually naked. He was girt with a loin cloth as the fisher always
was when he plied his trade. Now it was the Jewishlaw that to offer greeting
was a religious act, and to carry out a religious act a man must be clothed; so
Peter, before he setout to come to Jesus, put on his fisherman's tunic, for he
wished to be the first to greethis Lord.
THE REALITY OF THE RESURRECTION(John21:1-14 continued)
Now we come to the first greatreasonwhy this strange chapterwas added to
the alreadyfinished gospel. It was to demonstrate once and for all the reality
of the Resurrection. There were many who said that the appearancesofthe
RisenChrist were nothing more than visions which the disciples had. Many
would admit the reality of the visions but insist that they were still only
visions. Some would go further and saythat they were not visions but
hallucinations. The gospels go far out of their way to insist that the Risen
Christ was not a vision, not an hallucination, not even a spirit, but a real
person. They insist that the tomb was empty and that the RisenChrist had a
real body which still bore the marks of the nails and the spearthrust in his
side.

BRIAN BELL
Jesus stands on the shore in the morning haze to comfort the hearts of
discouragedworkers,telling them where to casttheir net & revealing the
certainty of His help!
John 21:1-14
Dealing With Disappointment
Brian Bill Jul 9, 2004
Summary: TodayI want to tell you about a fishing trip that took place after
the Resurrection.
Hi, my name is Simon Peter. You’ve probably heard of some of my most
embarrassing moments. It would take me all day to tell you about how my
mouth has messedme up, and about how I let Jesus down, as well as the other
disciples. TodayI want to tell you about a fishing trip that took place after the
Resurrection. My buddy John wrote about it in some detail – you can follow
along if you’d like in John 21:1-14.
Jesus told us to go to Galilee, where He would meet with us (Matthew 26:32).
It was amazing how Jesus would appearbriefly and then go away. He first
made Himself known to Mary Magdalene and the other women, but we didn’t
really believe their report. He then appearedto me and then revealedHimself
to two disciples as they walkedto Emmaus. I’ll never forgetthat day; I only
wish He would have stayedlonger because I still felt so bad about my failure.
On EasterSunday night, Jesus came through lockeddoors and proclaimed
peace to us. One week later, when Thomas was present, He visited with us

again. But then Jesus was gone. As I think back, it was almostas if He was
weaning us from His presence.
As we headed to Galilee, I was pretty down in the dumps. The other disciples
couldn’t believe how quiet I was. I was disappointed in myself and frankly felt
like giving up. When I saw the Sea of Tiberias, also knownas the Sea of
Galilee, my heart starting racing as I remembered how successfulI had been
as a professionalfisherman. I even had hired men working for me. The smell
of the waterand the sound of the waves did something to me. Since I wasn’t
any goodat this “disciple” thing, maybe I could go back and just catchfish
again. I announced to the six others that I was going fishing. They could tell
from my tone of voice and the words I used that I was ready to retire as a
followerof Christ. Part of me just wanted to relax, but another part of me felt
rebellious. I was surprised when they all said they would join me. I guess I still
felt like they wouldn’t want to be around me because of what I had done.
At first I was pretty pumped up to fish but the feelings faded quickly. I had
forgottenhow hard it was to hurl the nets into the sea and then drag them
back into the boat. It all seemedmonotonous, especiallysince we got skunked.
We had workedall night and didn’t even catcha pan fish! This made me feel
even more discouragedas the empty nets were a metaphor of my life at that
moment.
As the sun was beginning to come up, we saw someone standing on the shore,
but we had no idea who it was. He then calledout to us, in a voice that
sounded vaguely familiar, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” This was
disarming for two reasons. First, fishermen never like to admit that they’ve
not caughtanything. Second, this man used a term that literally meant,
“children.” I had heard that before. When we told Him we had not caught a
thing, he told us to throw our nets on the other side of the boat and we’d find
some fish. We decided to listen to him, and when we did, we couldn’t even pull
in the nets because theywere so full!
As we strained at the nets, my mind went back three years earlier to a very
similar scene. Ihad déjà vu, all over again. After fishing all night and catching
nothing, Jesus usedmy boat as a pulpit – it certainly wasn’t goodfor much

else. When he was done teaching, He told us to go back out in the boat and
drop our nets in deeperwater. What does a carpenterknow about fishing? I
lot more than me, actually. We caught so many fish that we had to ask for
help because the nets began to break. When I realized what had happened I
was so overwhelmed by my sinfulness in the presence ofholiness that I asked
Jesus to depart from me. Jesus told me not to be afraid and commissionedme
to catchmen. I pulled my boat up on shore, left everything and followedHim.
And now I was back in that same boat…
John put into words what I was beginning to formulate in my mind: “It’s the
Lord!” That’s all I neededto hear. I put my outer garment back on and
jumped into the water, and started swimming to shore. Being in the water
reminded me of the time Jesus allowedme to walk on the waves. This time I
was making waves as I yelled and screamedand thrashed around. When my
feet hit the shore, I racedover to Jesus and saw that He was cooking breakfast
for us, overa charcoalfire. And then my mind filled with failure againas the
fire reminded me of how I was warming myself right before I denied Jesus
three times. Just then Jesus shoutedout, “Bring some of the fish you have just
caught!” I racedback to the water and helped drag the net ashore. It was full
of fish, 153 in all (you know how fishermen like to count their catches).
Jesus then invited us to have breakfastbut we were all so astonishedthat we
didn’t even ask if it was Him. We didn’t have to because we knew it was the
Lord. Jesus servedus fish and bread, and in so doing invited us back into
fellowship with Him, and setting the table for my personalrestoration, which
we’ll look at in greaterdetail next Sunday. He was sautéing fish; but for me
He was serving forgiveness.
Disappointments are His Appointments
God allows disappointments to come into our lives. In fact, we could saythat
disappointments are His appointments because He has some things He wants
us to learn through the lean times. Before Jesus reveals Himselfto the
disciples, they are doggedby discouragement. Many of us feel that way this
morning as recent events have rockedus. At leastthree elements make this a
pervasive problem.

It’s universal. All of us are predisposedto discouragement. Everyone you have
ever known has been discouragedat one time or another. Billy Graham once
said, “I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to Godin
prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, ‘O God, forgive me,” or ‘Help me.’”
It’s recurring. Being discouragedonce does not give you immunity to the
disease. It canhappen over and over again. In fact, you can even be down by
the factthat you are discourageda lot.
It’s highly contagious. Discouragementspreads by even casualcontact. People
can become disheartened because you are discouraged. You can be bummed
out because otherpeople are downcast.
I see sevenways to deal with disappointment from our text for today.
1. Don’t bail when we’re bummed out.
When Peter was feeling blue, he wanted to go back and do those things that he
used to do. But when he did, he found that it didn’t work. I wonder if some of
you are tempted to do the same thing. Perhaps you’re going through a hard
time right now and you just want to chuck this whole Christianity thing.
Maybe you feel like people have let you down so you just want to getaway
from everything. Peter discoveredthe hard way that we can’t go back, but we
can getthrough it. Severalyears later, he wrote in 1 Peter 5:10: “And the God
of all grace, who calledyou to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have
suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and
steadfast.” As Rick Warren states, “You’llnever know that God is all you
need until God is all you’ve got.”
In fact, if you’re a Christian, God won’t let you find satisfactionin those
things you once did because He loves you too much to see you stray. God
poseda question through the prophet Jeremiahto His people, when they were
considering going back to the life they once had: “Why do you go about so
much, changing your ways? You will be disappointed by Egypt as you were by
Assyria. You will also leave that place with your hands on your head, for the
LORD has rejectedthose you trust; you will not be helped by them”
(Jeremiah 2:36-37).

Clyde Billingsley asks two probing questions:“How much discouragement
can you take for God? What would it take for you to quit your service to the
Lord?” Are you close to giving up? With all that God has done for you, don’t
bail on Him or His church. Keep serving Him faithfully no matter what
happens.
2. We can do nothing apart from Christ.
It’s fascinating to me that there were at leastthree professionalfishermenin
the boat that night. They knew how to fish but they didn’t even catch one little
perch. Verse 3 puts the emphasis on the word “that,” so it would read: “But
that night they caught nothing.” To not catchanything was very unusual and
no doubt led to a deeperlevel of disappointment and discouragementamong
the disciples. After all, they had decided to go fishing to getrid of the blahs.
But Jesus was teaching them the truth of what He had said earlier in John
15:5: “…apartfrom me you cando nothing.”
They couldn’t rely on their experience or their expertise to accomplish
anything. They, like us, needed to reaffirm the truth of Zechariah 4:6: “Not
by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD Almighty.” It’s so
easyto go through the motions, isn’t it? I confess that I often leanon my own
abilities instead of surrendering to God’s Spirit. And for that, I ask your
forgiveness. It’s so easyfor us to be fooledinto thinking that we’re
accomplishing something for God, when in fact; our mediocrity must rise like
a stench in God’s nostrils.
This past Monday night I took our younger girls to see the circus. As we got
out of the car, we immediately saw (and smelled) the elephants. As we hurried
over to them, I couldn’t believe my eyes. They had two elephants, and they
lookedlike most sleepy and lethargic circus pachyderms. People were lined up
to take rides and next to the 12,000pound beasts was their trainer. He had a
thin whip in his right hand, and in his left hand he was holding a cell phone up
to his ear, and he was talking into it! He wasn’t paying much attention to his
task and his lackadaisicalapproachmade me wonder how committed he was
to his vocation. Incidentally, he was still talking on the phone when he brought
the elephants into the ring about 45 minutes later!

Friends, we must stop meandering through the motions of religious routine.
Let’s allow times of disappointment to reveal how easyit us for us to getbored
with our faith. Have we lost our passionfor Christ? When Jesus addressedthe
church at Ephesus in Revelation2, He commended them for their hard work
and perseverance.Theyhad certainly labored for the Lord, but Jesus then
points out that something was significantly wrong in verses 4-5:“Yet I hold
this againstyou: You have forsakenyour first love. Remember the height
from which you have fallen! Repentand do the things you did at first.”
Brothers and sisters in Christ, have we as a church forsakenour first love? If
so, let’s repent and get back on track, refusing to settle for secondbest. Jesus
does not tolerate anyone taking His rightful place in our individual lives, or in
our church.
In Luke 22:31, Jesus tells Peterthat he is about to be spiritually sifted:
“Simon, Simon, Satanhas askedto sift you as wheat.” I wonder if this is a
seasonofspiritual sifting for us. As we walk through trials and difficulties,
God strips awaythe junk so that we will see that we can do nothing apart
from Christ. And, when we realize that our “nets” are empty, we see the need
for Godto fill us. Beth Moore says that we will then either bend our knees to
Him, or we will be broken. I sense that some bending and breaking is taking
place within our church right now, and that’s not a bad thing. We canalso
take comfort from the next verse as Jesus tells Peterthat he will getthrough
the trying times because the Lord Himself is praying for him: “But I have
prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have
turned back, strengthenyour brothers” (Luke 22:32).
3. Obedience is always the right thing to do.
In John 21:5, we see Jesus gently calling out to his disciples, greeting them as
“friends,” or literally, “dearchildren” as He asks them how the fishing is
going. He wants them to admit the obvious fact that they’ve caught nothing.
John uses this exactphrase in 1 John 2:13: “I write to you, dear children,
because you have knownthe Father.” This term of endearment reveals that
Jesus loves us even when we’re going astray. He watches us rely on our own
expertise and His eyes fill with tears. He sees our empty nets and longs to load

them up. As I’ve stated before, borrowing from Max Lucado: “He loves you
just the way you are, but He loves you too much to let you stay that way.”
And the way He changes us is through obedience. When we decide to obey
Him, no matter how we’re feeling, no matter how empty we are, and no
matter whether it makes sense ornot, He is honored. In Jeremiah42:5, God’s
people make a commitment to obey: “Whetherit is favorable or unfavorable,
we will obey the LORD our God…” That’s what He wants from us. And
that’s exactly what the disciples did when Jesus told them to throw the net on
the right side of the boat. That didn’t make much sense becausethey had been
trying all night to find some fish. But they chose to obey.
In his book called, “The Screwtape Letters,” C.S. Lewis imagines a dialog
betweenthe devil and his young apprentice:
“It is during the tough periods, much more than during the peak
periods…hence the prayers offeredin the state of dryness are those that
please Him [God] best…He wants them to learn to walk and must therefore
take awayHis hand; and if only the will to walk is really there He is pleased
even with their stumbles. Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never
more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to
do our Enemy’s will, looks round a universe from which every trace of Him
seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys”
(Page 25).
Henri Nouwenrefers to those times when Godfeels distant as the “ministry of
absence.”It’s then that we must honor and obey Him, for it’s out of obedience
that God will reveal Himself to us.
In Zechariah 6:5, God promises His people that they will have enough
workers to complete the Temple, providing that they obey Him: “This will
happen if you diligently obey the LORD your God.” I wonder how many
blessings we’ve blown it simply because we haven’t always obeyedHim.
4. Blessingsare closerthan we think.
The difference betweenan empty net and an engorgedone was the width of
the boat! Jesus keptthe fish from swimming into the nets during the night and

now He sends the schoolof fish right where He wants them. Psalm30:5:
“Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” We
can’t fish the blessings out of life but we can catchwhat God sends our way.
The disciples, in their own strength came up empty. But when they obeyed,
God sent His blessings. And when God blesses, He does so abundantly as
Ezekiel34:26 states:“I will send down showers in season;there will be
showers ofblessing.”
5. Do whateverit takes to getclose to Jesus.
I love how John was the first to recognize Jesus. Maybe that’s because of all
the disciples;it was John who hung in there while Jesus hung on the cross. His
love for His Masterwas never questioned and Jesus had a specialplace in His
heart for him as well. As they’re wrestling with the wet nets, John turns to
Peterand says, “It is the Lord!” Verse 7 says that as soonas Peterheard this,
he grabbed his outer garment and jumped in the water. While John is
contemplative; Peteris courageous. WhenJesus performed the first fish
miracle in Luke 5, Peterwanted Jesus to depart from him; now He jumps into
the lake in order to get to Jesus. Earlierwhen Peterwalkedon the water, He
askedJesus if it was really Him (Matthew 14:28); now, He doesn’t need any
confirmation because He knows. And once again, He can’t stay in the boat. He
has to getto where Jesus is.
I love this about Peter. He won’t let anything stop Him from seeing the Savior.
While He certainly still had some guilt and shame, He knew that Jesus would
fully forgive Him. Friend, will you do whatever it takes to get as close to Jesus
as you can? We can’t be passive about this. Spiritual growth only happens
when we become disciplined to readour Bibles, to pray fervently, to worship
with other believers, to serve others, and to fish for the souls of people. We
must take action. Proverbs 18:10 tells us that the Lord will protect those who
run to Him for shelter: “The name of the LORD is a strong tower;the
righteous run to it and are safe.” Willyou run to the Redeemereveryday?
I don’t know how disappointed or disillusioned you are today but I do know
that you are as close to Jesus as you want to be. Rick Warren mentions that at
leasteight times in the New Testamentwe are told to “make every effort” in

our spiritual growth. We can’t sit around and just wait for growth to happen.
We must want to grow, decide to grow, make an effort to grow, and persist in
growing. It always begins with a decision(“Purpose Driven Life,” page 175,
179). It’s time to get out of the boat and seek Him passionatelylike Peterdid.
6. Everything we accomplishis by His grace.
My favorite verse in this passageis John 21:10 when Jesus says, “Bring some
of the fish you have caught.” Jesus alreadyhas some fish frying and some
bread baking but He invites them to share what they have. What is very
interesting here is that Jesus asksthem to bring the fish they have caught. The
disciples knew that they didn’t do anything to catch the fish. It was Jesus who
lured the little (actually big) fishies into the net. All they did was put the net in
the waterand bring it back up. The Greek prefix “mega” is used to describe
the size of these fish. These fish were definitely “keepers”and shows the
magnitude of the miracle, as the empty nets are now filled with mega muskies!
Their paucity has been replacedwith Gods’bountiful provision.
This is a greatlessonfor us to remember. While we may do something for the
Lord, it’s all by His grace. We really cando nothing, and yet we often take
credit for those things that go wellin our lives, and in our church. And yet,
Jesus allows us to participate in the blessings, and partner with Him in His
work in the world. That’s amazing to me.
Friends, we need to make sure we are free from pride because it has some
ugly consequencesas Proverbs 11:2 states:“When pride comes, then comes
disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” The disciples couldn’t high-five
eachother, and celebrate their fishing prowess because Jesus was the one who
filled their nets. Daniel4:37: “And those who walk in pride he is able to
humble.” Hosea 13:6 reminds us how easyit is for us to take credit and
become spiritually lethargic and proud of our own accomplishments:“WhenI
fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud;
then they forgotme.” And James 4:6 puts it strongly and succinctly:“God
opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” It’s all about God and yet I
often think it’s about me. Do you do the same? I wonder if we’ve been too
proud as a church, taking credit for what Godalone has done.

7. Jesus longs to rebuild what is broken.
The emphasis in this passageis not really on the fish; it’s on the fishermen.
They needed to be restoredand the only way that was going to happen was
through spending time with Jesus. Look atJohn 21:12-13:“Jesus saidto
them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’None of the disciples dared ask him, ‘Who
are you?’ They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it
to them, and did the same with the fish.” This invitation is similar to the one
Jesus gave in John 7:37: “Come to me and drink.” Here Jesus recognizesthat
they’ve labored all night and are coldand hungry and so he invites them to
breakfast. Jesus knew thatthey needed to have their physical needs met
before He could minister to their deeperneeds.
It’s as if He is giving them time just to sit and enjoy His presence. As they eat,
their failures fade awayas Jesus passesaround His forgiveness. In this setting,
the disciples didn’t have much to saybecause they were in awe. They had
come to the shores of God’s amazing grace and were invited back into
fellowship with Him and to restoredcommunity with one another. In short,
Jesus wantedthem to be at peace with Him, and with eachother. Go back to
verse 2 for a moment. As John tells the story, he lists Peterfirst and then right
after his name, we read about Thomas. Thomas learned the hard way to not
live in isolation. From here on, he lives in community with the other disciples.
While we certainly need to wait on the Lord, this passagereminds us that
Jesus is waiting on us. He’s on the shore right now and He’s inviting us to sit
down with Him and be restored. He wants to rebuild what is broken in our
lives. The empty net reminds us that He’s not finished with us yet. Philippians
1:6: “Being confident of this, that he who begana goodwork in you will carry
it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Becauseso many of us live with some conflict in our lives, and at times find
ourselves disconnectedfrom God and from others, we are going to host a very
practicalPeacemakerSeminarJune 11-12. Iurge you to make every effort to
attend. We’ll begin taking registrations next Sunday. The Peacemaker
Seminar is designedto equip us to resolve conflictin a biblically faithful
manner. The principles coveredin this seminar have been used to resolve

hundreds of actualdisputes, ranging from simple personal offenses to family
and marital conflicts, church divisions, and business and employment
disputes. The training covers topics suchas confession, confrontation,
forgiveness, andrestitution, and uses gripping examples and case stories
drawn from everyday life.
The Sign of the Fish
Peternever forgot his fishing failure and the breakfaston the beach, and I
hope we won’t either. Have you seenthe symbol of a fish on cars? Maybe you
even have one. This was actually a sign by which the early Christians
identified themselves. The Greek wordfor fish is ixthus. The letters that spell
fish are an acrostic thatdescribes who Jesus is – Jesus, Christ, God, Son, and
Savior. When meeting anotherChrist follower, one person would draw an arc
in the sand, and a fellow believer would draw another arc to complete the
symbol of the fish. Sometimes three fish were drawn together, signifying the
Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. At a time during the Roman Empire
when Christianity was illegal and Christians were put to death for practicing
their faith, worship had to be held in secretplaces. A fish painted on the
outside door of a house let Christians know that worship would be held inside.
1. Don’t bail when we’re bummed out.
2. We can do nothing apart from Christ.
3. Obedience is always the right thing to do.
4. Blessingsare closerthan we think.
5. Do whateverit takes to getclose to Jesus.
6. Everything we accomplishis by His grace.
7. Jesus longs to rebuild what is broken.
He is Jesus Christ, God, Sonand Savior, risen from the dead. And because
He’s alive today, He can deal with any disappointment you may have. He loves
to make Himself known when you are most at a loss. Will you come to Him?
Will you respond to His invitation?

I want to end this morning by having us listen to a song by Point of Grace
called, “Jesus WillStill Be There.” Think of the Savior standing on the
shore…justwaiting for you.
Things change, plans fail
You look for love on a grander scale
Storms rise, hopes fade
And you place your bets on another day
When the going gets tough
When the ride’s too rough
When you’re just not sure enough
Jesus will still be there
His love will never change
Sure as the steadyrain
When no one else is true
He’ll still be loving you
When it looks like you’ve lost it all
And you haven’t gota prayer
Time flies, hearts turn
A little bit wiserfrom lessons learned
But sometimes, weakness wins
And you lose your foothold once again

When the going gets tough
When the ride’s too rough
When you’re just not sure enough
When it looks like you’ve lost it all
And you haven’t gota prayer
ALAN CARR
John 21:1-22
YOU ASK ME HOW I KNOW HE LIVES
Intro: Ill. The crucifixion and the resurrection. Jesus died for the sins of men
then He arose victorious over death, Hell and the grave. His resurrectionis
the reasonwe are even meeting here today. Todaywe celebrate the day that
the Sonof Godwon the victory for every man!
After Jesus rose from the dead, He appearedmany times to many people. He
appearedto womenat the tomb, Matt. 27;Mark 16;Luke 24; John 20. He
appearedto His disciples, John 20. He made a specialappearance to the
disciples when Thomas was present, John 20. He also appearedto over 500 of
the brethren at one time, 1 Cor. 15:6. He also appearedto His disciples in the
passagewe have read togetherthis morning.
As I read this accountof Christ meeting with His men, I became aware of the
fact that He did some things for them that only a risen Saviorcould do. I want
to share those specialactions that only Jesus cando in the lives of His people.
Now, lestyou think I am making these things up, just ask any true believer

and they will back my story up this morning! Why? Becauseonly a risen
Savior cando what Christ can do in the lives of His people.
There is a song that we sing around this time of year. A song that we really
should sing all year long! One verse of that song goes something like this:
I serve a risen Savior, He's in the world today.
I know that He is living, Whatevermen may say.
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him, He's always near.
He Lives! He Lives! Christ Jesus lives today!
He Walks with me, And talks with me,
Along life's narrow way.
He Lives! He Lives! Salvationto impart.
You ask me how I know He lives,
He lives within my heart!
My goaltoday is to show why I know He lives. You ask me how I know He
lives? I know because He can do for His Own what no one else can do. Let me
share those actions that He performs on behalf of His people.
I. V. 1-4 FIND HIS SHEEP
A. Ill. The Context. These men were off doing that which they had forsaken
years earlier, Mark 1:16-18. Now, they have attempted a return to the old way
of life. However, things aren't going like they thought they would. In fact,

these professionalfishermen have fished all night and have takennothing.
When daylight comes they see a man on the sea shore. Although they didn't
know it, He is Jesus and He is looking for them. I suspectthat He is the One
Who causedthe fish not to bite that night as well! He has come for them
because He did not save them and call them so that they could be fishermen.
He has a better plan for their lives!
B. The same is true in your life and mine! When we really belong to the Lord
and wander off the path He has assignedus, we will not go awayfrom Him
forever! He has a vested interestin us and He will hound us until we deal with
our backsliddencondition, 2 Tim. 2:13.
C. I know He lives because He knows just where to find His sheep when they
stray! Nothing we do is hidden from Him and His view, Pro. 15:3; Heb. 4:13.
He knows how to find us and He knows how to get our attention! He will not
let us go astrayforever. If you are His, He will calyou home, Heb. 12:6-11;
Rev. 3:19.
D. By the way, this is not a bad thing at all! I am glad that He knows where to
find us and how to bring us home!
E. By the way, He is still looking for some of you to make you His sheep. He
wants to save your soul. He has been dealing with your heart and He has been
calling you to come to Him. Why not make this morning your resurrection
day? Why not come to Jesus while He is dealing with your heart and receive
Him as your savior? The door is open and He is calling you, so come and be
saved! (Ill. The simplicity of salvation! Acts 16:31;John 3:16; Isa. 45:22)
II. V. 5-11 FEED HIS SERVANTS
A. Ill. The Context. Jesus allowedthem to catchan abundance of fish. When
this happened, they remember who He was. Theyremembered another time
when they had fished all night and caughtnothing, but at the word of Jesus
they had let down their nets and had takenan abundance of fish, Luke 5:3-7.
On this morning, Jesus gave them a great catchand even prepared their meal
and satdown and ate with them. He was able to provide all they lackedthat
morning!

Jesus was standing on the beach

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