Scripture Daily

Context No. 713 of 4322 · John

Context · Reflection

John 21:11-15: in context

11Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land, full of one hundred fifty-three great fish. Even though there were so many, the net wasn’t torn. 12Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast!” None of the disciples dared inquire of him, “Who are you?” knowing that it was the Lord. 13Then Jesus came and took the bread, gave it to them, and the fish likewise. 14This is now the third time that Jesus was revealed to his disciples after he had risen from the dead. 15So when they had eaten their breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I have affection for you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”

After the resurrection the disciples have gone back to fishing and caught nothing all night, until a figure on the shore tells them to try the other side and the net comes up heavy. John counts the fish, a hundred and fifty-three, and notes that the net, though full, did not tear. When they reach land there is already a charcoal fire, and Jesus says, come and have breakfast. No one dares ask who he is; they know. And the risen Lord takes the bread and the fish and serves the men who had run from him three nights before. The commission has not come yet. First there is a meal he cooks for them.

Only after they have eaten does he turn to Peter, and the first of three questions carries an edge. Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? Peter had once been the one who loved more than the rest, who swore he would die before he denied, who counted himself steadier than his friends. He does not take the comparison now. He drops the more than these and answers only, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. And Jesus gives him back a share of the work: feed my lambs. The man is fed before he is sent, and forgiven before he is trusted.

Jesus cooked breakfast for the men who abandoned him before he asked anything of them. When have I been quietly fed and served by someone I let down, before a word was said about what I owed?

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