The Coming

Linda Rock
6 days ago
5 min read

Today, we return to the Scripture passage which was quoted from John 21: 1 – 14, conscious of what the Spirit revealed to us.

Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way. Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. I’m going out to fish, Simon Peter told them, and they said, We’ll go with you. So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, Friends, haven’t you any fish? No, they answered. He said, Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some. When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, It is the Lord! As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, It is the Lord, he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, Bring some of the fish you have just caught. So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to 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 was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

From these Bible verses, we were informed that there were four facts about the actions of Jesus, the moves He made regarding His advancements towards His beloved disciples. We were also given assurance in faith and by faith that these would help to draw us closer and dearer to Jesus, as we observed His tender compassion and desire to have His friends with Him.

Even before we name the first move, let us again be reminded that our Lord’s patience is never strained and worn like ours. He does not give up on any mission of His to take His own out of the darkness of ignorance, dejection, fear and deceit. One of the things that we all must remember about this occasion of Jesus coming to His disciples, is that the text assures us that it is not the first time He is coming to them. Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. John 21: 1a.

The very inclusion of the word, again, informs us that this was not Jesus’ first time in going to His disciples, after He had come out of the grave. Also, at the end of the Scripture passage, John gives us a bit more detailed information on the number of times Jesus had appeared to His disciples. We know that Jesus allocated forty days to the work of convincing His own and teaching them in greater depth about the Kingdom of God, and this was just the third time He had visited them. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Is Jesus not still the same to His own? Then let our faith grow the strong wings of trust and hope and rise high in the atmosphere of belief that our Jesus, even in this time and place, in whatsoever state we are in, will come to us.

Here is Jesus’ First Move – The Coming

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. John 21: 4.

Jesus made the first move of contact, in this happening. He went to them. He found them where they were and stood there in their view. Pause! Listen with all your faith. Jesus, our Risen Lord and Master, still makes the first moves to contact us. Just as He found His ‘dead’ disciples – dead, in terms of not knowing what to do with their lives, dead, in terms of not understanding about their risen Lord, who had told them that He would rise on the third day, dead, in terms of feeling so heavily confused, lost and aimlessly doing what they did before, so Jesus can and will find you.

Regardless of the time of day, Jesus will come to you. Not only that, but He is there even before you get there. Wasn’t Jesus waiting on the shore, as a boat of zero catch came in, as a boat of zero-feeling men rowed back in? Come on now! There are times when we have felt less than nothing, less than zero in our lives. Perhaps, we are in such a time and place. Will you listen, even if your faith is weak and frayed at the moment? Jesus will come and has come to you, for He finds you before you find Him. He comes to you early in your morning, after a night of fruitless labour, and stands there waiting for your vessel to come in.

Additionally, here is even more faith convincing proof for us. We do not have to recognize Jesus for Him to recognize us. Isn’t it true that Jesus was in their view as they came in with empty boats and empty-lives? They saw a man, but they did not recognize Him. On the other hand Jesus saw seven people and He immediately recognized them as His own, His beloved friends. Please be assured and comforted in this fact! Their emptiness of hand and heart never for a moment turned Jesus away from them. On the contrary, such ‘deadness’ turned Jesus towards them, for He had come to change them completely.

Regardless of your present path, even if you have returned to the activity from which Jesus once called you, to follow Him, keep faith! You may be dead in understanding what’s happening to your life at the moment, but keep faith in Jesus.

Here are two statements of fact.