THE SIGNIFICANCE OF EASTER BREAKFAST
One of the indisputable facts of
life is eating food. How many of you agree eating meals is essential? Important
things could happen during meals. Think about your first dinner date, the excellent
business deal you made over lunch, or the joyful wedding feast.
Interestingly the scriptures talk
quite a bit about meals. For example, the words: food 373, bread, 255, drink
348, feast 60, and banquet 38 times appear in the NIV Bible. That shows the
importance of meals. Jesus began his ministry at a wedding feast and concluded
it with a Passover meal where he shared about the New Covenant with his
disciples. John 2, Luke 22.
Typically, we gather around breakfast and sing
and reflect on the events around Jesus' resurrection on Easter Sunday morning.
Then we rarely talk about resurrection the rest of the year. I will talk about
how Jesus used a resurrection breakfast to prove to his disciples that he rose
from the dead and restore and recommission the heartbroken disciples. John
21:1-17
I.
The early days after the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We read at length with specific
details about what happened on Sunday morning in John chapter 20. The highly
guarded tomb was opened, and Jesus rose from the dead as he had promised
earlier. He first appeared to Mary Magdalene and the same evening to his eleven
disciples who had locked themselves in a room out of fear of the Jewish
leaders.
After eight days, he made another
surprise visit to help clarify Thomas's doubts, who missed being there when he
appeared for the second time. While challenging Thomas's unbelief, he
pronounced a blessing on all those who will believe in Him without seeing Him.
Then we don't read much about what has happened until he showed up for the
third time in Galilee.
II.
The Backtracking of the deserted and dejected disciples
Suppose you have lost your way on a
hike; backtracking helps you get back on the right path. We will see how Jesus
led his disciples to backtrack to get them back on the right track.
On the shore of the Sea of Galilee
that Jesus called his very first disciples Simon, also called Peter, Andrew,
James, and John. Afterward, he called a few more in total, twelve disciples.
They followed Jesus wherever he went; they ate with him, watched him perform
miracles, and stood as silent witnesses when He was mocked, questioned, and
ridiculed.
They were with him through thick and
thin all the way to the garden of Gethsemane, where they began to lose their
way. When He was arrested, it was said, "all the disciples deserted him
and ran away." What happened to Simon Peter, who boldly declared,
"even if everyone else deserts you, I never will."? He further
proclaimed, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you."
(Mark 14:27-310). Where was Simon Peter when Christ needed him the most?
Peter, one of the three close
disciples and often the pack's leader, was in a precarious place. He followed
Jesus at a distance and went right into the high priest's courtyard. There he
sat with guards, warming himself by the fire." (Mark 14:54). Running away
from Jesus and following him at a distance eventually led to Peter's downfall.
He denied Jesus three times.
Similarly, what happened to Peter
and other disciples could happen to us. The other day I was behind a car in the
traffic. A bumper sticker on that car caught my attention, which read JESUS
in big BOLD letters but the letters around it were small and blurry. I
couldn't figure out what they were saying. So, I inched closer to that car at a
traffic stop to read what it was saying, and the statement jabbed my heart. The
sticker read, "Do You Follow Jesus this closely."
I was ashamed and challenged at the
same time. Yes, at times, I catch myself following Jesus not too closely but
from a distance, as Peter did. When things get tough, amid harsh and difficult
circumstances, we tend to run away from our commitment to follow Jesus. Instead
of following him closely, we follow him from a distance. Jesus didn't want to
leave his deserted and dejected disciples at a distance, so he helped them do a
bit of backtracking.
II.
To get back on the right track, we need to backtrack. (1-10)
Vs.1-6, "Later, Jesus
appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it
happened. Several of the disciples were there Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed
the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other
disciples.
Simon Peter said, "I'm going
fishing." "We'll come, too," they all said. So they went out in
the boat, but they caught nothing all night. At dawn, Jesus was standing on the
beach, but the disciples couldn't see who he was. He called out, "Fellows,
have you caught any fish?" "No," they replied. Then he said, "Throw
out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you'll get some!" So,
they did, and they couldn't haul in the net because there were so many fish in
it."
Jesus appeared to seven of his
disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Why did he choose Galilee for his
reunion with his disciples? Remember, this was where he first called these
disciples to follow Him. Jesus spent almost 85% of his public ministry around
Galilee. Jesus backtracked his deserted disciples to the shore of Galilee to
remind them of their calling. He still needed to restore his dejected disciple,
Simon Peter.
Vs. 7-11, "Then the
disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, "It's the Lord!" When Simon Peter
heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work),
jumped into the water, and headed to shore. The others stayed with the boat and
pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from
shore.
When they got there, they found
breakfast waiting for them, fish cooking over a charcoal fire and some bread.
"Bring some of the fish you've just caught," Jesus said. So, Simon
Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish,
and yet the net hadn't torn." Let me unpack a few mysterious
sightings in this passage. First, "the disciple Jesus loved."
Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, "it is the Lord." Who is
this beloved disciple?
As we read through the gospels, we
are left with "the high probability that John the apostle is the disciple
whom Jesus loved and is the author of this Gospel."[1] What about 153 large fish
and the net not being torn? John's recording of the precise number reinforces
that he was an eyewitness author of the events he recorded (I John 1:1-4).
Jesus' action here providing the
fish also indicated that he would still provide for his disciple's needs. How
about the charcoal fire? Noticing the threefold question and answer dialogue
and we can safely assume that Jesus wanted to remind Peter of his three-time
denial at the fire. After the backtracking, Jesus offered them a sumptuous
breakfast.
III.
The Significance of the Easter Breakfast. (Vs.12-14)
Vs. 12-14, "Now come and have
some breakfast!" Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who
are you?" They knew it was the Lord. Then Jesus served them the bread and
the fish." It was a healthy breakfast cooked on charcoal. They all must
have been starving; they quietly ate without raising any questions. After the
breakfast, it was all about Jesus and Peter.
Let me read it from the Kingdom New
Testament by N.T Wright, a contemporary translation. Vs. 15-17, "So when
they had eaten breakfast, Jesus spoke to Simon Peter.
"Simon, son of John," he
said, do you love me more than these? "Yes, Master," he said.
"You know I'm your friend." "Well, then," he said, "Feed
my lambs."
"Simon, son of John," said
Jesus again, for a second time, "do you love me?" "Yes,
Master," he said. "You know I'm your friend." "Well,
then," he said, "look after my sheep." "Simon, son of
John," said Jesus a third time," are you, my friend? "Peter was
upset that on this third time, Jesus asked," Are you, my friend! "
Well then," said Jesus, "feed my sheep." How is this breakfast
different from all other meals Jesus had with his disciples?
Jesus ate this breakfast to prove to
his disciples and the rest of the world that He rose from the dead and was
alive. It was a breakfast to refresh and restore the focus to his deserted
disciples, particularly Simon Peter. That is one reason why we celebrate Easter
with breakfast.
The three-pronged question was a way
of pardoning Peter's three-time denial. Jesus wanted Peter to get back to the
same level of commitment he had before his denial. Whereas Peter couldn't rise
to the challenge, recognizing perhaps how badly he may blow it up again.
Jesus used this occasion to feed
Peter and other disciples to usher in a different form of ministry,
shepherding. Jesus wanted Peter not only a fisher of men but also an under-shepherd
of God's flock. As an under-shepherd, he would feed the young and the senior
believers with spiritual food. He will also protect the flock from the ravaging
wolves, the false prophets.
Later on, we know Peter became one
of the most loyal under-shepherds in the history of the Church. What does this
mean for us today? On this Easter Sunday of 2022, do you feel like one of those
deserted and dejected disciples of Jesus? Do you need to be refreshed?
Jesus invites you to come and have
breakfast with Him (symbolically, we just did that). Jesus wants to refresh
your soul and restore your vision and calling. He wants us to follow Him, not
remotely but closely. When we stay closer to Jesus, our vision and purpose are
clarified. On this Easter Sunday, let us commit to being a sheep that follows
the Good Shepherd and, at the same time, be a loyal under-shepherd of the flock
entrusted to us. Amen!
