“Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask Him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.” (John 21:12)
Right away one is confused because this incident occurred in the morning, yet Jesus says to come dine. “Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, we also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.” (John 21:3,4) In research it turns out that the word dine was used to signify a meal with meat even if it was breakfast. “Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.” (John 21:5) Here Jesus asks them if they caught any fish using the word meat. They haven’t caught anything, but Jesus is cooking fish. Scripture doesn’t tell us where the fish came from. But considering fish is meat and a meal with meat is considered to dine, the use of the word dine is appropriate here in this culture of that day.This was the third time that Jesus had appeared to His disciples after the resurrection. Other times He had appeared when they were gathered together in a room maybe for a meal or prayer, but this time it was at their workplace. The disciples didn’t know it was Jesus. They had worked all night with no results. Then Jesus tells them to try again so they do. “Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And He said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.” (John 21:5-7) It was then that they knew it might be Jesus. But they still were not sure. Our Scripture of study tells us they didn’t want to ask. When the miracle happened, Peter was certain it was the Lord. He puts on his outer garment and dives in the water to swim to shore and to be with Jesus while the others go to shore in a boat. Scripture tells us he was naked, but commentators believe he was in his undergarment. One who didn’t have on his outer garments was considered to be naked.
The fishermen were frustrated that they hadn’t caught any fish. They had fished the entire night and had nothing to show for it. Has there been a time in your life that you were frustrated that things were not working out? The disciples were primarily frustrated that their visions of overthrowing the Romans and setting up a kingdom didn’t pan out. They returned to what they knew, fishing. Now their efforts fishing were also a failure. But now, Jesus is present, and He tells them specifically where to cast their nets and they haul in so many fish, they need help. When Jesus is present, things change. He is all wisdom and knowing. Jesus can tell us what to do when we’ve tried everything we know to do and have failed. Are you frustrated with your spouse? You have tried everything to get him to work, to finish the “Honey Do” list, to help you with house chores or to get out of his recliner and get moving or whatever it is that needs to change. Jesus has the answer. He can tell us what we need to do or what we need to say to make a change in things. Or maybe you are frustrated over your children. The young ones disobey, or the teens are rebellious. Jesus has the answer. Another instance may be your job. Like the disciples, you are not being successful. Jesus can give you specifics that will bring you success. This sounds like we are making Jesus to be Santa or a Geni. But it is not. When we ask the Lord for help and depend on Him to be our source of help, it honors Him. “My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.” (Psalms 121:2) We are asking for a need, for wisdom, knowledge and understanding in our lives so we can glorify Him. And this is the most important part. When people pat you on the back for a good job, when your children become obedient or your teens become helpful and your husband becomes a partner in the house, you can say, “Thank God. It’s the Lord Who is helping me.” Like Peter exclaim, “It is the Lord!” (John 21:7)
Jesus knew we’d need help. He sent us the Holy Spirit. It’s through the Holy Spirit that we are helped. “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” (John 14:26) That word “Comforter” means Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Counselor, Strengthener and Standby Who represents Jesus and acts on His behalf. So, although Jesus is not with us manifested in physical form, He is with us through the Holy Spirit Who is one with the Father and the Son, Jesus. So spiritually we can say, Jesus is with us and the Father is with us. God is with us. And it honors Him when we trust Him and depend on Him to help us.
Jesus invites us. “Come and dine.” He has the “meat” ready. It’s the nourishment we need for the day. Just like in the morning with His disciples, Jesus has prepared the meat for nourishment. The meat that is needed for each day is ready for us in the morning for our nourishment, for strength, for perseverance and for our help. He has it prepared already. All we need to do is go to Him and be fed His meat for our spirits, our souls (mind will and emotions) and our bodies.
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