Friday, January 26, 2007
Going Back to What You Know
Jesus appeared a number of times to His disciples after the resurrection. But He did not stay with them long. He would come and go. Jesus provided the strength and direction that they needed. But He was trying to get them used to operating without His physical presence.
Jesus had breathed on them, and the Holy Spirit had entered these first Christians. As Jesus said before His death, He would not always stay with them. He was going back to the Father. And the Holy Spirit would give them power and direction. The Holy Spirit would guide them in all truth.
It was under this new paradigm that the disciples were discovering what life was to be like. They were receiving new revelation and walking in a greater sense of spiritual awareness. But they still had a lot to learn. The Gospel itself was not clear to them. Many of the insights we now accept as common doctrine were developed under the Apostle Paul's ministry.
The disciples were trying to discover how to live without Jesus' physical presence. And they were attempting to understand what Jesus' message really was. These were Jews trying to grasp a new reality despite years of tradition and religious baggage.
Naturally, Simon did what he had always done before meeting Jesus. Simon went back to his nets. He went back to what he knew. They had to go on with their lives. Their reaction shows how hard it can be to get away from our past. It can be difficult to walk in the newness of life that God calls us to live.
Although this is not likely what Jesus had in mind for their future, He had compassion on them. Jesus did what He had always done. He met them where they were at and challenged them to where they should be.
Simon said, "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."
It's a good thing that Jesus called Simon to be an apostle because he didn't seem to always be a good fisherman. After toiling all night long, they caught nothing. These men must have been depressed. They must have felt like failures.
Everyone can relate with the sense of disillusionment that follows repeated failure. When you don't know what to do and nothing seems to work, that can be a difficult place to be.
Jesus showed up at just the right time and made the men breakfast. He served them at their point of need. He showed them how to be a success and what they had been doing wrong. They were fishing for the wrong thing. He confirmed their call to be fishers of men not fish.
Jesus stood on the shore and called out, "Children, you don't have any fish, do you" (NASB)?
The word here in the Greek is paidion {pahee-dee'-on}. It means a young child, one who is immature in his thinking. Other translations interpret the word as "friend" or "fellow." But it appears that Jesus is purposefully trying to draw attention to their lack of understanding. Some might think of this as even mocking them. As always, Jesus had a reason for talking to them like this. He wanted them to see that they had gone back to thinking like ordinary men and left the deeper understanding they had learned from Him.
Like any guy who is struggling with something, the men replied back with a one word answer, "No." They had not caught any fish. They probably weren't in a good mood and were wondering why this guy was bothering them. They could not see it was Jesus. And they didn't recognize His voice.
The stranger (Jesus) instructed them to put the nets on the other side of the boat. You can see these men wondering who this guy thinks he is. Why should they listen to him? This spot must be tapped out. There was no fish to be found. But they decided to take a change one last time.
The fishermen let down their nets and were surprised by the results. The catch was so big they struggled to haul it back to the boat. John immediately recognized by the miraculous catch that the man on the shore was Jesus. He said to Simon, "It is the Lord."
Sometimes we struggle to identify God working in something until we see something miraculous. Then we know it must be God.
Simon did what he always did. He acted impulsively. He wanted to be with Jesus, and He was not willing to wait on the boat to get to shore. Simon was naked in the boat as he worked. He immediately put on his fisher's coat and jumped into the water. Simon swam as fast as he could to get to Jesus. He didn't beat the others to the shore by much because the boat was only 100 yards from land.
When they got ashore, they saw a fire of burning coals with fish on it and some bread. Jesus had made them breakfast. He wanted to refresh and to care for His beloved disciples.
Jesus instructed them to bring some fish from the catch. Simon helped bring the nets in and did just what Jesus asked. It was like old times again. If only for a few moments, the world must have seemed right again to these men.
The net was full of large fish. Jesus always seemed to know how to do everything well. Despite the large catch, the net was not torn.
Nobody dared asked the stranger who he was. It was clear. Or was it? Somehow the Gospel accounts indicate that even those who knew Jesus well struggled to recognize Him after His resurrection. Maybe it was his resurrected, spiritual body. Maybe he physically looked different. Regardless, there was a touch of doubt mixed with faith.
Jesus distributed the food. This was the third time He had appeared to the disciples since He was raised from the dead. It was a reunion, a restoration and a homecoming. They came back to where it all started to go forward to the next horizon. The disciples and Jesus had spent many great moments along these shores. And now was the time for the disciples to begin to enter into their own season of ministry.
Jesus had breathed on them, and the Holy Spirit had entered these first Christians. As Jesus said before His death, He would not always stay with them. He was going back to the Father. And the Holy Spirit would give them power and direction. The Holy Spirit would guide them in all truth.
It was under this new paradigm that the disciples were discovering what life was to be like. They were receiving new revelation and walking in a greater sense of spiritual awareness. But they still had a lot to learn. The Gospel itself was not clear to them. Many of the insights we now accept as common doctrine were developed under the Apostle Paul's ministry.
The disciples were trying to discover how to live without Jesus' physical presence. And they were attempting to understand what Jesus' message really was. These were Jews trying to grasp a new reality despite years of tradition and religious baggage.
Naturally, Simon did what he had always done before meeting Jesus. Simon went back to his nets. He went back to what he knew. They had to go on with their lives. Their reaction shows how hard it can be to get away from our past. It can be difficult to walk in the newness of life that God calls us to live.
Although this is not likely what Jesus had in mind for their future, He had compassion on them. Jesus did what He had always done. He met them where they were at and challenged them to where they should be.
Simon said, "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."
It's a good thing that Jesus called Simon to be an apostle because he didn't seem to always be a good fisherman. After toiling all night long, they caught nothing. These men must have been depressed. They must have felt like failures.
Everyone can relate with the sense of disillusionment that follows repeated failure. When you don't know what to do and nothing seems to work, that can be a difficult place to be.
Jesus showed up at just the right time and made the men breakfast. He served them at their point of need. He showed them how to be a success and what they had been doing wrong. They were fishing for the wrong thing. He confirmed their call to be fishers of men not fish.
Jesus stood on the shore and called out, "Children, you don't have any fish, do you" (NASB)?
The word here in the Greek is paidion {pahee-dee'-on}. It means a young child, one who is immature in his thinking. Other translations interpret the word as "friend" or "fellow." But it appears that Jesus is purposefully trying to draw attention to their lack of understanding. Some might think of this as even mocking them. As always, Jesus had a reason for talking to them like this. He wanted them to see that they had gone back to thinking like ordinary men and left the deeper understanding they had learned from Him.
Like any guy who is struggling with something, the men replied back with a one word answer, "No." They had not caught any fish. They probably weren't in a good mood and were wondering why this guy was bothering them. They could not see it was Jesus. And they didn't recognize His voice.
The stranger (Jesus) instructed them to put the nets on the other side of the boat. You can see these men wondering who this guy thinks he is. Why should they listen to him? This spot must be tapped out. There was no fish to be found. But they decided to take a change one last time.
The fishermen let down their nets and were surprised by the results. The catch was so big they struggled to haul it back to the boat. John immediately recognized by the miraculous catch that the man on the shore was Jesus. He said to Simon, "It is the Lord."
Sometimes we struggle to identify God working in something until we see something miraculous. Then we know it must be God.
Simon did what he always did. He acted impulsively. He wanted to be with Jesus, and He was not willing to wait on the boat to get to shore. Simon was naked in the boat as he worked. He immediately put on his fisher's coat and jumped into the water. Simon swam as fast as he could to get to Jesus. He didn't beat the others to the shore by much because the boat was only 100 yards from land.
When they got ashore, they saw a fire of burning coals with fish on it and some bread. Jesus had made them breakfast. He wanted to refresh and to care for His beloved disciples.
Jesus instructed them to bring some fish from the catch. Simon helped bring the nets in and did just what Jesus asked. It was like old times again. If only for a few moments, the world must have seemed right again to these men.
The net was full of large fish. Jesus always seemed to know how to do everything well. Despite the large catch, the net was not torn.
Nobody dared asked the stranger who he was. It was clear. Or was it? Somehow the Gospel accounts indicate that even those who knew Jesus well struggled to recognize Him after His resurrection. Maybe it was his resurrected, spiritual body. Maybe he physically looked different. Regardless, there was a touch of doubt mixed with faith.
Jesus distributed the food. This was the third time He had appeared to the disciples since He was raised from the dead. It was a reunion, a restoration and a homecoming. They came back to where it all started to go forward to the next horizon. The disciples and Jesus had spent many great moments along these shores. And now was the time for the disciples to begin to enter into their own season of ministry.
