“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.’
I love so many things about this story of Jesus appearing for the third time to his disciples by the Sea of Galilee.
Here we have the resurrected and glorified Jesus coming down from heaven, once again, and fixing breakfast for his disciples like he must have so many times before. I like the concreteness of it all:
- 7 – The number of disciples in the boat
- 100 – The number of yards they were from the shore
- 10+ – The number of hours they had been fishing
- 153 – the number of large fish they caught
- A fishing net that couldn’t break
- Jesus stooping over and cooking breakfast on a campfire
- Hot, burning coals
- The smell of fish and bread cooking
- Peter, still soaking wet, conversing with Jesus
But it isn’t just the earthy details that draw me to this story. It’s also the thoughtful tenderness with which Jesus addresses these defeated and discouraged professional fishermen who have been fishing all night and have caught nothing. It’s the compassion Jesus manifests as he deals with “the issue” he has with Peter: Peter’s arrogance and pride in thinking he loved Jesus more than anyone else, a hubris that resulted in him denying Jesus three times.
Jesus gently, yet directly, deals with Peter by asking him three times – once for each denial – if he loves him.
I like to think of this encounter that Jesus’ disciples had with the post-resurrection Jesus as the archetypal men’s breakfast, for Jesus’ invitation to them to “come and have breakfast” is the same invitation he gives to us…and for the same purpose:
“Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” Revelation 3:20 (NIV)
Simply put, every men’s breakfast should have these elements: real men with real problems, great food, an encounter with Jesus Christ, an affirmation of his love for us, and an honest appraisal of – and response to – anything that blocks our fellowship with him.
This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.
Since 2003 New Commandment Men’s Ministries has helped hundreds of churches throughout North American and around the world recruit teams of men who permanently adopt their widowed and single parents in their congregations for the purpose of donating two hours of service to them one Saturday morning each month. We accomplish this with a free training site called New Commandment Men’s Ministry
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