BREAKFAST ON THE BEACH

“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.”  John 21:7b-8.

How predictable of Peter! He was the first to respond. Unlike Judas, who had slunk away in his remorse and committed suicide, Peter yearned for another chance. Another chance to do what? To prove to Jesus that he was no coward, after all? That he could and would make good on his promise to stick with Him through thick and thin?

But now, everything had changed. They were no longer trudging all over Israel with an itinerant rabbi. He was alive, yes, but He was different. He came and went in a flash. It was impossible to follow Him as they did before He died. The only thing Peter knew at that moment was that Jesus was on the beach and he wanted to get to Him as quickly as he could.

Why did Peter grab his cloak? The others could have given it to him when they reached the shore. To be uncovered above the ankles was regarded as nakedness. He couldn’t work with the encumbrance of his cloak so he took it off in the company of his fellow disciples, but in the presence of his Master he needed to be appropriately dressed, wet or not! 

Was this Peter’s first encounter with Jesus after His resurrection? No, it wasn’t. He had been with the other disciples in the upper room when Jesus appeared to them the first time. Why was this occasion so special? I think Jesus planned a leisurely breakfast on the beach around a fire to trigger something in Peter he would never forget.

“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 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.” John 21:9-11,

Can you picture the scene? Fish cooking slowly over a fire of hot coals. Jesus waiting for a few more fish from their catch. The other disciples sitting around the fire, warming their cold hands. Why was Jesus here?  He never did anything without a reason. Every detail of this little scene had meaning.

For Peter, everything was happening at a maddeningly slow pace. Had Jesus showed up on the beach just to have a picnic breakfast with them? Why the beach? Why bread and fish? As he stood watching the fish cooking over the fire, many thoughts flooded his mind. The beach reminded him of that first moment when he met Jesus and heard Him call his name. His life would never be the same again. Bread and fish triggered the memory of crowds of people sitting on the grass while he and the other disciples distributed pieces that miraculously multiplied in their hands. Who was this man who could do that?

He could hardly bear to look at the coals. The memory of his failure almost suffocated him. He would never forget the look in the eyes of his Master as He turned His gaze on him; not “I told you so,” or “Why did you do it?” but “Oh Peter, my heart breaks for you.” Perhaps this was the meaning of the scene he could not escape. Did the Master want him to feel the terrible pain of his denial so that he would never step across that boundary again?

I have a sense that Jesus took him back to that moment — He could not be with Peter when it happened — so that He could walk with him through it again, not to condemn but to reinterpret it with him so that Peter could feel His forgiveness and never again be overwhelmed by guilt and shame. Peter had a job to do, and there was no sense in living in the past.

From Jesus’ perspective, Peter’s past had ceased to exist, washed clean by the blood He had shed on the cross. Only the His words could erase the guilt from Peter’s soul and set him free to live for his future and not from his past. The message he was to proclaim was one he had to experience so that he could preach it with passion.

Never again would the sound of a cock crowing or the sight of a coal fire bring back the feelings of guilt and shame that had imprisoned him until that moment. Yes, Jesus had a reason for every detail of his little breakfast on the beach. He had a beloved brother who needed the reassurance that he was free from his emotional prison and recommissioned to do what he had been called to do. Peter’s failure had not disqualified him, only redefined him so that he would know himself and his Master a little better.

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.