This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
This is a period of transition for the students of Jesus. They understand their Teacher has risen from the dead. Yet, something is different.
The Teacher is not with them twenty-four hours a day as before. For three years He has been their constant companion. All during the forty days between His resurrection and His ascension, Jesus comes and goes.
Perhaps He is preparing them for the new kind of relationship they will have with Him in the very near future. He will no longer be with them physically as before. For after Jesus returns to the Father, He will be with them representatively through the presence of the Holy Spirit, soon to sent from heaven!
Before Jesus leaves for heaven, He will send them on a lifetime mission to preach and teach the good news of His death and resurrection to the whole world. But for now it seems they are not fully aware of the Teacher's plan for their futures.
Some of them even decide to go fishing!
There, beside the lake, the Teacher comes to them. Builds a fire and cooks some fish of His own and invites them to bring some of the 153 fish He enabled them catch.
They have breakfast together.
All these appearances are highly significant, both for them and for us. What they are experiencing is not a collective illusion. At different times, in diverse settings and when His students are in various states of mind, the Teacher appears to them.
If they are to be credible eyewitnesses of the greatest event in human history, there must be no doubt. Only if Jesus shows Himself alive by many indisputable proofs, will they carry the good news to the world with conviction. Jesus’ power over death will be irrefutable!
And while preparing them for a new situation, the teacher also explains that some things will always be the same (Him!)
ReplyDeleteThey were used to Jesus performing miracles. They had seen him do so much. Then the crucifixion, burial, and now appearances proving that he is alive again. Confusion had to be part of their mental process. So here is Jesus, back to his old self - performing miracles, even after raising from the dead.
Another miraculous catch. Why?
Did they need the money from a haul of fish?
Or more so, did they need to know that Jesus was still the same? Yesterday, today, and forever.