9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught."
11 Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Remembering His disciples were but mere men – wearied and exhausted from their night of fishing - our Lord here mercifully and compassionately provides a table for them by the seashore. Ever thoughtful, Jesus showed His toiling disciples that He cared for their bodies as well as their souls – how comforting. Wet and cold, weary and hungry, the Lord supplied a fire to warm and dry them and food to feed and fill them. Jesus is the supplier of all our needs – in Him is the sufficiency for life – both present and eternal. The Psalmist proclaims:
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. 12 O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you. Psalms 84:11-12 (NIV)
Nothing smells better when one arises in the morning than the smell of breakfast wafting through the air – coffee brewing, bacon frying, biscuits rising – definitely a dream at my house! Surely our Lord’s guys were wide eyed and appreciative over this labor of love. King David’s words of Psalm 103 come to mind:
1 Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-- 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's...13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. Psalms 103: 1-5, 13-14 (NIV)
“Love, like warmth, should beam forth on every side, and bend to every necessity of our brethren.” Martin Luther
Christ commands His guys to bring to the shore the fish they have just caught. He would have them eat of the labor of their hands as well. Whatever we have gained through God’s blessing upon our industry and honest labor has a particular sweetness to it therefore Christ here desires for them to taste the spoils of their miraculous catch. I believe the Lord also wanted to show His disciples the secret to a successful life would be for them to work according to His command and to act with implicit obedience to His word. Success in God’s sight does not equate to the world’s definition rather it is far superior. Remember what Isaiah writes and Paul in quotes in 1 Corinthians:
9 However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" -- 1 Cor 2:9 (NIV)
It was if Jesus told them to look into the net to see for themselves how profitable it was for them to do what He said. Impetuous Peter was first to jump on board and drag the bulging net ashore sans the slightest rip.
“God’s blessings at times came to us through our labors and at times without our labors, but never because of our labors.” Martin Luther
17 You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today. Deut 8:17-18 (NIV)
Lastly, our Lord beckons His guys to join Him in dining. Treating them as friends, He bids them welcome to His table. None inquire of Who He was, they now fully knew. There seems to be no doubt rather only awe:
“To sit, and eat, and drink, in the company with one who had risen from the dead, and appeared and disappeared after a supernatural manner, was no light thing. Who can wonder that they felt awed?” John Charles Ryle
Our Lord serves as the Master of the feast offering bread and fish. He shows Himself alive and having a true body by eating and drinking with His guys. This was a proof the Apostles produced of his resurrection that He ate and drank with them:
39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen--by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.” Acts 10:39-41 (NIV)
“God is continually drawing us to Himself in everything we experience.” Gerard Hughes