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. Breaking The Fast.
“So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon
Peter, ‘ Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more
than these?’ He saith unto him, ‘Yea, Lord, thou
knowest I love thee.’ He saith unto him, ‘Feed my
lambs. ’ He saith unto him the second time, ‘ Simon,
son of Jonas, lovest thou me?’ He saith unto him,
‘Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee.’ He
saith unto him, ‘Feed my sheep.’ He saith unto
him the third time, ‘Simon, son of Jonas, lovest
thou me?’ Peter was grieved because he said unto
him the third time, ‘Lovest thou me?’ And he
said unto him, ‘Lord, thou knowest all things; thou
knowest that I love thee.’ Jesus saith unto him,
‘Feed my sheep.’ John 21: 15-18.
Here we are to consider an incident that is well
nigh at the closing period of our Lord’s earthly
career. Following the incident of the Lord’s Sup
per we see Jesus passing out to the Mount of Olives.
From the Mount of Olives he gets into the garden
of Gethsemane, where that atvful struggle, the real
battle of the cross is fought, when the weight of
the souls of the unnumbered millions of the inhabi
tants of earth, from the day of Adam until the end
of the world rested upon his heart.
Then from Gethsemane as Jesus passes out he
comes in contact with his enemies who have come
there according to the plot of Judas. They arrest
him and he is carried from court to court until the
final verdict is passed.
Then we have him upon Calvary, crucified and
buried. Following his death upon Calvary is the
sepulchre, and then comes the resurrection. Our
section of Scripture for study practically begins
at the resurrection.
Jesus appeared a number of times after his res
urrection. At first he appeared to Mary Magdalene
at the sepulchre. The next of his appearings was
to the disciples in the room where they had gone
for fear of the Jews. Then eight days later when
they were in the room again Jesus appeared to
Thomas. And the next was his appearance at the
Sea of Tiberias, which we are to study.
To Convince His Disciples.
Tn every one of these appearances there seems
to be one thing in view, that is, to convince the dis
ciples that he has arisen from the dead, and that
he is the same Jesus, the same friend, and the same
loving companion that he was before he was be
fore he was crucified. He did not have much trou
ble in convincing Mary Magdalene, for she was a
woman. It was very much easier for Her to believe
than these men, though they were disciples. All
he had to do was to talk to Mary and let her hear
his voice. He assured her that he had risen from
the dead by simply asserting it. In dealing with the
disciples he had to argue, to demonstrate, to put
up the conclusive proof that he was the Christ of
the crucifixion.
For example: As he appeared to them on the way
to Emmaus it is said that he began at Moses and
expounded unto them the prophets. He showed
how the prophets prophesied his death and final
departure. Then when he appeared to the disciples
in the room you remember he showed thm his hands
with the nail prints in them and his side with the
opening made by the spear. Then when he again
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appeared to the disciples in the room, he had Thomas
to thrust his hand into the open wound that was in
his side.
It seems to me that the appearance’of Jesus in
that room the second time was distinctly an appear
ance to Thomas. You remember Thomas was not
with them when < / sus appeared the first time. So
Jesus appears this second time, in my opinion, for
the purpose of convincing poor doubting Thomas.
Now, in our present study, we find him resorting
to another method of proving to his disciples that
he is the same Jesus. Here he wants to assure them
not only that he has arisen from the dead, but that
he has the same nature, the same disposition and
the same friendly regard for them that he had be
fore his death. So we find him following lines that
will bring out this truth.
Back to Fishing.
First, let us notice the naturalness of the pic
ture : Here is the Sea of Tiberias. It is around
this sea that most of the miracles of Jesus were
wrought. This is the sea that the disciples had gone
over hundreds and hundreds of times. They were
familiar with every nook and corner about it, and
almost every pebble on the beach. It was here that
Simon Peter was once a fisherman, and also other
of the disciples. They had gone to the shore of the
sea doubtless for the purposse of engaging in the
enterprise of fishing. They were hungry after their
long fast.
Simon Peter said, “I go a fishing.” Simon Peter
had once been a fisherman before his call to disci
pleship. His call, when he entered discipleship,
carried with it not only the privilege of service, but
having Christ to take care of him. He had not
engaged in his vocation of fisherman since his call
to discipleship. Now things are quite different.
“Christ is not dead, he is not the same Christ.”
Then he is getting ready to leave. “Boys, we just
as well go back to fishing.” That must have been
the thought in Peter’s mind. Peter was usually the
leader of the twelve, so the other disciples said,
“We go a fishing also.”
So they got in a boat and fished all night long,
but caught nothing. While they were there toiling
and catching nothing, the day broke. Then they
looked across the sea and saw one standing upon
the shore. It was Jesus, but they did not know it.
Just how long Jesus had been there nobody
knows. I think he had been standing there all
night. I think he went there shortly after the dis
ciples to watch them in their toils that night. Doubt
less it was the first work they had attempted to
do since he died. They had been upset, their whole
scheme and plans having been broken up. Just like
a home where there has been a death, perhaps, the
head of the home. It is a long time before things
get settled down to business again.
They felt that Christ was gone and will never be
with them any more. Jesus knew this was their
first experience, nad he knew how much they would
need him. He knew how hard it would be for them
to get along without him, so he follows along close
after them. When they went out to sea, he took his
stand there in the dark. They did not see him, but
he was there.
Darkness and Daybreak.
I do not know of a more comforting thought than
that of the the presence of Jesus in the darkness
of the night; the presence of Jesus in the midst
of our struggles. If we are his disciples, how impos
sible it is for Jesus to stay away from us. He knows
our temperaments and dispositions is where we are.
Recently I have had some dealings with one of
the best women I know. She has had a great dis
appointment in hir life.
She said to me, “It does seem to me like no
body in this w’orld cares how much my poo? heart
The Crolden Age for April 26, 1906.
Len G. Broughton
aches. When I was in the world, the world sym
pathized with me when I got in trouble, but now that
I am in the service of Jesus Christ, it seems like
nobody cares. It is not like it used to be.”
I replied, “Jesus Christ is with you. You may
not discover him; he may be i nthe dark; but he
is there.”
The greatest blessing that can settle down upon
every one of us as Christians is, to know that we
cannot have trials without the presence of Jesus.
We may go for a long time and never see him or
never hear his voice, but he is still just waiting for
the morning, to be seen. He could not do otherwise,
for he has promised to be with us. Do you feel
disappointed that you have toiled all night long and
caught nothing, and ofttimes worse than nothing?
Has some friend gone square back on you? Has
some loved one turned his back square on you? Are
you in the darkness of the night? If you are a
child of God, he is there to reveal liimself at the
right time.
Look how Jesus revealed himself to his disciples.
It was just about the break of day, when the disci
ples looked out and saw him, but they did not know
him. He said “Children,’’ (just like a father),
“have ye any meat?”
They said “No.”
Then he said, “Cast the net on the right side of
the ship, and ye shall find.”
They did so, and got more than they could land.
By this time John discovered that it was Jesus,
and told Simon Peter, and he jumped out of the
boat and swam to him.
Some people have criticised Pefer for quitting
his work to go and be with Jesus. I have no criti
cism of him, for I would do it to-day. If I could
hear the sweet voice of Jesus, I would leave every
thing to be ‘with him.
Simon Peter, under the impulse of the moment,
with his heart breaking with love, went to meet
Jesus. Then John and the other disciples came
with the boat. When they all got ashore they found
a fire that Jesus had kindled. I think he kindled
it in the night and warmed himself by it. They
found on the fire some bread and fish cooking. He
told them to take what they had and put it with
his and they would cook and eat together.
Pooling With Christ.
Now my friends, you talk about pooling things.
Men come together and pool their interests; and
churches get together and pool their interests. I
want to tell you that the greatest pooling that I
know anything about is that pooling by the Sea of
Tiberias, when Jesus pooled his interest with the
disciples, and said, “Here is what I have; you
bring what you have, and we will mix it and cook it
and eat it.”
Is there somebody who says, “I do not take any
stock in Jesus being in temporal things?” One
of the best friends I ever had said to me, “The
only objection that I have to your preaching is, you
mix up Jesus too much in the affairs of everyday
life.”
I do not think we can get Jesus too much mixed
up in everyday life. Did Jesus care if those disci
ples hungered ? He went there to supply their need.
The principle question he asked was concerning a
very practical side of life. The very fact that he
provided the fire and was cooking, and helped them
cook what they had, shows how Jesus would come
into our everyday life.
May I ask you a very practical question: Do you
think that Jesus has no interest in that part of
your life? Is it not a part of the very life of
Jesus? He is just as real in the kitchen as in the
life of the missionary who goes about town. He is
also just as real in the nursery as you care for the
children.