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4 HHKmhhO ■■ m; - - JL," ' K*]fli ■|M| I . 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 f ffiJE- motmactS. BWSwifr 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.