Jesus stood on the shore

Jn.21:4-5, ‘But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. ⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?”’

The four gospels talks much about the various miracles our Lord did during His life on this earth. Most of the miracles varied from each other. But we see Him repeating a miracle on the same person in one place.  In Luke 5, Jesus performed a great miracle in the life of Peter when he came back empty handed after a night’s toil. In John 21, we see Jesus doing the same miracle on the same person, Peter in similar circumstance. Whenever Jesus did a miracle, He had a message to be communicated to both the people experiencing the miracle and to those who were witnessing the miracle. Receiving the miracle and leaving the message connected to it often makes  lives fail to go a long way in their spiritual lives.

In Luke 5, after beholding the miracle of the multitude of fishes, Peter’s first response is seen in Lk.5:8,  ‘When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”  Peter got the message in the right way. Jesus had not spoken a word about Himself or about His identity to Peter. But the message of the miracle got into his heart very sharply. He fell on his knees. His spiritual eyes were opened to see his own sinfulness and the holiness of the Lord. More than that he could perceive the inability of darkness & sin  to stand before the light & holiness of God. Hence, he said, ‘Depart from me’. But Jesus had not come to Peter to leave him. Rather He had come to gather him into His love and forgiveness. Peter and his friends left all they had and followed Jesus. Peter forsook the miracle and followed it’s message of ‘follow me’. He loved Jesus and was a bold disciple, not hesitating to ask or do anything with the Lord. But it’s amazing to see this Peter backslide so easily later in his life. Lets ponder upon three signs of backsliding which can be watched over in our lives. The sooner we detect any signs of backsliding, the easier it will be to be healed and restored.  

In John 21, we again see Jesus and Peter before a multitude of fish. Here, though the miracle was the same, the message was different. Peter knew well who the Lord is. He had seen, touched and had fellowship with resurrected Christ. Yet he one again needed the same miracle,  to open his eyes which seemed to have been closed.  

        Jn.21:2-3, ‘Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. ³ Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”’  Seven disciples were together after witnessing the glorious resurrection of Christ. Yet, when left alone, they were unable to relate their own lives & their future with resurrection of  Christ. They seemed to be blank, as to what their next step should be. This is when Peter decides to go fishing. Lets be reminded that if we fail to hear from God about every step of our  lives and His purposes for our lives, we might tend to take steps which might take us away from the Lord, without realizing it. We all have the knowledge that Jesus lived on this earth, died and resurrected from death. But unless this knowledge gets related to our lives closely, we are lost souls. Unless we experience His death by taking up our cross daily, and resurrection by saying no to sin daily, we cannot see the divine purpose of our lives.   It was mere God’s abundant mercy that He again interfered in Peter’s life again, or else he might have easily sailed into his past, which was once forsaken for the Lord.

Jn.21:5, ‘Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?” They answered Him, “No.” Jesus was a person of few words. He never uttered an unwanted word. His words were always apt and enough for the concerned situation. Here,  the 1^st question to the backslidden disciples were not ‘What are you doing out there in the sea? ‘ Or ‘Why you all have gone back ?’. He addressed their concern directly by asking ‘Children, have you any food? ‘ He knew their hearts well.  Asking was not enough, but answering it Himself was His mission. He lead them to a miracle of multitude of fish. And He Himself kept ready some other fishes for His hungry disciples back on the shore. It was the concern for their daily food or their basic needs which had driven them back into the sea. Jesus answered their concern by providing for their needs. Is the concern for our basic needs still bothering us more than our spiritual growth ? Are we anxious about our tomorrow ? If so, we might have backsliden in our spiritual lives. Instead if we seek His Kingdom first, all the rest have been assured by our Lord, who has always been faithful to His words.

Jn.21:6-7, ‘And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.⁷  Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.’ John recognized the Lord as soon as the miracle was manifested, but Peter could not do so unless it was told to him by John. This shows how far he had gone away from the Lord. Dear friends, when we backslide, its often hidden from our own eyes. That’s the deceptive power of sin. The inability to recognize the work of the Lord in our lives is a sign of our backsliding. Peter immediately plunged into the sea to come to Jesus. He had again got the message rightly. This time, it was not about the Lord’s holiness, nor about his sinfulness. But this time it was all about His love which had chased the back sliden Peter till the sea, till it got hooked to his heart hard enough to be drawn back to the bosom of much awaiting Christ.

The repetition of the same miracle reminded Peter of his first moments of being born again and about how he had left all things to follow Christ. This was a message to return to the first love for the Lord. Rev.2:4-5, ‘Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. ⁵ Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.’  Falling from the 1^st love for God is enough to be deprived from inheriting the eternal life. Jn.21:15, ‘So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of ^[b]Jonah, do you love Me more than these?”’ His question was not just about ‘love’ but it was about ‘love more than these’. The Lord restored Simon Peter to his first love for the Lord and thus established him on the solid rock .

Loosing the first love for God was enough to allow the once cast away things for Christ  creep again back into Peter’s life. Loosing the 1^st love for God had blinded him from discerning the work of the Lord in his life. Loosing the 1^st love for God had made him loose the purpose of his life and made him anxious about his basic needs. Moreover, his backsliding lead 6 other disciples to same. 1 Cor.10:12, ‘Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.’

Peter backslided at a time when we might never even imagine of doing so. He had witnessed many miracles, the life of Christ Himself & His glory, His crucifiction and resurrection with his own eyes. Not many days had passed by since all these things had happened. If the disciple who belonged to the inner circle of Christ could backslide so easily, how much more we need to take heed of ourselves. The moment we loose our first love for Jesus, we have taken the 1^st step towards backsliding. Hebr.10:38, ‘Now the just shall live by faith: but if anyone draws back to perdition, my soul has no pleasure in him.’

Jesus patiently stood on the shore, eagerly waiting for the backslidden disciples to return. He knew them well. He knew that they were hungry. He knew that they were empty handed. He knew that they had toiled hard all night. He knew that they were blank and hopeless. Yet he loved them so passionately. He did not abandon them. He stood there on the shore till they returned. Today, lets examine ourselves and watch for any signs of backsliding. Lets examine our love for the Lord. Lets not hesitate to return, if we have drawn back from Him. He stands on the shore waiting for our  return. He is waiting with all answers for all those issues that might have made us go away from Him. Lets not loose any more time, lest its too late to return.

Peter received the miracle & grabbed its message and the Lord faithfully strengthened him. He then never left the Lord. Since then, miracles followed Peter  because he started following the message. May we watch over our souls seriously and be found in His grace when He returns in glory.

God bless us all