“Christ is building His kingdom with earth’s broken things. Men want only the strong, the successful, the victorious, the unbroken, in building their kingdoms; but God is the God of the unsuccessful, of those who have failed. Heaven is filling with earth’s broken lives, and there is no bruised reed that Christ cannot take and restore to glorious blessedness and beauty. He can take the life crushed by pain or sorrow and make it into a harp whose music shall be all praise. He can lift earth’s saddest failure up to heaven’s glory” writes author and Pastor James Russell Miller.
After many years of waiting finally my wife and I had a chance to visit the Promised Land with a few friends from America. Though I read several books about the Holy Land, watched some videos and preached sermons from the Bible, my knowledge of the Biblical land was very impersonal and superficial. Walking on the land where Jesus walked and sitting in places where Jesus taught, taking a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee gave us a much deeper sense of the gospels and the scriptures.
One of my personal highlights of this trip was a small church built on the shore of the Sea of Galilee called the Primacy of Peter. It is believed that this was the location where Jesus visited his disciples after resurrection and spread out a breakfast of fish and bread for the discouraged disciples who just returned after another failed attempt to catch any fish (John Chp 21). The context of this passage is what makes this incidence such a powerful and life changing story. Peter who claimed with confidence that “I am ready to go with you to prison and to death” (Lk 22:33) and said “Even all may fall away because of you, I will never fall away” (Matt 26:33), denied Jesus three times just a few days after those claims.
Luke 22:61 says “Jesus turned and looked straight at Peter…” Jesus was unfairly seized and was dragged from one place to the other, and while he was dragged to a trial, the Bible says Jesus took the time to find and look straight into Peter’s eyes. Jesus knew how failure and guilt can cripple and destroy a believer’s life; that is why immediately after Peter’s denial, Jesus started the process of restoration with his compassionate look. Peter cried bitterly, he was so disillusioned and despaired that even though the disciples were informed of the resurrection of Jesus, he returned to his old profession of fishing because he lost all his confidence/hope in Jesus and his mission. In his own eyes he was a miserable failure, he was guilty, ashamed that he denied Jesus in front of a small girl and did not see any future with Jesus or his followers.
Simon Peter was such an influential leader that six other disciples followed him to go back to fishing. They spent the entire night trying to catch some fish and to their shock they caught nothing (Jn 21:3). If you can put yourself into Peter’s shoe, you can imagine how sad, disappointed and depressed he was with life at this point. This was probably the rock bottom of the rock’s (Peter) life. Literally in every area of his life he was a failure at this point, failed as an apostle, failed as a friend, failed as a follower, failed as a leader, failed as a fisherman….he was fully convinced that he was a big LOOSER.
Jesus walks to them as they pulled their empty boats to the shore and asks them in Vs 5: Friends, have you any fish? I love the fact that Jesus chose to come to them and did not wait for them to come to him. Jesus took the initiative in the restoration and suggested them to throw the nets on the right side and by the time they returned with lots of fish, Vs 9 says “When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread”. The last time Peter stood by burning coals was when he denied Jesus (Jn 18:18, 25), now Jesus is inviting him to burning coals to feed him, refresh his body, restore his soul and ignite his love for God. Burning coals is where Peter lost his confidence in himself, burning coals is where Jesus is restoring his confidence in God’s ability to turn our ashes into beauty.
Many scholars have observed and have given helpful explanations as to why Jesus asked Peter three times: Do you love me? Jesus asking Peter: Do you love (Agape) me more than these, while Peter was replying that he (Phileo) loved him. It is also observed by some that Jesus did not call him as Peter (his favorite name), but called him Simon, son of John because he was rebuking him. John McArthur Jr says “It was as if our Lord called him by his former name when he was acting like his former self.” I would like to think Jesus is trying to give Peter a chance to remember (flashback) and reflect on how their friendship began in Luke 5, it was a similar day when they caught nothing, Jesus told Simon I will make you fisher of man. Looks like Jesus is affirming that his plans for Simon Peter has not changed because of his failures.
Jesus had all the reasons to reject Peter and let him go his own way, but our God is a God of restoration. Isaiah 42:3 says “A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench”. Peter did not have enough patience for Jesus, so he immediately moved on to fishing, but Jesus had plenty of patience to come and wait on the shores of Sea of Galilee with some burning coal, fish and bread…no hint of condemnation or judgment. Just loved on them, fed them and then asked Peter, Simon (remember this is how I called you when I met you first time) do you love me. He was not asking because Jesus wanted to know the answer, He already knows the answer. Jesus wanted Peter to understand that though your love and life is imperfect, when you surrender it to God, he can use it mightily for God’s purposes. Jesus went out of his way to restore Peter and reinstate him to be the Shepherd who cares and feeds his sheep.
Peter quit on himself, but Jesus did not quit on Peter. Jesus followed him to the lowest point of Peter’s life and gave him the highest responsibility any shepherd could give: Tend/feed my sheep. Peter did not have a good reason to live for, Jesus gave him a mission that’s worth living and dying for. The Bible is filled with people who thought that they were finished, but when they gave God a chance he showed them what he can do with their surrendered lives. The next time you feel lost, lonely and hopeless, look around and you will find Jesus sitting next to burning coals with fish and bread, inviting you for breakfast, just waiting to refresh your soul and reset your life. Go sit with him and you will never be the same again.
Rev. Dr.Francis Burgula
