He manifested Himself in this way.

John 21 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Jesus Appears at the Sea of Galilee

After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way. ² Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. ³ Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.

⁴ But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. ⁵ So Jesus said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.” ⁶ And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. ⁷ Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea. ⁸ But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net full of fish.

⁹ So when they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread. ¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have now caught.” ¹¹ Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.

Jesus Provides

¹² Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples ventured to question Him, “Who are You?” knowing that it was the Lord. ¹³ Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise. ¹⁴ This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead.

The Love Motivation

¹⁵ So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.” ¹⁶ He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” ¹⁷ He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.

Our Times Are in His Hand

¹⁸ Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” ¹⁹ Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!”

²⁰ Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” ²¹ So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?” ²² Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!” ²³ Therefore this saying went out among the brethren that that disciple would not die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but only, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?”

²⁴ This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true. ²⁵ And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.

Today’s text begins saying:   After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way.    The question which came to my mind as I read and reflected on this is, how will Jesus manifest Himself again to us? In what ways do we expect and believe He will manifest Himself?  

In today’s text it says:  When the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. So Jesus said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.” And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.  Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net full of fish.      What is it that we are lacking today?  The disciples had no fish even though they had toiled all night. What things are we lacking, even though we have toiled diligently? If our nets have continued to come up empty, will we despair or will we listen for and to the instruction of Jesus. Keep in mind that the disciples did not know it was Jesus who implored them to continue on. Yet they did what He told them to do. In John 10:27 Jesus says:  “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” In verse 5 He said:  “A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.”    We need to know the voice of Jesus, even if we don’t recognize Him as He is manifested. He may speak to us in a form that we do not recognize or even in a form we do not expect, but if we know His voice, if we know the things He says and does, we will follow Him and do what He says. He will lead us in the right way.

The text continues saying:  Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples ventured to question Him, “Who are You?” knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead.   Even in the abundance of all that He has provided for us, He still goes even farther. He prepares what we need. Jesus taught us to pray: “Give us this day our daily bread.”  This refers to several different things and ways He manifests Himself to us. There is a reference to the daily provision of manna, the bread from heaven provided to the Israelites in the wilderness. There is a reference to the broken bread of communion, His body broken for us, which we are to do in remembrance of Him. Jesus though not only provides us with our daily bread, He prepares it for us in the way we need it for each day. Whether in times of abundance or times of lack, He gives us what we need.

The text continues:  So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.”  Jesus says:  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:43-45)  The psalmist says: You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. (Psalm 23:5) Proverbs 25:21-22 says:  If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;  For you will heap burning coals on his head, And the Lord will reward you. The Lord prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies not only for us, but so that in order to manifest His love to them, we would share it with them. The burning coals we heap on their heads are not to cause them pain. Rather they are like the coals from Isaiah 6:6-7:   Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.”   They are coals of cleansing from the sacrifice of Jesus for their sins. It is the fulfillment of what Jesus says in Matthew 5:14-16:   “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”    Jesus manifests Himself to us, that we might be the manifestation of His light and His love to the world.

The text ends saying:  This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.    There is neither a limit or an end to all that Jesus has done and continues to do to manifest Himself to us and to the world. All the books that were ever written could not contain all that He has done. 2 Corinthian 3:2-3 says:  You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.   All the books in the world cannot contain all that Jesus has done so He writes His story through us that we might manifest Him to the world.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; thank that You not only revealed Your love and Your plan for our salvation and redemption, but that You continue to manifest, Your   Yourself, Your love, Your compassion, Your blessings and provision to us and through us. To You be all glory.  Amen.