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THE KING’S BUSINESS
showed their wisdom by doing exactly as Jesus bade them do, and the result was a tremendous catch. It is always when we do just what the Lord tells us that we obtain abundant results. Their great catch on this occasion was a prophecy o f the great catch at Pentecost (Acts 2:41-44). Monday, September 18 . John 21 : 7 - 11 . John, the man o f quick spiritual percep tion, at once recognized His Lord in the great draught o f fishes. Peter, the man o f impetuous action, though not so swift to discern the Lord, was more prompt to act. He threw himself headlong into the sea and began to swim ashore. How life like every detail is and how true -to the character o f John and Peter. The actions ascribed to both Peter and John are exceed ingly natural and highly characteristic. The story certainly never was made up. It bears the marks o f the eye witness in every line. On reaching shore the disciples found that the risen Lord had alreàdy been preparing for their breakfast (cf. Luke 12:37 ; Heb. 4 :9 ). The haul o f fish was amazingly great, but nevertheless the nets did not break. W e need never fear that the imple ments which we have at our disposal,will not stand the strain o f any blessing that Jesus is disposed to give. This scene made a lasting impression on the mind o f Peter. He never forgot it (cf. Acts 10:41). Tuesday, September rp. John 21 : 12 - 14 . The Authorized Version gives our Lord’s invitation to His weary disciples as "Come, and dine.” The Revised Version gives it as “ Come and break your fast.” What Jesus really said was, “ Come, breakfast,” or, as we would say, “ Come to breakfast.” How often after a weary night o f toil, when thè heart is both weary and hungry, the Lord Jesus invites us to breakfast with Him. W e see in a very striking way in verse 12 that there had been some very radical change in the appearance o f our Lord, yet the disciples did not venture to ask, who art thou? As unlike as He was in appearance to Him that they had known
night o f unsuccessful fishing (Luke 5:5), and quite likely they were thinking of Jesus and how He came to their help on that occasion. And Jesus now comes again. But He did not come to their help until they had come to an end o f them selves and their own resources, having toiled long and wearily and fruitlessly. Sunday, September 17 . John 21 : 4 - 6 . Jesus came at day break (R . V .). When we have toiled long and wearily and seem ingly without result, let us remember that the day will soon break and we shall see 'Jesus yonder on the shore. In the first glimpse- o f the dawn they see Jesus stand ing on the beach. In Jesus standing on the beach waiting for His weary disciples out on the sea to bring their fish ashore, we may see a picture o f Jesus standing on the beach beyond the sea o f life, waiting for us to bring ashore the fish we have caught. Indeed Jesus is already standing on yonder shore waiting for us, his weary disciples out on the sea. Alas! that so few o f us are as heavily freighted as were these disciples. The disciples through the twi light, did not .as yet recognize Jesus, and furthermore there was a great change in Him (v. 12; cf. ch. 20:14; Mark 16:12; Luke 24:15, 16, 31). I f some one ip order to convince those who were skeptical about the resurrection o f the Lord Jesus had tried to make up a fictitious story of an appearance o f Jesus after a resurrec tion that really did not occur, they would nèver have' made it up in this way. They would have seen at once the objection that would have arisen in the mind o f the skeptic, viz., that it was not really Jesus whom they saw. The story is told in this way because this is the way in which it actually occurred. This is another o f the many internal marks o f the genuineness of the story. Before Jesus came to the help o f His disciples He drew out o f them a confession o f their own utter failure. It is the confessed need that He supplies, and it is when we fish as He tells us that we get the abundant catch. The disciples
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