Master Chef is a reality TV show that has become popular. Cooks are all given a box with the same ingredients and must use only those ingredients to create a dish within a fixed amount of time. The judges will select 3 dishes to taste based on visual appearance and technique. The 3 judges taste the dish, and vote "yes" or "no"; 2 "yes" votes are required for the chef to move on and receive a MasterChef apron, while those who fail to do so leave the competition.
When the Lord becomes the chef, we all win. Gospel writer John describes the last days of after resurrection in Chapter 21. The resurrected Lord Jesus is described as hosting a breakfast on the beach. The post-resurrection appearances of Jesus must have been bewildering and puzzling. It says in verse 14 that this was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he rose from the dead. He showed up at random times and random places. Now you saw him – now you didn’t! On the way to Emmaus they saw him, but they didn’t – until he revealed himself in the ‘breaking of the bread.’ The disciples behind locked doors on two different occasions were busily occupied with their own conversation when suddenly he was there among them – then he was no longer with them. The door had never opened or closed! He keeps coming unexpectedly and leaving unexpectedly – in unexpected places! How were they ever to know where He was – where He was going to be – when they would see him and where they might meet him?
We can see God as a chef hosting tables for people in unusual places and circumstances through the scripture . He hosted the people of Israel with manna in the desert. He prepared a table for them in the promised land. He prepared a raven to bring food to the prophet. Jesus prepared table for the 5000 with five loaves of bread and two fish, and then another 4000 with seven loaves of bread and fish. Jesus hosted a table in the upper room on the night before his death. After resurrection from the dead, he is seen hosting a table for his disciples on the beach.
Peter and the other disciples were tired, afraid and disappointed. The women who saw Jesus told them to go to galilee because Jesus told them to go there and "there they will see Him." They are gathered in Galilee by this point expecting Jesus to show up. They waited for a couple of days when Peter suggests a fishing trip. Peter and a number of the other disciples were fishermen by trade. So this fishing trip is not the same as a vacation trip where you hang a “gone fishin’” sign on the door. This is more like getting back to work. Fshing had been their life’s work which would also be well within their comfort zone. But this trip turns out to be an unsuccessful fishing trip; at least not until Jesus shows up. John 21 says they went out and got into the boat, but caught nothing all night long. That’s an awful lot of work, if you could imagine, with nothing to show for it. Here the disciples were in such a stage in their lives that nothing seemed to work. Their Lord and Master that they had followed leaving their old businesses is now dead and buried. They lost their hope of the Kingdom of God in this world, and now they are trying to piece together their lives again by going back to try their old business. They had fished all night, but caught nothing.
So the rest of what’s been happening in the disciples’ lives would have been pretty disorienting. But at least they thought fishing is something they knew well. They must have remembered the beginning of their mission with Jesus. Matthew’s gospel tells us that while Peter and his brother Andrew were casting their nets into the sea that Jesus called them to follow him in the first place: “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people." And immediately they left their nets and followed Him. (Matthew 4:19-20) James and John were little further along the beach, mending their fishing nets. Jesus called them, and they followed him too. These disciples had been fishing when they met Jesus.
It is not about if you will have challenges in life; rather the issue is how you will deal with the challenges. I have a friend who says, "The trouble with life is that it's so daily." One of the hardest things about life is the discouragement that comes out of people and events. I've always thought that the life would be less stressful if it weren't for people. But there is no life without people! The waves of discouragement and disappointment begin to bury your heart and your spirit. You work hard to keep going, but something's dying deep inside.There are times when we say, "I just didn't think it would turn out like this." If the discouragements don't get you, then failure will begin to haunt your spirit. You'll think, "I'm not really worthy. I'm such a failure. Nothing seems to work. I'm such a loser." If none of these will kill your spirits, then distractions of wealth and comfort will do it. If you can identify with these, then you're not alone.
But then comes Jesus on the shore. “Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.” He asks if they’ve got anything to eat, and they say no. He tells them to cast their net on the right side of the boat and they’ll find some fish. They do as this apparent stranger says, and lo and behold, the net is suddenly full to bursting; so full of fish that they can’t even haul it in! One of them – it seems to be John – figures out it must be Jesus. Then Peter jumps right into the water and swims to shore to meet him. And what was Jesus doing, when they made it to shore? He had a little campfire going, and he was cooking a nice hot breakfast of bread and fish for them. What more can you ask for after a tired and losing night of hard work?
It wasn’t that long since they’d all been through the ordeal of watching their beloved teacher arrested and killed. It wasn’t that long since they had all fled in terror, and hidden themselves away for fear of the authorities. And even when He appeared to them after resurrection, those were scary moments. Jesus was suddenly turning up in locked rooms, in a body that was somehow alive but still held the scars of his crucifixion! But here – what a comforting, normal moment, in a way inviting them to share a meal together, just like old times! That too, right next to their fishing boat right on the beach. Admittedly after having helped them bring in a miraculous catch of fish, they have fish ready to eat! Their beloved friend and teacher, the Son of God is seen here building a gentle scene of friendship and reconnection. Just as he did at their Last Supper together, Jesus plays the roles of both servant and host at their breakfast on the beach.
Immediately before today’s text, back in John 20:31, we’re told “these things were written so that you [readers] may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” In other words, the story gets to be our story too. We may have missed out on that early morning cookout with Jesus; we may not have been out in that fishing boat or hauled in that net with the other disciples. But we are offered the same promises nonetheless. Jesus welcomes all of us for a meal, to feed us to give fresh starts and follow new opportunities. We may even be surprised some day to find great abundance, nets full to bursting, where it seemed nothing at all would ever materialize for us. We are going through perilous and unprecedented times with this COVID-19 disease. Nothing seems to work for a cure or vaccine, while tens of thousands are dying. Millions around the world are locked down in their homes. Jesus is in the midst of this and He will have a table set ready for us to eat for those who believe.
There will be always conflict, but also there will always be a spread table there before us. In Psalm 78, we read that people spoke against God saying, “Can God really prepare a table in the wilderness? True, he struck the rock, and water gushed out, streams flowed abundantly, but can he also give us bread? Can he supply meat for his people?” It is described in the Book of Numbers as manna arriving with the dew during the night. When the layer of dew evaporated, there were fine flakes on the desert. Not only God showered manna, but He covered it with dew. I would say that is the refrigerator of God in the desert (Exodus 16:1-36. and in Numbers 11:1-9). They ate meat so full that it came over through their nostrils!!
When God prepares the table, you don't have to do anything, but just show up. The first blessing you will find on your plate is immediate and unconditional forgiveness. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). There is nothing you can do to earn it. It is not a covered dish feast, where each guest brings an item. Quite often people wear themselves out trying to bring something to the table. In the parable of the prodigal son, the runaway young man was overcome by sin and spent all his resources on his lusts. He ended up in virtual bondage, having to eat pig’s food. He thought, “I’ve sinned so badly I can never be accepted by my father as before. Surely I have to pay for this somehow." So he asks his dad to hire him as a servant. He thought he could pay some of it back. But his father wants him back ash his son and not as a servant. Scripture tells us, “The father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry” (Luke 15:22-23). God's grace is deeper than the deepest sin you may have committed. He will forget the past and forgive the sins. He will give you the bright robe of righteousness through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
When we are invited to the table, we focus on the table and not the enemy. It is a bountiful table with all heavenly delights. God's table is full with riches of heavenly blessings. If we are focused at the enemy, it may be difficult to see the table that God has set before us. The famous preacher Spurgeon wrote, "The enemy is at the door and yet God prepares a table, and the Christian sits down and eats as if everything were in perfect peace." Paul says, "Do not worry about anything, my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Phil 4:19). The enemies can be failure, fear, doubt, guilt, or lack of patience or anger or frustration. He wants you to enjoy the meal without worrying about the enemy. Mary sat down at the feet of Jesus to the learning table that Jesus set before her. Martha tried to create her own table for Jesus. (Luke 10:38-42). "But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:42).
Jesus prepared a table at the passover just before He went to Jerusalem to be tried and crucified (Luke 22). There were the priests and the scribes waiting to crucify him. The Roman government and the Jewish leaders would sentence him to death. On that night Jesus met at the upper room. There was already a table prepared and ready for them. Jesus said, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." He then took the cup and said, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood" Luke 22:20. It is where the 13 men sat, one of them betrayed his Lord, and another one rejected him and all of them left him when faced with trial of death. It is a table of remembrance to all. Today millions of Christians around the world celebrate this table. In small groups to thousands of people gathering, from various nations and race and languages, various cultures and colors, various levels of social and economic status, all sit together as one body in Christ, sharing His body and His blood. That table is the table of triumphant victory and unity that will shake the foundations of hell. The communion table signifies the feast in heaven when one day where all those who are redeemed by the blood of lamb of God will eat together with Him.
Then we will all say like David, "The Lord is my shepherd, and I shall not want (He is all I want!). He prepares a table before me." (Psalm 23). Spurgeon wrote, "While I am here I will be a child at home with my God; the whole world shall be his house to me; and when I ascend into heaven, I shall not change my company, God is still there with me forever."
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