John 21 Serving The Last Breakfast
Serve Sunday
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THE LAST BREAKFAST
The Lord’s supper was prepared by others, but the Lord’s breakfast is really just that; it
is the Lord’s breakfast that He prepared Himself. This is the only men’s breakfast we
read about in the Bible, and the Lord of the universe is both the host and the cook.
The Bible says God’s mercies are new every morning, and the result is that many of His
blessings have come to His people at breakfast. Hudson Taylor, the founder of the
ChinaInland Mission, tells of this event in his life as he prepared to go to China. When
he got to China, he knew he would have to depend upon God alone.
Jesus loves to do some great things at breakfast. As we focus our attention on the
beautiful breakfast on the beach in John’s Gospel, let us keep in mind that it was indeed
the last breakfast. We hear much of the last supper, but here was the last breakfast that
Jesus had with His disciples, as far as the record of the Bible reveals.
It was also a:
1. A breakfast of beginnings
learn. He taught them that He could supply their every need, so they are to follow Him
and fish
for men and trust in Him alone.
This breakfast was also the
2. A beginning of a great missionary movement.
The movement that began the history of fulfilling the Great Commission.
Many great movements begin with decisions made around a meal. Here is one of the
greatest ever to begin at breakfast.
Breakfast is the most unsociable of all meals.
How often do you have people over for breakfast? It is the least elaborate and most
monotonous of meals, yet many experts say it is the key meal of the day. There are
even poets who will rank it the number one meal for pure pleasure.
Dinner may be pleasant,
So my social tea;
But yet methinks that breakfast
It is the best of all the three.
Since the Jews generally ate only two meals a day, they likely felt quite strong about
their breakfast
This last breakfast was nothing elaborate, but it is the most mouth-watering meal
described in the life of Christ and His disciples. It is of interest to note how often food is
involved in the resurrection appearances of Jesus.
In Luke 24:30, we read how He took bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to the
two companions He had met on the road to Emmaus. They recognized Him in the
breaking of the bread.
Luke 24:41-43 we read, “He said to them, have you anything here to eat? They gave
Him a piece of broiled fish, and He took it and ate before them.” In both of these
references, we see Jesus at an evening meal, and this last one was more like a midnight
snack of leftover fish.
But when we come to this last breakfast, we get details like nowhere else in the
Gospels. Verse 9 shows us a charcoal fire on the beach with fish frying on it, and bread
is toasted.
If you have ever been camping o grilling out, you know the appetite that the open-air
develops. You can imagine what a sight and smell that was to those hungry
fishermen.
He prepared this delicious fish breakfast..”
Jesus, of course, did not have the choice of cereal or eggs and bacon. He used what
was common everyday food of that day.
The point that most expositors focus on here is the identification of the risen Christ with
our humanity.
Lord of the universe is both the host and the cook.
. Verse 12 reveals the confusion of their minds. None dare ask Him who are you?
In the garden to Mary was a beautiful and logical appearance. Had Jesus come in the
clouds, they would have shouted for joy.
But now they come ashore and discover the Lord busy around a campfire cooking them
breakfast and they were puzzled.
There was no parable coming from His mouth. No profound theological dissertation was
on His lips. His only words were, “Come and get it.”
He fixed breakfast for His disciples.
Jesus was going from the:
marvelous to the mini
tremendous to the trivial
magnificent to the mediocre
Jesus taught how to serve
His ministry was preceded by His working with the commonplace
tools of the carpenter.
During His ministry, He lived and labored among the common people.
All His life, Jesus was the Christ of the common people.
. It is possible to exalt Jesus so that we remove Him from involvement with our
everyday lives. This last breakfast helps prevent us from that mistake.
This last breakfast should play a greater role in our lives than Christians have allowed it
to be historically. We have the church of the resurrection, the church of the
ascension, and the transfiguration church. They all capitalize on the
supernatural events in the life of Jesus.
But where is the church of the bread and fish? Where is the church of the charcoal, or
the church of Christ, the cook? Nobody builds temples to the commonplace.
Peter on the Mt. of Transfiguration wanted to build three tabernacles, but no such
an impulse came over him on the beach.
It is a universal aspect of human nature, for we are motivated by the spectacular, but we
tend to miss the joy and meaning of the commonplace of serving. Because of this, we
miss much of the fellowship we ought to have with our Lord, for He is ever-present in
the everyday events of life, and not just the spectacular events.
John 21 is a commentary on the Great Commission of Serving
If you doubt whether Jesus cares about the ultimate values of life and your forgiveness
and cleansing from sin, remember the Lord’s Supper we will have t next Saturday.
But when you doubt that Jesus is concerned about the routine, commonplace everyday
needs of life, remember the last breakfast where He served his disciples.
