The Last Breakfast - John 21

Seemingly everyone knows about the Last Supper. It was the meal Jesus shared with his disciples the night He was betrayed. It has been immortalized in a painting by Leonardo Da Vinci, and we frequently recall the events of that evening as we celebrate communion. Today we are going to talk about a less well-known meal. I’m calling it the Last Breakfast. We don’t know if it was really the last time Jesus had breakfast with his disciples before leaving the earth, but it is the last time it is recorded in scripture.

Of course, the meal itself is not the most important part of this story. There are several layers to the story we need to unpack, and we will closely examine the conversation Jesus had with the disciples sitting around a fire by the sea of Galilee, because there is much for us to learn.

Back Home

John introduces this account by telling us that Jesus appeared to the disciples near the Sea of Galilee. Galilee was where it all started for the disciples, and where most of them made their homes. Jesus had previously sent word to the disciples that they should return to Galilee and He would meet them there (Matthew 28:10), though he didn’t tell them when. John tells us about this encounter.

Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. 2 Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples. 3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.” “We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.

4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. 5 He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?” “No,” they replied.

6 Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.

7 Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. 8 The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore. 9 When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.

10 “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.

12 “Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. 14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead. (John 21:1-14, NLT)

We don’t know how long the disciples had been in Galilee, but apparently Peter started to get antsy. He decided to do what he knew—he was going fishing. The other disciples (7 in all) said they would go with him.

The guys fished all night long but didn’t catch anything. In the morning, they started coming to shore, surely tired and a bit deflated. On the shore, they could see someone standing there, but they couldn’t tell who it was. He asked if they’d caught any fish, to which they replied honestly, no. The man told them to cast their net on the right side of the boat. The disciples did as the man said, and they ended up with nets full of fish.

Up until this point the disciples had not known it was Jesus. They were about 100 yards away and in the morning mists it would have been hard to make out who the person on the shore was. But when they caught the fish, they realized it was him! The event mirrored one of their first encounters with Jesus, when Peter had been out fishing all night and had caught nothing, but then cast his nets once more at Jesus’ prompting and filled his boat. The disciples were drawn back to that moment, and John immediately declared that it was the Lord! Once Peter realized Jesus was on the shore, he put his clothes back on and jumped out of the boat, swimming for shore! He was excited to see Jesus again.

Though the disciples probably didn’t realize it at this point, I think Jesus was trying to teach them an important lesson. He was reminding them that in their own strength they were powerless, but if they relied on Him, they could do great things. The disciples were experienced fishermen (though maybe a bit out of practice), but they didn’t succeed until they had Jesus leading and guiding them.

The same thing was going to be true as they continued the ministry Jesus had begun. They needed to remember that no matter how confident they might feel in their own abilities, success was only going to be found by resting in the strength that God alone can provide. It’s a lesson we should remember as we live our lives as well.

When the rest of the guys got to shore, Jesus sent Peter to help them unload, and they saw Jesus had a fire going and was cooking breakfast. John says they didn’t dare ask who it was, because they knew it was Jesus. Why would they have needed to ask who he was in the first place? There are a couple possible explanations for why they might have needed to ask who he was.

First, they were still too far away. The text doesn’t say they didn’t recognize him when they got up close. John could have simply been saying that when they were too far away, they still didn’t bother to ask who it was, because they already knew, even if they couldn’t see him.

Second, Jesus’ body somehow looked different. This is possible, though it would seem strange that the other times Jesus appeared to the disciples they recognized him, and he still had wounds in his hands and side at those times.

The third is that Jesus kept them from being able to recognize him. We are told this is what happened with the disciples walking with Jesus on the road to Emmaus. It wasn’t until later that Jesus allowed them to recognize Him. Something along those lines could have occurred here as well.

While it’s an interesting question, it doesn’t really matter. John tells us they all knew it was him, and they were excited to sit down to breakfast with him around the fire.

Peter’s Restoration

As they sit around the fire, Jesus has an important conversation with Peter.

15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.

16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.

17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.

18 “I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.” (John 21:15-19, NLT)

Everything about this conversation is intended to take Peter back to the night Jesus was arrested. I imagine as he stood around the fire warming himself from having jumped into the water, standing there with Jesus, he was reminded of the last time he was warming himself around a fire; when he denied Jesus. I suspect Peter’s feelings of failure weighed heavily on his mind as he stood before Jesus. And Jesus’ questions surely hit Peter like a ton of bricks.

Jesus speaks to Peter and asks, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” Notice how Jesus addresses Peter; He refers to him as Simon son of John. Early in Jesus’ ministry, He had told Simon that his name would now be Peter, which meant rock. He had praised Peter for his declaration that Jesus was the Christ. Now, Jesus doesn’t refer to Simon as the rock, but by his given name. I’m sure Jesus’ choice of names wasn’t lost on Peter as he heard the Lord’s words.

The question Jesus asked was pointed as well, “Do you love me more than these?” There is debate on what Jesus meant by “these”, but most scholars think Jesus was asking if Peter loved him more than the other disciples did. This was a pointed question because Peter had basically said as much on the night Jesus was betrayed.

33 Peter declared, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you.” (Matthew 26:33, NLT)

Peter had made a bold declaration that he was more committed to Jesus than any of the others…and then just hours later, he denied even knowing Jesus. I’m sure Peter felt the sting of failure in these words.

We should also make note of something that isn’t clear in our English translation. In English, we only have one word for love, but in Greek, there are several words for love. Jesus asks Peter if he loved him with the kind of love that God has (agapao). Peter responds that he loves Jesus, but he uses a different word (phileo), which refers to the kind of love that people have for one another—a brotherly or friendship love.

I don’t think Peter was saying he didn’t love Jesus very much—I think he was being honest in his assessment of himself. He knew from personal experience that He didn’t love Jesus as fully as he should. He absolutely loved the Lord…but he also knew he didn’t love him the way God loves.

Jesus responds by telling Peter to feed his lambs. He was emphasizing that love results in action. He then asked the question a second time, but instead of asking if Peter loved him more than the others did, he simply asked if he loved Him. Peter again responds the same way, “You know I love you.” Jesus then tells him to take care of his sheep.

Jesus asks the question a third time but changes the word he uses. He again asked Peter if he loved him, but he used the word for a friendship or brotherly kind of love. John tells us Peter was hurt by this third question, but Peter responded by appealing to Jesus’ knowledge. “Lord you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus then told Peter to feed his sheep.

Why did Jesus ask Peter essentially the same question three different times? It parallels the three times that Peter had denied Jesus. Just as he had denied Jesus three times, he had now declared his love for Jesus three times. Jesus was using this moment to restore Peter.

We would not have been surprised if Jesus told Peter that because of his failure, he was no longer fit to be one of the leaders of the group. I suspect Peter would have understood that and accepted it. But that’s not what Jesus did. Jesus didn’t condemn Peter but called him to action. Jesus saw in Peter a heart that had been humbled—so He told him to lead others to Him in the same way Peter had come to Him. Jesus was gracious in restoring Peter.

This is a reminder that God can use you even when you have failed. There are times when we mess up so badly that we fear God will surely abandon us, or that we can no longer be used by Him. But Peter’s example shows us that is not the case at all. If we admit our sin and humble ourselves before the Lord, He can use that experience to mold us into the kind of people He wants us to be. You have never failed so badly that God can’t pick up the pieces and use you if you will run to Him.

Jesus then gives Peter a glimpse of what this life of service to Him is going to look like. He is ultimately going to stretch out his hands and be led where he doesn’t want to go. John tells us this was a foreshadowing of the type of death Peter would die in order to glorify God. Church tradition tells us that Peter ended up being crucified in Rome several years later. John understood correctly that Peter’s death would glorify God.

A Final Question

John records Peter asking one more question after all of this.

20 Peter turned around and saw behind them the disciple Jesus loved—the one who had leaned over to Jesus during supper and asked, “Lord, who will betray you?” 21 Peter asked Jesus, “What about him, Lord?”

22 Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me.” 23 So the rumor spread among the community of believers that this disciple wouldn’t die. But that isn’t what Jesus said at all. He only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?” (John 21:20-23, NLT)

After Jesus told Peter about the way he would die, he asked, “What about John?” They may have had a bit of a rivalry…or maybe he was just concerned about his friend. Jesus’ answer is profound, but hard: “If I want John to live until I return, what does that matter to you?” Jesus was telling Peter that he needed to focus on the job God had given him, rather than getting distracted by what God might be doing through John. We can sometimes fall into that trap as well. We pay more attention to what other churches are doing and what God is doing in them. Sometimes we feel like we’re in competition. But Jesus’ lesson for Peter applies to us as well. We must not get distracted by what others are (or aren’t) doing. We should be faithful to what God has called us to do.

As John was writing, he was quite old. Most of the other disciples had died. He knew some people had gotten the idea from this story that he was not going to die. John sets the record straight and said Jesus never said that. All Jesus was really saying was that Peter needed to focus on the job God had given him.

Conclusion

As John concludes his gospel, he writes these words,

24 This disciple is the one who testifies to these events and has recorded them here. And we know that his account of these things is accurate. 25 Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written. (John 21:24-25, NLT)

John reminds us that what we are reading is not just a story, but rather his own eyewitness account. What we have been studying is trustworthy and reliable. John’s concluding statement that there is so much more that couldn’t be written down is always frustrating to me, because I’d love more detail, but what John did write down though is more than enough for us to know Jesus and follow Him, which was John’s goal in writing.

So as we wrap up our study of John’s gospel, let’s draw a few overarching lessons.

First, the evidence for Jesus is overwhelming.John’s gospel records many miracles of Jesus. John recorded these miracles to demonstrate that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. John’s gospel accurately records the conversations and events of Jesus’ ministry, even when the details are inconvenient or unflattering. John gives evidence that the events we read about really happened, and this account can be trusted.

Second, Jesus loves us and offers forgiveness to all who will trust in Him. If there is a theme of John’s gospel, it is Jesus’ love of sinful people. John’s choice to refer to himself throughout the gospel as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” is intentional. He wanted to emphasize Jesus’ love for sinners like you and me. His gospel shows us that Jesus doesn’t turn away those who earnestly seek Him, even when those people have a checkered past. That’s good news for all of us.

Third, Jesus doesn’t turn His back on us when we fail. That is the message of our passage this morning. Jesus could have written Peter off as a failure. He could have said that he gave Peter a chance and he blew it. But He didn’t do that. Once Peter had owned up to and dealt with his failure, Jesus restored him. He will do the same for you and me. The world may write you off as a failure, marginalize you as no longer useful, or not give you a second chance, but Jesus is different. He doesn’t ignore our sin and doesn’t want us to either. But when we take responsibility for our failures, confess our sin, and do the hard work of dealing with it, Jesus is right there with us, accepting and restoring us, and He will continue to use us. Jesus doesn’t turn His back on those who seek Him.

Finally, Jesus gives us each a job to do.Jesus’ command to Peter to “follow me” applies to us as well. And I believe the command to care for Jesus’ sheep is also something we are each called to do. Exactly how we do that will look different for each believer, but we are all called to follow Jesus with our lives and serve those around us in His name. It’s the job He has left us to do until He returns, so we should get to work.

John’s gospel is written to give us a picture of Jesus. And the picture we see of Jesus is wonderful—it should drive us into His arms. It should drive us to trust Him. It should drive us to love others like He loves us. And it should drive us to share Him with a world that needs Him just as much as we do.