Revealing Jesus

John 21:1-14:

At that time, Jesus revealed himself to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way. Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards, dragging the net with the fish. When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord. Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish. This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead.

Blog:

I always find it Amazing that many of Jesus’ Followers didn’t realize it was Him at first when He rose from the grave.  Whether we’re talking about Saints Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, John, James, and the two Other Disciples at the Sea of Tiberias or Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb or the two Travelers on the road to Emmaus, you would think that Everyone would know Who He was the moment that saw Him, heard Him, touched Him…but…They didn’t.  None of them knew that it was Jesus that they were witnessing until Jesus “revealed” Himself to them.  And, therein, we find a piece of Divine Beauty in how God operates in our lives.  God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent – He never leaves our side, but how often do we fail to see Him in our lives?  If we’re drifting a bit in life (like the Apostles were on the Sea of Tiberias assuming that all was lost), we fail to see Him in His Creation, ourselves and other people, and even in His Very Presence.  You see, that’s what Amazing Grace is all about – that the Infinite God of Creation would come down from His Throne to “reveal” Himself to us through His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.  He didn’t need to do that, but He did so, because we are all Children of God in need of a Good Shepherd to marshal us Home through the narrow Gate – from this world’s pasture to the Eternal Pasture where we’ll lie down with the Lion and the Lamb.  So, when the world is “eating-away” at us and distracting us from all of the Good all around us, let’s be sure to re-Focus ourselves on the Lamb of God.  He’s standing nearby On-Shore eager to “reveal” all of Himself to each and every one of us.