The Explanation

Peter and his friends had seen Jesus alive again. But now what? Peter said, "I'm going fishing." So seven of them climbed into a boat and rowed out into the dark. All night long they threw their net and pulled it up empty. No fish. Not one.

When morning came, a man stood on the beach. The disciples did not know it was Jesus. "Children," he called out, "have you anything to eat?" "No," they answered, tired and hungry. The man said, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat." They did, and suddenly the net was so full of fish they could not even pull it in.

Then the disciple Jesus loved shouted, "It's the Lord!" Peter did not wait for the boat. He wrapped his coat around himself and jumped straight into the water, swimming for shore as fast as he could. The others rowed in, dragging the heavy net behind them.

On the beach, Jesus already had a fire burning, with fish and bread on it. "Bring some of the fish you just caught," he said. Peter pulled the net onto the sand himself, one hundred fifty-three big fish, and the net did not even tear. "Come and eat breakfast," Jesus said. Nobody dared ask who he was. They already knew.

After they had eaten, Jesus turned to Peter. "Simon, do you love me more than these?" Peter answered, "Yes, Lord, you know I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." He asked it again, and a third time, until Peter felt sad, because three times felt like a lot. But Peter remembered something. Three times he had said he did not know Jesus, on the night Jesus was arrested. Now, three times, Jesus gave him a new chance to say he loved him.

What Does This Mean?

Jesus did not scold Peter for going fishing, or for denying him before. He came looking for his friends, made them breakfast with his own hands, and gave Peter work to do again: "Feed my sheep." Jesus does not throw people away when they have failed. He rebuilds them.

The Common Thread

God has always done this, come looking for people who ran or hid, and given them a new task. Jesus, alive from the dead, walks onto the beach not to punish Peter but to restore him. That is the whole story of the Bible: God keeps coming to find his people, and keeps saying, "Follow me."

For You

Have you ever done something wrong and felt sure someone would stay angry forever? Peter thought that too. But Jesus made him breakfast and gave him work to do. When you have messed up, you can tell Jesus, like Peter did, "You know that I love you." He will give you something good to do next, just like he did for Peter.

Talk About It

Why do you think Peter jumped into the water when he heard it was Jesus?

Why did Jesus ask Peter three times if he loved him?

Praying Together

Jesus, thank you that you look for us, even after we fail. Thank you that you give new chances. Help us to say, like Peter, that we love you, and to follow you every day. Amen.