On The Beach

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

The Gospel of John 

October 14, 2024

On The Beach

“At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach”

John 21:4a

It seems like John ended his Gospel with John 20:31: “But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.” Then he picks up the story again and presents this vitally important epilogue. (John 21) Of all the characters presented in the Gospels, I personally identify the most with Peter. Like Peter, I have trouble with patiently waiting, and I am impulsive. Both of those qualities are on display in this first passage of John’s epilogue.

On the evening of the first Easter Sunday when Jesus met with the disciples, he filled them with his Holy Spirit and gave them a charge: “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you” (John 20:21b). Of all the places Jesus was sending his disciples, fishing wasn’t one of them. Yet Peter and his friends journeyed several days north to the Sea of Galilee and went fishing. And they came up empty handed! Then, “At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach” (John 21:4a). Jesus’ presence changed everything, and predictably Peter impulsively jumped in the water and swam to meet Jesus on the beach.

Do you have something in your life that is not working out the way you hoped? I know I do. Maybe, like Peter, my plans are coming up empty because Jesus has something else planned for me. Perhaps I need to meet Jesus at dawn to hear what he has to say to me.

My Takeaway: Note that dawn is not a literal reference to sunrise. Dawn was a detail John included so that we would remember it was dawn on the first Easter Sunday when Mary and Peter and John first discovered an empty tomb. Why was the tomb empty? The tomb was empty because Jesus had risen.  So, what does our Risen Savior have to say to you? He’s waiting for you to come and meet with him.

Sē’lah                                                                                         

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

 

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2024 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.