In this week’s passage, the resurrected Jesus appears to His disciples by the Sea of Galilee. His disciples had returned to what they once knew, fishing. After a night of catching nothing, Jesus tells them, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some” 153 in fact.
In this encounter, Jesus goes on to confront the futility of self-reliance. The disciples who many were seasoned fishermen, had gone back to what was familiar and what was comfortable. But their expertise, wasn’t going to cut it on this occasion. It was only when they listened to Jesus, their nets overflowed. This goes on to illustrate a truth, without Him, even our best efforts can come up empty.
Maybe, this is why they crucified Him, because Jesus exposed the issue of self-sufficiency. He revealed the hollowness of going through the motions without divine direction. This is like us religiously going to church each week, because that’s what we do.
When the disciples come ashore, they find that Jesus already has fish on the fire and bread prepared. He didn’t need their catch. He wasn’t dependent on their performance. Instead, He invited them to join in what He was already doing, not what we can do. This is grace. Undeserved. Unasked for.
No wonder they crucified Him.
Jesus didn’t flatter egos or build power structures. He fed the hungry, humbled the proud, and restored the fallen. He cooked breakfast for the very men who had abandoned Him. He reinstated Peter, who had denied Him three times.
In a world obsessed with merit, status, and self-made success, Jesus offered a different way. Not a kingdom built on domination, but on sacrificial love and radical grace.
And for that, they crucified Him.
But here He stands, resurrected. Waiting on the shore with breakfast ready, not with judgment. With an invitation, “Come and eat.” Come, not because you’ve earned it, but because He still loves us. Still calling us.