JOHN 21

You may be familiar with the last supper, but have you heard of the first breakfast? The Gospel of John concludes on a beach shore where Jesus is cooking up some breakfast for His disciples. This moment is packed full of awkward tension as Jesus focuses his attention on Peter. Just a few days earlier, Peter denied Jesus three times after Jesus was arrested. Jesus looks at Peter and asks, “Do you love me?” Not once, but three times as an echo of Peter’s denial.

Then, Jesus went on to say, “Follow me” (21:19). The last encounter we see with Jesus and His disciples in John is oddly similar to the first. Jesus, full of forgiveness, invites the disciples on a journey to follow Him. He could have easily just said, “Peter, you messed up! What were you thinking?” However, He didn’t. He extended a second chance to the denying disciple. Then, He invites him on a new adventure with Him. Wait, how can that be? Isn’t the ministry of Jesus coming to a close?

That’s the amazing thing about the story of Jesus. It doesn’t start with a cradle or end at a cross. It is still being told today. This story unfolds every time a person shares the gospel with a friend, whenever we choose to show God’s love in a situation that desperately needs it, or whenever we sacrifice our comforts so that someone is cared for. The invitation today is the same as it was 2,000 years ago: follow me.