disciples at the Sea of Tiberias; and on this wise manifested He Himself.' 1 Two things are taught by the use of this word —First, that the discovery was the act of Jesus, not that of His disciples; they did not of their own will see Him, but He, by a distinct act of His will, showed Himself to them. Next, it was a spiritual manifestation, and He was seen not so much by the eyes of the body as by the eyes of the soul. Observe that John was the first seer. The disciples who are first in 'going' are not always the first in seeing; even in human friendship, and not less in the Divine, love has the quickest ear, the sharpest eye, and the surest faculty of interpretation; therefore it is not wonderful that John, with his contemplative, serene, seraphic love, had the primacy here. Peter loved, but there was so much of the earthly mixed with the heavenly that, as we shall soon read, his love had to be treated by Christ as if open to question; but the question, Lovest thou Me?' was never put to John. 'It is the Lord!' whispered he at the moment of the miracle. Then there was a plunge: one of the men who had partially stripped himself for working under 1 ἐφανέρωσε τὴν δόξαν.—John ii. II. ἐφανέρωσεν ἑαυτὸν. John xxi. I. In accordance with their rule in adopting one uniform rendering, the revisers have adopted the same English word in both instances. water threw on his blue blouse, tightened it, and was over the boat in an instant, striking out for the spot where Jesus stood. 'Steady, Peter,' we cry, for of course it was Peter, and if no name had been given, we should have known that it could be no other. 'Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.' Soon as they touched land there was a new wonder. The beach had been bare a moment before, but now, strangely enough, they saw a fire burning with a little fish on it, and bread at hand.' They seemed to pause, panting, powerless, and unable to obey. On this supposition, we can see a reason for the next statement. 'Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes.' When these were counted, Jesus uttered the invitation, Come and break your fast.' All knew Him now; but the awe of that heavenly greatness was on them so, and their hearts were so still with wondering reverence, that not a word could they speak. Though they longed to open a conversation with the question, 'Who art Thou?' they durst not make free. Formerly they would have asked this, and many other questions, but they could not now. Taking first the bread, and then the fish, He divided them just as He had done while He was 1 Geikie's Life of Jesus, Eighth Edition, Vol. ii., p. 602, yet with them. He who marshals in their sweep the grand army of the stars, and who holds in His hand this globe; He who is now enthroned in unborrowed majesty and unreflected strength, stood there in human form waiting on these tired boatmen. Each honest, weather-beaten face had a quiver in it, and, perhaps, a tearful flash of happiness. They were poor mortals that He saw there, yet not more so than one whom He often saw on David's throne. They were very much like a man whom He once fed and refreshed under a certain juniper tree. They were not more vulgar than many whom He has since visited in prison. Dear old brothers, we say, as if we saw them; some of you have seen many anxious years, yet you are all Christ's children; you have to grow; you have to learn and unlearn many things, but Pentecost is not a fortnight off, and a day will surely come when the infant stammer will strengthen into manly speech, and morning rays into sun-bright revelations. They almost thought themselves in heaven; and we venture to say that what they then were permitted to enjoy was intended to be symbolic of heaven. A net-work of symbols seems to be woven round these final appearances of Jesus; and every act, as well as every word of His risen life seems to have had rich, deep undermeanings. In this feast of weary but successful fishermen with their Master, we see the heavenly shore after the earthly sea, the heavenly rest after earthly labour, the heavenly perfection of success of what was done in 'the drenching spray and driving shower' of the earthly night, the heavenly fellowship with Jesus after all earthly fears, the heavenly society in the completeness of its numbers,1 and all assembled at 'that happy banquet which the Lord has provided for His disciples with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of God.' 2 1 Gregory the Great notes that those who feasted with the Lord were seven in number-the number of completeness. Hom. 24. 2 Olshausen, THE XIII. Love before its Judge. Read the entire account, John xxi. 1—23. HE love is the love of a disciple; the judge is Christ. The story of the trial may be summed up in a question and an answer; the history of these we shall notice, first, together; next, apart. Look, first, at the history of the question and its answer connectionally. Both in our Authorised and Revised Versions, the one English word, 'love,' represents the two different Greek words here used by our Lord. One of these may stand for love in the most exalted sense of the term; the other may express love as only human. affection. A question and an answer are thrice repeated; the stories of both are woven one with another; both seem to grow in force as the paragraph runs on; and their full significance only comes out at its close: If we are correct |