This passage of study is about Jesus’ third recorded glorious appearance to the
disciples. “Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord” (John 21:12). It was a great privilege and a source of strength to eat, drink and dine with the Risen Christ.
Remember that Thomas had earlier called Him my Lord and my God, and so for him, it was a great privilege to eat and dine with his God and Lord. Eating, drinking and dining with the Almighty God Himself; what a great privilege! This was not a strange thing, for Abraham in the Old Testament had such privilege to entertain the Lord Himself along with the two angels and he stood by while they ate and drank;and the end result was a blessing (Genesis 18:1-3,7-8,13-14).
So as Christ was calling His own disciples to come and dine, this supernaturally was for fellowship and blessing; and as you dine with the Lord today in His word, a supernatural blessing will come upon your life in Jesus Name. “And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink” (Exodus 24:11).
The seventy elders along with Moses and Aaron saw the Almighty Godin His glory and did eatand drink in His presence. “Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve
them” (Luke 12:37). The Lord of Glory, Christ Himself will serve His own people.
Eating and dining with the Lord will not come to an end because of the promise of the Lord, and after the Rapture,we shall also dine with Him at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Luke 22:16,18,2830; Revelations 2:7,17; 19:69). Remember when He called the disciples to come and dine-a preview of what was going to happen in His kingdom the food was not the product of their own hands, they saw the fishes and bread that Jesus had provided for dinner.The call to Come and Dine to the disciples who had drifted was –
1. An assurance of Acceptance.Jesus came to them to forgive and overlook the
drifting;
2. A testimony to Fellowship. He was calling to a renewed fellowship;
3. A sign of Communion. Heart to heart, He loved them, and they also loved Him;
forget the drifting.
4. Establishment of Friendship–reconciliation;
5. A Sharing of His Power;
6. A Transmission of Strength. They were weak in their faith, not sure anymore.
7. An Impartation of Christ’s Heavenly Virtue;
8. A Preview of Future Feasting in the Coming Kingdom;
9. The Commencement of Reunion for Eternal Destiny
1. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE COMMAND OF THE RISEN CHRIST
John 21:6,5; Luke 5:4; Matthew 4:18-19; John 21:21-22; Matthew 6:33; John 21:21-22; Luke 9:60-62; Mark 16:15,16; Matthew 24:42,44; Revelations 3:2-3; Matthew 28:20
“And he said unto them, Cast the net on the pop right side of the ship, and ye shall
find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.” (John 21:6). What kind of command was that and did He give a similar one before this time? Yes, at the commencement of His ministry when He met Peter who had toiled all night and caught nothing.“Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught” (Luke 5:4). So you see His commands at the beginning and after His Resurrections were the same because Jesus Christ remains the same. When He gave the first, Peter cast his net and caught many fishes; andhe surrendered to Him as his Lord.
The same command the Risen Christ gave to the disciples here, and as they obeyed the result was the same. So you see as Jesus remains the same, so alsoHis commandments remain the same. If anyone gives any contrary commandment,know that it is false and from an antichrist.
At the beginning of His ministry, He gave the command, Follow me, and now after His resurrection, He still gave the samecommand, Follow thou me(Matthew 4:18; John 21:22).The commandments of Christ
remain the same. Before the Cross, He said that we should seek God first, make Him
Number One, give Him priority in our life, no competition; and then after the Cross,
He still gave the same commandment to love the Lord more and above every other thing in life (Matthew 6:33; John 21:15; Revelations 2:4-5). You will see that from Glory, He still demands that first love for God and His kingdom, and when that first love is not there, He questions us. The commandments of the Risen Christ have not changed! As He did before the Cross, He still calls us to watchfulness today; speaking from heaven He bids us render perfect service and be ever ready.(Matthew 24:42,44; Revelations 3:2-3; 16:15).
What Christ commanded before His death, after resurrection and ascension into Heaven, He still says today:repent, believe, abide and endure till the end, watch and pray, sin no more, continue in My word,love, confess My Name and preach the Gospel, let your light so shine before men, teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded, rejoice in persecution, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, follow Me and be faithful in all things until the end.So we understand that the characteristics of Christ’s command do not change, they remain the same through all eternity.
2. THE CARE AND CONCERN OF THE REVEALED CHRIST
John 21:711; 1 Kings 19:58; Luke 22:35; Hebrews 13:56,8; Psalms 34:9,10; 37:3-7,25; 81:10,13-16; 84:10,11; Romans 8:32; Philippians 4:19; 2 Peter 1:3-4
He came to reveal Himself unto them, and then we see His care for them. As He reveals Himself to you today, He will care and make provisions for you in Jesus Name.
“Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord” (John 21:7). It is the Lord, He remains ever the same. By His actions, commandments, the demand upon our lives, and the manifestation of His miracle-working power, you can tell that it is the Lord. “As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread” (John 21:9).Jesus, the
Risen Christ, in His care, concern, compassion, provision and preparation for them, already had a fire cooking fish,and bread. This lovely Christ, and this lowly care, compassion and concern for all His own is no less than the care of God for His people under the Old Covenant. Now the door of grace is open to believers and we can be sure of the same care. The Lord is assuring us that what Christ our Lord and Saviour, is providing for all His own today is even greater and higher than that of the Old
Covenant.As He did for His disciples He will for us too. He cares and will provide for all of us in Jesus Name.
How was it under the Old Covenant? “And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat” (1 Kings 19:5). Elijah at this time was discouraged, depressed, dejected and ready to die, and the Lord sent an angel to make provision for himto eat. You see what Jesus Christ did; the disciples were discouraged and frustrated, that they went fishing, and they caught nothing.In that discouraging hour, the Lord came and made provision for them. In your moment of discouragement, Christ will make provision for you in Jesus Name. “And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee” (1 Kings 19:7). There is a good journey ahead of you, the journey of a pilgrim, and everything you need the Lord will provide.UnexpectedlyJesus provided for the disciples so they could rise up and move on in the strength of the Lord: He will do the same for usin Jesus Name. God will supply all our needs.
Almighty has said, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I WILL NEVER LEAVE THEE, NOR FORSAKE THEE. So that we may boldly say, THE LORD IS MY HELPER, AND I WILL NOT FEAR WHAT MAN SHALL DO UNTO ME.” (Hebrews 13:5-6)The Lord is our Helper; He will take care of you. Your problem will not drown you, unemployment will not get the better of you nor famine destroy you; He will provide for you. You will not lack. What He did
for them, He will do for you. You in particular will not lack. “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed” (Psalms 37:3).Thank God the blessings are coming; no sorrow, no crying, no despair, no depression, no fear, no discouragement; for the Lord will surely feed you.
You are not righteous in vain, that righteousness will bring forth benefits in your life in Jesus Name (Psalms 37:6).“I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread” (Psalms 37:25).You will not beg for bread, He will satisfy all the good desires of your heart and that of your family.
Time of blessing, care, concern and His provision andall your needs are supplied
(Psalms 84:11). “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). He shall freely give us all things. Your expectation will turn intorealization. God is Faithful, Christ is faithful and trustworthy, He will give unto you all things, and you will not lack (2 Peter 1:3,4).Thank God, Christ has provided and He is going to meet all your needs. That is the revelation we have of our compassionate Christ.
3.THE CALL AND THE COMPASSION OF THE REIGNING CHRIST
John 21:12; Acts 10:40-42; John 4:10,14; 7:37-39; Romans 14:17; Revelations 22:17; 19:79
He revealed Himself by His action, care, compassion and miraculous provision and
command. He will show Himself alive unto you today. Peter never forgot this special blessing of the Lord, he referred to it when he was in the house of Cornelius, “Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead” (Acts10:40,41). You too will never forget the blessing, impartation and goodness of the Lord upon your life. You will see that He provides for His own, and you are part of His own, He will provide for you, and you will not lack in your life again in Jesus Name.
“Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water” (John 4:10). He is going to give you much more than the physical food, He will give you living waters, salvation, joy in your heart, and spiritual needs in your lifeHe will meet in Jesus Name. He will satisfy you to the fullest (John 4:14). Till the end of your life, you will not lack. “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink” (John 7:37).He is going beyond our physical needs now but our soul, spirit and eternal needs as well. Out of your innermost being, a river of living waters will flow out. He is going to fill us to overflowing. “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Romans 14:17).
For the kingdom of God is not limited to the physical bread, employment, healing,
prosperity, provision, nor meat and drink but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy
Ghost. You will have joy everlasting and never-ending; the Lord will fill you. He is inviting us to come and dine. We shall be with Him and dine with the King of Glory in His Heavenly Kingdom. We shall see Him, serve Him, and He shall serve us as well. We shall be as He is, sit with Him at the Table dressed in white, and we shall rule with Him as kings. Come and take the water of life, that salvation, put on that royal apparel, be clothed in white, take upon you the robe of righteousness and be endued with his power. “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelations 22:17).The water of life is available freely. Today He will bless us, and for the rest of our lives, He will keep on blessing us, and when the Rapture shall take place, you will be there when the saints go marching on;I will be ready (Revelations 19:7).He says unto you come and dine. You will be blessed as you come simply before the Lord. There is blessing, salvation, healing, sanctification and miracles available for everyone, ‘Come and dine’.
