Breakfast on the Beach
Readings: John 20:30-31 & 21:1-19 Preacher: Phil Swain
After the joy and celebration of Easter, this Sunday we figuratively head to the beach as we explore the final chapter of John’s Gospel and join in with the disciples at the breakfast on the beach. The risen Jesus meets the disciples in the midst of the ordinary – while they were fishing – and reminds them that he is there for them and provides for them. Jesus also has a heart to heart with Peter after his Easter shame and prepares Peter (and all his followers) for what comes next. It is a story of grace, hope and a renewed calling to continue Jesus’ ministry of love in the world. As we end our journey through John’s Gospel, we will be reminded once more of the central truth that John longs for us to see: that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing we may have life in his name.
Reflection Questions
1. Why do you think Peter went back to fishing?
Was it simply practical, or might it also reflect uncertainty, waiting, disappointment, or a return to what was familiar?
Also read: Luke 5:1–11
2. What do you notice about the way Jesus meets the disciples in an ordinary place?
What might this tell us about how the risen Jesus still meets people today?
Also read: Luke 24:13–35
3. Why might John include the detail of the charcoal fire in John 21?
How does this scene connect with Peter’s earlier denial, and what does that show us about grace and restoration?
Also read: John 18:15–18, 25–27
4. Jesus does not only forgive Peter — he recommissions him. Why is that important?
What is the difference between being forgiven and being restored to purpose?
Also read: Psalm 51:10–13
5. What kind of love do you think Jesus is drawing out of Peter with the repeated question, “Do you love me?”
How is love for Jesus meant to shape action, service and responsibility?
Also read: John 14:15–21
6. What might “Feed my sheep” look like in the life of the church today?
How might this involve care, encouragement, justice, truth-telling, hospitality, or discipleship?
Also read: Ezekiel 34:11–16 and 1 Peter 5:1–4
7. Why do you think Jesus ends this conversation with the simple words, “Follow me”?
Why is that still the heart of discipleship after the resurrection?
Also read: Mark 8:34–35 and John 12:24–26
8. Peter’s instinct is to ask, “What about him?” Why do we so often compare ourselves with others?
What does Jesus’ response suggest about our own calling?
Also read: Galatians 6:4–5
9. Revelation 3 warns against lukewarm faith. How does that challenge connect with Jesus’ call to Peter?
What might wholehearted faith look like in everyday life?
Also read: Revelation 3:14–22
10. John says he wrote his Gospel so that people might believe and have life in Jesus’ name. Looking back over John’s Gospel, what have you learnt about who Jesus is and what true life looks like?
Also read: John 20:30–31
Sermon Text
Input #1 – “It is the Lord” / “Who are you”?
Reading #1 – John 21:1-14
We have been journeying through John’s Gospel since Christmas Day, and now, 16 weeks later, we have reached the final chapter.
Before we step into this scene, I just wanted to once again remind us why John wrote his Gospel. Just before this passage, in John 20:30–31, John says that these things were written so that we may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing we may have life in his name.
That is the core message or the heart of this whole journey through John. John wants us to know who Jesus is. And John wants us to discover life through him.
And this is what last weekend was all about. On Good Friday we remembered the love of Jesus poured out on the cross. On Easter Sunday we celebrated that Jesus is risen and that his life is stronger than death. And now, here in John 21, we find the disciples in the in-between space. Jesus is risen, but life has not simply gone back to normal. Things are different now.
The disciples are feeling unsure – wondering what comes next.
Jesus has appeared to them but is not physically remaining in any place very long. Jesus appears to Mary in the garden but he is not there later. Jesus was on the road to Emmaus but disappears when the bread is broken. Jesus meets the disciples in a locked room but left after eating some fish. And now the disciples are in Galilee because Jesus told them to go there and wait.
And while they are waiting, Peter says, “I’m going fishing.”
He goes back to what is familiar. And the others go with him. They fish all night and catch nothing.
And it is in this fairly ordinary moment that Jesus decides to step in and meets with them a third time since his resurrection.
I have a question for you: why this moment? Why this setting? Why this breakfast on the beach?
What is the point of Jesus appearing beside the lake and giving fishing advice to the disciples? Why the miracle of the massive catch? Why did he ask them for fish when he already had fish on the fire? What is the point of providing a breakfast on the beach for them? What is going on here?
Screen Prompts:
- Why do you think Jesus chose breakfast on the beach?
- What might the disciples have needed from Jesus in that moment?
Discussion & feedback
- Jesus loves being a host, and wants to provide a meal for them one more time
- Jesus is linking the end of is ministry with the beginning (calling of the disciples in Luke 5) … both had the miracle of the massive catch of fish
- Jesus wants to remind them that he is a better fisherman than they are
- Jesus is wondering whether they are doubting that he is the Messiah and gives them another miracle to prove that he is.
- Jesus is giving them a taste of the future of his ministry … bringing people together in community and love
There is one part of this reading I love … and that is Peter’s response when John suggests that the stranger on the beach is Jesus. He immediately jumps out of the boat and swims back to shore.
Peter does not stop to work it all out. He just wants to be near Jesus. Maybe that is the invitation for us too — not to have every answer, but simply to come close.
We are going to sing … if you have yet to get your shell, maybe use this song to come forward and find one.
Announcements
Input #2 – Do you love me/Feed my Sheep
Reading #2 – John 21:15-22
So once again, let me ask the question: what is happening here?
Many of us have heard this passage before. Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” Three times he says, “Feed my sheep.” Then there is that strange moment where Jesus speaks about Peter’s future, and Peter quickly asks, “What about him?” pointing to John. And again Jesus says, “Follow me.”
What is going on here? Why does Jesus ask the same question three times? Why this conversation? Why now?
Take a moment to ponder that, or chat with those around you. What do you think is happening in this moment?
Screen Prompts:
- Why three times: “Do you love me?”
- What does “Feed my sheep” mean? To Peter & to us?
- Why does Jesus end with, “Follow me”?
discussion
At one level, the connection is not hard to see. Most commentators note the link between this moment and Peter’s denial of Jesus. Around another charcoal fire, Peter had denied even knowing Jesus. Three times he said no. And now, by another fire, Jesus gives Peter three opportunities to say yes.
But notice this: Jesus does not shame Peter. Jesus does not condemn Peter. Jesus does not humiliate him in front of the others. Instead, Jesus meets Peter with grace.
And more than grace, Jesus offers restoration. Jesus does not simply say, “Peter, you are forgiven.” He says, “Peter, I still have a place for you. I still have work for you to do. Feed my sheep. Care for my people. Continue the ministry.”
That is such a beautiful part of this story. Jesus does not leave Peter stuck in his failure. He lifts him up and calls him forward.
And then comes that powerful phrase again: “Follow me.”
That is not a throwaway line. It is a deliberate echo of the beginning. At the start of the Gospel, Jesus called disciples to follow him — to walk with him, learn from him, be shaped by him. And here, at the end, Jesus says that the call has not changed. The resurrection does not end the journey. It deepens it. The call is still the same: follow me.
And maybe that is the word for us today too. The Christian life is not just about believing that Jesus is alive. It is about continuing to follow Jesus. Continuing to trust him. Continuing to love others as he loved us. Continuing to care for the people he places in front of us.
So how are we going with that?
Many of us might say, “Not perfectly, but not terribly either.” We might think we are doing okay. We are not openly denying Jesus like Peter did. We are not making catastrophic mistakes. We are just… going along.
But perhaps this passage pushes us a little deeper than that. Peter’s story shows us that Jesus is looking for us to love a little … but to love a lot. Jesus is looking for love that leads to action. Love that serves. Love that feeds the sheep. Love that stands up for justice. Love that makes a real difference.
Peter was impulsive and yes, Peter failed badly. But Peter also loved Jesus deeply. And this moment of grace and restoration shaped the rest of his life. The risen Jesus changed him. Peter did not stay in shame. He became bold and passionate and faithful. He gave himself wholeheartedly to the mission of Christ.
And I wonder whether that is part of why John later writes so strongly in Revelation to the church in Laodicea:
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot…
I wonder whether John (who witness this whole conversation between Peter and Jesus) pondered this idea to. You see, John didn’t just write the gospel of John but also John 1, 2, 3 and the book of Revelation. In Rev 3:15-16, John wrote these words from a vision from Jesus to the church in Laodicea.
15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
It is a confronting image and perhaps the point is not that Jesus is trying to crush people with guilt but rather that Jesus loves us too much to leave us drifting into indifference. Jesus does not want his church to settle for a lukewarm faith that makes no difference.
If we are going to continue Jesus’ ministry of love in this world — if we are going to feed his sheep, tend wounds, care for people, bring hope, show compassion, speak truth and live faithfully — then we cannot settle for indifference.
So how do we avoid that? How do we keep our faith from going cold? How do we recover passion if it has faded?
The answer, I think, is not to try harder in our own strength but to draw nearer to Jesus. To open ourselves to him again. To let his love encourage us, build us up – just as it did with Peter.
And that is why I love the connection with Revelation 3:19–20. Right after the lukewarm statement comes this tender invitation from Jesus:
It is because I love you that I correct and challenge you. So be diligent and turn from your indifference. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
Do you hear the echo? Once again, Jesus wants to share a meal. Once again, Jesus wants closeness. Once again, Jesus comes not to condemn, but to invite. Invite us to connect with him, to be encouraged and fed by him, and to invite us to be part of his continuing ministry of love.
The risen Jesus calls us forward. He still says, “Follow me.”
So today, perhaps the invitation is simple. Open the door again. Come close again. Receive his grace again. And hear his call again.
Do you love me?
Then feed my sheep.
Do you love me?
Then follow me.
Amen.