Tabgha by the Sea of Galilee

 

Tabgha by the Sea of Galilee

          During each Holy Land Pilgrimage Lakes Church Lead Pastor Dr. Aaron D. Burgner taught extensively at The Church of the Primacy of Saint Peter, which is a Franciscan church located in Tabgha, Israel, on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. It commemorates, and marks the spot, of Jesus' reinstatement of Peter as chief among the Apostles. The church contains a projection of limestone rock in front of the present altar which is venerated as a "Mensa Christi," Latin for table of Christ. According to tradition this is the spot where Jesus is said to have laid out a breakfast of bread and fish for the Apostles, and told Peter to "Feed my sheep" after the miraculous catch, the third time he appeared to them after his resurrection. (John 21:1–24).
          After Jesus’ resurrection, His disciples were back to what they knew: fishing. But after a night in the boat, they came up empty-handed. Fortunately, a man on the shore offered some guidance; he suggested they cast their nets on the other side of the boat, and they made a massive catch. This was a callback—an inside joke with His boys. By repeating the same directions and results as when He first called them, Jesus was tipping His hand—He was the man on the shoreline. These two fishing stories serve as bookends for Jesus’ time with His disciples. They reveal how He stayed with them after their denial and desertion. We wander, but He stays. He never leaves you to fend for yourself.
          On the same spot of shoreline where the disciples almost certainly docked their boats, there’s a large, flat rock—the kind rugged fishermen might use as a makeshift table. At the direction of Jesus, the disciples caught 153 fish. The first time Jesus filled the disciples’ nets, He said He’d make them fishers of men (Luke 5:10). So perhaps these 153 fish are an object lesson—a reminder that they’ll be catching people from among every nation (Revelation 7:9), that the gospel net will pull in “fish” of every kind! One morning after His resurrection, Jesus cooked His disciples breakfast over a charcoal fire like the one Peter sat around when he denied Jesus (John 18:18), these are the only two times the word “charcoal” appears in the Bible. With the familiar sights and smells of the fire, it’s easy to imagine Peter being transported back to that moment, filled with shame and regret. But then, instead of shaming him, Jesus invites him into a beautiful moment of restoration.
          In His great patience and kindness, Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him, paralleling Peter’s three denials. Then Jesus gives him a weighty assignment—serving people. He reminds Peter that the gospel must reach the people of all nations. Even after having this intimate, powerful exchange with Jesus, he immediately takes his eyes off Christ, comparing his assignment to John’s. Peter first experienced that when he walked on water, and he experiences it here when he gets his life’s assignment. Peter fails often, but always and only by taking his eyes off Christ. To love Jesus well in return, we must fix our eyes on Him, not ourselves or others.
          This scripture from John 21 comes to life when you are kneeling at this spot by the Sea of Galilee. I suddenly had a memory of when I was a teenager, a missionary to Uganda, Pastor Webster “Web” Carroll, came to our church to speak. I was fascinated by his stories from the mission field. Many years later, when he was retiring, he came back to our church to share a final message. He asked us to open our Bibles to John 21:1-6…

Later Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. Several of the disciples were there--Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples. Simon Peter said, "I'm going fishing." "We'll come, too," they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night. At dawn the disciples saw Jesus standing on the beach, but they couldn't see who he was. He called out, "Friends, have you caught any fish?" "No," they replied. Then he said, "Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you'll get plenty of fish!" So they did, and they couldn't draw in the net because there were so many fish in it.
          As Pastor Web Carroll began to share his observations of this familiar scripture, he said, “I” is not the most profound company or secure future. It is dangerous for the ego to become the foundation for your tomorrows. If “I” is undependable, “we” is that much more undependable. That “night”—physical night is bad enough, but spiritual night is worse. He explained these words from the Ugandan language, “ushinde” (ends with an “e”) which means “defeat.” He said the word “ushindi”(ends with an “I”) means “victory.”
          Jesus asks, "Do you have any fish?"  Sooner or later somebody has to speak and say, "No, Sir, we don't." Sooner or later we face Jesus Christ, whether we recognize Him or not. "What do you have to show for the last 8 hours you've spent in the water?"  He covers us with His compassion. Just like He did that early morning—to talk to the fish that were there in the water that night. The difference between spiritual victory and spiritual defeat is the Presence of the Lord Jesus.
          He explained this with another Ugandan word, “basi”... it means, “peace, it will be alright, it will be okay.” It is used by mothers nursing their babies, it means '”peace, healing'” as they hold their babies, they pat them saying, “basi, basi” . . . “that's alright, that's alright.” Then he closed his message with John 3:16 and he said, “Just give Jesus a chance, He will give “basi.”
          I have experienced this “basi”… peace…the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ as my El Shaddai. The thought expressed in the name Shaddai describes power, but it is the power, not of violence, but of all-bountifulness. Shaddai primarily means “breasted,” being formed directly from the Hebrew word, “shad,” that is “the breast.” Shaddai means “the pourer” or “the shedder-forth,” that is of blessings, temporal and spiritual. Having been a nursing mother of my two children, I readily identify with this name … my baby is crying—restless. Nothing can quiet it. Yes; the breast can. My baby is pining, starving. Its life is going out. It cannot take nourishment: it will die. No; the breast can give it fresh life, and nourish it …calming, peaceful, nourished…satisfied. He is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him…He Himself is our Peace. (Ephesians 2:14a)
          Lord Jesus, Thank You for Your peace today. You are our Peace. I ask you to help me to do these things: to lean on you, to meditate on your character and attributes, and to trust you with all my heart. Thank You for Your promise that Your perfect peace will guard my heart and mind. In Christ, I am relaxed and at peace in the midst of the confusions, bewilderments, and perplexities of this life, because I trust in You. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

          Look Up—meditate on John 21:1-6 pray to see what it reveals about the character of God.
          Look In—as you meditate on John 21:1-6  pray to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your discoveries: "Because God is_________, I will_____________.
          Look Out—as you meditate on John 21:1-6   pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others. Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.

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