sent forth the Apostles on this lowly errand of fishing. And yet these were they on whom the Church was to be built 1 These seven were among the names written on the twelve foundations of the heavenly Jerusalem."
Burgon also thinks that the words " went forth," point to the Apostles sitting together indoors, in the evening, and very like- ly on a Sabbath evening.
4. — [But when the morning. ..come.'] This probably means " When the day began to break, so that an object at a little distance could be seen." As soon as there was enough light, through the grey dawn, the party in the boat saw the figure of a person on the shore. There is little or no twilight in countries so far south as Palestine. Night goes, and day follows, much more suddenly than with us.
[Jesus stood on the shore^ This reads like a sudden and in- stantaneous appearance, like that which took place when our Lord appeared the first time in the midst of the disciples. Just in the same manner, it seems to me, in a moment, in the twink- ling of an eye, Jesus appeared standing on the shore of the lake. The risen body of our Lord, we must remember, ap- peared or disappeared, — was present or absent, according to His will, in a moment of time.
Grotius remarks that our Lord never went on the sea after His resurrection. (Comp. Eev. xxi. 1.) " There was no more Bea."
[But the disciples knew not. ..was Jesus.'] The disciples did not recognize our Lord, in my opinion, because He appeared in another form, just as He appeared to the two who were journey- ing to Enimaus. I reject entirely the idea that the dim light of the early morning was the reason why they did not know Him. It is evident to me that our Lord's risen body did not, on any occasion, after He rose again, for some mysterious reason, look exactly like the body He had before His crucifixion. It - — was the same, and yet not the same, if I may so speak. Will it not be so with our own bodies when we rise again at the last day ? We shall be the same, and yet not the same.
It is noteworthy that the Greek words here used, were exact- ly those that were used about Mary Magdalene, when she thought the gardener spoke to he*", and " knew not that it was Jesus." (John xx. 14.)
5. — [Then Jesus saith unto them, etc.] We cannot suppose for a moment, that our Lord did not know whether the disciples had any meat, when He asked the question of this verse. It is clear to me that He asked it in order to raise attention in the minds of the disciples, and to put them at ease in conversing with them. He appeared as a stranger, who was graciously pleased to say something familiar and friendly. Does it not re- mind us of the way in which He began conversation with the