John 21:5
“Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Jesus calls out to the disciples with a question that exposes their emptiness and invites them to receive.
Context
The figure on the shore speaks. He calls them 'children'—a word of tender familiarity. His question is simple and kind: 'Have ye any meat?' He is asking about their catch, their provision.
What Does John 21:5 Mean?
'Children,' Jesus calls them. The word is teknon in Greek, not used elsewhere in John's Gospel—it carries a note of intimate care, of a father or mother addressing the young. After His resurrection, Jesus speaks to His disciples with this deepened tenderness. They answer Him simply: 'No.' They have nothing. The whole night has been barren. They are not experts who have failed; they are children who are hungry and empty.
This is the state the Lord always finds us in, if we are honest. We labor through nights of our own making, we rely on the strength of our own arms, and we find ourselves with nothing to show but weariness. Yet in that emptiness, the risen Jesus appears and speaks to us not with anger or reproach, but with the question that opens our hands: Do you need? Are you lacking? Are you willing to receive?
Application
Our emptiness is not shameful before the Lord; it is the very condition in which He meets us. When we stop pretending that our labors alone will feed us and confess our true need, we become ready to receive the abundance only He can provide.