John
21
Series:
John Text: John 21 Title: Jesus Appears
Goal: That the hearers would stick close to each
other
Today we come to the end of our
series with the final chapter in John.
You may have noticed that John the author does not mention himself by
name in the story. Likewise, John focuses
not on himself but his mentor Peter in Chapter 21.
Flashback
to Peter before the resurrection. He
bragged at the Last Supper ,”All may fall away
but I will never fall away.” He was more than full of himself. He set himself apart from the other
disciples. “These guys might turn their
backs on you. But I won’t. Peter is casting aspersions on the 11 but
saying he is better. It’s as if he is
saying, “Andrew is my brother so I know he’s not as brave. James and John are mommas boys. Thomas lacks conviction. Simon the Zealot already left one cause. Matthew might go back to his tax
collecting. The only guy who who is as
solid as me is Judas. There is something
about him.” Peter throws his friends
under the cart. imagine their
consternation, shaking their heads saying “All will fall away.”
Then
that very night, Peter tries to stay true to his words. He and another disciple approach the High
Priest’s courtyard. There is
speculation as to who the other disciple was.
Some say Joseph of Arimethea or Nicodemus because they are on the Jewish
council. Someone else has said that
joining Peter at the High Priest’s house is Judas. He can get in because his betrayal made him
known to this household. But a more
probable guess is that Peter is with John.
John likes to remain anonymous.
Also, early church fathers wrote that John was born a priest so his
family was known by ciaphas the high priest.
Whoever the other disciple is, they are the only disciples who dare
follow Jesus at this dangerous moment.
The other disciple who is nameless is known by the High Priest so he is allowed
to enter. Peter is not known, he must
stay outside. This is when he is
approached by a servant girl who hears his Galilean accent and tattles. She points at Peter and accuses, “He is with Jesus.” Three times this happens.
Peter
was brave but he also was coward. Just
like us. It must have been
devastating. Not just because he
betrayed his Lord but also because he thought he was better than his friends.
Jesus
is killed and raised from the dead.
Later Jesus appears to Peter and the disciples. JEsus says, “Peace be with
you.” Peter sees for himself that Jesus
truly is Lord and Savior. The world’s
sins are forgiven. Peace has been
achieved between God and man. Creation
has been made right.
There is a difference between knowing that the world’s sins
have been forgiven and feeling that your sins have been forgiven. As a pastor, I experience this all the
time. People come to me and say, “I know
I’m forgiven but..” “It still hurts.” “I still feel like I let God down.” “The memory of my failure still haunts
me.” Peter knows that God is good. That Jesus is all he said he is. But he can’t get past what happened outside
of the High priest’s gate.
Later,
Peter is with Thomas, Nathaniel, and two other disciples at night. Peter wants to be alone. He says, “I am going fishing.” Not “Let’s go fishing” or “Who wants to go
fishing?” He says “I
am going fishing.” This is
the first time in John’s Gospel that Peter says he wants to be by himself. When Peter is called by Jesus to follow him,
Peter is working with a group. When
Peter walks on water he has Jesus in front of him and the disciples behind
him. In the Garden, when he swung a
sword to defend Jesus the ten were by
his side. The only time in John’s Gospel
that Peter is alone, away from the disciples, is when he gets separated from
the group and he betrays
Jesus.
How
would you like your worst moment immortalized like that? Imagine that a private embarrassment went
public. One commentator even suggested
that Peter’s enemies might have made rooster calls as he walked
by. He blew it big time and everyone
knew he blew it.
So
Peter wants to fish at night off on his own.
This might be the first step in isolating himself from the group. One night turns into a series of lonely
nights. Then he feels himself becoming
more distant from his friends.
But
the disciples do not allow him that first step.
They say “We will go with you.”
Those are good friends. They
could have been bitter towards him saying, “You said we were going to fall, but
it was you.” There is no hint of
that. They never make him feel
guilty. Instead they recognize that he
shouldn’t be by himself. In Genesis, God
said, “It is not good for man to be alone.”
That doesn’t mean that we should never be out of the presence of
others. We all need to relax and
recharge. But it does mean that we are
social creatures. We must beware of
behaviors in which we keep our friends at arms length.
Jesus
made the disciples a family so they could deal with crises like this. He was the perfect dad who was always there
for the household. He knew that the days
ahead would be rough and he prepared them. He showed them how to love one another through
sacrifice. The disciples all made the
big sacrifice, eventually dying for Jesus and the church. But they also made the little sacrifices,
like going out on the lake in the middle of the night because your friend is in
pain. Few of us will have to make the
big sacrifice but the opportunities for the daily sacrifices are all around us.
The
disciples are like your friend who is concerned about your recent texts and
says “I’m coming over with ice cream.” They will drop everything because you part of
the family of God. Family is so
important to God that he gives us more than one shot at it. You have the family you are born into. You have the family that you create. And you have your brothers and sisters in Christ. You maybe an orphan. You may not have chosen the married
life. But everyone who is in Christ has
this family, your church family. We need
to look out for one another, because life is tough.
So
Peter’s friends tell him that they are coming, whether he likes it
or not. Was it a quiet night where no
one said anything? You know how you can
help someone through a tough time just by being with them. No words are spoken. You are just together. That is called the
ministry of presence. When
you don’t know what to say, sometimes you don’t need to say anything. Just be with them. We don’t know what the tone was on that
boat. We do know that they collectively
caught zero fish. If Peter was on that
boat by himself, he’d be thinking”I stink as a disciple and I stink at
fishing.” But his friends are with
him. He doesn’t stink at fishing, they
stink at fishing together. They fail together
as a team. That is Alive in Christ, win
or lose, we are in this together.
But
of course, winning isn’t up to us. Being
successful as a church is not dependent on our skills, our ingenuity or our
bravery. It depends on Christ. In the haze of the early morning, the
fisherman hear “Guys, do you have any fish?”
They yell back in unison, “NO!”
The male voice said, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat.” The disciples can not see the man’s face but
the cast. Maybe they are so tired and
loopy that they will try anything. But
maybe they believe that the man on the shore can see something from his
angle. Fisherman often got help from
people on shore who had a different vantage point. Another reason to not fish alone.
They
cast the net on the other side and immediately they feel that it is heavy with
fish. They can’t
haul it in. They have to get closer to
shore in order to get men in the water to help.
Another reason to not fish alone.
As they get closer, John has young eyes and says to Peter “It is the
Lord.” John doesn’t say it aloud to the
group in general. He says it
specifically to Peter. He knows that
this is what Peter needs. Peter needs
JEsus.
Peter
is fishing in his skivvies. He is so
excited to see Jesus but He doesn’t want to greet him in his
underwear. The Jews believed that
greeting someone was a religious act.
You must wear an outer garment to perform a religious act. He throws on his coat and jumps into the
water. He has to swim the length of a
football field. Peter reaches JEsus and
they have breakfast.
In
this moment, Peter is alone with the Lord.
The fisherman are busy hauling in and counting the 153 fish. It is an enormous catch. Why does John give us a number? Some try to make is a symbolic number but I
think it was just such an exceptional catch that they recorded the number. Fisherman love to measure their success. So while the others are busy with the
squirming sea creatures, Peter and Jesus sit together.
What
I love about this scene is that it is so normal. Jesus started a fire. There were fish cooking on it. They were just two guys by the water enjoying
each other’s company. Peter has
spent three years together, so they have had this type of time before, but the
last 40 days have been nothing but drama and miracle. It’s been an intense time. Jesus focused on preparing the
disciples. Peter denied Jesus. The cross.
The resurrection. It has all been
anything but normal.
But
Jesus works through miracle and he works through normal. Peter sits there at the feet of his rabbi,
wet. The other disciples gradually come
by and sit as well. No one says anything
because they are just so grateful to be with their teacher and Lord. He hands out bread and the fish. They have breakfast.
You
wonder if Peter is feeling guilty still about his denial. The disciples have never reminded him of
it. But now with them here and Jesus, it
had to weigh on him. After they finished
eating, JEsus says to Peter “Simon, son of John, do you love me more these?” Simon, son of John do you love me more than
these.” Who or what are the these? Some have said that JEsus was pointing to the
153 fish. Do you love me more than your
old life as a fisherman? I don’t think
Jesus was referring to the fish. Peter
proved he loved Jesus more than that when he left the fish, jumping off the
boat into the water to see Jesus. The
other possibility is that JEsus was pointing to the other disciples. Do you love me more than these
disciples? Now does that mean “Who do
you love more your friends or me?” That
seems obvious. Or does it mean, “Who
loves me more you or the other disciples?”
You said “all will fall away except for you.” You said you love me most.
This
seems harsh as if JEsus is putting Peter’s failure in his face. I don’t think that is it. Instead what JEsus is doing is is connecting
Peter’s love for his savior to his friends, the church. Jesus says “Feed my sheep.” PEter do you love me? Yes Lord you know I Love you. Tend to my Sheep. Simon son of John do you love me? Peter was torn up inside because Jesus keeps
asking the same question. Lord you know
everything; you know I love you. Feed my
sheep.
Jesus
is saying, “Peter, I know you love me.
The way you show you love me is to love your friends, the men and women
of the church. You are already
forgiven. I have given you my
peace. Now I need you to forgive
yourself an move on. Don’t wallow in
your self pity. Serve the people I have
given you. You are a pastor now. You are a shepherd. These people are counting on you. They have forgiven you as well. Put your grief into action. Share your experience with the disciples.
Peter
now has a personal mission. Jesus has
turned his failure into an opportunity to encourage and feed others. Whenever anyone in the new church messes up
Peter can pull them aside and say, “Let me tell you about the
time I denied Jesus. If Jesus can bring
me back from that, he can do the same for you.
There
must have been a lot of failure in the early church. They failed together. They learned from their failure, they forgave
each other and God changed the world through it.
When
you fail, here is what you do.
1. Do not isolate yourself
2. Allow
the church to minister to you.
3. Overcome failure
through serving God’s People.