Full Transcript

Thank you for joining us for this edition of Share the Word, the podcast that explains the big ideas in the New Testament chapter by chapter. Whether you’re just beginning to explore the Bible or have been a Christian for years, we believe that you’ll get some great insight from our podcast as our teachers unpack the big ideas of the New Testament in a down-to-earth language. So let’s listen in to today’s lesson and go a little deeper. John chapter 21. What about Sam? Hard to believe we’re already finishing up the Gospel of John, isn’t it?

I hope you’ve enjoyed, also learned, and been challenged as we looked at Jesus through John’s eyes. If so, please tell some others about Share the Word. We’re moving on, but anyone at any time can begin at the beginning by visiting our lesson archive at www.sharetheword.org. Jesus instructed us to share the good news with everyone, everywhere on the planet. You can help us do that. I have to be honest.

If I had been writing the fourth Gospel, there may not have been a chapter 21. John has taken us through a fascinating array of experiences, encounters, and discourses. We’ve heard Jesus’ amazing claims and seen them backed up by even more amazing signs, culminating in the most astounding of all, his physical resurrection from the dead, the ultimate factual foundation for the Christian faith. I think as a writer, I would have likely called it a day right there. In my opinion, John has definitely accomplished his purpose, which was to prove, remember, that Jesus was in fact the Messiah, the unique Son of God, and the Savior God sent into our world to make an atonement for our sins. And he’s told us over and over again that it’s by believing into him, that’s the key to eternal life.

But John did not choose to leave the story quite yet. He wanted to bring it full circle, as you’ll see in his final scene in this chapter we’re going to discuss today. Although this is not what I want to major on, I want to comment on this because it just interests me a lot. After his resurrection, in the appearances we read about in John, as well as those in the other Gospels, it’s clear that Jesus was the same person, but in some ways changed. He was still physical, apparently made of flesh and bones. He even still bore the scars from his crucifixion.

But he was somehow changed in a way that people could not quite put their finger on. And he did things like appear here, then there. He passed through walls if he wanted to. He could suddenly be in a different location. Why this interests me is because the kind of body that Jesus was resurrected in is the kind of body that believers are promised to be resurrected in when he returns, which means this is my future. This is your future if you’re a believer.

If we are among those still alive at Jesus’ return, his resurrection body is the kind ours will be instantly changed into when he next appears. Philippians chapter 3 tells us that our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Also, in 1 Corinthians 15 we’re told. Christ was raised from the dead as the firstfruits of those who have died. But someone may ask, the Apostle Paul writes, How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?

There are heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies. Bodies that are sown perishable will be raised imperishable. Bodies that are sown in dishonor will be raised in glory. Bodies that are sown in weakness will be raised in power. By sown, the Apostle Paul means buried in the ground like seeds planted. He continues, Natural bodies will be raised as spiritual bodies.

We will all be changed in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. Sounds very cool to me. So the body that Jesus was resurrected in was the prototype of this changed body believers will also get one day. That’s why the people that encountered Jesus after the resurrection didn’t immediately recognize him. Something had changed. Something was a little different.

But once they were with him for a while and interacted with him, they were certain this was the same person they knew, just somehow subtly changed. Like his, our new bodies will look very similar, I expect, but they will be somehow changed, upgraded to eternal, indestructible bodies. I expect that like Jesus after the resurrection, we will not be limited by time and space either. We will eat together as he did with his disciples, but for pleasure, not to survive. I’m sure there are other things involved in this change that we don’t know about yet. But this is something for us to look forward to, isn’t it?

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to swap in this model I’m living in now that’s starting to wear out for that shiny new indestructible model God has promised me. That’s an encouraging thing to me. I hope it is for you. Okay, back to the story. After the initial flurry of appearances during the eight days after the resurrection, there must have been another lull. The disciples decided to leave Jerusalem for their safer, more familiar home back in Galilee.

Jesus hadn’t told them when, but he had told them that he would meet them in Galilee. However, some time was now apparently passing. Nothing was happening. No word. Nothing. They were no longer doubting the resurrection.

They’d all seen too much evidence for that. But I am sure they were wondering where Jesus was and what he was doing, and perhaps some were wondering if they would really see him again. It was Peter’s idea at this point to go fishing, and several of the others thought it was a good idea. Being out on the peaceful lake where they’d spent so much of their lives before they met Jesus seemed just like what the doctor ordered. Peter, realized, was still very troubled inside at this point. He was not sure what the future should be for him.

He’d become a follower of Jesus three years earlier, but it had not turned out like he expected. Then, when Jesus was arrested and things got intense, he, more than the others, had caved under pressure and denied Jesus rather than risk having to suffer with him. Now, although he had seen Jesus alive at least twice and probably more times than that, they had not really talked, as far as we know. You know what I mean by talked. Peter’s failure, the state of their relationship, these things had not been addressed. And I bet he felt ashamed and just was not sure what the future should be for him.

When they rowed out onto the lake that night, it must have seemed to Simon Peter like a trip back in time, like they’d literally turned the clock back, turned the calendar back to safer, simpler times before Jesus came along and everything got complicated in their lives. Being a fisherman, that is what he knew. That’s what he was cut out to be. But tell me, can any of us actually turn back the clock? That night, no matter where they fished or what they tried, John remembers, they caught nothing, absolutely nothing. As morning light was breaking, Peter was frustrated and he was exhausted.

The return to fishing had not exactly soothed his troubled soul. Hey, have you fellows caught any fish? A voice called to them from the shoreline. They could see the outline of a man in the early morning mist. Someone from the boat called back, No, nothing. The one on the beach offered a suggestion.

Try casting your nets on the opposite side of your boat. They must have looked at each other as if to say, Like that’s going to make a difference. But for some reason, they took his advice. Why not? They pulled up their nets and then cast them out from the other side of their boat. And when they did, suddenly their nets swelled with such a large catch, so many fish, in fact, they could not even pull the nets back up into their boat.

You know who the stranger on the shore was, don’t you? Instantly, Peter was struck with that déjà vu feeling. Did you know that the very first day he had decided to become a follower of Jesus three years earlier, this is almost exactly what happened? Let me remind you, if you’re unfamiliar, the story is in Luke chapter 5. On that morning, three years prior, Jesus, an unknown, fresh from his father’s carpentry shop, had been teaching along the shore of the same lake where Peter and his fishing partners were that night. He was a fascinating speaker.

The crowd gathering to listen grew so large, Jesus asked Peter if he could use his boat, and Peter agreed. And Jesus got into the boat and had him push out from the shore a little way so that everyone could see and hear him. After he was through speaking, he turned to Peter and said, Let’s go fishing. Peter said, Actually, we’ve been out all night and we’ve not caught a thing, probably mumbled something about the barometric pressure not being quite right. Jesus smiled and prodded, Come on, let’s go fishing. Peter saw no sense in it, but agreed because, I guess, he was somewhat impressed with this fellow.

When they got out into the deeper water, they let down their nets. And just as on this morning three years later, on that occasion they caught such a large number of fish their nets started breaking. They had to call on other boats to come and help them. Peter was overcome. His reaction was, Go away from me. I’m a sinful man.

But Jesus already knew that. He assured him, Don’t be afraid. From now on you will catch men. And on that very day, Simon Peter, who had no problem being impetuous, left everything and became a follower of Jesus. From now on you will catch men. An interesting way to put being called to ministry, isn’t it?

And what a roller coaster ride the last three years had been. What incredible things Peter had seen and heard. What amazing highs, and then suddenly the disastrous turn of events over the last Passover. Now it seems he’d been wavering. He was confused. He had disappointed himself and certainly disappointed Jesus.

He was deeply troubled by self-doubt, I bet at this point. So isn’t it incredible that this is the way the resurrected Lord arranged to meet Peter again, just as he had first met him? How perfect. As they were struggling to get that huge catch of fish into the boat, did you notice again the detail here? John recalls they later counted 153 fish. It’s these eyewitness details that make John’s writing so authentic.

As they were struggling to get that amazing catch into the boat, John turned to Peter and said, It’s the Lord. Of course it’s the Lord. Peter certainly knew, and by this point he was, I feel sure, sick of where he was in his life. He dove right over the side of the boat and swam to the shore, leaving the others to wrestle with that catch. When Peter crawled out of the water, sopping wet, he was face to face with Jesus. It must have been awkward for a moment.

He didn’t know quite what to say. When men don’t know quite what to say, a good thing to do is eat. Jesus had prepared food for them, bread and fish, and he said, Come and have breakfast. And they sat at the edge of the lake and they ate together. The disciples knew for certain that this was the Lord, but there was not a lot of discussion, at least not that John records for us. It was kind of an uneasy atmosphere, I think.

Then after breakfast, Jesus asked Peter to take a walk with him along the shore. It was an I need to talk to you kind of invitation. Peter had been called to follow Christ by this very lake. Jesus had been preparing this man to serve Him now for three years. He’d become convinced beyond any doubt that Jesus was the Son of God and had believed into Him. He had been taught and prepared to be Jesus’ apostle, a special ambassador for the gospel, a foundational leader for the coming Christian church.

It was time for him to be doing what Christ had prepared him to do. Jesus broke the uneasy silence by asking, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? It’s impossible to know if Jesus meant more than these other men here, alluding to the fact Peter had once bragged about his superior loyalty to Jesus only to deny Him under pressure, or whether Jesus meant, Love me more than these things around us, referring to the lake, the boats, the fish, his past life. Jesus may have intended both. In any event, Peter answered, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Jesus told him then, Feed my sheep, which was to say, then get about doing what I’ve called and prepared you to do.

Peter may have expected an, I’m so disappointed in you, speech, but Jesus still loved him despite his failures. And more than that, the call on his life to be His representative, His apostle, that was still in force. Peter was relieved. But Jesus didn’t drop it there. He asked him again, Simon, son of John, do you really love me? And Peter answered again, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.

Jesus said, Then tend my flock. Peter got the point. It was time for him to get busy serving Christ, leading others as he’d been prepared to do. But Jesus still wouldn’t let it go. He asked him the same question a third painful time, Peter, do you love me? And the scripture says Peter was hurt that Jesus asked him this a third time, and he said, You know me better than I know myself.

You know that I love you. You know, sometimes things can lose their sharpness during translation. It’s probably significant that when Jesus asked Peter if he loved him, John has Jesus using a word that means with the deepest kind of selfless love. But when Peter responds each time to Jesus, he uses a different word that means the normal love a person has for a family member, friend, or a close friend. So Peter kept replying, You know that I love you, brother. But Jesus wanted more from him.

He wanted Peter’s deepest devotion, his selfless commitment. It’s interesting to me that Jesus questions Peter so thoroughly on his love. Other qualifications for serving Christ are useful, but love is indispensable. If you do not love Jesus deeply for who he is and what he has done for you, you will hardly serve him well or stay after it when the going gets hard. Jesus deserves our ultimate devotion, doesn’t he? If we love other people or other things more than him, if we love even ourselves more than we love him, we will never fulfill the mission for which he has called us.

We will never make the difference in our world for his cause, which we could have made. The reality Jesus was pressing home to Peter gets to me. I hope if you are a believer, a follower of Jesus Christ, it gets to you too. Jesus then said to Peter, When you were young, you took care of yourself and you went where you wanted. But the time is coming when you will stretch out your hands and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go. It was a prophecy.

As I told you last lesson, one day Peter would be called upon to either deny Jesus again or lay down his own life. Jesus told him, Keep following me. There’s no more time for relapses, no more time for backsliding, for wasted days, for weeks, for years. Jesus was more than ready to forgive and to forget Peter’s past failures, but he was challenging him now to love him with the deepest kind of love and to turn what was left of his life with single-mindedness toward following, serving him, and fulfilling his calling. That’s precisely the challenge for us too. And this is why I reckon John wanted to finish his story here.

It’s personal. Our crucified and risen Lord asks us, Do you love me? The one who laid down his life in our place asks, Do you love me? And when I stop and think about it, I have to say as Peter did, Of course, Lord, you know that I love you. But do you love me more than these? These whatever, whatever other things occupy my life.

Life here is short. The unmistakable implication is What are you doing with it for me? What are you doing with it that will make a difference into eternity? Wow, that’s a heavy question. But John wants those of us who call ourselves Jesus followers to, as Peter was forced to that morning, confront it and decide. As we come to the end of our time in the Gospel of John, I expect some of you who’ve been listening have come to an understanding of who Jesus is and what he has done for you, and as a result, have you received him as your Lord and Savior?

If so, welcome to the family of God. And if that’s the case for you, I hope you will do us a favor and drop a line to us at info at sharetheword.org and let us know that, info at sharetheword.org. Now, keep learning. Keep growing in your faith. Keep obeying what you sense God is showing you through his Word. Becoming a Christian is entering into a relationship with your Creator through personal faith in Jesus Christ.

But living out your faith now as a son or daughter of God is much more. So stay with us as we continue to learn what it all means during our journey through the rest of the New Testament. Others who’ve been listening, I’m pretty sure, have been believers for some time, years, maybe decades. You understand the big picture. You realize that time is running into eternity. You, like me, realize God has gifted you and called you to contribute to advancing his kingdom.

Yet, truth be told, we’re often distracted and easily discouraged. It’d be difficult for many of us to prove we love Christ very deeply if it had to be done by the evidence in our lives right now, just as at that point in Peter’s life we’ve read about in this final chapter, it would have been pretty hard to prove his love by looking at his actions lately, when Jesus put Peter on the spot that morning as they walked along the shoreline. Peter turned around and noticed John was following them. This is great. This is authentic. This is human nature at its finest.

Just as Jesus was pressing Peter on his love and what that should mean going forward, he responded to Jesus, But what about John? But what about John? I remember my kids mastered this diversion technique almost as soon as they could talk. I’d say, Sam, it’s time to pick up your toys and get ready for bed, and he would say, But what about Lydia? She’s not going to bed now. Or, Sam, you’re not allowed to have that drink in the living room, and he would say, But what about Natalie?

She has a drink out here. You know what I’d tell him, don’t you? What about Lydia or Natalie? That has nothing to do with you. It’s what about Sam. Worry about Sam.

When Peter said this very thing to Jesus, the Lord gently rebuked him in the same way. Don’t worry about my plans for John, Peter. You keep following me. Friends, Jesus and what he is about are very real and vitally important. So let me ask you what Jesus was pushing Peter to consider. If you have accepted the gospel and you are a follower of Jesus, what would you like to have accomplished for him by the end of your life journey?

Peter’s just returning to his life as a fisherman was not acceptable. It was just not a choice that he should be making at that point in his life after he understood and after he had been called to be an apostle. And neither is it just going to be okay for us. Once we’ve accepted Christ, once we get the big picture, to just live the same way we were before we met Jesus. Our lives need to count for him going forward. But what about, forget about what anybody else may be doing or not doing with their time and talents and resources.

If they’re just into themselves and living short-sightedly, that’s sad. But it’s also irrelevant to us. Because the question Jesus asks each of us is, Do you love me? And if we reply, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you, to us he urges, Then you follow me. Be about what I’ve called and prepared you to do, because time is moving into eternity, and the time to make a difference with our lives is now. So, after three and a half years of seeing amazing supernatural signs and hearing the bold claims of Jesus, John, now an unflinching believer, finishes his story on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, where it all started.

For someone who appreciates writing, I have to say this is a wonderful touch. John has brought his personal story with Jesus full circle. It’s his own story of what he has seen of Jesus with his own eyes. In the story, he goes from being a seeker after God to a disciple of the one the prophet John the Baptist told him would take away the world’s sins, to fully believing into Jesus as not only Israel’s Messiah, but much more, God on earth in human form, to an apostle of Jesus Christ who spent the rest of his life proclaiming the good news and finally writing down the gospel that bears his name for the benefit of all of us who would come after. This is the record that John has left us of Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, through his own eyes. Thanks for listening.

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