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Transformed to Serve John
21
As
we noticed a few weeks ago if John was the average autobiography there
would be no need for the 20th chapter. But because this is the story of
our Lord and Messiah we get to rejoice in the Resurrection. Well now we
get to the 21st chapter and only John includes this story. The main
reason is the Apostle Peter. John did not want to end his Gospel without
telling his readers that Peter was restored to his apostleship. Apart
from the information in this chapter, we would wonder why Peter was so
prominent in the first twelve chapters of the Book of Acts.
John may have had another purpose in mind: he wanted to teach us how to
relate to the risen Christ. During the forty days between His
resurrection and ascension, our Lord appeared and disappeared at will,
visiting with the disciples and preparing them for the coming of the
Spirit and their future ministries. They never knew when He would
appear, so they had to stay alert! (The fact that He may return for His
people today ought to keep us on our toes!) It was an important time for
the disciples because they were about to take His place in the world and
begin to carry the message to others.
In this last chapter we will see three pictures of the believer and a
responsibility attached to each picture.
We Are Fishers of Men—Obey Him (John 21:1-8)
The Lord had instructed His disciples to meet Him in Galilee, which
helps to explain why they were at the Sea of Galilee, or Sea of Tiberius
(the Roman name for the Sea of Galilee). But John did not explain why
Peter decided to go fishing. But, it is interesting that at least seven
of the twelve disciples were probably fishermen. Why did Jesus call so
many fishermen to follow Him? For one thing, fishermen are courageous,
and Jesus needs brave people to follow Him. They are also dedicated to
one thing and cannot easily be distracted. Fishermen do not quit! They
know how to take orders, and they know how to work together.
Why they went fishing we don’t know but we do know this: their efforts
were in vain. Had they forgotten the Lord’s words, “For without Me, ye
can do nothing”? They toiled all night and caught nothing. Certainly,
Peter must have remembered what happened two years before, when Jesus
called him into full-time discipleship. On that occasion, Peter had
fished all night and caught nothing, but Jesus had turned his failure
into success.
Perhaps Peter’s impulsiveness and self-confidence were revealing
themselves again. He was sincere, and he worked hard, but there were no
results. How many of us are just as guilty? We sincerely believe that we
are doing God’s will, but our labors are in vain. We are serving without
direction from the Lord, so we cannot expect blessing from the Lord.
After His resurrection, our Lord was sometimes not recognized; so it was
that His disciples did not recognize Him when, at dawning, He appeared
on the shore. His question expected a negative reply: “You have not
caught anything to eat, have you?” Their reply was brief and perhaps a
bit embarrassed: “No.”
It was time for Jesus to take over the situation, just as He did when He
called Peter into discipleship. He told them where to cast the net; they
obeyed, and they caught 153 fish! The difference between success and
failure was the width of the ship! We are never far from success when we
permit Jesus to give the orders, and we are usually closer to success
than we realize.
It was John who first realized that the stranger on the shore was their
own Lord and Master. It was John who leaned on the Lord’s breast at the
table and who stood by the cross when his Lord suffered and died. It is
love that recognizes the Lord and shares that good news with others: “It
is the Lord!”
With characteristic impulsiveness, Peter quickly put on his outer
garment and dove into the water! He wanted to get to Jesus! This is in
contrast to their first meeting in Luke 5:8 where Peter told the Lord to
depart from him. The other six men followed in the boat, bringing the
net full of fish.
Perhaps we can see in these two “fishing miracles” an illustration of
how the Lord helps His people fish for lost souls. All of our efforts
are useless apart from His direction and blessing.
Jesus called the disciples and us to be “fishers of men.” A fisherman
catches living fish, but when he gets them, they die. A Christian seeks
to catch “dead fish” dead in their sins, and when he or she “catches”
them, they are made alive in Christ!
Now we can understand why Jesus had so many fishermen in the disciple
band. Fishermen know how to work. They have courage and faith to go out
“into the deep.” They have patience, persistence, and they will not
quit. They know how to cooperate with one another, and they are skilled
in using the equipment and the boat. What examples for us to follow as
we seek to “catch fish” for Jesus Christ!
We are indeed “fishers of men,” and there are “fish” all around us. If
we obey His directions, we will catch the fish. If this church is not
catching fish, then it is only safe to assume that we are not following
the Lord’s lead.
We Are Shepherds—Love Him (John 21:9-18)
Jesus met His disciples on the beach where He had already prepared
breakfast for them. This entire scene must have stirred Peter’s memory
and touched his conscience. Surely he was recalling that first catch of
fish and perhaps even the feeding of the 5,000 with bread and fish. It
was at the close of the latter event that Peter had given his clear-cut
witness of faith in Jesus Christ. The “fire of coals” would certainly
remind him of the fire at which he denied the Lord. It is good for us to
remember the past; we may have something to confess.
Three “invitations” stand out in John’s Gospel: “Come and see”; “Come
and drink”; and “Come and dine”.
Notice the compassion shown by Christ to feed Peter before He dealt with
his spiritual needs. He gave Peter opportunity to dry off, get warm,
satisfy his hunger, and enjoy personal fellowship. This is a good
example for us to follow as we care for God’s people. Certainly the
spiritual is more important than the physical, but caring for the
physical can prepare the way for spiritual ministry. Our Lord does not
so emphasize “the soul” that He neglects the body.
I know that Ron used to say if you hamburger them to get them here then
you will have to hamburger them to keep them. And I understand to a
point what he was saying, but as we see in this passage and in dozens
more Jesus always took care of the physical and spiritual needs of the
people.
Peter and his Lord had already met privately and no doubt taken care of
Peter’s sins, but since Peter had denied the Lord publicly, it was
important that there be a public restoration. Sin should be dealt with
only to the extent that it is known. Private sins should be confessed in
private, public sins in public. Since Peter had denied his Lord three
times, Jesus asked him three personal questions. He also encouraged him
by giving a threefold commission that restored Peter to his ministry.
The key issue is Peter’s love for the Lord Jesus, and that should be a
key matter with us today. But what did the Lord mean by “more than
these”?
Was He asking, “Do you love Me more than you love these other men?” Not
likely, because this had never been a problem among the disciples. They
all loved the Lord Jesus supremely, even though they did not always obey
Him completely.
Perhaps Jesus meant, “Do you love Me more than you love these boats and
nets and fish?” Again, this is not likely, for there is no evidence that
Peter ever desired to go back permanently into the fishing business.
Fishing did not seem to compete with the Savior’s love.
The question probably meant, “Do you love Me as you claimed more than
these other disciples love Me?” Peter had boasted of his love for Christ
and had even contrasted it with that of the other men. “I will lay down
my life for Thy sake!” “Though all men shall be offended because of
Thee, yet will I never be offended!” There is more than a hint in these
boastful statements that Peter believed that he loved the Lord more than
the other disciples.
Many commentaries point out that, in this conversation, two different
words are used for “love.” In His questions in John 21:15-16, our Lord
used agape, which is the Greek word for the highest kind of love,
sacrificing love, divine love. Peter always used phileo, which is the
love of friend for friend, fondness for another. In John 21:17, Jesus
and Peter both used phileo.
Before we judge Peter too severely, two other matters should be
considered. When answering the first two questions, Peter did affirm his
agape love when he said, “Yes, Lord!” The fact that Peter himself used
phileo did not negate his wholehearted assent to the Lord’s use of
agape. Second, Peter and Jesus undoubtedly spoke in Aramaic, even though
the Holy Spirit recorded the conversation in common Greek.
In spite of his faults and failures, Peter did indeed love the Lord, and
he was not ashamed to admit it. The other men were certainly listening
“over Peter’s shoulder” and benefiting from the conversation, for they
too had failed the Lord after boasting of their devotion. Peter had
already confessed his sin and been forgiven. Now he was being restored.
The image, however, changes from that of the fisherman to that of the
shepherd. Peter was to minister both as an evangelist (catching the
fish) and a pastor (shepherding the flock). It is unfortunate when we
divorce these two because they should go together. Pastors, or Bishops,
or Elders ought to evangelize and then shepherd the people they have won
so that they mature in the Lord.
Jesus gave three admonitions to Peter: “Feed My lambs,” “Shepherd My
sheep,” and “Feed My sheep.” Both the lambs and the more mature sheep
need feeding and leading, and that is the task of the spiritual
shepherd. It is an awesome responsibility to be a shepherd of God’s
flock! There are enemies that want to destroy the flock, and the
shepherd must be alert and courageous. By nature, sheep are ignorant and
defenseless, and they need the protection and guidance of the shepherd.
Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd, and the Chief
Shepherd. Elders are “under-shepherds” who must obey Him as they
minister to the flock. The most important thing the Elder can do is to
love Jesus Christ. If he truly loves Jesus Christ, the Elder will also
love His sheep and tenderly care for them.
The Greek word for “sheep” at the end of John 21:17 means “dear sheep.”
Our Lord’s sheep are dear to Him and He wants His ministers to love them
and care for them personally and lovingly. An Elder who loves the flock
will serve it faithfully, no matter what the cost.
We Are Disciples—Follow Him (John 21:19-25)
Jesus had just spoken about Peter’s life and ministry, and now He talks
about Peter’s death. This must have been a shock to Peter, to have the
Lord discuss his death in such an open manner. No doubt Peter was
rejoicing that he had been restored to fellowship and apostleship. Why
bring up martyrdom?
The first time Jesus spoke about His own death, Peter had opposed it.
Peter had even used his sword in the Garden in a futile attempt to
protect his Lord. Yet Peter had boasted he would die for the Lord Jesus!
But when the pressure was on, Peter failed miserably. Anyone who yields
himself to serve the Lord must honestly confront this matter of death.
When a person has settled the matter of death, then he is ready to live
and to serve! Our Lord’s own death is a repeated theme in John’s Gospel:
He knew that His “hour” would come, and He was prepared to obey the
Father’s will. We as His followers must yield ourselves—just as He
yielded Himself for us—and be “living sacrifices” who are “ready to be
offered” if it is the will of God.
The day would come when another would take charge of Peter—and kill him.
Tradition tells us that Peter was crucified, but that he asked to be
crucified upside down, because he was not worthy to die exactly as his
Master had died.
But Peter’s death would not be a tragedy; it would glorify God! The
death of Lazarus glorified God and so did the death of Jesus. Paul’s
great concern was that he glorify God, whether by life or by death. This
should be our desire as well.
Our Lord’s words, “Follow Me!” must have brought new joy and love to
Peter’s heart. Literally, Jesus said, “Keep on following Me.”
Immediately, Peter began to follow Jesus, just as he had done before his
great denial. However, for a moment Peter took his eyes off the Lord
Jesus, a mistake he had made at least two other times. After that first
great catch of fish, Peter took his eyes off his Lord and looked at
himself. “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” When he was
walking on the stormy sea with Jesus, Peter looked away from the Lord
and began to look at the wind and waves; and immediately he began to
sink. It is dangerous to look at the circumstances instead of looking to
the Lord.
Why did Peter look away from his Lord and start to look back? Maybe, he
heard somebody walking behind him. It was the Apostle John who was also
following Jesus Christ. Peter did a foolish thing and asked Jesus, “What
shall this man do?” In other words, “Lord, you just told me what will
happen to me; now, what will happen to John?”
The Lord rebuked Peter and reminded him that his job was to follow, not
to meddle into the lives of other believers. Be careful when you get
your eyes off the Lord and start to look at other Christians! “Looking
unto Jesus” should be the aim and practice of every believer. To be
distracted by ourselves, our circumstances, or by other Christians, is
to disobey the Lord and possibly get detoured out of the will of God.
Keep your eyes of faith on Him and on Him alone.
This does not mean that we ignore others, because we do have the
responsibility of caring for one another. Rather, it means that we must
not permit our curiosity about others to distract us from following the
Lord. God has His plan for us; He also has plans for our Christian
friends. How He works in their lives is His business. Our business is to
follow Him as He leads us.
Jesus did not say that John would live until His return, but that is the
way some of the misguided believers understood it. More problems are
caused by confused saints than by lost sinners! Misinterpreting the Word
of God only creates misunderstanding about God’s people and God’s plans
for His people.
As John came to the close of his book, he affirmed again the credibility
of his witness. Remember, witness is a key theme in the Gospel of John.
The word is used forty-seven times. John witnessed these events himself
and wrote them for us as he was led by the Holy Spirit. He could have
included so much more, but he wrote only what the Spirit told him to
write.
The book ends with Peter and John together following Jesus, and He led
them right into the Book of Acts! What an exciting thing it was to
receive the power of the Spirit and to bear witness of Jesus Christ! Had
they not trusted Him, been transformed by Him, and followed Him, they
would have remained successful fishermen on the Sea of Galilee; and the
world would never have heard of them.
Jesus Christ is transforming lives today. Wherever He finds a believer
who is willing to yield to His will, listen to His Word, and follow His
way, He begins to transform that believer and accomplish remarkable
things in that life. He also begins to do wonderful things through that
life.
Peter and John have been off the scene for centuries, but you and I are
still here, taking their place. What a responsibility! What a privilege!
We can succeed only as we permit Him to transform us.
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