Strathalbyn Church of Christ

Catch, Commissioned, Come John 21:1-19

Alex Bainton. 26th April. ‘20

In today’s reading from John 21:1-19 there are three things in particular that I’d like to draw attention to; we could call them catch, commissioned, and come. Let’s consider each of these in turn.

Catch.

Simon Peter said to some of his fellow disciples, “I am going fishing”. They joined him, and fished all night. The Sea of Tiberius, also known as Lake Galilee, was well-known for its abundant supplies of fish. It was a good place to catch fish, and night-time was a good time to go fishing there, but strangely, the disciples, although they fished all night, didn’t catch a single fish! I can relate to that in some of my attempts at fishing!

“Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach, yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, ‘young men, lads, have you any fish?’ They answered ‘No’. He said to them, ‘Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, for the quantity of fish."

Why would the fishermen listen to a stranger on the shore? If you’d been fishing for hours, and a stranger then tells you how to do it, how might you react, do you think?!!

However, when after a whole night’s fishing they had caught nothing, but when the man on the shore told them to ‘cast the net on the right side of the boat’, they caught a huge catch of 153 fish, then John ‘put two and two together’, and exclaimed “It is the Lord!"

This huge catch of fish may well have reminded Peter and the others of how Jesus had called them to be “fishers of men.”

When he first called Simon and a few others by this very sea of Galilee some years earlier, he had said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."

And perhaps it reminded them of how some years earlier, they had fished all night but caught nothing, and Jesus had told them to cast out into the deep and they would catch some. And they caught such a huge catch then that the nets began to break!

Was the risen Lord reminding Peter and the other disciples of their calling “to fish for people"?

Anzac Day was yesterday, and our thoughts turned to the sacrifice men and women made for the freedom and peace of our nation.

Inside our church is a cross, and it reminds us of the sacrifice Jesus made for our spiritual freedom and peace.

People everywhere need this freedom and peace achieved by the sacrifice of Jesus on that cross followed by his resurrection. That’s why we still “fish” for people.

Or we could look at it another way. Why fish for people?

Because there is something even more deadly than the Covid 19 virus - and that is sin; and everyone’s been infected!;,

What can flatten the curve of sin? Is there a vaccine? Is there a cure? YES! The cross of Jesus followed by his resurrection! He is God’s cure for the sin virus, He is God’s sacrifice that brings us freedom from sin’s guilt and power;and peace with God.

And coming back to today’s reading, is there an encouragement to “have another go”? They had fished all night but caught nothing, but Jesus tells them to “cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some”.

At his direction they have another go.

“Lord, direct our fishing today too, show us where to let down the gospel net.” Maybe this might mean being open to new ways of evangelism? The gospel, however, isn’t to be changed. We don’t need a ‘new’ gospel!

“I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith." (Rom 1:l6)

And it’s interesting that John records here that although the catch was large, the nets didn’t break. That might be significant, for when they had caught a similar catch a few years earlier, on that occasion the nets began to break. Is that suggesting that although back then they weren’t ready, fully equipped, to pull in the catch, now they were?

They now had the good news of Jesus’ death for our sins, and his resurrection, to share. And we do too. The Holy Spirit still works through this gospel!

We are ready if we have personally experienced the saving power of this gospel. Have you? If so, then you can fish - and the Lord still promises “I am with you always."

A dear godly man I knew in the Victor Church of Christ, Ken Collins, once told me how when he was a young man someone showed him a model of a church building. On one wall were the words of Jesus - “Come unto me”, and on the other wall were his words “Go into all the world.”

I once read a statement that went, “For 400 years the Christian Church had no great preacher by rhetorical standards. The first great preacher was Chrysostom. Yet during those centuries Christianity conquered the Mediterranean world by the faithful witness of the common believer.”

I see this as an encouragement to you and I to bear witness to Jesus. God can work through us. Don’t underestimate what the Lord can do through you, as you depend upon him!

There’s a story of an old man walking down the beach at dawn,who noticed a young man ahead of him picking up starfish and flinging them into the sea.

Catching up with the youth, he asked what he was doing. The answer was that the stranded starfish would die if left until the morning sun. “But the beach goes on for miles, and there are millions of starfish,” countered the old man. “How can your effort make a difference?”

The young man looked at the star fish in his hand and then threw it to safety in the waves. “It makes a difference to this one,” he said.

Brothers and sisters, know that you can make a difference to the ones the Lord gives you.

Before we go onto the second word “commissioned”, let me share a story about evangelism that has a bit of humour.

There was a barber who was newly saved, and was eager to witness to his experience with Jesus Christ.

As he met his first customer the next day, he was sharpening his straight razor on the leather strap. His initial approach to his customer was “Are you ready to die?” One can imagine what went through the customer’s mind as he viewed the finely honed razor! As the cliche goes “If we don’t use tact, we may lose contact”!

The second thing brought to us in today’s reading from John is “Commissioned”

“When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire there with fish lying on it, and bread."

A charcoal fire is mentioned only twice - here in John 21, and back in John 18, when Peter stood warming himself around a charcoal fire in the courtyard of the high priest, where he, three times, had said, “I do not know Jesus”. Perhaps Peter was reminded of his denial when he stood near this charcoal fire on the beach warming himself after his swimming ashore from their fishing boat.

Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast”. This was the third time Jesus had revealed himself to the disciples after his resurrection. This is not an hallucination, this is real. Ghosts don’t start a bbq and cook breakfast!

Not only did Jesus reveal himself to them, but he also refreshed them. He knew they would be tired and hungry. “Come and have breakfast” - how typical of Jesus to be so thoughtful! On the night before he died, he had had supper with them, but here after his resurrection he is having breakfast with them! And one day in the future we who trust in Him will enjoy a marriage supper! “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (i.e. Jesus) You, who have heard, and respond to this good news of Jesus dying for our sins and rising, are invited!

After breakfast Jesus has a conversation with Peter. Let’s listen in and see what we can learn.

We don’t hear Jesus saying, “Peter, you denied me three times!” True, Peter had three times denied he knew Jesus!

But Jesus doesn’t condemn him for this. He knows Peter’s repentant heart, and asks Peter a question three times followed by telling Peter to do something, that in effect puts three acts of trust in Peter.

“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” “these” - that is, the other disciples.

Now before Jesus had been crucified, Peter had said - “even if all these other disciples desert you, I won’t!"

But he had. Peter said to Jesus, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you."

Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs."

A second time Jesus said to him “Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said to him, “Take care of my sheep."

Jesus said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John do you love me?"

Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?"

And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you."

_J_esus said to him, “Feed my sheep”.

Peter the fisherman is now Peter the shepherd; he is commissioned to care, to pastor, Christ’s flock

And so, Peter was restored after his failure. Perhaps we too may feel at times - ‘I have failed Jesus, so I can’t be of any more use to him now’.

Friend, don’t despair, the promise still holds true, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

You can be restored and know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. You may feel unworthy - who doesn’t? but he is merciful. Paul could say, “I am the foremost of sinners; but I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience for an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.” (1 Tim. 1:l6).

“Simon, son of John” - that’s Peter’s old name before Jesus called him “Peter” - Rock. “Simon” means a reed, something that bends easily - and yet it is Simon who is entrusted with shepherding Jesus’ flock.

You may feel weak, but with Jesus and his Spirit, you can take on things you couldn’t do in your own strength or love or power. He is our strength. Serving him is with the help of the Lord, not apart from him. Indeed, as he had said to them “apart from me you can do nothing ( John 15:5)

He says “He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit”. And “if you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples."

“Do you love me?" Jesus asked him. That may be a confronting question for any of us, but that’s what Jesus is looking for. What might you say?

Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians says, “So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." Again, “if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing."

“Feed my lambs, tend my sheep. Feed my sheep."

Peter is commissioned to care for Jesus’ flock. Integral to that will be his love for Jesus. And although we aren’t Peter we can, and are called to, care for brothers and sisters in Christ, and our love for Jesus will enable and sustain us in this.

In the current coronavirus situation, caring may, whatever form it can take, be even more important.

The third thing in today’s reading I want to draw attention to can be summarised in the word -

Come -

come after me, or “follow me”, for this is what Jesus said to Peter. “And after this he said to him “Follow Me."

And Jesus said this two times to Peter “If it is my will that he (John) remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!” - that is, you Peter, keep on following me!

Jesus spoke to Peter about his future. “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go." (This he said to show by what death he was to glorify God.) And after this he said to him, “Follow me."

Peter’s future would involve a cross. We believe he was crucified in the 60’s of the first century when Nero was the Roman emperor. But this would be the way “he was to glorify God."

We aren’t going to be put up on a cross, but there is still a ‘cross’ involved in being a follower of Jesus. Jesus had once spoken to crowds with these words, “if any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

Jesus was honest and upfront wasn’t he!

“Follow me” Why? Why follow Jesus? In short, the one who has conquered death is the one we can trust to lead us in life. We are following a Person, not a philosophy; and this Person is none other than the Son of God! Following him means we forsake other so-called ‘saviours’ or ‘gurus’, and entrust ourselves exclusively to him. He is our Teacher - ‘learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

Have you found, are you finding, this rest for your soul? We will if we let him be our teacher and take his yoke upon us.

“Follow me” There is nothing Jesus asks anyone to do that he asks them to do without him. To follow is to stay with him.

And if we read on in this chapter 21 of John’s gospel we learn how Peter asked Jesus what would happen to this other disciple, John? Jesus replied, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!"

In effect Jesus is saying “that’s really my business, Peter. You concentrate on following me, and leave John with me. I could even keep John alive until I come back to earth, if I wanted to.”

Was this a hint that John would have a longer life? John did live to be the last of the first-hand witnesses to Jesus on earth; and we are privileged to read and reflect on his gospel account that contains deep insights!

John gives us understanding into the Person of Jesus - that he is the man who was God, both fully divine and fully human. He begins his gospel saying “The Word was with God, and was God, and became flesh," and at the end of his gospel he records Thomas declaring to Jesus, “My Lord and my God."

John wrote this at a time when some were getting wrong ideas about Jesus. Some said he was only a human being. Some said he was only a divine being. But this aged apostle John wrote down the truth for us - Jesus is fully divine and fully human.

Friends, Jesus told Peter not to be concerned about his plans for John, but to leave that in his hands and concentrate on following Jesus. It’s best for us too, to keep following him, looking to him for his plan and letting him fulfil his will in us, and so to glorify God.

Let us pray

Series: John

Topics: #John