Sermon Tone Analysis

*The Church: A Community Still Following Jesus \\ John 21:1-19*

 

Open your Bibles to the last chapter of John’s gospel.

… At this point Jesus has risen from the dead … and appeared to His disciples a couple of times.

… And now we see the disciples back living their ordinary lives … when Jesus appears to them again.

The disciples have gone back to fishing.

… And they’re on the Sea of Tiberias … (which is another name for the Sea of Galilee).

{PP} (map)

(Great Sea … Dead Sea … Jerusalem … Jordan River … Sea of Galilee~/Tiberias) … The Sea of Tiberias is about 80 miles northeast of Jerusalem … (as far as St. Louis to Fredericktown, MO) … so they’ve traveled a very *long* way … (when you consider their modes of transportation) … in the short period of time since Jesus’ death.

They’re confused … and it seems like they just wanted to get as far away from Jerusalem … as fast they could.

{PP} (2nd map) Here is a photo of a section of the Sea of Galilee today.

…

A peaceful sea.

… A place they could return to their lives of fishing.

… A place far away from all the disturbances of Jerusalem … and the death of Jesus.

Follow with me as we look at John 21 … and this encounter with Jesus … which took place on the shore of *this* very lake … in an area much like you see in this picture.

John chapter 21 … {PP} (John 21:1-19) … “Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias.

It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.

3 “/I’m going out to fish/,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “/We’ll go with you/.”

{PP} (John 21:1-19) So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught *nothing*.

[PAUSE]

4 Early in the morning … *Jesus* stood on the shore … but the disciples did *not* realize that it was Jesus.

5 He called out to them, “/Friends, haven’t you any fish?/”

{PP} (John 21:1-19)

“/No/,” they answered.

6 He said, “/Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some./”

When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, /“It is the Lord!”/ {PP} (John 21:1-19) As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.

8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.

{PP} (John 21:1-19)  9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

10 Jesus said to them … “/Bring some of the fish you have just caught./”

11 Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore.

It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn.

{PP} (John 21:1-19)  12 Jesus said to them … “/Come and have breakfast./”

… None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?”

They knew it was the Lord.

13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish.

14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

{PP} (John 21:1-19)

15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “/Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?/”

“/Yes, Lord,/” he said, “/you know that I love you./”

Jesus said … “/Feed my lambs./”

{PP} (John 21:1-19)

16 Again Jesus said, “/Simon son of John, do you truly love me?/”

He answered, “/Yes, Lord, you know that I love you./”

Jesus said, “/Take care of my sheep./”

{PP} (John 21:1-19)

17 The third time he said to him, “/Simon son of John, do you love me?/”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?”

He said, “/Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you./”

{PP} (John 21:1-19)

Jesus said, “/Feed my sheep.

18 I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go./” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God.

Then he said to him, “*/Follow me!/*”

{PP} (blank)

What did it mean for the disciples to follow Jesus?

… [PAUSE] … When He called His first disciples … what did He call them to do? … [PAUSE – *get* *feedback*]

Do you see that … up until this point … following Jesus meant … (quite literally) … following Him around?

… But things will be different now.

… He won’t be with them physically anymore … and so He needs to teach them how they will follow Him after He’s gone.

… And how … in fact … He will *still* be with them … (as He says … “even to the end of the age”).

Essentially … Jesus is teaching us what this community … [SHOW] … called the church … should look like.

… And what it means to follow Him … now that He’s not physically here in His body anymore.

…

That’s our topic.

… *The Church: A Community Still Following Jesus*.

People are longing to see the church really be the church.

… A *lot* of people today describe themselves … as “spiritual … but not religious.”

I had a great discussion about this for a couple of hours this week.

I was talking to a young man who said he believes in God … but he’s just not sure he believes in the church.

And we’d have to admit … that the church in the 21st Century … does not always look like the church is supposed to look.

… That’s why we’re doing this series on the church and community.

The church should look … like the Bible says it should look … like a community following Jesus.

… Because this is Jesus teaching us how to follow Him once He’s gone … understanding what Jesus is saying in John 21 will help us to “follow Him.”

Notice that … before they even know it’s Jesus … He says … *“Throw your net.” *(I know you’ve been fishing all night … and you haven’t caught any fish … and I’m a stranger you don’t recognize over here on the shore … but just one more time …) *… “Throw your net.”*

This exchange is *far* more significant than you might think.

… It calls to mind Luke chapter 5 when Jesus was in the boat with these *same* disciples three years earlier.

… They had *just* met Jesus.

… On that occasion they had *also* been out fishing all night … and … they also hadn’t caught any fish.

… And then *Jesus* gets in the boat … and in Luke 5:4 He turns to Peter (before he was even called Peter) and says … “Simon {PP} (Luke 5:4-11)

“/Put out into deep water … and let down the nets for a catch./”

5 Simon answered … “/Master … we’ve worked hard all night … and haven’t caught anything.

… But … because *you* say so … I will let down the nets./”

{PP} (Luke 5:4-11)

6 When they had done so … they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.

7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them … and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

{PP} (Luke 5:4-11)

 

8 When Simon Peter saw this … [PAUSE] … he fell at Jesus’ knees and said … “*Go away from me … Lord *… [PAUSE] … I am a *sinful* man!” 9  … For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken … 10 and so were James and John … the sons of Zebedee … Simon’s partners.

{PP} (Luke 5:4-11)

Then Jesus said to Simon … “Don’t be afraid … [PAUSE] … from now on you will catch *men*.”

[PAUSE] 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore … left everything … and *followed him*.”

{PP} (blank)

 

That’s how it all started.

… That’s what happened when they *first* started following Jesus.

Without Him … they can’t catch any fish.

… With Him … they catch more than they can handle.

Now … three years later … we have the same scenario.

… The disciples are out in a boat fishing all night … but they can’t find any fish.

… John 21:3 says … “that night they caught nothing.”

Once again … Jesus comes and tells them to throw their nets … and when they throw the nets … once again … they catch more fish than they can handle.

Have you ever noticed how similar these two stories are? … One at the start of His ministry … when He first calls the disciples … *and* one at the end of their training … just before He will be taken away from them physically.

But there are a couple of very important differences that I want to draw your attention to.

This time … unlike the first time … Jesus is *not* in the boat with them.