John's Epilogue: Peter's Restoration
Gospel of John • Sermon • Submitted
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I wonder how often we all forget that we follow a risen Christ?
Not a dead saint, or a defeated martyr, or a mythical deity, but the very God who came to earth by putting on human flesh, living a perfect life, dying a sacrificial death, and rising three days later.
To be a Christian, remember, is nothing less than being a follower of Jesus Christ. Not a distant observer. Not a fan that cheers on other committed people, but a person who believes in what He did, and places one foot in front of the other, by faith, every day, seeking obedience to Jesus Christ.
John, in this epilogue, shares with us a scene of 7 disciples trying to get on with life after the resurrection.
There’s sort of this “Now what do we do?” question hanging over everyone’s heads.
The seven listed here are now by the sea of Tiberias, and Peter speaks up. “I’m going fishing.” And they all agreed and went with him. “They went out, got in the boat, and that night they caught nothing.”
Couple observations from this first scene in vs . 1-14
You’ll notice just by reading that Peter takes center stage in this chapter. If John had not spent some time wrapping up these lose ends we would be left wondering about Peter. Would he be restored? What’s he going to do now, this one to whom Jesus spoke the incredible words in Matthew 16:17 “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
But then we think about all of his mistakes, and the number of times he has been rebuked by the Lord for foolish actions, and then his three times denying that he even knew him.
What does that do to a person? There has to be some discouragement, and weariness, and questions about what to do next. Yes, he has seen the risen Lord, but we all know that that doesn’t make it any easier to follow him.
WE HAVE seen BY FAITH, which Jesus says is even more blessed, and yet we struggle with these very things.
So, John focuses our attention on this one disciple who will be instrumental in the church moving forward in the mission of making disciples of all nations. That’s our mission too! These words are not just for Peter and these 6 men, but for us.
So, here they all are getting on with life. These 7 career fishermen. Fishing all night and coming up empty was extremely rare. This was their skill set.
ALL night. Seven professionals fishing. Not one fish.
The day breaks, and the sun is peaking over the horizon, and a voice comes across the water. “Children, do you have any fish?” They answer… “no”. Maybe some shame in their voice.
They didn’t recognize this as Jesus yet...
HE said, “Cast your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.”
So they do it, and they caught so much that they couldn’t haul it in.
John realized it’s Jesus and said, “It’s the Lord!” They hear a splash, and Peter is in the water running to the Lord.
Whether it was right for Peter to go fishing, and lead these 6 other men to do so at this time, is uncertain. There’s even some debate about it amongst commentators. We don’t really know his motivation. What does seem clear is that Peter needed a reminder from the Risen Christ that he is not to depend on his own strength for anything. The next chapter is about to start. Jesus will ascend soon. But the heart of the disciple must remain fixed on Jesus through every season and every transition between seasons.
Toil, and labor, and sweat, and planning, and plotting, and strategizing in life, apart from the Lord, is fruitless for eternity. If Peter sets off on the mission of the Gospel without trust in divine guidance from God, he will fail.
And this scene serves as a parable of the mission that's about to set off after Pentecost. Remember what he was told three years earlier, “follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
If you’re a follower of Christ this morning, then you’re going to face days of weariness from toil and striving, and even what feels like sorrow through the night, but Jesus speaks and has a word for these situations.
“Do you have any fish?” In other words, He will ask you to take inventory. “what do you have to show for all your efforts apart from me?
And then the instruction comes. “Do it my way.” And what will we do? In THAT moment.
He can see we’re striving, but what he wants more than anything is our faith in Him. And what he proves to Peter once again is that he can trust him.
He knew where the fish were. Beyond this, he told the fish exactly where to go...into the net, on the right side of the boat, not the left.
Only when we obey Him as His followers can we walk in the assurance of His guidance.
How much should a Christian obey the words of Christ? If you have to ask that, then you need to reexamine what Lordship even means.
They get to shore and there’s Jesus, cooking breakfast…fish and bread, and he invites them to join him.
There’s no doubt that this would have reminded Peter of another charcoal fire lit in the courtyard of the high priest. That is where he warmed himself in the comfort of his denial of Christ. And now, Jesus, so gracious and forgiving, is going to restore him and show him how he is to be used to glorify Christ, even in his death.
And this reminds me of how gentle Jesus restores the TRULY repentant.
Isaiah 42:3 a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.
This is who you turn to when you turn from sin to the risen Christ by faith. You turn to the one who has taken upon himself the justice of God against sin, and the shame that comes with it, so that what you receive now is mercy. And in your weakness and weariness, you run to him, and he makes himself real to you. As real as if you were sitting and eating breakfast with him.
Which by the way, is one likely reason John gives these details here, to give evidence to a bodily death, and physical resurrection, not an illusion or a ghost, for neither of them would eat physical food. What’s John saying to his readers. The Son of God who was dead, is alive!
But not only does it take obedience to follow Christ, but it takes love.
And so, as Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love me?” We need to hear this question in our souls too. Do you love him?
It’s a simple question with profound implications. Do you know how many people in this world say “I live Jesus.” and yet their hearts show nothing of the love he asks from his disciples?
For Peter, this is his commissioning. Peter is to shepherd the flock of God. He’s a pastor, no doubt, and will go on to lead the church as a prominent figure. What’s his calling in this....to feed.
That’s the call of the shepherd in God’s church. He MUST of immense love for Christ, the Good Shepherd, feed the sheep of God what they need above everything else. HIS WORD.
Psalm 138:2 I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.
But what is Peter’s motivation to be? What is ours to be?
It has to be the first and greatest command, that we love the Lord with ALL OF OUR HEART.
Jesus really challenges the quick answers that we all love to give. Do you love Christ? Yeah, I’m a Christian, of course I do.
Peter, do you love me. Yes you’re my best friend.
Do you love me? Twice asking him with this famous greek translation of the word, Agape love, and peter responding with more of a friendship love.
Before he denied the Lord three times, remember he had pridefully vowed his allegiance to Christ and the superiority of his love. And here…Jesus is driving out this pride that still remains in his heart…to think that he can love Christ without brokenness…without realizing the lifetime of sacrifice and dying to self that it will actually take.
The third time Jesus asked him this question, Jesus lowered the meaning of love to the word Peter was using. “Peter, do you Phileo me.” “Do you really love me like a brother?”, and this third time Peter was grieved because he knew Jesus saw straight into his heart. As he does ours today. DO YOU LOVE ME? Lord you know everything.
But more than this, Peter was grieved in his heart because, look, there’s the charcoal fire. He had denied him three times. And now, he asked him three times about his love. He’s not rebuking him here. He’s restoring him. Peter needs to love Christ, not to be a hero, or to compare himself to how everyone else loves Christ, but because apart from Christ he had nothing.
“Feed my sheep.” This was Peter’s call. What’s yours? It may be a call to leadership, to be a pastor, or some specific role in the body of Christ, but no matter what it is, Know this, you DO have a calling and it involves being an integral part of His body, the church, and in a broader sense, each and every one of us are called to follow him till our dying breath. whenever that may be.
Look at v18. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.”
Church history tells us that Peter was crucified, not like the Lord, but upside down. He will be forced to go where he does not want to go, and his life taken from him, but it will not be apart from the will of Christ.
All Christians are called to live and die for Jesus Christ. You may not be martyred like Peter. You may die a natural death, like John, and many others, but that is up to the Lord. And the very fact that Jesus makes prediction of it here, tells us that he knows the way each of our lives will end, and we do not need to be concerned about it. What needs to be our concern? Those two words in v19… Follow me!
He was tempted to compare his life to John. v21 “and what about this man.”
Leave it to my will, Peter. You, Just follow me.
Church, Let’s conclude this gospel on this.
Following Jesus will never be easy, but that’s not why one follows Christ to begin with. A person follows Christ when they have been awakened to the grossness of their son, and the love of God for such sinners displayed fully in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. To look at this love should humble us today. We need to all take serious inventory and be careful not to quickly claim love for Christ, but rather, humbly confess our need for HIS LOVE.
And as John himself says of his own writing, you can be confident that to believe in Christ, the son of God today, is to have life in His name.