Sunday Evening Sermon

Preached by John Gaines at Leonard Street Church of Christ

March 9, 2003

Eyeglasses For a Fisherman (#5)

1. We conclude our five-part look at Simon Peter and his growing understanding of Jesus tonight with this look at the last chapter in the gospel of John.

2. Before we look at that text, let's review what happened with Peter as Jesus was being arrested and crucified.

a. Before going to the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus told the apostles that all of them would be made to stumble [Matthew 26:31]. Peter strongly disagreed. Not me, Lord, he boasted! [Matthew 26:33 (NKJV) Peter answered and said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble."]

b. In response, Jesus offered a very specific prophecy regarding Peter's denial of Him [Matthew 26:34 (NKJV) Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." Peter again disputed what Jesus had said in Matthew 26:35 (NKJV), "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!"

c. Yet you know what happened. After Jesus was arrested in the garden, He was taken to the house of Caiphas, the high priest. Peter followed behind and waited in the courtyard outside. Just as Jesus predicted, three times Peter denied that he was a follower of Jesus. After the third denial, the text says in Matthew 26:74-75 (NKJV) "Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." So he went out and wept bitterly."

d. Simon had become Peter, the Rock! Now the rock has crumbled as Peter's proud boast turned out to be false. He was not as strong as he thought. Remember Paul's admonition in 1 Corinthians 10:12 (NKJV) Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. There were still some lessons Peter had to learn before he was ready to do the work Jesus had been preparing him to do.

3. Jesus appeared to various people numerous times after His resurrection. John records three appearances by the resurrected Jesus to the apostles . . . the first time without Thomas [John 20:19-23], the second time with Thomas present [John 20:24-29] and the third time which we'll study about in this lesson.

As we analyze John 21, we can summarize the events under three headings -- the darkness of defeat, the daybreak of decision, and the daytime of dedication. [adapted from Warren Wiersbe, Expository Outlines on the New Testament]

I. THE DARKNESS OF DEFEAT

A. Seven of the apostles are mentioned in John 21:2. They had left Jerusalem and had gone back to Galilee.

1. The apostles (except Judas) were Galileans [Acts 2:7]. It is possible that they thought their mission was over. J. W. McGarvey wrote, "These apostles, thinking that their apostleship had terminated, had returned to their old life as fishermen" [Fourfold Gospel, 755].

2. There is another explanation, however, for these men going to Galilee. The angel who appeared to the women at the empty tomb told them in Matthew 28:7 (NKJV) "And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him." It is reasonable then to think that they went to Galilee expecting to see Jesus again.

B. Peter said, "I am going fishing" [John 21:3]

1. There are many reasons why a man might decide to go fishing. Most of those reasons are perfectly fine reasons. However, if brother McGarvey was right, then Peter was giving up. It was admitting defeat and going back to the old way of life.

2. Many Christians today go through nights of darkness in their spiritual lives. The temptation is strong to turn their backs on their faith and their service to God. It can seem so appealing to quit and go fishing -- i.e., go back to the old lifestyle before one became a Christian.

C. The other six disciples said, "We are going with you" [John 21:3]

1. Peter's leadership ability is evident here. He proposed the plan. The others, no doubt, were casting about with uncertainty about what they were going to do with their lives. They were ready to follow Peter's lead.

2. Every one of us is a person of influence. We can lead someone else in either the right direction or the wrong direction. It is very important that we set good examples of what believers should do [1 Timothy 4:12 (NKJV) Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.]

D. The fishing expedition was unsuccessful. Peter and his friends were defeated in their attempt to return to the life of fishing. They caught nothing [John 21:3]. It seems that this fruitless night of fishing serves as an excellent metaphor for Christians who turn back to the world and undertake to live apart from Christ. We can "go fishing without Christ" but we won't catch anything. Real success is lacking from our lives when we try to live without the Lord.

II. THE DAYBREAK OF DECISION

A. At daybreak, the fishermen saw a figure standing on the shore.

1. The figure was Jesus, but they did not recognize Him.

a. It may be that there was something different about Jesus' appearance after His resurrection. Mary Magdalene had earlier seen Jesus near the tomb and thought He was the gardener [John 19:14-15].

b. It may be attributed simply to the distance (the boat was about 100 yards from shore) and uncertain light of daybreak.

2. Jesus said, "Children, have you any food?" The word translated "children" is different from the one He normally used. It might be translated something like "Boys" or "Lads." McGarvey thought the fishermen would have understood Him to be someone wanting to buy fish. Surely it galled them to have to answer, "No." Notice that they don't elaborate. Just a simple, quick, one-word answer. No, we don't have any fish.

B. Jesus told them to cast their net on the right side of the boat [John 21:6]

1. They obeyed. It's interesting to explore what they might have been thinking.

a. They didn't know it was Jesus. After fishing all night without success, why do what a stranger on the beach told them to do?

b. Maybe they thought He saw some fish in the water.

c. Maybe they adopted a "what do we have to lose?" approach.

d. For whatever reason, they did what the Man on the shore told them to do.

2. The net was suddenly so full of fish that they could not draw it in. This reminds us of the story we studied in the first lesson of this series. Peter, James, and John had fished all night and caught nothing. Jesus told Peter to put his nets down and the catch was so great that the nets began to break. Repeating this similar experience had to be a powerful memory lesson for Peter, James, and John.

C. John recognized Jesus [John 21:7a (NKJV) Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!"] Why did John recognize Jesus before the others? At least there is the possibility that he had kept in mind the angel's instructions better than the others and was looking for Jesus. Perhaps the others had pushed all thought of Jesus from the minds, but John was still centering his thoughts on the Lord.

D. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea [John 21:7b] Impetuous Peter shows that he was still a man of quick action. He saw that John was right. It was the Lord standing on the shore. He put on his outer garment and jumped overboard. The boat was 200 cubits out from shore (about 100 yards). The water would have been so deep that Peter had to swim. He was not willing to wait until they could bring the boat ashore; he wanted to be with Jesus now. Peter makes an instant decision to be with Jesus.

E. Jesus ate breakfast with the disciples.

1. Broiled fish and bread

2. Peter pulled the net ashore -- 153 large fish, yet the net was not split.

III. DAYTIME OF DEDICATION

A. Three questions and three answers [John 21:15-17 (NKJV) So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Feed My lambs." 16 He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Tend My sheep." 17 He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, 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 all things; You know that I love You." Jesus said to him, "Feed My sheep.

1. "Do you love me more than these?"

a. Probably means, "Do you love me more than these other disciples love me?" In times past, Peter would probably have boldly asserted his claim to love Jesus more than anyone else. Others may forsake you, Lord, but I will die for you! But Peter has learned to be more careful about making such claims.

b. Two words for love.

(1) Jesus used the verb form of agape -- extreme, self-sacrificial love.

(a) The kind of love God has for the world which caused Him to give His only begotten Son [John 3:16].

(b) The kind of love husbands are to have for their wives -- whom they are to love as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her [Ephesians 5:25 (NKJV) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,]

(2) Peter answered, "You know that I love you," but he used phileo -- friendship love -- in effect saying, "You know that I am fond of you."

c. Notice that Peter does not respond to Jesus' real question. He makes no claim to even be fonder of Jesus than the other disciples. Enough of the wild statements. Peter is watching his words very carefully.

3. Jesus gave Peter the charge to "Feed my lambs." [John 21:15]. This is repeated after every declaration of Peter's love. V. 16 -- "Tend my sheep" V. 17, "Feed my sheep." I don't think there is any significant difference of meaning in these three statements. Peter has a job to do. His work is not finished.

a. Peter had denied Christ three times.

b. Here he professes his love for Christ three times.

c. Christ three times commissions him to be a shepherd of Christ's sheep.

(1) Peter was an elder in the church [1 Peter 5:1-2 (NKJV) The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;]

(2) Peter was "a fellow elder." This does not justify the claims of the Catholic church that Peter was "the shepherd" or pope over all the church.

B. A glimpse into the future

1. Jesus' prophecy concerning Peter - John 21:18 (NKJV) "Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish."

2. We might not automatically understand that to be a reference to Peter's violent death, but John gives that interpretation [John 21:19a (NKJV) This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God.] Writing at the end of the first century, Clement refers to the death of Peter and other martyrs for the faith. In the 3rd century, the church historian Eusebius attributes to Origen the account that Peter was crucified upside down by the Romans. There is no proof of this and the writing of Origen which Eusebius cited is not in existence today. However, the fact that Peter would die a violent death for the faith is implied in John's words. The writing of the gospel of John is believed to have taken place AFTER the death of Peter so John was writing history rather than prophecy when he wrote these words.

C. A final lesson - MYOB

1. Peter looked at John and asked, "Lord, what about this man?" Peter was curious about John's future.

2. The Lord rebuked Peter's curiosity. Jesus was not spreading idle gossip about the future. He was not some kind of crystal ball reader whose aim was simply to satisfy the curious about future events. He had something to say to Peter and He wanted Peter to appreciate the message. Jesus said, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me." [John 21:22 (NKJV)] Peter needed to be concerned about Peter and not worry about what was going to happen to John.

3. John corrects a mistaken rumor that Jesus had prophesied he would never die [John 21:23 (NKJV) Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?"]

CONCLUSION

1. Back in Jerusalem, Jesus finished His time with the apostles and ascended to heaven [Acts 1:1-9]

2. Ten days later on Pentecost, Peter preached Christ to the people [Acts 2:14 (NKJV) But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words.] He taught the need for the people to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins [Acts 2:38]. 3,000 gladly received his word and were baptized [Acts 2:41].

3. Peter's love for the Lord was demonstrated as he spent his life feeding the sheep with the gospel of Christ.

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III. THE DAYTIME OF DEDICATION