As we begin our look today at the 21st and final chapter of John’s gospel, we are preparing to bring to a close our lengthy and in-depth study of this eye witness account that has lasted us almost 16 months. We’ve seen the highs and lows of Jesus’ earthly ministry. We’ve seen his teachings and his miracles and signs. We have ridden the wave of emotion alongside the disciples as they wrestled with all that Jesus said and did. And over the course of the past month or so, we’ve seen John’s account of Jesus’ death and resurrection. The past few Sundays, we’ve paid particular attention to Christ’s resurrection and how we are to take that great and wonderful news out into the world. At the end of our text last Sunday, John even gave his closing remarks about this book and why it was written and why he included what he did. In honesty, you would have thought that the book was ending with those remarks. After all, many other books of Scripture end with the author of the book stating their reason(s) for writing the book and including the events that they did. However, John’s gospel is not yet finished. There is still one thing that needs to be resolved before John can completely end his gospel account.
There’s probably no disciple that took Jesus’ crucifixion harder than Peter did. After all, the last time that Peter had seen Jesus alive prior to his resurrection, they made eye contact while Jesus was being savagely beaten just as Peter denied knowing him for a third time. That shame, that disgust is something that you never quite get over I would imagine. I can remember growing up, my grandmother would always fuss at me if I was arguing with my parents or a friend. She would always tell me that you never go to bed angry with someone because you never know what could happen. I don’t know if this had ever happened to her, but I know that it was one of her must fundamental rules about life. Well, Peter hadn’t said goodbye to Jesus in anger, but his final moment of looking upon Jesus was after he had denied him. For Peter, the three days that Jesus remained buried in the tomb had to feel like an eternity. I mean, it’s not like he knew that Jesus was going to be resurrected. The final chapter of John’s gospel is in some ways the story of the redemption of Peter.
We’re told that seven of the disciples had gone out fishing at the Sea of Tiberias. Remind you, that the disciples mentioned were all fishermen prior to their being called by Jesus. They were in essence getting back to normal life as it existed prior to the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry. They worked all night and caught nothing. Now, mind you, these aren’t your average fishermen; again, these are professionals. When me and my friends from college meet up in north Louisiana and go fishing, we usually fish all day if the weather permits. At night, we set out about 9:00 or 10:00 and go run trotlines all along Lake Yucatan, which feeds into the Mississippi River, in hopes of catching some good ole’ Mississippi River catfish. This takes a couple of hours, and we have been known to stay out managing these lines until the sun comes up and the “real” fisherman come out. Even if we don’t catch too much, we have a good time and aren’t too upset at our wasted efforts. Well, these disciples aren’t me and my buddies. When they go out, they expect to come back with a load of fish. After all, this was how they made their living.
As the sun is rising on the sea, Jesus is standing on the shore and calls out to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” The disciples, much like Mary when she first saw Jesus or the two men on the road to Emmaus, didn’t recognize that it was Jesus. They saw that it was a man, but just figured it to be some stranger. This man told them to cast their net on the right side of the boat. He said that if they did that then they would catch fish. Now, I have to be honest here, when someone tells me what to do from a distance, there’s a good chance that I’m not going to do it out of spite; especially when it’s something that I know how to do. Anyways, the disciples cast their net on the right side of the boat and low and behold they catch so many fish that they can’t bring in the net. This story is very reminiscent of Peter’s very first encounter with Jesus that we read about in Luke’s gospel. In Luke 5, we’re told that Peter wasn’t catching any fish then either. Jesus told Peter to put his boat out a little farther from the land and cast his net and the result was the same as it was in our text today, so many fish that the nets were breaking. Well, something in this event in our text today reminds John, the writer of this gospel, of the events recorded in Luke 5. John leans to Peter and tells him that the man speaking to them from the shore is Jesus. Well, Peter doesn’t care about the fish anymore; he jumps immediately into the water and begins swimming for the shore, leaving the remaining six disciples to tend to the fish that are still in the nets.
I want you to notice Peter’s reaction here, but first I want us to remember what happened back in Luke 5 when this other account took place. After Peter saw the power of Jesus, he fell to his knees and said to Jesus, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” This is a quite common response by people throughout the gospel accounts when they encounter Jesus for the first time. It’s also the same reaction that all of the creatures in the book of Revelation have when they too see the glory of the Lord. Why, even us folks today have this reaction when God blesses us; our first reaction is that we aren’t worthy and are undeserving of whatever it is that God is giving to us or calling us to do. We almost seek to retreat from God because we don’t feel like we deserve to be before Him. Now look at how Peter responds to Jesus in our text for today. There are no words of departing from him. In fact, Peter can’t get to Jesus fast enough. He hops right in the water and rushes to him without a second thought for the boat. It reminds me of that scene in the movie Forrest Gump when Forrest sees Lieutenant Dan at the pier and he gets so excited that he dives into the water to hurry to his friend’s side. Forrest arrives at Lieutenant Dan only to climb out of the water and see his boat ram into the nearby pier; then citing the now infamous line of “That’s my boat.” Lucky for Peter there are still six other people on his boat. Peter just couldn’t get to the shore and to Jesus fast enough.
We’re then told that there were some hot coals nearby and that Jesus wanted the disciples to bring some of the 153 fish they caught so that they could have a meal together. We’re told that Jesus took the bread and fish and gave it to them. This is very similar to the giving of the elements of the Lord’s Supper that had taken place just prior to Jesus’ arrest, crucifixion, and burial. This is very similar to the events of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples in order to teach them about what service looks like in the Upper Room. We see that both prior to and after his resurrection, that Jesus served the disciples, providing for their daily needs. He provided them with bread and fish right there on the seashore after a long night of labor trying to bring in fish. He provided for them during the three plus year period known as his earthly ministry. He provided for them even after this ministry was completed and after all of the disciples had returned home and gotten back to their normal lives, and so too does He provide for you and me. He provided for his disciples then, and he provides for his disciples now. There is not one thing in this world that we truly need that Jesus does not provide for us. Sure, there are things that we would like to have, but there is nothing that we must have that he has not already given to us. It doesn’t matter whether we are in the midst of a great spiritual awakening or just going through an average, ordinary period of our lives, God provides for our every need. We must trust in him. We must know that no matter what our situation or circumstance, the Lord will and does provide. When we find ourselves in need, we need not look inward, but upward. Won’t you trust in Him to care for your every need? Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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