By Kasey Castillo
John 21 is my favorite chapter in the Bible because it is a beautiful intimate account where Jesus shows His FAITHFULNESS and tender mercies to his disciples and in particular Peter on a beach, when Peter really needed Him.
Recall a time in your life where you had really messed up–hurt a loved one, betrayed someone; or just fell into a time of sin. And you were experiencing a lot of guilt and shame and sorrow. You were simply exhausted from the drama in your life; or sick and tired of the emotional rollercoaster you were on. And maybe you are experiencing some of that in your life currently. Put yourself in that picture, in that place, with those deep feelings of sorrow. Now picture yourself there, remember the time when you locked arms with Jesus as He restores you, freeing you from guilt and shame. Over time, he helped you choose the more stable, straight path and helped you overcome the erratic, exhausting highs and lows. Hold these thoughts as I recite the beautiful hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness”. Great is thy faithfulness; great is thy faithfulness. Morning by morning new mercies I see. All that I needed, Thy hand hath provided, great is thy faithfulness Lord, unto thee. I have named today’s share, “Great is Thy Faithfulness.
I have two simple points I want to make:
- Jesus is faithful to each and every one of us to provide all our needs
- What we want to do In return to His faithfulness - and that is, we will learn to follow Him
John 21 is packed full of so much wisdom, truth, nuggets as we like to say but I am only focusing on: #1 He is faithful; #2 we want follow Him in response.
So John 21 verses 1 and 2 lead us into this account by telling us that after His resurrection, Jesus revealed Himself to just his seven of his disciples including Peter at the Sea of Galilee. We are focusing on Peter.
Steve Carr commented that this likely took place at the village of Caperneaum, because that is where Peter, James and John were from. It makes sense.
I have asked the lovely Jean to read from the Word for us this morning. So we will pick up at verse 3.
3 Simon Peter *said to them, “I am going fishing.” They *said to him, “We are also coming with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.
So here we have Peter, and I want to talk about his Peter, his personality type and his back-story. Because he and his erratic personality is part of my point this morning. At this point he is still pretty young man– he is an infant Christian at this point–only a few-days-old-in Christ. We know he a passionate and assertive guy, generally struggled with having an inflated idea of his devotion to Jesus, he wasn’t self-reflective at this point, he wasn’t aware of His weakness; he was hyper-emotional; we kinda get a sense of being on an emotional rollercoaster with him in a way. I can relate to this guy. This is one reason why this chapter resonates with me.
We know he has just had a heartwrenching time for the past several days. And this is where I have prayed so much that our hearts are touched this morning, by putting ourselves in Peter’s shoes. At one point he declared he would die for Jesus, then he betrayed him, watching him from afar Jesus being taking into custody, all the fear and confusion he was experiencing… Jesus died, and then He wasn’t dead. It must have been exhausting. All of this for Peter, after betraying Him. We see Peter here – confused and lost . He is troubled, restless and unable to sleep.
So what does he do? He impulsively goes back to what he did before his companionship with Jesus–he goes fishing. And the other disciples, aimlessly just kinda follow along. They catch nothing, adding to Peter’s problems. He is surely very frustrated.
4 But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
Pause: Think. Peter is in need. Jesus is near. Peter didn’t know. So Peter continues in his frustration.
Another reason why this chapter resonates so dearly to me– 🙂-- is that as you see it takes place early morning on a beach. I spent many mornings when I was young feeling defeated and full of guilt and shame on California beaches, very early in the morning with Jesus so near, but I did not recognize Him and and I missed out on Jesus.
5 So Jesus *said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish to eat, do you?” They answered Him, “No.”
You know here the word in greek for fish doesn’t translate to fish. I mean, I took a peek at a lot of other places the word “fish” is in the NT, and, yes, it translate to fish. But not here. It translates to relish, something eaten with bread. So yes, Jesus is asking them if they have any “relish” to eat, but I can just hear Jesus saying in his loving, Fatherly way the deeper question as to what on earth are you guys doing out here fishing. You need to be in bed, getting some rest. I have My work for you to do. I hear Him saying, “My children, how’s that working out for you you?” It is as if He is reminding them, of what He said in John 15:5, I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” So then, in His infinite kindness and mercies, He says,
6 And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you will find the fish.” So they cast it, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great quantity of fish. 7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved *said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea. 8 But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about two hundred cubits away, dragging the net full of fish. 9 So when they got out on the land, they *saw a charcoal fire already made and fish placed on it, and bread. 10 Jesus *said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have now caught.”11 So Simon Peter went up and hauled the net to land, full of large fish, 153; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.12 Jesus *said to them, “Come and have breakfast. None of the disciples ventured to inquire of Him, “Who are You?” knowing that it was the Lord. 13 Jesus *came and *took the bread and *gave it to them, and the fish likewise.
Jesus says, “come and have breakfast. Come. Dine with Me.”
So beautiful, ahhh I love this. “...Bring the fish that you have now caught!”–because of his kindness and miracle! “..... I have made breakfast for you.” a beautiful, gentle, powerful lesson for Peter and the crew that Jesus, Jesus! Is thee source for ALL of their needs. Jesus is faithful. This glorious, relieving, absolutely beautiful reunion with Jesus, on this beach–Peter’s beach–his home–a time to simply BE with Jesus must have been such a huge relief for Peter. Such utter relief Peter must have felt to be able to be with his Friend who he had so bitterly betrayed.
I find it so easy to take myself back to the California beaches, those early morning hours, after a night of debauchery and betrayal of my Savior, Jesus; those waking hours of deep guilt and shame that I carried–when I was physically destroyed from alcohol and sexual immortality. I was hyper-emotional, erratic, volatile. At the time, I knew Jesus, but I had walked so far away i didn’t realize He was near. So with this reunion, I am elated for Peter–simply elated for him. THIS is why I love this chapter.
Jesus provided ALL their needs, body soul and spirit. Philippians: 4:19 says, And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. We see here Jesus providing for them body, soul and spirit.
Body: giving them breakfast
Soul: Meeting Peter’s emotional needs here–I think I have made that point. We will also see later in this chapter that Jesus provided restoration for Peter and gave Peter a mission in life.
Spirit: We know Jesus provided His perfect life so that they could be born again in the Spirit nand have communion with GOD. We learned when Suzie taught that He breathed on them and gave them the Holy Spirit to reside in their hearts for life. The Word says that none of the disciples ventured to ask Him, ‘who are You” which shows us they knew, but they were infant Christians so they were not absolutely sure, but they wanted to believe. This shows us Jesus was providing for them Spiritually as They were growing in Christ.
So we have looked at point 1 of my share with you today: Great is Jesus’s faithfulness.
Now we are going to turn to point 2: how do we respond to His faithfulness: by following Him.
We are going to continue reading John 21, where Jesus and Peter seem to take a walk on the beach–just the two of them– But before we do, I am going to run down a quick reminder about our English word LOVE and the Greek words for LOVE:
You probably all know that agape love is an unconditional, sacrificial love; and phileo love is an affectionate, brotherly type of love.
And Jean is going to read it to us, but I want to let you know, before she begins, she is going to read the passage with those literal Greek translations for the two different types of love. As she reads, pay attention to the two types of love being expressed by each person.
15 Now when they had finished breakfast, Jesus *said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you [agape] love Me more than these?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I [phileo] love You.” He *said to him, “Tend My lambs.” 16 He *said to him again, a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you [agape] love Me?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I [phileo] love You.” He *said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” 17 He *said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you [phileo] love Me?” Peter was hurt because He said to him the third time, “Do you [phileo] love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love [phileo] You.” Jesus *said to him, “Tend My sheep.
I’d say that verse 17 is a defining moment for Peter. Peter was hurt because the third time He asked, Jesus lowered the standard of love. (Not to mention it may have brought back the the three times he denied Jesus and that rooster crowing) Painful for Peter, but necessary for his growth. This is where you might say, Simon starts to figure out how to grow to become Peter, the Rock. I love Peter’s honesty with Jesus. It is very good for us to be hones with Jesus. He admits his love for him is not unconditional and sacrificial. Peter finally sees himself in the reality that he is weak, and truly needs Jesus. Up to this point, Peter was not good at taking a good look at his own heart. 2 Corinthians 12:10 says, 10 Therefore I delight in weaknesses….for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Now, Jesus can truly start to use him. Notice, Jesus didn’t give up on Peter with Peter’s honest answers. Jesus stuck with Peter and still gave Peter this great mission to take care of Jesus’s beloved, the church.
Jesus is now going to speak about the future and declare that Peter is going to get martyred for Jesus:
18 Truly, truly I tell you, when you were younger, you used to put on your belt and walk wherever you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will put your belt on you, and bring you where you do not want to go.” 19 Now He said this, indicating by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had said this, He *said to him, “Follow Me!”
We must ask ourselves, how did Peter go from declaring a phileo, brotherly love (not agape!) love for Jesus, to eventually, years later around mid 60sAD getting martyred for him. He displayed an agape love for Christ, as church tradition tells us he died by crucifixion in Rome under Nero. The answer I believe is here in our text. I believe Peter took to heart Jesus’s command to “Follow Me!”
But, like all of us, Peter doesn’t just get on board right then and there are stay on this faithful path to maturity. Like all of us, he oscillates. Because the next few verses Peter show us his immaturity–I mean, he just had this profound moment with Jesus and what does Peter do? Asks Jesus, “well, what about John?” He is just so funny. And Jesus’s reply to him in verse 22 is, “and what is that to you? You follow me.” Jesus repeated the command to follow him.
I did a little research on the word “Follow” here in Greek and I learned something I am super excited to share with you guys 🙂
Follow here is a combination of two greek words, the first word, alpha–which means the superior one–I am no Greek scholar but to me it obviously means Jesus–and the second word keleutos, which means accompany– it means a strong union with one side being superior.
So Follow here conveys a sense of when you link arms with Jesus, an extremely powerful union is achieved. Not that Jesus needs us, but he chooses us and when we lock arms with Him, something akin to a chemical compound takes place. You know, when atoms team up instead of floating around alone, they create great things like water and air–very vital things
This is the same as the term “Follow me”. Don’t float around alone. Lock arms with Jesus, always. Accompany Him. Peter did this, and look at his growth in Christ. We see a radically different man in the Book of Acts.
Jesus told us, in John 15:7, 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
And so there, I hope I have shed some light on what we want to do in response to Jesus’s wonderful faithfulness that is to lock-arms with Him and accompany Him–be in union with Him.
And then John finishes this beautiful book by wrapping it up, verse 25.
25 But there are also many other things which Jesus did, which, if they were written in detail, I expect that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.
And He continues to do things in us and and through us. Great in His Faithfulness.
Jesus has an unwavering commitment to us, He is the most perfect groom: dependable, trust-worthy, gentle, kind–providing all of our needs, body; soul and spirit. In return, we want to link arms with Him, accompany Him; constantly returning to Him when we let go for a moment, Going back to Him, drawing our strength from Him. Allowing our union to be used for great things.
My own personal testimony, all that shame and guilt that I carried for years–and my roller-coaster exhausting emotions. For many years now my guilt and shame have melted away only because of Jesus’s faithfulness to me, his patience and his kindness, compassion and mercies. Yes, Peter had that beautiful time with Him on the beach. But I can have time to just BE with Him anytime, anywhere. He has helped me habitually cling to him like hydrogen clinging to oxygen when I could could choose to get emotionally charged, so that I can choose self-control. Of course, not always, but I can see I am on the right path in Christ.
I have asked Judy to lead us in a time of prayer and worship of our most faithful groom as she sings “Great is Thy Faithfulness”. The author of this hymn was inspired by Lamentations 3:22-23, that says, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning.”
