John 21

Thank you.

It's 63 minutes long.

That's four hours in the 20s of three minutes.

And this is one of the longest movies ever made in English.

And when you watch it, at some point in the movie, you recognize just how long it is.

You recognize that you're sitting on the couch for three hours and stuff in the middle of the movie.

The other thing you'll notice is that the movie has several endings.

A city is defended against people, but then assaults on people's self-made, a ring is destroyed, and a king is converted, and on and on.

And so it goes.

But it wasn't to be an annoying event in the movie or the book.

It also calls to recognize that the story is over there.

As grand as it is, it must have all of those endings in order to include all the generic strengths that have been done.

The movie would actually be an interesting thing.

Without it.

You know, John ends like the Lord brings.

He has multiple endings.

Look at chapter 20.

That chapter concludes by giving the reason why the book of John was written.

Jesus has already been raised from the dead and appeared to the apostles, and things look like they can wrap up here pretty well.

In fact, many more liberal biblical scholars say that chapter 21 shouldn't even be in this book for precisely that reason.

It seems to act on to the ending of the book, which properly ends in chapter 20.

But it seems to me that there are really good reasons to say that chapter 21 is original to the book.

And therefore, the better argument is to see John, like the Lord of the Rings, having multiple endings.

Each given the conclusion of a particular narrative thread that has woven its way throughout the book.

So the gospel of John is incomplete without chapter 21.

Our task tonight, therefore, is to determine what exactly this ending, chapter 21 of the book of John,

tells us about the work of redemption that Jesus brought about through his death.

So, we're going to take it up and read it now.

It's page 907 in your pew Bibles, if you'd like to follow along.

The gospel according to John, chapter 21.

John 21 · chapter mention

After this, Jesus reveals himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias.

And he revealed himself in this way.

Simon Peter, Thomas, called the twin,

Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee,

the sons of Zebedee,

and two others of the disciples were together.

Simon Peter said to them,

I'm going fishing.

And they said to him,

We'll go with you.

And they all went out and got into the boat.

But that night, they caught nothing.

Just as day was breaking,

Jesus stood on the shore.

And the disciples did not know it was Jesus.

Jesus said to them,

Children, do you have any fish?

And they answered him,

Nope.

He said to them,

Cast a net on the right side of the boat,

and you will find some.

So they cast it,

and now they were not able to haul it in

because of the quantity of fish.

And that disciple whom Jesus loved,

therefore, said to Peter,

It's the Lord.

And when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord,

he put on his outer garment,

for he was stripped for work.

And he threw himself into the sea.

And the other disciples came in the boat,

dragging the net full of fish,

for they were not far from the land,

but about a hundred yards off.

And when they got out onto the land,

they saw a charcoal fire in place,

with fish laid on it and red.

And Jesus said to them,

Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.

So Simon Peter went aboard

and hauled the net ashore full of large fish,

a hundred and fifty-three of them.

And although there were so many,

the net was not torn.

Jesus said to them,

Come and have breakfast.

Now, none of the disciples dared ask him,

Who are you?

They knew it was the Lord.

Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them,

and so with the fish.

This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed

to his disciples,

after he was raised from the dead.

And when they had finished breakfast,

Jesus said to Simon Peter,

Simon, son of John,

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.

He said to him a second time,

Simon, son of John, do you love me?

He said to him,

Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.

He said to him,

Tend my sheep.

He said to him the third time,

Simon, son of John,

do you love me?

And Peter was grieved,

because he said to him the third time,

Do you love me?

He said to him,

Lord, you know everything.

You know that I love you.

And Jesus said to him,

Feed my sheep.

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.

This he said to show

by what kind of death

he was to glorify God.

And after saying this,

he said to him,

Follow me.

Peter turned and saw the disciple

whom Jesus loved following them,

the one who had also leaned against him

during the supper,

and said,

Lord, who is it

that is going to betray you?

When Peter saw him,

he said to Jesus,

Lord, what about this man?

Jesus said to him,

If it's my will

that he remain until I come,

what is that to you?

You follow me.

So the saying spread abroad

among the brothers

that this disciple was not to die.

Yet Jesus did not say to him

that he was not to die,

but if it is my will

that he remain until I come,

what is that to you?

This is a disciple

who is bearing witness

about these things

and who has written these things,

and we know

that his testimony is true.

Now,

there are also

many other things

that Jesus did.

And were every one of them

to be written,

I suppose that the world itself

could not contain

the books

that would be written.

So, tonight I will argue

that the point of chapter 21

is this.

Jesus' faithfulness

restores

what our faithlessness

has lost.

Jesus' faithfulness

restores

what our faithlessness

has lost.

We'll see this

in four ways.

First,

Jesus' faithfulness

restores meaning

in his disciples' lives.

notice here,

the chapter opens

after the disciples

have seen the risen Lord.

Jesus has appeared

to them in chapter 20

and given them a blessing.

Peace be unto you.

That greeting

appears nowhere

in the gospel

before the resurrection.

It seems not only

to be a simple greeting

but even more

to tell the disciples

something about

their condition

in the eyes of God

as a result

of the work of the cross.

It will later form

part of Paul's

favorite greeting

grace and peace

to you.

Christ has secured

for them already

the acceptance of God

and therefore

the immediate disciples

and we,

the followers of Christ

centuries later

have peace.

But it seems unlikely

that the apostles

understood this peace

at the moment.

There's no evidence

in this chapter

of a clear

spirit-filled

mission and vision.

We find the disciples

in this chapter

not busying themselves

about the work

of telling people

about the resurrection,

not working and striving

eagerly to bring about

the promised kingdom,

but fishing.

Now, why fishing?

Well, this was their

profession before

they met Jesus

and after their time

with Jesus

looks like it

might be completed,

they're not really sure

what exactly

they ought to do

and so they take up

their previous life.

They go fishing.

Now, we have

the book of Acts

and the bit of church

history that has

transpired between

the apostles and us

and so we know

how the story ends.

We know something

of the meaning

of the resurrection

but it seems like

the apostles don't.

So they seem

neither to have

rejected Jesus

nor to have been

eagerly calling to mind

all the things

that he had said

while he was with them

in order to understand

what the resurrection

meant.

They just were fishing.

And besides,

let's remember

that these disciples

didn't leave Jesus

on good terms

last time.

They abandoned him

in his darkest hour

when the hour

of Jesus' crucifixion

came,

the hour that he

pleaded with them

more than ever

in his life

for them to watch

and pray with him

because his soul

was in agony.

They slept.

They abandoned.

Their courage

failed them

in the heat of battle

and they deserted.

And now their leader

has returned to them

and what will he do

with the deserters?

Certainly any friendship

between them

and Jesus

must now be

in ruins.

Imagine

the greatest shame

that you felt

after you acted

far less noble

than you know

you should have

when you betrayed

or abandoned

a close friend.

Knowing full well

how terrible

your actions were

and then you have to

face that person again.

Can you imagine

the shame

that Peter felt

after he betrayed

the Lord three times

and Jesus looked

across the courtyard

at him

just as the rooster

crowed?

Surely now

Jesus will have

nothing to do

with his disciples.

That would be

the just thing to do.

And so the disciples

drift.

They spend their time

fruitlessly

and the author

highlights this fruitlessness

and vanity

of their work

by making it literal.

They literally

catch nothing.

They're literally

wasting their time.

That is

until Jesus arrives

and at his command

they acquire fish

so numerous

they have difficulty

in hauling them in.

There's a metaphor

here I think.

Jesus has called

his apostles earlier

and told them

they would be

fishers of men

and here the only

difference between

their catching no fish

and their catching

far too many fish

to manage

is the fact that

they are obedient

to God.

but God

is ultimately

responsible

for the success

of their efforts.

This is true

even in the evangelistic

task they are given

later.

So

Jesus' faithfulness

restores meaning

in the disciples'

lives.

Second

Jesus' faithfulness

restores the disciples'

history.

Restores the disciples'

history.

The second

purpose of this story

is to walk

these disciples

through the history

of their discipleship.

Do you recall

where it was

when Jesus first

called many of

these men

to be the disciples?

This story is given

to us in Luke 5.

There in that story

Jesus comes to

the disciples

while they're

fishing or they're

in the boat.

He employs one

of their boats

as a platform

for his preaching

and then he instructs

them to cast their

nets into the water

and they catch

so many fish

the boats begin

to sink.

And only at that

point when the nets

are almost breaking

Peter recognizes

the power of Jesus

and Jesus calls him

to follow him.

Peter at that point

leaves his nets

and immediately

follows Jesus.

And so begin

three years of his life

where Peter's

impetuousness

and stubbornness

clash often

with the wishes

of Jesus

and where he

frequently misunderstands

the doings of Jesus.

And while over the course

of these three years

Peter seemed to show

improvement,

faithfulness,

even a fierce loyalty

it was only a

superficial loyalty.

For in the end

Peter betrayed Jesus.

Think of the bitter

weeping he had

when he betrayed him.

We have no account

of what Peter did

between Good Friday

and Easter Sunday.

Was it spent

mourning his

unfaithfulness to Christ?

Was he ever tempted

to look at

and apply to himself

the Old Testament

prophecies

of the people of God

abandoning their Lord?

Did he weep more bitterly

over the death

of a comrade

or the death

of his courage?

We can't be sure.

But certainly

there must have been

a hint

by this time

in the story

that Peter

had squandered

his opportunity.

His history

it seems

would now be

forever marred

by the indelible

stain

of betraying

the one he loved.

But now

that setting

of the original call

is being reconstructed.

Look, the boat

the fishermen

the fish

the Lord

it's all there.

God seems

to be giving Peter

a second chance

to walk through

his own history

and this time

to redeem it.

But this is

seen more clearly

in the following section

where Jesus

restores Peter.

We have already

considered that

the apostles

all abandoned Jesus

and Peter

did so

most obviously.

Peter's boast

before Jesus

crucifixion

was the loudest

and the brashest.

Even if all

others deny you

I will never

deny you.

I will even

go to death

with you

but I will

never deny you.

But betray him

he did.

And it is ironic

that the gospels

give more attention

to the details

of Peter's betrayal

than to the betrayal

of any of the others

except for Judas.

Jesus said

that all the apostles

would abandon him

but what about

Bartholomew?

We don't really

know much about him.

His boasting

is absent.

It didn't seem

to boast

that he was the best

and would punch

the bad guys

in the face.

His boasting

is absent

and his betrayal

seems minimal

in the text.

He's gone

but the gospel

doesn't emphasize it.

But Peter's boasting

was loud

and his betrayal

is given

in great detail.

This is difficult

you see.

It introduces

a problem.

The ancient

Greek philosophers

were fond

of a certain saying

there is one thing

that even the gods

cannot do.

Undo

what has been done.

That is

the past

cannot be altered

even by the gods.

And perhaps

you feel that way

sitting here today.

Perhaps you are aware

of your many failures.

perhaps they run

through your mind

even as I'm speaking

these words.

Perhaps you can't

break an addiction

that plagues you

every week.

Perhaps you fight

in vain

against the temptation

to compare

your accomplishments

to those

of the people

around you.

Perhaps you have

some betrayal

that you committed

embedded so deeply

in your history

that it has come

to define

the way you

view yourself.

The past

cannot be altered.

even by the gods.

So what hope

is there for you?

Well I think

this section

is illuminating

and it actually

gives us great hope.

You see

Jesus

in this section

restores Peter

by walking him

through his failures.

Look here

we mentioned

that the boats

are there

the fish are there

the fisherman

is there.

Look even at

the charcoal

fire.

Do you see it

there in

verse 8?

Not to put

too much emphasis

on this

but there's only

two places

in the whole book

of John

where a charcoal

fire like this

is mentioned.

And interestingly

enough the previous

time all the

characters are the same.

The last time

in John 18

Peter sat

before a fire

early in the morning

it was in the

courthouse

of the courtyard

of the high priest

and he was asked

a question

you are one

of his disciples

are you not?

In fact

the gospel of John

recounts that this

question or a variant

of it was asked

to Peter three times

all of them

by the same

fireside

and three times

Peter emphatically

answers no

I did not know

the man

I have no

association

with him.

Three questions

three denials

and here he is

again

by a sunrise

fire set

being asked

if he would

associate himself

with Jesus

but this time

it's the crucified

one himself

who is asking

the question

what can be

made of this?

I suspect

that this is

Jesus

reminding Peter

in word

and in deed

about his

betrayal

and proceeding

to negate

to erase

the denials

one by one.

You are also

one of this

man's disciples

aren't you?

I am not.

Simon son

of Jonah

do you love

me more

than these?

Yes Lord

you know

that I love

you.

You also

are not

one of his

disciples

are you?

I am not.

Simon son

of Jonah

do you love

me?

Yes Lord

you know

that I love

you.

Did I not

see you

in the garden

with him?

I tell

you I

do not

know

the man.

Simon

son of

Jonah

do you

love me?

Lord

you know

everything

you know

that I

love you.

Jesus

recounting

Peter's

denials

one by

one

and negating

each of

them

shows

both to

Peter

and to

those

around

him

that his

sins

are forgiven

and his

position

is restored.

And note

that this

happens at

breakfast

with the

other

disciples

around

after

Peter's

boast

made

in front

of all

of them

they would

all know

he had

failed

to maintain

his

faithfulness

to the

Lord

and if

he was

called

to

strengthen

and

encourage

the

apostles

how was

he to

do

that

with

such a

blot

on his

record?

So

Jesus

walks

him

through

the

painful

recounting

of his

failures

in

public

in

order

to

deal

with

them

and

finally

to

erase

them.

He

won't

let

Peter

hide.

He

goes

right

to

the

source

of

betrayal.

Consider

an

example.

If

you've

ever

had

a

sports

injury

you've

likely

had

to

go

to

a

physical

therapist

during

the

process

of

your

recovery

and

when

you

have

an

injury

it's

your

body's

natural

reaction

to

attempt

to

shield

that

muscle

from

further

injury

by

using

other

muscles

to

compensate

for the

work

that

muscle

ought

to

do.

Your

body

hides

the

injured

muscle.

But

that's

not how

the

muscle

gets

healed

and

so

it's

the job

of the

physical

therapist

to put

your

body

through

exercises

and

stretches

that

isolate

exactly

that

muscle

and

exercise

it

directly

often

with

great

pain

in order

finally

to restore

the health

of that

very

muscle

that has

been

injured.

I think

this is what

Jesus is

doing with

Peter

here.

Or

another

example

perhaps

more

intimate

and

maybe

even

childish

but

I

think

God

sometimes

buries

his

greatest

truths

in

shallow

sand.

When I

was a

little

boy

and

would

be

playing

outside

I

would

sometimes

get a

scratch

or two

go cry

to my

mother

and she

would pick

me up

sit me

down

in the

kitchen

top

counter

and ask

me

where's

the

boo-boo

and I

would

of course

point to

the

scratch

on my

elbow

or my

knee

and my

mother

would

lean

over

and kiss

it

and she

said

there

now it's

all better

she would

identify the

direct source

of the pain

and she

would give

me the

loving care

that I

need

right there

you know

she even

did this

for the

injuries

that I

incurred

because I

had

disobeyed

her

I think

that's

something

like what

Jesus

is doing

for Peter

here

and this

is why

confession

of sin

is also

so important

for the

health

of the

Christian

soul

confession

requires us

to look

our sin

directly

in the

eye

and renounce

them

to expose

our injury

in order

to treat

it

we admit

to a

fellow

believer

or to

God

himself

that we

have not

kept

our

vows

to the

Lord

we hear

the

condemnation

of that

sin

and the

good

news

that

Christ

has

taken

away

our

condemnation

this

is the

true meaning

of Martin

Luther's

doctrine

of the

priesthood

of all

believers

not that

each

individual

is his

own

church

and doesn't

need

others

no

but on

the

contrary

that each

individual

believer

can intercede

for the

rest

can beg

that God's

grace be

given to

his fellow

church

member

and that

he might

be kept

from stumbling

once again

here

here at

Trinity

we often

do this

in a

morning

service

during

some

prayer

time

where we

confess

our

sins

to

God

and we

hear

the

forgiveness

of them

or we

do so

in the

quiet

time

before we

receive

the

Lord's

supper

we

take

time

to

examine

our

consciences

confess

our

sins

and make

sure

we are

in

right

standing

before

we

receive

the

bread

and

the

wine

don't

think

lightly

of these

times

of

confession

they're

not a

formality

they're

abalmed

the

soul

redemption

of our

failures

you see

always

comes

by walking

through

those

failures

the

first

time

when we

sin

we walk

through

our

failures

away

from

Christ

but

in

repentance

we walk

through

our

failures

again

this

time

with

Jesus

at

our

side

the

first

time

in

this

story

it

is

Peter

siding

with

his

sin

against

Jesus

here

Peter

takes

the

side

of

Jesus

against

his

sin

this

is

what

makes

his

restoration

possible

so

Jesus

faithfulness

restores

the

disciples

history

third

Jesus

faithfulness

restores

the

disciples

calling

the

result

of

this

process

of

restoration

through

which

Jesus

takes

Peter

is

a

strange

one

he

is

commissioned

three

times

feed

my

sheep

feed

my

sheep

feed

my

sheep

but

then

Jesus

predicts

Peter's

end

verse

18

and

19

there

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

this

is a

strange

consolation

this

is a

strange

encouragement

and

Peter

ministers

with

this

prophecy

hanging

above

his

head

for

three

decades

before

his

martyrdom

comes

to

pass

but

do

you

note

that

there's

also

a

hope

that's

hidden

in

this

prophecy

the

gospel

writer

John

in

verse

19

says

this

is

the

death

by

which

he

would

glorify

God

you

you

see

Peter

will

be

killed

at

the

end

but

his

death

will

bring

glory

to

God

and

why

because

the

next

time

he's

challenged

concerning

whether

he

belongs

to

Christ

he

will

not

fail

the

test

where

once

Peter

shrunk

back

in

fear

at

the

interrogation

of

a

mere

slave

girl

now

Peter

will

stand

firm

even

in

the

face

of

torturers

and

assassins

Peter

has

failed

once

but

Jesus

promises

here

that

he

will

not

need

to

be

restored

again

and

in

the

book

of

Acts

we

read

stories

of

a

very

different

Peter

in

Acts

Peter

is

preaching

to

thousands

of

people

instead

of

cowering

before

just

a

few

he's

going

to

jail

being

flogged

and

beaten

and

praising

the

Lord

for

all

of

it

this

is

a

changed

Peter

what

accounts

for

this

change

Jesus

has

sent

his

Holy

Spirit

to

dwell

in

Peter

and

as

Pastor

Nick

said

this

morning

those

who

have

the

Holy

Spirit

never

fall

finally

away

but

in

this

story

Peter

does

not

yet

see

this

prophecy

as

having

even

a

hint

of

good

news

in

it

he

attempts

to

evade

what

about

this

one

he

says

but

Jesus

will

have

none

of

it

what

does

it

matter

to

you

he

says

you

follow

me

you

see

there is

a

certain

simplicity

about

the

Christian

life

we

simply

do

what

God

commands

us

to

do

we

don't

take a

poll

to

determine

the

popularity

of

our

actions

we

just

do

what

we're

called

to

do

so

we

ought

to

encourage

Christian

teenagers

and

young

people

that

while

this

is

difficult

and

sounds

rough

there

are

many

voices

in

the

lives

of

our

young

people

in

our

church

that

cloud

their

path

and

tell

them

to

do

things

that

the

Lord

doesn't

tell

them

to

do

we

ought

to

tell

them

that

while

they

may

feel

alone

and

isolated

they

have

a

higher

calling

God

has

called

them

to

greatness

and

they

are

to

do

what

God

commands

knowing

that

therein

lies

the

way

of

truth

and

happiness

in

my

years

I

have

found

this

to

be

true

that

God

is

a

faithful

father

who

desires

our

happiness

and

he

will

not

let

us

down

we

have

a

high

and

noble

call

to

God

be

faithful

you

see

that

this

calling

and

Jesus

rejection

of

Peter's

comparison

to

John

also

destroys

competitiveness

competitiveness

characterizes

many

perhaps

all

other

aspects

of

our

lives

it's

a

competitiveness

that

ought

not

exist

at

all

in

the

Christian

life

we

cannot

compare

the

work

that

God

has

called

us

to

do

with

the

work

that

he

has

called

another

to

do

the

work

that

God

has

called

each

of

us

to

do

is

not

identical

faithfulness

for

you

may

look

like a

life

of

pain

and a

martyr's

death

for

the

one

in

the

pew

in

front

of

you

it

may

mean

bearing

under

the

weight

of

a

disease

year

after

year

and

tenaciously

clinging

to the

words

of

Job

though

he

slay

me

yet

will

I