Hope Beyond the Fear of Shame and Failiure

Now, can you turn with me in your Bible to John chapter 21 on page 1090.

John 21 · chapter mention

Now, we're thinking this morning about the hope beyond the fear of shame and failure

that Jesus and the gospel brings. So we're in John chapter 21,

John 21 · chapter mention

and we're going to read together the first 17 verses.

Afterwards, Jesus appeared again to his disciples by the Sea of Tiberias.

It happened this way. Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathaniel from Cana in Galilee,

the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.

I'm going out to fish, Simon Peter told them, and they said, we'll go with you.

So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

He called out to them, friends, haven't you any fish?

No, they answered. He said, throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.

When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, it is the Lord.

As soon as Simon Peter heard him say it is the Lord, he wrapped his outer garment around him,

for he had taken it off, and jumped into the water.

The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish,

for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.

When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it and some bread.

Jesus said to them, bring some of the fish you have just caught.

Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore.

It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many, the net was not torn.

Jesus said to them, come and have breakfast.

None of the disciples dared ask him, who are you?

They knew it was the Lord.

Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them and did the same with the fish.

This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

When he'd finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter,

Simon, son of John, do you truly love me more than these?

Yes, Lord, he said, you know that I love you.

Jesus said, feed my lambs.

Again, Jesus said, Simon, son of John, do you truly love me?

He answered, yes, Lord, you know that I love you.

Jesus said, take care of my sheep.

The third time he said to him, Simon, son of John, do you love me?

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, do you love me?

He said, Lord, you know all things.

You know that I love you.

Jesus said, feed my sheep.

Amen.

Now, I wonder if you were to reflect on your life to date,

what you would consider your defining moments to be.

In a sense, your life and mine are these collections of events and memories,

things that have happened that are then available for us to replay in our minds.

So we have those moments that we love to think about, times of happiness and success and joy,

times where everything just came together perfectly.

But yet we know that there are other moments, other events, other memories which are profoundly painful.

Those two are etched in our minds.

Times of failure, of shame, of disgrace.

It could be as simple as being picked last in the playground.

It could be reflecting on words spoken in anger to somebody that we love.

People that we failed to defend.

Lies that we told to protect ourselves.

Perhaps a parent who saw nothing good in us.

Abuse that we experienced.

A failure to meet our own expectations or the expectations of others.

Shame has been described as a master emotion.

Because these dark strands of our past, they can play and replay in our minds,

seeking to persuade us that we are worthless, that we are unclean, that we are hopeless.

That shame would seek to dominate and define us.

Now where does shame come from?

Well, biblically we find it way back in the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis chapter 3.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

That the moment at which Adam and Eve decide to turn away from God,

they decide that they're going to disobey God's word,

they're going to eat the fruit they're not supposed to,

they discover that rather than becoming godlike, and that's a wonderful thing,

now they find that they want to hide.

There is shame that has entered into the human experience.

They feel exposed and unclean, and they're seeking to hide both from one another and from the Lord God.

If guilt belongs in the courtroom, then shame lives in the community.

I don't know if any of you have read Nigel Hawthorne's book, A Scarlet Letter.

The main character in that book is a young woman by the name of Hester Prynne.

And Hester had to wear a scarlet A around her neck as a mark of shame,

a badge of shame because of adultery that she had committed in her past.

A story that really reflects on shame and community.

But we know too that as well as shame being something that's heaped on us from other people,

it's also something that we can pour on ourselves.

Shame can come because of experiences and actions.

Sometimes where we're the active agent and we have wronged someone,

and shame is one of those consequences that we feel,

but sometimes we're passive.

We feel shame because of wrongs that have been done to us.

And what's really important for us as we set out on looking at this theme

is to remind ourselves that when God created man and woman,

Genesis 2 verse 25, we're told that they were naked and they were unashamed.

Genesis 2:25

We were not created to bear that weight of shame,

and therefore there is hope in God and in the good news of Jesus

that that shame can be removed.

And that's what takes us to today's account in John chapter 21,

John 21 · chapter mention

where we have, in a sense, the rehabilitation of Peter by Jesus the Savior.

But just before we get into that, just an important clarification to make,

that we're very much dealing here this morning as we were last week

with what we might call low-level anxiety about shame or failure.

But we need to recognize that for some people that anxiety runs much deeper.

It might be clinical, requiring medical help, requiring counseling,

requiring medication, etc.

Ultimately, the healing of the Lord Jesus is the hope for us all,

that he is the one who brings help at that deep spiritual level.

But that's not to downplay, of course, the importance of seeking professional help

where that's required.

Now, having said that, let's see together how Jesus deals with Peter

and how it speaks to us.

The first thing I want to say is that Jesus offers hope beyond your failure.

What is Peter's story up until this point?

Well, we read in Luke chapter 5 of Peter being called from his occupation

Luke 5 · chapter mention

as a professional fisherman by Jesus to become a fisher of men.

He was going to share in the work of Jesus, bringing the message of Jesus,

the news of the kingdom of God to others.

But now we find him, along with some of his contemporaries, fellow disciples,

and verse 3, Peter says, I'm going out to fish.

And they say, we'll go with you.

And they're all out there in the boat.

Now, there's nothing wrong with that,

but you do get a sense that somewhere along the line,

Peter's mission has been lost.

That rather than being a fisher of men, here he is out fishing.

Now, why is that?

Well, we read, didn't we, in John chapter 18,

John 18 · chapter mention

and we could have read in other places,

that Peter had very much failed Jesus in his point of need.

Peter had been the most confident of all the disciples,

saying to Jesus things like, I'll never let you down.

Everyone else might, but I never will.

I will die for you.

Peter could say, did say.

But he abandons Jesus with the others that Jesus arrests,

and he runs.

And then in that trial scene, he denies even knowing Jesus.

But here's the wonderful thing,

that Peter has failed Jesus,

but Jesus is not finished with Peter.

Here we are in a post-resurrection scene.

Jesus has died.

Three days later, he's come back to life,

and then he's making these appearances to his disciples.

And here is one of these,

in which he issues Peter, in a sense,

with a new call to mission

that recalls that first call to mission.

That we notice that both in Luke 5 and here,

the call of Jesus happens in the same place,

by the Sea of Galilee.

Now here it's described as the Sea of Tiberias.

And we notice to just how similar the two miracles were.

That both times, the fishermen have been out all night

and have caught nothing.

Jesus tells them, throw out your net,

and there's this huge catch of fish.

Here is Jesus deliberately taking Peter back

to that moment where he was called at first.

And when John, in verse 7,

the disciple whom Jesus loves,

having reflected on what's just happened

in this massive catch of fish,

says to Peter, it is the Lord,

we've got this wonderful movement of Peter

where instantly he's running towards Jesus.

We might expect the opposite

because he's failed him hugely.

But he recognizes in Jesus

the extension of undeserved grace.

That Jesus is offering kindness and restoration.

That Jesus is continuing to provide for Peter

despite and beyond his failure.

We see that physically.

In verse 9, Jesus has prepared breakfast.

While these professional fishermen couldn't catch anything,

Jesus has got a barbecue going,

there's fish on it, and there's some bread.

And then in verse 12, there's the invitation,

come and have breakfast.

So he's providing for Peter and the others physically,

but also spiritually.

The same word used for fish there is,

it's a deliberate choice because in John chapter 6,

John 6 · chapter mention

John who writes his gospel also uses that same word fish.

And it takes us back to the feeding of the 5,000.

When Jesus multiplied a few loaves and two fish

to feed a huge crowd.

And after that, Jesus declared,

I am the bread of life.

And he called on people to, as it were,

feast on his body and his blood.

An image that before the cross,

people didn't understand,

and some were horrified by.

But now after the cross,

it's clear to Peter that Jesus is inviting him

to feast on that forgiveness that is available to him

because of the sacrifice that Jesus had offered on the cross.

That here is this spiritual gift

of forgiveness, of restoration, of reconciliation.

Did Peter feel the weight of his failure?

Of course he would have because he's human.

But those fears and that weight is met by

Jesus calling him friend

and that invitation from Jesus to come.

Jesus offers hope beyond failure.

As we read through both Old Testament and New Testament,

what we find is a catalog of heroes

whose lives are redeemed from failure.

People like Jacob, who lied and deceived to inherit.

Moses, who was a murderer.

King David, guilty of adultery and organizing a murder.

Jonah, the prophet who ran from God.

Saul, the one who was determined to destroy the church of Jesus Christ.

But all of them received grace and mercy

beyond these failures.

There is hope for us.

I wonder today, is there anybody here holding back from God

due to a failure in your life?

imagining that there is some sin, some mistake,

some wreck that you've created

that's too great for God to want anything to do with you.

I wonder if there's anyone here punishing themselves

rather than coming to Jesus

to find hope and healing.

Martin Luther, the reformer,

Luther says this to those who would be tempted

to stand on the sidelines thinking that you're too bad.

Luther says,

join the company of hard-boiled sinners.

Jesus is a savior and redeemer

from real, from great, from terrible sins.

We need to beware the lie that would say that we are unworthy

and that our sense of worthiness would keep us

from the mercy of God.

Because what we discover in the Bible,

what we discover in Peter's story,

is that our shame, our sin, our failure

is outweighed by our need for mercy

and God's desire to extend that mercy to us.

That Jesus' death on the cross

is sufficient to cover all of our darkest moments.

We are not to put our sin

as being something greater than

the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

As if we are in a special category.

Jesus can heal of all sin.

And hope begins

when we humbly own our failure,

when we acknowledge our unworthiness,

but we don't run from Jesus.

Instead, we run to hear that invitation

to forgiveness,

to restoration,

to reconciliation.

There's a Christian author

from New Zealand

by the name of Rita Snowden.

And she said this in an interview.

She said,

You can ask me what forgiveness means.

It is the wonder

of being trusted again by God

in the place

where I disgraced Him.

There is grace beyond disgrace.

That's Peter's testimony.

That can be yours too.

And what about as Christians

when those feelings of guilt

and shame and unworthiness

rise up again in our own minds?

When those events from our past

come back to haunt us?

We will, towards the end of the service,

be singing a hymn

before the throne of God above.

I find myself often going back

to the words in the second verse

which say,

When Satan tempts me to despair,

and he will, and he does,

and we know this,

and tells me of the guilt within,

that guilt that is real,

and we know that too.

Upwards I look

and see Him there

who made an end

to all my sin.

What's our response?

What's our response?

It's to pray the gospel.

It's to live with hope

in the gospel.

It's to shift our focus

from our failure

back onto the cross of Jesus.

Jesus shows to us

the undeserved love of God,

and that's our hope

beyond our failure.

The second thing

to notice

in the story of Peter here

is that Jesus offers hope

beyond your shame.

In verses 15 to 17.

So if Jesus has deliberately recalled

that first call that He made

to Peter to become a fisher of men,

Jesus also recalls for Peter

His denial,

takes him back

to that time around the fire

where He denied three times

even knowing Him.

Jesus takes him

to that painful place

in order that He might

provide healing,

like the surgeon

who needs to cut

in order that He might heal.

And there's two ways

that this shows itself

in John's account.

Again, John very deliberately

in verse 9

uses a specific word

for a charcoal fire.

When they landed,

they saw a fire

of burning coals

there with fish on it.

The only other place

where that's used

is in John chapter 18.

John 18 · chapter mention

The same fire,

charcoal fire.

Peter is warming himself

while Jesus is on trial

and Peter denies knowing Him.

And if you've ever lit a barbecue

or been around a charcoal fire,

you know that it's a strong smell.

And smells can evoke

strong memories for us,

can't they?

Smells that take us back

to granny's home cooking.

Smells that we associate with

Christmas perhaps.

Smells can do that

in our brain.

They can take us back

to places and times

and events.

You can well imagine

for Peter

around a charcoal fire,

what would burn

in his mind

would have been

that denial

that he made.

That most shameful

episode

of his life.

But Jesus takes him back

there

in order to

heal.

We read

in verses 15 to 17

that

that conversation

after breakfast

between Jesus

and Peter.

Just as Peter

had denied

three times

knowing Jesus,

that's called to mind

three times

by that question.

Simon,

do you

love me?

And by

three times

receiving

the commission,

feed my lambs,

take care of my sheep,

feed my sheep.

Here again

is the grace

of Jesus.

Here is

Jesus

seeking to bring

as it were

a memory

replacement

for Peter.

What will

the smell

of burning

charcoal

mean to Peter

now?

Well,

it's around

this fire

where Jesus

showed him

great love,

giving him

work to do

despite the fact

that he made

such a mess

of things.

It's significant

in the conversation

that we see

Jesus

challenges

Peter's pride.

It encourages

him to humility.

Do you

truly love

me more

than these?

Peter was

the one

who would

say,

I'm better

than them,

I love

more than

them,

but gone

now

is that

pride.

Peter

rests his

hope

in being

known

by Jesus,

being loved

by Jesus,

and responding

to that love

with his

own.

Ed Welch,

the biblical

counselor,

says that

the king

prefers his

ambassadors

weak and

needy,

and those

qualities

are at the

top of

an unworthy

person's

resume.

Jesus

here takes

Peter in

his weakness,

in his need,

in his shame,

and he turns

his shame

into honor.

As he gives

him this

job to

feed,

to take

care of

the lambs

and the

sheep,

in other

words,

to teach

and to

lead the

church

and the

message

and the

ways

of

Jesus.

Here

is hope

beyond

shame.

Shame

makes us

want to

run

and hide,

but from

the beginning,

what we

discover,

it is the

goodness of

God,

the God

who moves

towards us

to cover

our shame.

The first

time shame

entered into

the world,

what did

God do?

He came

searching for

Adam and

Eve,

where are

you,

wanting

relationship,

and he

covered them,

he clothed

them,

and he

promised a

saviour,

a deliverer,

a champion

who would

come to

bring an

end to

sin and

shame.

It's the

same in

the story

of Peter.

Jesus

moves

towards

him to

cover his

shame.

It's the

great message

of the

cross

that we

bring our

sin,

our shame,

our failure

to Jesus.

He bears

it,

he carries

it,

he covers

it,

so that we

might know

his love,

that his

love and

his grace

might be

what define

us,

not our

sense of

shame or

failure.

Just as we

close,

John,

who writes

this gospel,

wants us to

be absolutely

sure that

it's the

resurrected

Jesus who

offers hope

beyond shame.

So in

chapter 21

and at

verse 1,

we're told

that this

is another

appearing of

Jesus.

And then in

verse 14,

this was

now the

third time

Jesus appeared

to his

disciples after

he was

raised from

the dead.

Very

deliberately

drawing attention

to that fact.

Why does

that matter?

Well,

it reminds

us that

Jesus has

gone through

the cross,

that Jesus

has experienced

for his

people the

shame and

the humiliation

of rejection.

of being

beaten and

mocked and

spat at and

being laughed

at and

hanging naked

and dying

under God's

curse,

dying as

though he

were a

failure.

Why?

Hebrews

Hebrews 12:2

chapter 12

verse 2,

Jesus,

for the joy

set before

him,

endured the

cross,

scorning its

shame,

and sat

down at

the right

hand of

God.

Jesus took

that shame

and he

treated it

as a

small thing,

as an

insignificant

thing,

because of

future glory,

because of

the resurrection,

because of

his return

to the glory

of heaven.

His

resurrection

stands for

us as

proof.

There is

hope beyond

shame.

Jesus at

the cross

is treated

as the

scum of

the earth.

He faces

that judgment

for you

and for

me,

so that in

him,

you and I

can live

with hope

that if our

lives are

defined by

what Jesus

did on

the cross,

that we

can trust

him,

that our

shame can

be turned

to honor.

We may

feel, as I'm

sure Peter felt,

hopeless, ashamed,

worthless, but

we have in

Jesus the

king of all

glory and

honor, and

he chooses

to associate

with us,

and that

because of

his honor,

we share

in that

honor, that

we have an

invitation,

come to

me, that

can set us

free from

shame and

failure and

bring us

home.

There is in

Jesus the

promise of

healing, that

that weight of

shame and

failure that we

carry will not

be forever,

that in the

gospel that

process of

healing begins

now, and

it will be

made complete

in eternity,

that we will

stand face

to face

before our

Savior without

shame and

full of joy.