It Is the Lord!… Feed My Sheep

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Today's scripture reading is from the Gospel according to John, chapters 21, verses 1-25

John 21 · chapter mention

as printed in the liturgy.

A reading from the Gospel according to John.

Afterward, Jesus appeared to his disciples by the Sea of Galilee.

It happened this way.

Simon Peter, Thomas, also known as 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 was fish on it and some bread.

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

So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat 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 they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you 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 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.

Very truly I tell you, when you were younger and dressed yourself and went where you wanted,

but when you are old, will stretch out your hands and someone else will dress you and lead

you where you do not want to go.

Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God.

Then he said to him, follow me.

Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them.

This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, Lord, who

is going to betray you?

When Peter saw him, he asked, Lord, what about him?

Jesus answered, if I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?

You must follow me.

Because of this, the rumors spread among the believers that this disciple would not die.

But Jesus did not say that he would not die.

He only said, if I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?

This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote about them.

We know that his testimony is true.

Jesus did many other things as well.

If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world will not

have room for the books that would be written.

This is the gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Thank you, Tonya, and happy birthday, Christ Church.

We are honored today to have Bart and Katie Garrett here, who is my sister and brother-in-law,

and more importantly, the founders of Christ Church, who poured 14 years of their lives out

here, their time, talent, and treasure, lots of blood, sweat, and tears as well.

And it would be hard to estimate just how much love that they've invested into this church.

And so we're pleased to have them, and Bart's going to be leading us in communion and praying

for us in a moment.

We're also celebrating the 20th birthday of Christ Church by sending Andrew off on a four-month

sabbatical.

So happy birthday, Christ Church, via Andrew.

Thank you.

We, you know, I've been thinking this week a lot about this verse in 1 Corinthians 3.

It's a new community of Christians in Corinth, all of them converts from their former Greco-Roman

way of life.

And Paul, the Apostle Paul, compares them to a new tree, this living organism.

And he says, you know, there's been all these people that have planted the church, that have

watered the church.

But then Paul says, so neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but

only God who makes things grow.

And I just, my prayer all week has been, only God.

You know, and that's really our heart today in this worship service, is we just want to

thank only God and praise only God because only he's the one that makes things grow.

And if we keep humbling ourselves before him and asking him, he'll keep making things grow.

So only God.

And we, you know, as we come to this, the end of this sermon series in the Gospel of John,

it's just a beautiful picture, I think, of what a church is supposed to be.

You know, Jesus is risen from the dead.

He's alive forevermore.

And he's gone through death.

He's come out the other side.

He's gone on into this new creation.

And now he's gathering together with his disciples.

And he's showing them the kind of life he wants them to live.

And so what I want to talk about today is fishing with Jesus, eating near Jesus, and shepherding

under Jesus.

And you can just kind of track.

These are the three movements of this text.

Fishing with Jesus, eating near Jesus, and shepherding under Jesus.

And let's start with fishing with Jesus.

What is this story for?

Why was this story written down for us?

Well, it says explicitly in verse 1 that afterward, Jesus appeared again to his disciples by the

Sea of Galilee.

And this is the way it happened.

And then down in verse 14, it says, this was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples

after he was raised from the dead.

So on Easter Sunday, God literally, physically, historically raised Jesus from the dead.

And after that great event, Jesus is now coming to individuals and pairs and groups of disciples

in order that he might convince them that he really has been glorified, that this body of

his is an incorruptible and victorious body.

And it's the prototype of the kind of bodies that his disciples are going to have when they're

raised at the end of time.

It's like Jesus is coming to them and he's wanting to convince them that even though sin and death

had been ruling over this world for a very, very long time, through his cross and through his

resurrection, sin and death had been overthrown.

And now there's a new king.

There's a new Lord.

And he's reigning in grace.

He's reigning in righteousness.

He's wanting to share his eternal life with his disciples.

And so Jesus just keeps appearing to them and trying to convince them of these things.

And notice how he chooses to appear and reveal himself here in this story.

It says in verse 3, Simon Peter told the rest of the disciples,

I'm going out to fish.

And they said, well, okay, we'll go along with you.

And so they went out and they got into the boat.

But that night they caught nothing.

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

And so he called out to them, friends, haven't you any fish?

And what's interesting is that in the Greek text, he doesn't use the word friends.

He uses the word kids.

And the question sounds like this.

Children, you have no fish, have you?

It's this really playful and provocative thing that the resurrected Jesus is doing with his disciples.

Why is he asking the question this way?

Why is he drawing attention to their fishing failure and to their empty nets and their empty boat?

Verse 3 emphasizes they fished all night and they caught what?

Nothing.

It's the same word that Jesus used in the upper room when he said, apart from me, you can do nothing.

In John 15, I'll just read a little bit more of that text.

He's in the upper room with his disciples the night before he dies.

And he says, no branch can bear fruit by itself.

It must remain in the vine.

And neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

I'm the vine.

You are the branches.

If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.

Apart from me, you can do nothing.

See, the disciples have gone out fishing, but they're doing it by themselves.

They're doing it apart from Jesus.

They're doing it without the resurrected Jesus.

And what is the result?

The result is that they've caught nothing.

And of course, you know, fishing in the Gospels, it's never just about fishing, is it?

Because when Jesus first called these guys, what did he say?

He said, come, come follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.

Come follow me and I will send you out to fish for people.

And that's the mission of the disciple community.

That Jesus' disciples are to fish for people.

But if we try to go fishing by ourselves, we try to fish apart from Jesus.

And without Jesus, what are we going to catch?

Nothing.

If we try to bear fruit in our worship, in our fellowship, in our mission, apart from the living and life-giving vine,

it's going to be like that moment where, you know, you see a tree that's bearing fruit and you pick a piece off and it looks so good.

And then you bite into it and immediately you regret that decision and you just want to spit it out.

That's what Jesus is saying.

That's the kind of fruit you'll bear without me.

And in the same way, Jesus is saying, if you try to go fishing for people, you're not really going to catch many people without me.

Verse 6, he says, throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.

And, you know, when Jesus says this, every guy in the boat would immediately remember what happened the very first time.

And I don't know if you remember that story, but it's in Luke chapter 5 where Jesus doesn't really know Peter very well.

Luke 5 · chapter mention

But he steps into Peter's boat and he starts giving Peter fishing advice.

And Peter says, well, master, we've worked hard all night and we've caught, again, nothing.

And Jesus tells Peter, well, put out into the deep water, which, by the way, no one fishes in the deep water.

But he says, put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.

Now, Peter has spent his whole life fishing these waters.

His father and his grandfather before him have been fishermen.

Peter knows how to make a good living at fishing.

Peter has a thriving and a profitable fishing business.

And he knows that Jesus is just a stonemason.

Jesus is just a builder.

Jesus knows nothing about fishing and is giving him terrible fishing advice.

And he knows that Jesus is testing him in a way, asking him whether or not he's willing to go against his own instincts and his own experiences.

But Peter also knows that he's been relying on himself and relying on all the things that he knows.

And yet the result is he's caught what?

He's caught nothing.

And, you know, the turning point in that story in Luke 5 is that when Peter trusts Jesus, he says to Jesus,

Jesus, because you say so, he says, Jesus, at your word, I'm going to let down the nets.

And the result is that they get this enormous, miraculous catch of fish.

And Peter, in that moment, he's astonished and he falls at Jesus' feet.

He says, go away from me, Lord, for I'm a sinful man.

And Jesus says to Peter, don't be afraid, Peter, because from now on you're going to fish for people.

You're going to be catching people.

So you see in John 21, when the resurrected and living Lord Jesus comes to Peter and comes to his disciples,

he wants to let them know that the mission of fishing for people and catching people has not changed.

But he also wants to let them know that the fishing mission has to be on my terms.

And it has to be according to my word.

Put out into deep water.

Throw out your net on the right side of the boat.

How can Jesus say that?

How does Jesus know where all the fish are?

Has Jesus gone to Bass Pro Shop and gotten some expensive, high-end,

the ultrasonic fish finder?

No, see, the universe was created through Jesus, ex nihilo.

And God has raised Jesus up from the dead.

And so fish aren't hard for Jesus.

If Jesus says the fish are going to be out in the deep water,

if Jesus says the fish are going to be on that side of the boat and not on this side of the boat,

well, that's where the fish are going to be.

Because that's how powerful Jesus is.

And that's how powerful his word is.

Isaiah 55 says,

My word that goes forth from my mouth will not return to me empty,

but it will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent my word.

And you see, when Jesus' disciple community lives in obedience to his powerful word,

when it trusts his trustworthy commands,

when it carries out its mission under the authority of Jesus

and in line with the direction of Jesus,

well, we're not just going to catch many fish.

We're going to catch many, many people.

Friends, the question that this text asks us to examine ourselves with is,

in what ways are we trying to bear fruit by ourselves?

In what ways are we trying to catch people apart from him?

How are we operating in our own energy,

our own knowledge,

our own resources,

our own strength?

But in the end,

coming up feeling empty and exhausted,

really bearing very little fruit worth having,

not really catching many people,

not really getting anywhere.

See, verse 6 says,

Throw your net on the right side of the boat,

and you will find some.

And when they did,

they were unable to haul the net in

because of the large number of fish.

When they listened to his word,

when they obeyed his word,

that is the moment that they experienced Jesus' resurrection power.

And that's how the fishing ministry of the church

would continue over the next three centuries.

Jesus,

as his disciple community,

was faithful to Jesus

and obedient to Jesus.

You know,

in three centuries,

half of the Roman Empire

came into the net

and came into the boat

of the church.

And that was not hard

for God.

And it's not hard for God today.

We think that,

oh man,

it's like nearly impossible

for God to bring people

into a relationship with himself

here in Berkeley

and in the East Bay

in 2026.

But it's never been hard for God.

In Christ's church,

my prayer in our third decade

is that

we'll not go out

and work hard

individually,

collectively,

on our own,

by ourselves,

apart from the risen Lord.

But rather,

that we'll remain in him,

that we'll listen to him,

we'll do what he says,

and then we'll just sit back

and watch him do

astonishing

and supernatural things.

Amen?

So,

the mission of the church

is to fish with Jesus.

But also,

it's to,

it's to eat

near Jesus.

It's about eating

near Jesus.

What fascinates me

is,

you know,

Peter swims to shore

and he makes

all the other disciples

do the hard work

of getting the boat

to shore.

But when they all

finally get to the shore,

how does Jesus say,

hey guys,

I'm raised,

I've been raised

from the dead,

let's celebrate.

How does he do that?

Well,

he just cooks breakfast

for his friends.

It says in verse 9

that they landed,

they saw a fire

of burning coals

there with fish on it

and some bread was there

and Jesus said to them

in verse 12,

come and have breakfast.

And none of the disciples

dared ask him,

who are you?

Because they knew

it was the Lord.

And Jesus came

and he took the bread

and he gave it to them

and he did the same

with the fish

and this was now

the third time

that he appeared

to his disciples

after he was raised

from the dead.

See,

there's this simple

invitation from Jesus

that indicates

something about

the new creation

that's been launched

in the resurrection.

And it's just

this invitation

to deep connection.

This invitation

to deep communion

communion with Jesus.

And I imagine

when the risen

and living Lord

is giving them

the bread

and giving them

the fish

that their minds

and their hearts

are going back

to those other moments,

right,

where Jesus took

five loaves of fish

and two,

five loaves of bread,

two little fish

and he sent his disciples

out and said,

trust me,

trust me guys,

this is going to go

a long way.

And they went out

and they fed thousands

with barely anything.

And I'm sure

their hearts

and their minds

are going back

the other night,

the other week,

where Jesus took

the Passover meal

and he said,

he said,

this is now

the Lord's Supper

and he gave them

the bread

and he said,

this is my body,

do this in remembrance

of me.

And so when Jesus

says to them,

come have breakfast

with me,

what's he saying?

What does this mean

for us?

It means that

we're not just supposed

to believe in Jesus

in some abstract

and detached way.

But rather,

it's an invitation

to intimate communion

with Jesus

to experience his life

and his power.

You see,

in the ancient world

to invite someone

to come and eat

with you,

it meant a lot more

than it means today.

Today it means,

hey,

come eat with us

and it's kind of

a friendly gesture.

I might possibly

want to be your friend.

But in the ancient world,

it was a pledge.

It was saying,

I want you to be

like family with me.

I want you to be

in closest relationship

to me.

And Jesus is saying here,

I don't just want you guys

to believe in me.

I don't even just want you

to obey me.

I want you to know me.

I want to share

my life

and all that I have

with you.

In the gospels,

one of the chief complaints

against Jesus

is people keep coming

to his disciples

and say,

Jesus,

why,

or they say to his disciples,

why does your master Jesus

keep eating with sinners?

And

they realize

that Jesus is practicing

radical hospitality.

Jesus is

including all the wrong people

in the kingdom of God.

And

you think about

these tax collectors

Jesus was gathering

around himself

who were,

just imagine

the most despised people

in our society.

Sellouts,

traitors.

And

Jesus is over

at the home

of one of these tax collectors

named Matthew

and he says

at that meal,

he says,

it's not the healthy

who need a doctor

but the sick.

I've not come to call

the righteous

but sinners.

And he says

to a guy named Zacchaeus,

another tax collector,

he says,

today salvation

has come to this house

for the son of man

came to seek

and to save

that which was lost.

And so

Jesus has this pattern

of eating meals

with all the wrong people

and he gets to this beach

after his resurrection

and he says

to these failed disciples

who've denied him,

who've abandoned him

and he says,

come have breakfast with me.

Come sit at my table.

Come share

in my meal

because

I've come to seek

and to save the lost.

and I want to know you

and I want you

to know me.

I want you to know

my salvation.

I want you to know

the power

of my grace.

You see,

here on this beach,

the risen Lord

is saying to them,

I want to share

my resurrection life

and power

with you.

And I'll just pause here

for just an application

is just this,

that do you know

that the risen Lord

wants to be

in intimate communion

with you.

Not just here

in this meal,

but every morning,

every evening,

Jesus is there

and he's waiting for you

and he's saying,

come and eat with me.

Come and let me feed you.

Let me nourish you.

Let me give you substance

and energy

and life.

I've never met

a healthy Christian

who did not have

the daily practice

of saying yes

to this invitation

to intimate communion

with the risen Lord.

And so my encouragement

to you is just

to turn off your device,

put your book aside,

don't watch the show,

and just be

near Jesus.

Just be near him

in his word.

Just be near him

in prayer.

Just be close with him

in Christian fellowship.

Just come and stay

by his side

in the Lord's Supper

and just enjoy

the presence

of our living Lord.

That's what

the Christian life

is all about.

That's what the ministry

of the church

is all about.

And the second thing

is Christian ministry

is simply just finding

people and saying,

hey,

do you want to come

and have breakfast

with me?

Do you want to come

and have lunch

with us?

And it's just simply

inviting people,

whether they're inside

the church

or outside the church,

to come and enjoy

intimate communion

with us

as we're in the presence

of the risen Lord.

That's what

Christian ministry is.

and I hope that

this will be

one of the marks

of our ministry

as we move

into our third

decade together

because it's how

the resurrected Lord

is building

his disciple community

on that beach

over a simple meal

of bread and fish.

The third thing

I want to talk about

is not just fishing

with Jesus

and eating near Jesus,

but I want to talk

finally about

shepherding

under Jesus.

shepherding

under Jesus.

This is the final lesson

in Jesus'

resurrection appearance

and it has to do

with Peter

and it has to do

with all who,

like Peter,

have ever spectacularly

and miserably

failed.

Here we learn

something about

how Jesus

can heal

our memories

and how he can

come into places

of buried hurt

and fear

places of hidden

failure and sin

in our lives

and he can just

come in

and somehow

he just deals

with it.

And Jesus just,

he draws Peter

around this meal

and this fire

and he begins

to just gently

expose this deep

and unhealed

wound in Peter

and start to deal

with this failure.

And if you'll remember

back to John 13,

it was over a meal,

it was over

the Last Supper

where Peter

insisted emphatically

he says,

you know,

Jesus,

I'm going to remain

loyal to you

even if all these

others are not,

I'm going to be

loyal to you.

And he says to Jesus,

I'm going to follow you

to prison and to death.

I'm prepared to lay down

my life on your behalf.

And then later

in John 18,

it was over a charcoal fire

in that courtyard

where Peter

tried to do that

but he failed

spectacularly.

Not just once,

not just twice

but three times,

he denied three times.

It's not just

that I don't follow him,

it's that I don't

even know Jesus.

I've never even

met the guy.

And Peter goes out

that night

in shame

and in tears

and he's going to be

dogged by this memory

for the rest of his life

that I was a coward

and I was a failure

and I'm full of guilt

and I'm full of shame.

How in the world

did I screw up

so miserably?

How did I fail Jesus

in his hour

of greatest need?

And so,

the resurrected Jesus

comes and he recreates

the scene of Jesus'

pride at that meal

or Peter's pride

at that meal

and Peter's failure

at that fire

and now here on the beach

there's a new fire

and there's a fresh meal

and Jesus begins

to just gently expose

this wound

in his beloved disciple

and he begins

to treat it

with love

and with prayer

and he begins

to bathe it

in the power of God

and it's one of the most

spectacular exchanges

in the whole Bible

where Jesus asked Peter

three times

he says,

do you love me?

Do you love me?

Do you love me?

And Jesus is giving Peter

an opportunity

to admit

how weak he is.

He's giving him

an opportunity

to repent

of all of his

failures

and how does Peter

respond to this

gentle probing

of Jesus

in his heart?

Well,

Peter just says,

Lord,

you know.

Lord,

you know

that I love you.

Lord,

you know all things.

You see,

now Peter rests

his confidence

not on the strength

of his love

for Jesus.

No,

he's resting

on the sureness

of Jesus'

knowledge

of him

and of all things.

Jesus knows

and Jesus

has the power

to deal

with Peter's

threefold

failure

and to take

away his sins

and not only

to take away

his sins

but to take away

the memories

of his old

failings

and sores

and his wounds

and his pains.

That's how powerful

the resurrected

Jesus is.

You know,

they're probably

at this point

walking along

the beach

and Peter's

answering Jesus'

questions

and Jesus'

response is not

just a pat

on the back

and saying,

hey,

that's all right,

Peter.

Come and be my

sheep.

No,

he doesn't say

come and be my

sheep.

He says,

Peter,

you're the biggest

failure I've ever

met

and then he gives

him a command

and a fresh

challenge

and a new

commission

and Peter's

threefold denial

is just wiped

out and forgiven

with this

threefold commission.

He says,

Peter,

it's time

for you to learn

how to be a

forgiven

and fearless

shepherd.

It's time

for you to learn

how to feed

my lambs.

It's time

for you to look

after my

sheep.

You see,

when Jesus

forgives us,

he also gives

us a job

to do.

He also

equips us

and he empowers

us to share

in his

ministry.

that moment

when we

profess our

love for

Jesus for

the first

time,

he says,

well,

then let's

get to

work.

And this

is the

one who

in John

10 said,

well,

I'm the

good shepherd.

And now

he's saying

to Peter,

I want you

to share

in my

work and

my ministry

of shepherding

with me.

I'm the

one who

has the

task of

leading

and feeding

and caring

for my

sheep.

I'm the

one who's

going to

guide them

to and

from

good

pastures

and green

pastures.

I'm the

one who's

supposed to

keep them

safe from

all the

wolves and

the thieves.

But Peter,

from now

on,

now that I've

plunged your

failure into

my grace,

I want you

to share

in my

work of

shepherding.

And of

course,

we know that

Peter had a

special role

in the early

church and the

founding and

leadership of

the church.

But really,

every

Christian,

everyone who's

been baptized,

everyone who

comes and

shares in the

meal with

Jesus,

every Christian

has a share

in the

ministry of

the good

shepherd.

And here's

the secret of

that ministry.

Here's the

secret of

your ministry

and my

ministry.

Whether you're

a layperson

or you're

ordained,

whether you're

part-time or

full-time or

volunteer,

if you're

going to do

anything as a

follower of

Jesus,

if you're

going to do

anything as a

servant of

Jesus,

this is what it

all comes down

to.

Somewhere deep

down inside,

the question

is,

is there a

love for

Jesus?

Can you say

with Peter,

yes,

Lord,

you know that

somewhere deep

down inside,

I love

you.

I love

you.

I love

you.

That's the

key and

ultimate

question.

No matter

how much

you've

struggled and

failed in

your discipleship,

Jesus wants

to know,

do you

love me?

And though

goodness knows

we've all let

him down

plenty of

times,

he wants

to find

that love

in us.

He wants

to give us

a chance

to express

our love

and he wants

to come

like Peter

and heal

the hurts

and heal

the failures

of our

past and

say,

well,

let's get

on with

it.

You've

got a

new job

to do.

And it's

out of that

grace and

joy and

relief that

you've been

forgiven.

And as a

sign that you

are forgiven,

that Jesus

wants you to

go out and

he wants you

to love

him by

loving

his flock.

All of us

are called

to find a

sheep,

even just

one sheep,

and to

care for

that sheep

with selfless

love,

like Jesus.

All of us

are called

to find

at least

one sheep

and just

feed that

sheep with

biblical

truth.

All of us

are called

to just

find one

sheep and

just shepherd

that sheep

with humble

service and

to go out

and show

our love

for Jesus

by loving

his church.

So Christ

Church,

as we mark

our 20th

birthday today,

as we enter

into the

third decade

of our

ministry

together,

Jesus is

offering us

the same

thing he

offered those

disciples on

that beach.

He's just

offering us

a restored

and a

transformed

and a

newly

commissioned

life.

To come

and fish

with Jesus.

To come

and eat

near Jesus.

To come

and shepherd

under Jesus.

it's an

amazing

life.

That the

resurrected

Lord is

calling us

to live

with him.

And that's

what I pray

we'll be

about.

That's what I

pray we'll

get together

and do

is the

fishing

and the

eating

and the

shepherding

of Jesus.

In the name

of the

Father,

Son,

and Holy

Spirit.

Amen.