Jesus Reveals Himself in a
Powerful Way
John 21:1-14
Jim Davis
What do we remember most about Jesus? The
circumstances of his birth? How he lived? How he died? His
resurrection? His divinity? What he taught? Do we isolate Christ’s
life into an isolated category intriguing to us, while losing sight
of Jesus himself? Do we magnify one aspect of his life to the point
that we are blinded of all else about him as he becomes simply a
figment of our imagination?
Seeing beyond distorted conceptions of Jesus is a real
challenge. The disciples had difficulty seeing the real
Jesus. Seeing beyond their distorted conceptions of messianic hopes
made it difficult. The Jesus they desired became a figment of their
imaginations. The real Jesus went unseen for the biggest part of his
earthly ministry.
Jesus tried so very hard to place himself in real life
situations. The story here in John 21:1-15 is a case in
point. He gives his disciples a real down to earth picture of the
resurrected Messiah as he cooks breakfast for them.
Imagine eating a breakfast the Messiah prepares? When
the disciples were coming to shore after fishing all night, Jesus
had the fish on the grill. I wonder? Who kindled the fire? Who baked
the bread? Who caught the fish lying on the grill? Did Jesus go
fishing that morning and catch the fish he was cooking? Can you
imaging Jesus standing on the sea shore casting a net for breakfast?
Is he stripped of his outer garment so he can cast his net more
effectively? Who cleaned the fish? Did he wash his hands before he
prepared the meal? Was he wearing a halo? Was he a good cook? Or was
it a miracle? Perhaps Jesus spoke and it was!! Personally I would
like to think it was more natural than supernatural. He asks the
disciples to bring some of their big fish to grill. He wasn’t in a
hurry. He cooked the meal in the most natural way.
Jesus Is Real
Experiencing the real Messiah is our greatest challenge.
The disciples stood in awe each time God performed a miracle through
Jesus. The miracles were God’s way of getting their attention. Yet,
nothing made him more real than the ordinary things he did with
them—like cooking breakfast. Jesus experiencing life with them as he
lived what he taught made him real.
It was difficult for them to allow the Messiah of Scripture to
step out the pages of Holy Writ into their lives—to be real.
Jesus ate the last Passover meal with them. He washed their feet. He
asks at least one of them to touch his nail scars and his spear
scarred side. Now he cooks and serves breakfast.
Imagine the resurrected Christ—God—serving a group of
fisherman breakfast? “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” (John 21:12-13 NIV). They had
deserted him at the cross. Peter had denied him. Thomas had
wondered---how can I believe in Christ? Now Jesus is cooking
breakfast for them.
Seeing the real Jesus is the most difficult thing for the
disciples’ to grasp. He is resurrected. He talks to them. He
instructs them where to catch fish. He prepares food for them. He
eats with them. He was the same Jesus he was before he was crucified
and resurrected. Later John says, we have heard him, seen him and
touched him with our own hands (1 John 1:1). John is saying Jesus is
real. Yet, how difficult it is for them to abandon their fanciful
messianic dreams to see the real Jesus?
Of all the experiences of the disciples John could have chosen
to close out the book of John none could be more appropriate.
The disciples fish all night and catch no fish. Jesus simply
instructs them to cast the net on the other side of the boat. It is
almost the same exact feat Jesus instructed these fishermen to do
when he called them to be fishers of men (Luke 5:1-11). He is as
real at this moment as he was when he called them. Nothing has
changed. In fact, the disciples haven’t changed all that much. They
are still slow-to-believe.
The early morning dusk prevents the disciples from seeing
anymore than a vague outline of a person on the shore. They
may have only heard his voice. They have no idea who asks them to
cast their nets on the other side of the boat. If you have ever
fished all day and caught nothing, you are usually ready to try
anything anyone suggests to catch fish. It was even worse. They had
fished all night. It’s when the net is filled with fish, Peter
proclaims, “It is the Lord!” When the disciples came to shore no one
ask, “Who are you?”
It was Peter’s idea to go fishing. No doubt they had questions
rolling around in their minds. What should have been—could have
been—would have been, if only? Their hope may have been fading. Then
out of nowhere Jesus appears on the shore with bread and fish on the
grill.
Peter later says, he has begotten us to a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus from the dead (1 Peter 1:3). It was Peter’s
way of saying “Jesus is real!” preparing breakfast for the disciples
was the kind of thing that gave them a living hope. What could be
more real than eating breakfast with the resurrected Jesus? Jesus
brings the scriptures to life as he cooks breakfast.
Do You Love Me More?
After breakfast Jesus asks Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly
love me more than these?" I am almost certain the disciples were
feeling the weight of their betrayal. So Jesus brings it up. Peter
is not the only one who denied Christ. They all deserted. But Peter
had proclaimed he would not deny Jesus even if everyone else did. So
Jesus appropriately asks Peter the question.
Matthew 26:33-35
33 Peter replied, "Even if all fall
away on account of you, I never will."
34 "I tell you the truth," Jesus
answered, "this very night, before the rooster crows, you will
disown me three times."
35 But Peter declared, "Even if I
have to die with you, I will never disown you." NIV
It is only natural for Peter to be the focus of the
conversation. No doubt all of them hung their heads in
shame. Jesus asks, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more
than these?" (John 21:15.) All the disciples feel the weight of the
question. But Peter had been anxious to proclaim Jesus as the Son of
God—anxious to swear his allegiance above all others. Peter placed
his loyalty above all others.
Jesus’ questioning Peter is what makes this account so
powerful. Jesus doesn’t appear with a halo or clothed in
robes of splendor. He performs a miracle, cooks breakfast—he does it
all to reassure the chosen ones. They deserted Jesus. He will never
desert them. Their love may wane. Not his. He leaves no doubt about
his love for them. He approaches them without reservation. The
Hebrew writer quotes Moses, “Never will I leave, never will I
forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5; Deut. 31:16).
Their relationship with him now has greater possibilities than
ever. Jesus is not condescending to their level. He is one
of them; even in his resurrection. This isn’t a superficial meal.
Jesus knew the issues of their hearts. He knows the questions
rolling around in their minds. He cares. He is there to reassure. He
came to heal. They needed it. They longed for it. Jesus cleared the
air. He strengthens the relationship. Jesus strengthens their hearts
through his saving grace (Hebrews 13:9-10). Jesus doesn’t appear to
them to condemn. He does it to reassure them of their highest
possibilities.
John 21:17-23
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. 18 I
tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and
went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out
your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you
do not want to go." 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of
death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow
me!"
20 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?") 21 When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord,
what about him?"
22 Jesus answered, "If I want him to
remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow
me." 23 Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers 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?" NIV
Peter responds in the positive. Peter seeks to deflect
Jesus’ attention to another disciple as he asks “What about him?”
But Jesus doesn’t let him off the hook. Jesus simply asks what is it
to you. You must follow me. Jesus is not there to condemn but
encourage. Jesus reassures him that he will be led to places he
never wanted to go or ever dreamed of going. It is Jesus who is
going to lead him to do the unimaginable.
Malachi 3:3 portrays God as a refiner and purifier of silver—a
silversmith. A silversmith takes a pie of silver ore and places it
in a ladle over a fire. He holds it over the middle of the fire at
the hottest point to burn away all the impurities. He sits in front
of the fire with his eye on the melting ore as the impurities rise
to the top and burn off. He removes the slag skim residue left
floating on the molten metal. If he heats the silver too much, it
will ruin the silver. He keeps his eye on the silver until his
reflection is mirrored in the molten silver. The entire time the
silversmith never takes his eye off the silver.
The disciples were feeling the heat as they ate breakfast with
Jesus. They were reminded of God’s unrelenting presence. He was
unwilling to desert. He would remain with them encouraging and
refining their expectations until sees his image in them. If today
you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye
on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you. It
is a statement about God’s character.
Jesus is accustom to his followers turning their backs on him.
John 6:66-69
66 From this time many of his
disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
67 "You do not want to leave too, do
you?" Jesus asked the Twelve.
68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord,
to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We
believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." NIV
Life takes on an entirely different meaning the moment we realize
the only real possession we have on earth and in heaven is God. The
moment we realize he will never desert us in the midst of serious
doubting. Amazingly, the faithful of old managed to keep their faith
in God in grieving times, by reminding themselves of God’s presence.
God is with them. Listen to the psalmist.
Psalms 73:21-26
21 When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,
22 I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.
23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into
glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire
besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever. NIV
The psalmist realizes there is no getting away from God. He is
bitter to the point of senselessness. Yet, God doesn’t desert him in
the mist of his bitter grievances. He doesn’t desert us in our
bitterness. He holds us with his right hand until we realize there
is no where else we can go. When our flesh fails God becomes the
strength of our hearts as we are reminded of his eternal love.
Jesus’ Approach Is Revolutionary
Jesus is resurrected. He has been glorified. He kneels on the beach
over the fire and instructs his disciples to bring some of the fish
from the catch to grill. He already has fish and bread on the grill.
The appetizers are ready, while the big meal is prepared. He could
have appeared anywhere he wanted after his resurrection. He could
have appeared at the temple? Maybe in Caesar’s palace? Or before the
Sanhedrin? Or the senate? He could have made the sun stand still?
But he appeared to these fishermen.
Imagine! The most powerful place Jesus could be at this moment is on
the shore with these fishermen. The revolution he seeks must be
ignited in there hearts. It’s the kind of revolution that leads them
to places they never dreamed. He simply tells him “feed my sheep.”
Jesus didn’t run as a politician. He didn’t spend his time trying to
change the order or tempo of temple worship. He simply appeared to
these fishermen and asks Peter, “Do you love me?”
The question Jesus asks us each time we partake in communion is, “Do
you love me?” There is no question about his love. These disciples
were clinging to their hopes for eternal life. They knew they had no
one to whom they could turn.
Conclusion:
The world was about to be turned upside down with the love these
lonely fishermen held for Jesus. Try to imagine the confused
religious climate in Jerusalem—the moral decay in the Roman world as
Jesus meets with these fishermen. Jesus didn’t discuss politics, or
religion, or the weather. Think about it. His only question is, “Do
you love me?”
That’s revolutionary. Think of what happened on Pentecost. Peter did
something only love could lead him to do as he proclaimed:
Acts 2:36-41
36 "Therefore let all Israel be
assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both
Lord and Christ."
37 When the people heard this, they
were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles,
"Brothers, what shall we do?"
38 Peter replied, "Repent and be
baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who
are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call."
40 With many other words he warned
them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt
generation." 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and
about three thousand were added to their number that day. NIV
He did not hesitate to proclaim.
Acts 4:12
Salvation is found in no one else,
for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we
must be saved." NIV
