Transcript

A couple of guys named Ed and Fred went fishing for the first time in their lives.

They went out and bought themselves a couple of rods and reels, went down to the lake and rented a boat at the boat rental place and rowed out to a likely place for fish and let down their anchor.

They’d read enough about fishing and used common sense to know how to bait their hooks and how to cast their lines, and after a few practice casts they settled into catching fish. And boy, did they catch fish.

It seemed that just about every time their line hit the water, a fish hit the line. They caught so many fish that they were really getting excited. But eventually it started getting dark and they needed to get the boat back to the rental place and head home.

Fred went to the back of the boat and began hauling in the anchor, when he turned around to see Ed pull out a jackknife and start carving an “X” in bottom of the boat.

Fred said “What do you think you’re doing?” Ed looked up and replied “I’m marking this spot so we can find it again!” His friend growled, “Oh, don’t be dumb, Ed! That won’t do any good. What if we get a different boat?”

We find a fishing story in John 21 where many fish were caught. Peter, James, and John, however, were a lot smarter than these guys as far as fishing goes. They had made a living from fishing in their past and were professional fishermen.

Peter had failed. After being one of His closest followers for over 3 years, he denied the Lord 3 times, denying ever knowing Him. We all fail the Lord in life.

But John 21 is so comforting in knowing how, though we fail, the Lord’s love never fails, and He treats us with kindness, grace and forgiveness when we fail.

In His mercy, like with Peter, Christ restores and He wants us to keep moving forward. He wants us to realize through our stumbling and failures that we can’t live in our own strength, that we need Him. And He wants us to learn from it and grow and pursue after righteousness and godliness in His strength.

John 21:1-4: “After these things Jesus shewed Himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed He Himself.

“There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.

“Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.

“But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.”

The “After these things” in verse 1 refers to the Lord appearing the second time to the disciples a week after His resurrection in the Upper Room, with Thomas present the second time. Following this appearance, the disciples traveled north from Jerusalem to Galilee.

The Lord had told them at the Last Supper that He would appear to them in Galilee after He had risen, but they hadn’t believed it. Matthew 26:32: “But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.”

The angel at the empty tomb told the group of women this as well that they should go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead; and, behold, He goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see Him” (Matt. 28:7).

Christ then appeared to this group of women who had come from the tomb: “Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell My brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see Me” (Matt. 28:10).

And then after His second appearance to the disciples in the Upper Room, Matthew 28:16 says, “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.”

So they made the journey from Jerusalem to Galilee into a certain mountain and are there waiting for Him. They were by the “Sea of Tiberias,” which is the Sea of Galilee. And the Sea of Galilee is surrounded by mountains.

Verse 2 says 7 disciples were together and saw this post-resurrection appearance of Christ. Only 5 of the 7 are identified: Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, and the sons of Zebedee which were James and John. Then there were 2 other unnamed disciples present.

Including this one, Peter is always listed first in all the lists of the apostles, indicating his leadership of the group.

Here we see Peter’s leadership evident in how he took the lead and wanted to go fishing and then the other six followed and went with him. Peter says “I go a fishing.” And the other 6 said, “That’s a good idea. Wait for us, we’re coming too.”

They had all been waiting and looking for the Lord’s arrival, and Peter decided to pass the time by fishing, his former livelihood, and the other disciples joined him.

The apostles were in a state of limbo here, not sure what to do or when the Lord would come, so they returned to the familiar.

But there was probably even more than a one-time fishing excursion on their minds here. They were waiting for the Lord but He hadn’t appeared.

And they all were feeling like busts as apostles. When it came down to the crisis point, they had bailed. They had failed, and had run and hid, and had locked themselves in the Upper Room out of fear.

And so out of their feeling of failure, being impatient, with a wavering faith, Peter’s thought-process and that of the other disciples might’ve been “I’m going back to the one thing I know how to do well; I’m going fishing” i.e., permanently as his livelihood.

And the others said, “We’re going too.” It’s also difficult for guys to be close to water without thinking about fishing too, and the whoppers we might be missing out on.

So they immediately go and jump in a boat, and took off out onto the Sea of Galilee and began fishing.

They fished at night. To stay cool during the day, the fish migrated to waters too deep to reach with nets, so fishermen with nets, like the apostles, had to fish at night when the fish were near the surface.

Their excitement at fishing, however, turned disappointing and went unrewarded as they “caught nothing” verse 3 says. I apply this Scripture often when I go fishing.

Early in the morning as dawn was breaking, Christ was standing on the shore, arriving just as He said He would. But the disciples do not recognize the Lord, verse 4 says.

This may have been because of the distance. According to verse 8, they were about 100 yards from the shore. Or it may have been because of lack of light in the early morning.

Or it may have been another instance when the Lord kept others from recognizing Him after His resurrection, which He had done before with the two on the road to Emmaus and Mary Magdalene.

John 21:5-9: “Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.

“And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

“Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.

“And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.”

The Lord calls out to the disciples: “Children.” The term is an affectionate address and speaks to the family relationship in belonging to the Lord as His children.

The title “children” also carries the sense of undeveloped understanding as children have, and how the disciples still had things to learn.

The Lord asks “Have ye any meat?” or “Have you caught anything to eat?” This was a blow to their pride. Unsuccessful fishermen are a little sensitive to being asked about their fishing. So out of their disappointment, they answer with a simple, “No.”

Then the Lord gives them a bit of advice, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.”

This would have required them to swallow their pride, being frustrated at their lack of success during the night, and now a Stranger telling them how to do better.

But they do not protest, and besides one more cast would not do any harm, and they obey His instruction. Casting the net again into the sea, was an object lesson to Peter and the disciples. The Lord was in effect asking them to try again even though they’d failed.

This was an important lesson for Peter: not to allow past failure to keep him from serving the Lord. And God also doesn’t want us to allow past failure to keep us from following the Lord, or to serve Him. He wants us to keep working and following by faith.

The disciples’ obedience to the Lord was rewarded as the net became taut and full of fish, and a great load of fish fills the net, so that they weren’t even able to “draw it” or land all the fish. It was so heavy and so full they couldn’t even haul it into the boat (v. 6).

As Creator and God, Christ caused those same fish to be on the right side of the boat where the disciples could pull them into their nets.

But the disciples had been in this situation before. They had spent a wasted night on the sea fishing when they caught nothing.

Then in the morning Christ instructed them to recast their nets. And the same thing happened, their obedience netted them a record catch.

When this miracle happened the first time, the Lord was calling them to follow Him and those fish represented the people they would catch for Christ’s earthly kingdom if they did follow Him.

This second time the Lord was calling them to continue following Him after His resurrection and in spite of their past failure, and still the message was that through their ministries for the Lord they would catch people for the kingdom on earth.

As they were trying to haul the loaded net of fish in, the light goes on for John. John refers to himself as “That disciple therefore whom Jesus loved.”

Remembering the same occurrence at the beginning of Christ’s ministry 3 years earlier, and realizing the miracle that had just happened, John knows it has to be the Lord.

And John tells Peter: “It is the Lord.” John was the first to recognize Him, but Peter, a man of action, was the first to act.

Peter it says was “naked” as he was fishing, which can mean simply “poorly dressed” or “stripped of his outer garment,” meaning he may have been stripped to his loincloth for work. But he wanted to be appropriately dressed to greet the Lord.

When Peter heard that it was the Lord he didn’t say, “We’ll see Him in a moment as soon as we row ashore.”

Instead just hearing John’s words, he doesn’t even look for himself to the shore to see if it’s true. Instead Peter immediately just put on his outer fisher’s garment and then threw himself into the Sea of Galilee and swam to the shore.

His enthusiasm in wanting to be with the Lord as quickly as possible shows how much he loved his Savior. And it is exciting to think about being with the Lord one day!

Out of his excitement, Peter swam the 200 cubits or 100 yards to shore, while the rest followed in the boat towing the net full of fish to land.

The disciples couldn’t pull the net into the boat, even with all of them trying with all their might, so they ended up just rowing and dragging the net into shore.

When Peter and the disciples in the boat got to shore, they all saw Christ had prepared a breakfast for them. There was a charcoal fire with fish and bread cooking over it.

It’s important to note that Christ prepared “a fire of coals.” In John 18:18,25 as Peter had followed Christ to the trial at Caiphas’ home it says,

“And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals; for it was cold: and they warmed themselves: and Peter stood with them, and warmed himself…They said therefore unto him, Art not thou also one of His disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not.”

This “fire of coals” prepared by the Lord is a deliberate reminder of Peter’s failure in Caiaphas’ courtyard which also occurred over a charcoal fire.

John 21:10-14: “Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.

“Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.”

The Lord told the 7 disciples to bring some of the fish they had caught so they could be cooked with the others.

Peter then, by himself, went to the net and drug it onto shore. It took 6 of them to row it and drag it in, but Peter by himself went into the water and drug it to shore. Peter was apparently pretty muscle bound. Seems like Peter wasn’t named the rock for no reason!

Verse 11 tells us that the net was not only full of fish, but full of “great” or large fish, not puny ones you throw back.

It was full of “great” fishes, and it was a great catch, 153 fish were in that net. Fishermen like to talk about their best outings, and John, a seasoned fisherman, remembered how on this day they caught exactly 153 large fish, because of the Lord’s provision, not by anything that they had done.

This was to remind them of their need of the Lord in their ministries. He brings the fruit. We just trust and obey, and throw the net as it were. He gives the increase.

After Peter pulled in all the fish, Christ invited them all to “Come and dine,” and have breakfast. Verse 12 says that coming over for breakfast and seeing Him, none of them asked who He was because they all knew it was the Lord. There was no doubt.

None of them asked, “Who are you?” There was no reason to ask this. They knew who He was. They recognized Him. He was really risen from the dead.

This is a great proof text for if we will recognize loved ones in heaven. In the same way, we won’t look at them in heaven and say “Who are you?” We’ll “know” them. We will know our parents, spouses, children, grandchildren, loved ones and friends.

After they came for breakfast, Christ took the bread and roasted fish and distributed it to the disciples. And so again we see Christ’s heart and humility in serving others, the heart of service and ministry that we should follow and imitate in life.

John 21:15-17: “So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

“He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

“He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.”

The Lord used this portion of Scripture in my life when I was deciding whether or not to enter the ministry. By it, He helped lead me to take that step of faith.

After they had eaten, the Lord turned to Peter. The time had come for Christ to address Peter’s deep wound.

So after breakfast, the Lord’s attention is focused on Peter. Peter had denied the Lord three times and the Lord asked Peter three times: “Simon, lovest thou Me?”

Peter had denied Christ on three occasions, and the Lord was giving an opportunity for restoration at each point. Peter had denied the Lord beside a fire of coals, now he was being restored by another fire.

While the Lord addressed Peter directly, the conversation was public and for the benefit of all the disciples present. His denial was public; His restoration was public.

Fishing and shepherding, fish and sheep, become the topic of conversation.

The Lord asked, “Peter…lovest thou Me more than these?” or more than all these 153 large fish laying there in that unbroken net.

In other words, these fish, nets, boats, this whole enterprise of fishing that you love, do you love Me more than these? Do you love Me supremely was what the Lord was asking, even more than the fishing that He knew Peter loved?

There are two words for “love” used in these verses. They are the Greek words “agape” and “phileo.” Agape is an active, selfless, sacrificial love, seeking another’s highest good. Phileo speaks of a warm, deep, emotional affection, like between family members.

The word for “lovest” that the Lord uses in the first 2 questions is “agape.” Peter, do you selflessly, sacrificially love Me?, or supremely love Me, even more than these fish and this fishing enterprise, was the Lord’s question.

Peter’s response was honest: “Yes Lord, you know that I love thee.” But his word for “love” was “phileo.”

So the Lord questioned Peter about His devotion and commitment to Him and putting Him first before all things, and Peter affirmed his affection for the Lord.

Christ uses the loftiest word for love and Peter replied, “I have a deep affection for You,” using a less lofty word for love, but still revealing his heart toward the Lord.

Peter was honest. He acknowledged the truth of his love. He replied with genuine distrust of himself. Peter was saying, “I don’t want to claim agape, I don’t want to claim supreme love, but I can claim phileo.”

If Peter did have a true affection for the Lord, Christ told him, “Feed my lambs.” The word for lambs speaks of “little lambs,” or the young in age, or young in the faith, spiritual babes, the tender, the vulnerable, those who needed special attention.

Christ wanted Peter to care for His spiritual flock in His absence, and to “feed” them or to tend to, keep and be devoted to them, to care for, and nourish His lambs in the truth.

In verse 16, the Lord asked Peter a second time if he [agape] loved Him, and Peter again replied, “you know that I [phileo] love thee.” And the Lord said, “Feed my sheep.”

This word for feed speaks of supervising, overseeing, ruling, watching over. Sheep speaks of any believers in the little flock of Christ’s kingdom church, those at any maturity level. But notice that believers are the Lord’s, they are “My sheep” the Lord says.

Peter was to care for the Lord’s sheep, those who belonged to Him, realizing that they belonged to the Lord, and loving and caring for them carefully in that light. He was to treat and lead them as the Lord would, with kindness, grace, patience, and by God’s truth.

Then the Lord asked him a third time, “Simon, lovest [or phileo] thou Me?” Peter was grieved and sorrowful because the Lord asked him a THIRD time about his love and devotion to the Savior, knowing he had denied the Lord THREE times.

And this time the Lord came down to Peter’s word and questioned even that. Thus, Peter was also grieved because the Lord asked him this time using HIS word for love.

He used Peter’s word for love which signified something less than total devotion, questioning even that level of love which Peter thought he was safe in claiming.

Peter appealed to the Lord’s omniscience, that He knows all things as God, and that He knows he [phileo] loved Him. This being true, the Lord again says, “Feed my sheep.”

Peter is told 3 times that he could demonstrate his love for Christ by feeding and caring for Christ’s sheep, His people Israel.

In this three-fold question and three-fold response, the Lord restored and pulled Peter from his despondency because of his three-fold denial.

And through the miracle of the fishes, Christ invited the humbled disciple to recast his net for another miraculous catch, to continue following Him, but to do it with His help.

We see how Christ in His mercy and kindness, has forgiven and will restore us when we fail. We see here a connection between loving the Lord and serving and caring for His people, and that love is more than just words. We find that the Lord, out of our love for Him, wants us to love and serve others, and to serve His people.

And the passage raises a convicting question: How much do we love Him? Put your name in these verses. Make it personal.

What do you say to these questions by the Lord? When we think about the things we love in life: possessions, career, entertainment, hobbies, what is our answer to the Lord’s question, “Do you love Me MORE than these?” Do we put other things before Him?

What is your response to the Lord’s question: “Insert name, do you agape love or selflessly, sacrificially love Me? Do you love Me supremely?” Or “Insert name, do you have even a phileo love or deep affection for Me?” How would you honestly answer these questions?

Can you say, “Yes Lord. You know that I love You.” Then serve Him.