John 21 is considered an Epilogue, and ties up some loose ends, for example, the Restoration of Peter. While the Gospel of John until now has been about recognizing Jesus as the Son of God, and getting to know Him as Saviour, this last chapter also deals with what’s expected of us. We are to walk in God’s Wisdom (what does 153 mean?), to follow the paths He has ordained for us, and to become Fishers of Men.
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1 After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself.
2 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.
3 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.
4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. John 21: 1-4
Note there are only 7 disciples here. Numbers have meaning.
As discussed in John Chapter 6, and
Mark Chapter 8, 12 baskets being left over at the feeding of the 5000, represents the Torah message going to the 12 tribes, while the 7 baskets left over at the feeding of the 4000, represent the Gospel message, going to the whole world.
v3 They can do nothing of themselves
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5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.
6 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.
7 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.
8 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. John 21: 5-8
v6 Whereas they could do nothing on their own, when we are obedient to Christ, the miraculous can happen
God prepares the works, and we are to walk in them
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2: 8-10
v7 John is the first to recognize it is Jesus. Peter again, is the first to run to Him.
v8 Numbers are important. Note the number 2 again, as in 2000 years to the [promised] land, dragging the net with fishes as Fishers of Men
Note the callback to earlier in Jesus’ ministry, with the first miraculous catch of fish in
Matthew 4 and
Luke 5——————————————————————————————————————————————————
9 As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.
10 Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.
11 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. John 21: 9-11
v9 Note, Jesus already has fish with him. Also note the fire of coals, callback to the scene where Peter denies Jesus.
v11 Again, numbers are important. Why 153? Why mention it, unless it has significant meaning. In our time, the meaning has generally been lost, but if you consider John’s time, and it’s audience, it becomes more apparent. I will let the link speak for itself, but in summary, 153 represents wisdom to the Greeks, and God is greater than their wisdom.
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12 Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.
13 Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.
14 This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead. John 21:12-14
v12 All the disciples are too afraid to confirm it’s Jesus. We discussed in the study how sometimes we’ve seen or heard God do something miraculous in our lives or right in front of us, and instinctively we know it’s Jesus, and almost feel ashamed to ask, “Jesus, was that you?”
v14 first without Thomas, then with Thomas, then now
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15 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.
16 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.
17 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.
18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me. John 21: 15-19
v15-19 Note the callback to Peter’s denial: after supper, the fire of coals, and the asking three times. Peter is particularly humbled here, especially after his boastful proclamations, followed by his strong denials. John’s description of these events was actually much kinder than Mark’s, who got his information for his gospel directly from Peter.
Jesus has recreated the scene of denial and gone to that place of hurt with Peter, in public, in the presence of the other disciples, in order to restore him. It’s like a surgeon, who needs to cut and inflict pain, in order to provide healing (rather than just suppressing the problem). Peter’s 3 denials become replaced with 3 affirmations, and so the previous shame is no more. That old hurtful memory is replaced with a new one, and so it is when we accept Jesus, all those things we feel ashamed of in the past, are replaced with a love for Jesus and knowing we are loved, and forgiven, and simply asked to follow Him
While Peter’s restoration is critical here, there are some who stress John’s use of the Greek words for love,
phileo and
agape here. We discussed these in
John 13, but basically
phileo = brotherly love, love for your fellow human being, whereas
agape = self-sacrificial love, the highest form of love. Jesus asks Peter twice, if he has agape love for Jesus, Peter responds twice that he has brotherly love for Jesus, Finally, Jesus asks Peter if he has brotherly love for Jesus, to which Peter replies that he does. This 3rd time, Jesus capitulates down to Peter’s level, as Peter is still a work in progress. Throughout the rest of the New Testament (Gal 2, Acts 10,11), we still see Peter has trouble accepting gentiles, but does eventually grow to full maturity in Christ.
https://youtu.be/zIRosWhjUBI?t=6886 (Scene from A.D, 1985, where Peter asks to be crucified upside down, so he can see the world for how it really is, FF to 2:09:02 to see fulfillment of v18)
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20 Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?
21 Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?
22 Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.
23 Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? John 21: 20-23
v20-21 After his restoration, Peter goes back to being Peter (again, he is a work in progress), and asks Jesus about John
v22 Jesus says not to be concerned with John, only follow Jesus. We all have different walks with the Lord, and our sole focus should only be on our relationship with Him. We really shouldn’t be concerned with how other people are walking with Him. We have to trust God that He has His own relationship with everyone else, and as long as we are obedient to what He instructs or puts on our hearts us to do, that is all we are responsible for… leave the rest to Him (ie. Trust Him with everything else).
v23 John was the longest lived of all the disciples, and did not die a martyr’s death, but was rather exiled to the Island of Patmos, where he eventually received the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
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24 This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.
25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. John 21: 24-25
v25 Jesus is doing many things in many people’s lives, more than most people realize. I shared a vision that I heard from a pastor, Curry Blake. In it, he was in a long lineup of people, each standing next to their guardian angel, waiting to get into a coliseum. Every few minutes he would hear a roar from the crowd. It eventually became his turn to enter in. In the center of the stadium, were 2 books, one closer to him, and the other on the opposite side. He opened the book closer to him, and in it was a day by day account of the things he did for God. Some pages had writing on it, but many were empty, and he felt regret as he read. Then his attention was drawn to the other book, and in it, was a daily account of all the things that God had did for him. All the pages were full! His attention was drawn to one particular day, where he was caught in a traffic jam for hours, and as he was reading, God had told him that if he was not stuck in that traffic jam, he would have died in a car accident (which was actually the cause of the delay). Again friends, God is doing something for us all the time in our lives, believers and non-believers, and the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
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Random Links:
In these times we are in, our hearts need to be settled that everything that God says is true, and we need to be able to trust Him 100%, with no room for doubt. As discussed, the plan for next Wednesday is for a short 15-20 min Powerpoint presentation on Evolution, the Nephilim and the moon landing hoax with some Q+A afterwards. I believe it’s important for Christians to discuss these issues and know that God is Trustworthy, and never in error. If we have doubt, how are we to walk in the things that He wants us walking into (praying for the sick, deliverance, praying in tongues – everything the Book of Acts sees true disciples doing)? I’ve invited some people from some of the Signal groups I’m on as well as yourselves. Feel free to invite others, all I ask is for an open mind, not one that is already closed. Here’s some links to read up on things prior.
