Restoration
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4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No,” they answered.
6 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.
7 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. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.[c] 9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 11 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. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.Jesus Reinstates Peter
15 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.”
16 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.” 17 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.
18 Very truly I tell you, 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!” -
Restoration
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Series
Thank you for inviting me to be with you today.
Matthew ends with the Great Commission, Mark ends with witnesses at the empty tomb and Luke ends with the Ascension. John has chosen the story of Peter’s restoration. It is interesting that John chose to finish his Gospel with this story, showing us how healing and restoration, feeding and tending and fishing are metaphors for what the future church in the world should be like.
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4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. 6 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. 7 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. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.[c] 9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 11 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. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Jesus Reinstates Peter
15 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.” 16 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.” 17 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. 18 Very truly I tell you, 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!”
A few years ago, a man took out a knife in Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum and slashed a seven-foot wide hole in Rembrandt's painting ‘Nightwatch.’ So what did the museum do? Did they throw out the work of art and say it was beyond repair? Absolutely not! In 2018 they began restoring the treasure with the utmost care and precision. It will take years to restore.
You are more precious to God than a Dutch masterpiece. God made you and has a plan for you. Jesus can heal and restore you, not just patch you up.
Simon Peter is a good example of restoration!
“Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
Simon Peter wasn’t just a disciple but one of the inner circle of three (Peter, James and John) yet he was prone to saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. His lowest point was when he denied Jesus three times on the night before Good Friday (Mark 14). Yet within a few weeks, he was restored, boldly preaching at Pentecost, and became a founder of the Christian Church.
What made the difference? He had an encounter with the healer, the risen Jesus!
John 21 contains three hugely encouraging lessons.
1. Jesus helps us in our present struggles
2. Jesus heals us from our past failures
3. Jesus reveals to us his future church
Jesus helps us in our present struggles
All of us face struggles and challenges in life. The good news is that Jesus is with us to help us in our struggles! John 21:1-3: Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas, 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.
In spite of being experienced fishermen, Peter and the others caught nothing!
Yet, into this situation of struggle and failure Jesus comes on the scene: (John 21:4-6) Early in the morning Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realise that it was Jesus. He called out to them, ‘Friends, haven’t you any fish? 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.’ Key point is that Jesus was right there wanting to help. Applying this to ourselves; the fishing represents struggles in our daily lives; family, work, lockdown/Covid etc. Life is difficult & we should not battle on without God’s help. He is here with us wanting to help us in our present struggles.
Here Jesus addressing them as ‘mates’ demonstrates that he has all the knowledge and power that we will ever need. He knows more about the fish than the fishermen, He knows more about life and you than you do! And the good news is that Jesus is alive and ever-present with us by His Spirit and ready to help us in every area of our life. There is never a situation or circumstance where He is not there, even if we don’t recognise Him. The disciples went from life struggles to struggling to haul the net in. What a wonderful picture of God’s abundant provision for us!
Not only does Jesus help us in our present struggles, but, secondly …
Jesus heals us from our past failures
Jesus eats fish with them BBQ’d on a ‘charcoal fire.’ The only other time charcoal fire is used is John 18:18, when Peter was warming himself by a fire and denied Jesus thrice. To emphasise the connection to Peter’s ‘fall’ (John 18:15-27), Jesus asked Peter the same question three times, reflecting that Peter had denied him three times
‘When they 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, ‘Tend 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.’
What is happening here is Jesus is coming to Peter to heal him from his past failure.
Notice Jesus doesn’t say, ‘Now Peter, you remember how you denied me?’ Doesn’t say Peter promise me you won’t chicken out again. Instead, Jesus goes to the root of the problem and asks
‘Do you love me more than these?’
Taking him back to the time that Peter said he was Mr Dependable, he loved Jesus more than they did, Peter’s pride and self-assurance, he loved himself more than he loved Jesus. To be fair it wasn’t that bad, he just chickened out, told a white lie, it wasn’t as if he was caught in adultery, caught cheating in an exam or stealing. But this is crucial… all sin involves nudging the Lord out of the centre and pushing self into the middle, saying I am my own Lord, I’ll let you know when I need you Lord… pushing him aside. At the root of our sinful falls is a failure to obey the First Commandment: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.
Peter faced up to his fall and is re-called. He states his love for Jesus and is restored. And through this we learn that our God is the God of the second chance.
Thomas Edison, working on a thing called a ‘light bulb’ finally put the first one together. When he was finished, he gave it to a young helper, who nervously carried it up the stairs. You’ve probably guessed what happened, he dropped the bulb at the top of the stairs. It took Edison’s team 24 hrs to make another bulb. Finally, Edison gave it to the same young boy who dropped the first one. What a lovely message, Edison gave him a second chance!
I love the fact that our God gave Peter and gives us all many ‘second chances.’ The re-call is greater than the fall. And a few weeks later, Peter is preaching with boldness about the crucified & risen Jesus & 3,000 people get saved and added to the Church.
So today, if you feel pain & shame of past failure I encourage you to take heart, turn to the Lord in prayer, read again the scriptures, see how God transformed Peter and worship our risen Saviour! You are far more precious to God than a priceless work of art. He has a plan for you & sent Jesus to heal & restore you – not only from the damage done to us by others but also from the damage we have done to ourselves. He doesn’t just patch us up, He restores, He makes all things new.
Finally, Jesus reveals to us his future church
When Peter jumps in and wades to Jesus on the shore he is probably remembering the miracle in Luke 5 where Jesus was in the boat with the disciples and directed them to throw their nets in and they got a huge catch. This story in John 21 is similar but the big difference is that Jesus is not in the boat. He is on the shore and guiding them from there to throw their nets in. There is a revelation here for the future of church - Jesus is saying ‘even if I am not physically present I still want you to do my work in the world.’
Remember the first thing Jesus ever said to Peter was ‘Follow me, I will make you fishers of men.’ In John 21 we read the last thing Jesus says to him is ‘Follow me’ (John 21:19) and as I said in my introduction, it is the last story in the Gospel of John. As the Church is looking at what we should be doing as a church, the body of Christ, and praying for guidance.
In this story Jesus says this is church; eat with me (e.g. Holy Communion), run to me (when you fail or fall), be fishers of people in mission and tending the sheep. This is the future of the church, not good causes, not politics.
Anglicans say each week in the creed ‘I believe in the Holy Catholic church.’ The truth is it takes a lot of faith these days to believe in the church because many churches are not doing what Jesus says we should do: Fishers of men - reaching out to people and tending the sheep.
When Jesus restores Peter he says Feed my labourers, no, actually, he said ‘lambs’ (young, weak, vulnerable, needy), the second time Jesus says ‘tend my sheep:’ The Greek word here for ‘tend’ is the same word for the verb to pastor: ‘emotional, social and spiritual support.’ Notice, all three times when Jesus asks, he emphasises the word ‘my’ sheep. These are people Jesus cares about.
This is the church; the metaphor of bringing in the fish and then feeding and tending the lambs and sheep. I realise I have mixed my metaphors but I hope this inspires you to pray about how we can be a church coming out of lockdown here in this place. We have a vision here of what church should look like. Not trying to look like the world but a fellowship, a communion where outreach and tending and feeding are part and parcel of Following Jesus.
