Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias.
It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from
Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.
3 “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. 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. 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 Simon Peter climbed
aboard 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.
- John 21:1-14, The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
Publishing House) 1984.
Dear Friends in Christ,
From the disciples’ perspective, Good Friday marked not only the death of their Leader, but the death of their happiness as well. After Jesus’ crucifixion we find them stunned, saddened, disoriented and behind locked doors. They learned in a most convincing way that Jesus Christ was central to their lives. Without Him, there was only emptiness.
It is hard for us to imagine, then, the euphoria they must have experienced with the knowledge of Jesus’ resurrection. We can only guess at their elation to see and speak with the Risen Christ. Easter certainly changed things in a big hurry. The disciples moved from sadness to gladness and, as we have seen in our Scripture lessons from the book of Acts, from timidness to boldness…
Our text for this morning is one of a number of Jesus’ resurrection appearances recorded for us in Scripture. It displays for us the joy and encouragement the Risen Christ brought to His disciples – something we clearly see in John’s words and Peter’s actions. And it reminds us that if ever we, as Christians, are asked what is the source of our joy and strength in life, we could do no better for an answer than to repeat the breathless words of John:
"IT IS THE LORD!"
Why? Because, as indicated in our text...
1. We find comfort in His concern for us
2. We find joy in His presence with us
We’ll proceed by briefly working our way through the text and then drawing present day application from it...
Afterward, Jesus appeared again to his disciples by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (called 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.
The time: sometime between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. The place: Sea of Tiberias, better known to us as the Sea of Galilee. The cast: 7 disciples, 5 of whom are named (sons of Zebedee = James and John). Before becoming full time disciples, many of those named made their living by fishing, so it’s not hard to understand that without Jesus as their daily, physical focal point anymore, they returned to doing what they knew best. As was the favored custom of that day and place, they fished at night. But they had no luck...
Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize it was Jesus. He called 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.
As morning broke, a friendly stranger appears. We know who it is, but the disciples didn’t. The friendly stranger offers advice on their fishing strategy, and they complied. Perhaps it was the authority in his voice that elicited such immediate obedience. Perhaps the stranger’s suggestion seem hauntingly similar to a command given to these same fisherman by Jesus the Christ about three years earlier. Whatever the case, the results were the same as then – a miraculous catch of fish...
And the light went on in John’s head.
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 the shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
We’ve become somewhat accustomed to Peter’s immediate (and sometimes unwise) reaction to things. Here we have another example. But we can’t really blame him. He wanted to get to shore fast, and the quickest way was to hit the water. So he wrapped his outer garment around him and plunged into the lake (best explanation: as a show of respect he wanted to appear before His Master fully clothed. Alternate explanation: he was just frazzled and acting irrationally.) What all the disciples found upon their arrival was a shore meal being prepared...
Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you just caught." Simon Peter climbed aboard 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.
We are told the disciples didn’t have to ask who this was. They knew they were standing in the presence of the Lord. And with this encounter the disciples were confirmed and solidified in the fact that Jesus Christ was risen indeed. And maybe that’s why Jesus repeatedly came to the disciples, so they would never ever wonder if their minds were just playing tricks on them. We are told that this was the third time Jesus appeared to a group of disciples, though there had been other appearances to individuals...
If we are looking for application of this text to our lives today, I believe it can first be found here, in the concern of Christ that His followers know He is alive and with them. Jesus wants us to know that He is with us. His concern is that we understand He is there for us and that He loves us. He may not converse with us face to face over a meal of fish as He did with the disciples in our text, but the Risen Christ continues to speak to us in His Word. And in the Word it is evident that His concern for us spills into every area of our lives...
For example, it concerns our Risen Lord when we worry, so He tells us to cast all our anxieties upon Him.
It concerns Christ when we are troubled or disheartened or weary of life, so He invites us to come to Him for rest.
It concerns Christ when we feel we have to shoulder heavy burdens by ourselves, so He tells us to come to Him in prayer and ask with the promise that it will be given to us, seek and we shall find, knock and the door will be opened to us, all in harmony with His good and gracious will for our lives.
It concerns Christ when we feel insignificant or of little worth, so He reminds us that we, individually, are of such great worth to Him that He gave His life for each of us, and that He loves us with an everlasting love.
It concerns Christ when we are weighed down by our sins, so He points us to the cross and says, "Yes, you are a sinner, but when I said ‘It is finished’ I meant it. You are forgiven. So now, go forward living for me in the present rather than dwelling on the past."
It concerns Christ when we feel lonely, so He comes to us with the assurance that He is with us always, even to the end of the age, and that He will never leave us or forsake us.
And when we understand the Risen Christ’s concern for us, which is the first application of our text, we will also understand the second, namely the emotion that this information produces in the hearts of Jesus’ disciples. The emotion of joy...
What do you think it was like for the disciples when they came in from their boat to the shore lunch provided by the Risen Christ? We’re not told of any dinner conversation. But I think we can say with certainty what was present. There was a lot of awe. There was a lot of spiritual strengthening going on. And there most certainly was a lot of joy welling up in the souls of the faithful; a joy that would empower them to do what they would eventually be called to do – preach the good news of this Risen Christ to all the world.
Not that this would be easy. In fact it would be hard. But the knowledge of the Risen Christ gave them strength for the journey and power for living. With the promise of His presence and the sure hope of life eternal, the resurrected Lord Jesus filled those first century disciples with joy.
How about for us in the 21st century? Is the knowledge of the Risen Christ producing the same emotion in us?
Answers will vary. But I suspect he answer for many of us is: Sometimes. And if we’re wondering why the answer isn’t "all the time," perhaps it is because we let too many things get in the way...
By way of illustration, let me share with you a portion of a devotion I recently came across. It is from the pen of a missionary’s wife who lived in the Orient for six years during the first quarter of the 20th century. She spent much of her time in these foreign lands nursing her dying husband, which makes her poetic words all the more meaningful...
On a day in the autumn, I saw a prairie eagle mortally wounded by a rifle shot. His eye still gleamed like a circle of light. Then he slowly turned his head, and gave one more searching and longing look at the sky. He had often swept those starry spaces with his wonderful wings. The beautiful sky was the home of his heart. It was the eagle’s domain. A thousand times he had exploited there his splendid strength. In those far away heights he had played with the lightnings, and raced with the winds, and now, so far away from home, the eagle lay dying, done to the death, because for once he forgot and flew too low.
The soul is that eagle. This is not its home. It must not lose the skyward look. We must keep faith, we must keep hope, we must keep courage, we must keep Christ... Keep the skyward look, my soul; keep the skyward look!
The point she makes is a valid one and certainly applies to the level of joy we experience in knowing the Risen Christ. Too often we let the cares and troubles of this world or the chaos of a busy life or the setbacks that come with the territory of living on sin-stained planet obscure our view and diminish our joy. In the words of the devotion, spiritually speaking, we fly too low and get shot down by all sorts of things that couldn’t reach us if we’re at the proper spiritual altitude...
But the disciples in our text didn’t fly low. Just the opposite. They were flying high, transported and propelled by the knowledge of the Risen Christ. And they stand as examples for us today.
Although the calendar may suggest otherwise, Easter is not over. In fact, Easter is never over, is it? The Risen Christ is with His people... comforting them with His concern and providing joy for them with His presence.
Alleluia. Alleluia. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. He is risen for us. Alleluia. Amen.