John 21

John 21:1

We come to the epilogue of John’s Gospel, the final chapter in this glorious study presenting Jesus Christ as the Son of God. To many people, the epilogue seems as though it’s been tacked onfor in chapter 20, concluding with the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, John signs off by saying, “These things were written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and believing you might have life through His name"a seemingly logical conclusion to his Gospel presentation. Yet John goes on to tell one more story. Why? A couple of possible reasons… John 21 provides validation of ministry. You see, although Peter and John would go on to travel together in ministry, there would be those who would question Peter’s ministry due to his denial of the Lord previously. John seems to write this epilogue, including this final story, to let us know that our God being the God of the second chance, Peter’s ministry was particularly and singularly commissioned by the Lord. Secondly, John 21 provides a correction of a misunderstanding. That is, word had gone out through the early church that John wouldn’t die before the Lord’s return. We’ll see John address this issue toward the end of the chapter. Jesus showed Himself again. I really like that because my desire is that Jesus would show Himself again to me, to you, and to the church. Robert W. Gale, a famous Congregational minister with numerous degrees, was preparing an Easter message. Hundreds of people would hear this particular address, thus he worked very hard on polishing it. He had a historical faith, but he later said that on that night before Easter Sunday, his historical faith became “hysterical faith” as he realized the Lord is truly alive. I hope you have hysterical faith. Historical faith says, “Christ lives.” But hysterical, radical faith says, “Christ lives in me” (see Gal_2:20).

John 21:2

Seven of the twelve disciples were fishermen. I find it interesting that Jesus seemed to be inclined toward choosing fishermen to be His disciples. Fishermen by nature must know how to persevere through both calm seas and stormy weather. The same is true of ministry. If you want to serve the Lord, you must learn to serve Him, as Paul would tell Timothy, “in season and out of season” (2Ti_4:2). Whether the sun is shining or the trials abounding, we must be like fishermen, who, regardless of the weather, make their way to the sea.

Working in teams, fishermen were those who could take commands. One would tell the other where to cast the net and when to draw it in. Certainly those of us who want to be used by the Lord must be those who work as a team and take commands easily. Perhaps more than any other occupation, any other endeavor, fishing requires patience. So, too, those who minister for the Lord must be those who are exceedingly patient as they wait for the haul to come in. Two of the disciples in the boat are unnamed. Why? I suggest it allows you and me to take our place with these disobedient renegades, for we too have found ourselves going fishing when we should have been on the mountain. You see, in Matthew 28, we read that the Lord specifically told His disciples to meet Him in Galilee at a mountain He had appointed. But where did these disciples go? To the beach. Thus, maybe your name fits as one of these unnamed disciples. Mine certainly does as the other.

John 21:3

The problem with going off on our own excursions is that others are affected by our little detours, our disobedient side trips. Jesus warned us about setting our hand to the plow and looking back (Luk_9:62). “Forgetting that which lies behind, I press on,” declared Paul (see Php_3:13). But Peter here is looking backand looking back will paralyze. Ask Lot’s wife. It’s not surprising that the disciples entered the ship at night because it’s always dark when you say, “I wonder if I should go back to the old gang, to the old ways, to the old spots.” Truly, whenever you go back, it’s always dark. Isn’t this what we’ve found when we’ve gone back? When you go back, it’s just not there. It just doesn’t work any longer. You come up empty.

John 21:4

Daylight was breaking for the Dayspring was observing (Luk_1:78). “Backsliders!” Nope. “Rebels!” Nope. “Ex-Apostles! Former Disciples!” Nope. Jesus calls these disobedient disciples His kids. Here is where a true miracle takes place. When asked if they had caught anything, these fishermen answer, “No.” Fishermen always say, “The nibbles have been fabulous,” or “You should have seen the one that got away.” But there comes a point in life when you go back and realize it stinks, that there’s nothing there. It sounded so good as you reminisced about the wind blowing your hair and the smell of fish in the air; the rocking of the boat and being with the boys. It sounded so good when you thought about it, but when you actually got there, it wasn’t the way you thought it would be. Satan has the ability to remind us of the kicks of the old ways. But what he fails to bring to mind are the kickbacks that inevitably follow.

John 21:6

Why the right side? Because whatever Jesus says is always right. Think about this, you who have been toiling, working, wondering when it’s going to happen. Success for these disciples was only a boat’s width away. Three, perhaps four, feet from one side of the boat to the otherthat’s how close they were to success in this fishing endeavor. And you might be just three or four feet away from seeing success happen in your life, in your ministry, in your occupation. How do you move the three or four feet that make all the difference? “Mr. Getty,” asked an eager young man, “what’s the secret of success?” “It’s very simple,” answered the billionaire. “Rise early, work late…and strike oil.” How do you strike oil? How do you find success? You do what Jesus says. Listen to what He’s telling you in your heart. Perhaps He’s been dealing with you, speaking to you about a certain issue, but you’ve thought His direction doesn’t relate to the challenge you face or the endeavor you’ve undertaken. The disciples could have said, “We’ve been fishing all night. We’re experts. What do three feet have to do with anything?” But when they did what He said, they were immediately on the right side. So, too, you might be very close to success in the best sense of the word. All you have to do is decide to obey what Jesus has told you in your heart. It’s not mystical. It’s not difficult. It’s just a matter of saying, “You’ve been telling me in my heart that I am to do a certain thing, Lord. And I now purpose to do it.”

John 21:7

There’s the contemplator, the mystic, John. Literally “stripped for work” to his undergarments, Peter grabs his coat and dives in. That’s the doer, the activist, Peter.

John 21:8

All night long the disciples had been looking for fishwhen all the while, Jesus had it right at hand, freshly grilled, ready to eat. Haven’t you discovered this to be so? Haven’t you discovered over and over again when you go off on your little excursions, that when you come back to the Lord you find in Him what you longed for all along?

John 21:10

In verse Joh_21:6, the disciples were not able to lift the net. Yet the same word is used here in verse Joh_21:11 to say that Peter himself was able to draw it. In other words, in drawing the net, Peter did single-handedly what the group could not do collectively. How? There is only one explanation: because the command of the Lord was given. Thus, what the disciples couldn’t do in their own strength, Peter could do by himself simply because the Lord had said, “Bring the fish.” The Word God speaks is the very source of power to do what He asks. Why do you suppose the number of fish is recorded? And why are we told the net was not broken? Earlier, in a similar miracle, Luke says when they took in a miraculous haul, the net broke (Joh_5:6). This speaks of evangelism. In the amphitheatre at Applegate Christian Fellowship or in crusades, the gospel is preached and a haul is taken in, but not all who respond will continue on. In the parable of the soils, only one in four goes on to bear abundant fruit (Matthew 13).

Consequently, when sixty or eighty people are baptized on a Sunday morning at Applegate, not every one is going to go on and bring forth fruit abundantly. But of those who are truly in the kingdom, of those who are brought to shore, not one will be lost. Each one will be accounted for exactly. Thus, as this scenario unfolds, Jesus shows Peter and John that they are not only fishers of men, but tenders of sheep. In the arena of evangelism, we cannot deal with statistics because we can’t see men’s hearts. But in the shepherding ministryin pastoring, discipling, or parentingwe must account for every sheep. We must be aware of the brother or sister in need of tending, of touch, of care. Whose job is this? Each of ours. Those of us who love the Lord have the joint responsibility of saying, “Where is #151? I gotta go find him.” And here Jesus makes a transfer in Peter’s thinking, showing him he is to be not only a fisher of men evangelistically, but a tender of sheep pastorally.

John 21:12

“Come and see,” Jesus said in John 1. “Come and drink,” He said in John 7. “Come and dine,” He says in John 21. A meal of fish and loavesdoes that ring a bell? (Mat_15:36).

John 21:14

It wasn’t until after Peter was fed that Jesus talked to him about feeding others. Gang, if you’re not being fed, don’t attempt to feed others, because what you give out will not be nutritious. It’ll be junk food, hollow calories. If, however, you are being fed, make sure you feed othersbecause if you just keep getting fed and don’t feed others, you’ll become spiritually bloated and lethargic. To what does the word “these” refer? Perhaps Jesus was pointing to the disciples. “Lord, if they all fail you, I never will,” Peter had said earlier. Perhaps Jesus was pointing to the one hundred fifty -three fish, thereby saying, “Do you love Me more than fishing, Peter?” Perhaps it was in reference to the boats. “Do you love Me more than your occupationor is work your highest priority?” “Do you love Me more than these disciples, more than those fish, more than that boat? Do you love Me, Peter?” The word Jesus uses is agapaothe highest kind of love. “I’ve fed you; I’ve shown grace to you; I’m reaching out toward you,” said Jesus. “Do you love Me with a perfect kind of love?” There are four words in Greek for love. Storge is the affection one feels for a puppy. Eros is a sexual kind of love. Phileo is brotherly love. Agape love gives for the sake of giving, never expecting anything in return. Here, Peter uses phileo. “A good place for you to start, Peter, in this restorative process is to feed lambs.” Want to be a good minister, a good teacher, a good communicator? The best training you’ll ever get is with children because they won’t snow you. If you’re boring, they won’t look at you and nod politely. If you’re not communicating, if you’re not connecting, you’ll know it. Children force you to define your terms. They don’t let you hide behind big words. Maybe you feel like you’ve been on a fishing excursion. Get involved in kids’ ministries. Feed the lambs. It’s a privilege and the finest preparation you’ll ever have.

John 21:16

The Greek word translated “feed” is poimaino, which means “to tend, or to shepherd.” “Feed my lambs, Peter, but also care for them,” Jesus instructed.

John 21:17

This time Jesus uses the word phileo. Peter would not say, “I love You unconditionally” because He could not say it. You see, Jesus had earlier said that the one who loves Him is the one who keeps His commandments (Joh_14:21). He had commanded His disciples to meet Him on the mountain (Mat_28:16)which is why Peter here says, “You know all things, Lord. You know I’m in the wrong place even now. That’s why I can’t say I love You the way You taught us to love You. But I do like You.” “Great,” answered Jesus. “I’ll meet you there. Feed My sheep. Get involved in service. Let Me use you.” The Lord will meet us wherever we’re atand He’ll go with us as far as we want to go. You can go on in ministry, in knowing the Lord intimately, in worship, in praise, and in prayer. You can go on as far as you want, and He’ll go with you.

John 21:18

“Peter, when you were young, you wanted to give your life for Me. But you didn’t. You backed down. Guess what. You’re going to make it when you’re old. Yes, they’ll carry you offbut it’s ultimately what you aspired to in your younger days.” What about John? John would be poisoned, boiled, and exiled before he finally died. But Jesus doesn’t tell Peter this. What is that to Thee? A Topical Study of Joh_21:18-22 Some folks seem to be not accident-prone but incident-prone. That is, they always seem to be doing or saying the wrong thing at the wrong time in the wrong place. Such a man was the apostle Peter. He had a tendency to be involved in incidents where he said and did the wrong thing. And here in our text, he’s at it once again. You see, Jesus, who had been resurrected from the dead at this point, told the disciples to meet Him at the appointed mountain in Galilee (Mat_28:16). But on their way to Galilee, Peter had said, “I’m going fishing,” the language indicating more than a one-time excursion. In other words, “I’m going back to fishingback to what I used to do, back to my old way of living.” Here’s Peter on the beach, when he should have been on the mountain, hearing Jesus say, “When you’re old, you’re going to be carried where you don’t want to go"speaking of the death Peter would die by crucifixion. “You can count on me,” Peter had said earlier. “If everyone else forsakes You, Lord, I never will.” And there in Gethsemane, Peter took out his sword and started swinging. Peter wasn’t dumb. He was serious about going to the end with the Lord. Yet a few hours later, feeling threatened by a servant girl, he denied the Lord three times. So here’s Jesus, saying, “Peter, we’re at another fire now. Remember the other firewhere you caved in, where you turned back, where you denied Me?

I’m telling you before this fire on the beach that you’re going to burn brightly, that you’re going to make it, that you’re going to die for Me.” But Peter didn’t hear the blessing. Instead, he took his eyes off Jesus, pointed to John, and said, “What about him?” Remember what happened in Matthew 14? The wind was blowing; the waves were rolling. Suddenly, the terrified disciples see a figure walking toward them. “Lord, if that’s You,” Peter said, “then bid me come.” The Lord did, and Peter actually walked on wateruntil, looking at the waves, he started to sink. The same thing happens to you and me. We start looking at the storm, fretting over circumstances, wondering about peopleand we start to sink. “It’s none of your business what happens to John,” Jesus told Peter as they stood by the fire. “You follow Me.” And Peter did. I find four aspects of this vignette tremendously helpful… It Encourages Me Like Peter, I’m a bumbler and a stumbler. Perhaps you are too. Yet Jesus, in His grace and mercy says, “You’re going to make it.” Truly, the Lord will see us through, gang. Maybe you’re straining and striving to hold on to the Lord, fearing that if you let go, you’ll be lost. Relax. The truth is, He’s got you in the right hand of His righteousness (Isa_41:10). If you’ve opened your heart to the Lord, I can assure you that you are going to make it because He completes that which He has begun (Php_1:6). “Now unto Him,” Paul says, “who is able to keep that which is committed unto Him…” (see 2Ti_1:12) Jesus told Peter He would keep him all the way to death. So I know He’ll do the same for us. It Enables Me It seems like he’s got it made in the shade, this one who leaned on Your breast at the table, this one who’s so close to Your heart, Peter must have thought concerning John. Do you ever look at a person, a couple, a family, and say, “They’ve got it made. It’s not fair”? Let me tell you what happened to John. We know, because Iranius, a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of John himself, wrote an exhaustive history of John. According to Iranius, John ministered in Jerusalem for a season, then found himself in Rome, capital city of the empire. There, he experienced such difficulty and persecution that the enemies of the gospel poisoned his drink in an attempt to kill him.

That is why in early church records, John’s symbol is a chalice with a snake emerging from within. Although John drank it, he miraculously did not die from it. Still determined to destroy him, Caesar Nero ordered John to be placed in a cauldron of boiling oil. But although his skin was burned, John did not die. So he was sentenced to exile on the island of Patmos, where the most perverted people, the most incorrigible prisoners were sent. A rocky, barren island, it was the most hell-like place the Roman Empire knew about.

Yet it was on Patmos that John was given the Book of Revelation. Now this enlightens me because Jesus didn’t say to Peter, “You’re asking about John? Let me tell you about him. Yes, Peter, you’re going to be crucified, but then you’ll go straight to heaven. John, on the other hand, is going to be poisoned; he’s going to be put in a cauldron of boiling oil; he’s going to be exiled. He’s going to live a very painful and difficult life.” No, Jesus simply said, “If I will that John lives until I come back, what does it matter to you? You, Peter, follow Me. Period.” You will have a temptation at some time or another to look at someone else and say, “Poor me. I’m being crucified while he’s cruising,” because you won’t understand what battles the person you envy is presently fighting or will be facing. The Bible says no temptation comes to any of us except that which is common to all people (1Co_10:13). Every person goes through equal difficulty. We just don’t see it. When we get to heaven, not one of us will say, “Well, I really had it rough. Lord, You picked on me.” On the contrary, we will fall before the throne and say, “Lord, You were fair and equitable in everything You did,” (see Rev_16:7). So next time you are tempted to have a personal pity party, remember that Jesus doesn’t explain. He simply says, “You follow Me.” It Enlarges Me John and Peter had very different temperaments, very different personalities. John was a thinker, a contemplator, a mystic. Peter was an activist, a go-getter. In fact, when Jesus called them, what were these two men doing? Peter was casting his net into the sea (Mat_4:18). “Follow Me and I’ll make you a fisher of men,” Jesus said. And indeed Peter became an evangelist who would bring many people into the kingdomthree thousand saved during his first sermon alone.

John, on the other hand, wasn’t casting his net. He was mending nets (Mat_4:21). And John would go on to mend people, as he taught, preached, and practiced love. These two were very different in ministry, in mentality, in temperament, in personality. But you know what? God used them both.

Peter’s wondering about John, when in reality, the Lord would use them equally. I think of two other men used powerfully by the Lord… Leading a contingent of people from Babylon to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, Ezra realized he was short of provision and lacking protection. So what did he do? Not wanting the king to doubt the Lord’s provision, he instructed the people to fast and pray. And indeed the Lord came through (Ezra 8). Seventy years later, Nehemiah led another group back to Jerusalem from Babylon to rebuild the walls around the city. Whereas Ezra had said, “I’m not going to ask the king for anything because the hand of God is upon us,” Nehemiah said, “Because the hand of God is upon us, O king, we want provision and protection” (see Nehemiah 2). Who was right? They both were. Arriving in Jerusalem, Ezra was dismayed to find the Jews had intermarried with Gentiles. So what does he do? He pulls out his beard in remorse, and the people repent (Ezra 9). Seventy years later, Nehemiah reacts to the same situation not by plucking his hair, but by plucking the hair of the peopleand the people repent (Nehemiah 13). Who was right? The Lord used both Ezra and Nehemiah. God can work through an Ezra, a mystic, a John. And He can work through a Nehemiah, a beard-plucker, a Peter. When I understand this, I can accept ministry from different kinds of people and of different types of flavors. It Instructs Me “Follow Me,” Jesus says. “Why should I,” you might say, “if it means being crucified upside down, if it means being placed in a cauldron of boiling oil? Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll chart my own course. I’ll live my own life.” And you can. Our loving God gives you and me that optionbecause if you follow Him, you’ll have to deny yourself and take up His Cross. Why should you do that? I suggest two reasons… First, follow Jesus for abundant life. Jesus said He came that we might have life and life abundantly (Joh_10:10). The reality of the world never lives up to its hype. Not so with the Lord. “Whoever believes in Me shall never thirst,” He said (see Joh_6:35). And it’s true. We’ve found that to be so. We have fished all night in the world, only to come up empty. But when we come back to the Lord, we find the substance, the solidity, and the reality of what we were looking for all along. Second, follow Jesus for eternal life. If you want to go to hell, to live in outer darkness where there’s weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, where you won’t see another individual for age to age and eternity-to-eternity, where your body will convulse, where your conscience will haunt you, where your sin will be ever before you, then don’t follow Him. But if, like the disciples, you say, “Lord, You alone have the words of eternal life,” you’ll follow Him and you’ll end up in heaven. It’s such a good dealabundant life now and eternal life in the ages to come. Who wouldn’t want to follow Him? “Follow thou Me,” Jesus says. Accept His invitation today. And continue to do so all the days of your life.

John 21:23

Jesus didn’t say John would live until He returned. He simply said John’s days were in His hand.

John 21:24

The world could not even hold all that should be written of Jesus. But Ephesians 2 indicates that in the ages to come, we will at last be able to explore more fully His grace and mercy. John tells us in Revelation that there are four creatures in heaven who praise the Lord ceaselessly, perpetually, and eternally. This goes on day and night because they’re continually seeing different facets, different sides, different aspects of the Person of Jesus (Rev_4:8). And the same thing will happen eternally with you. Jesus will so captivate your heart and expand your mind that, as you explore and experience the exceeding riches of His grace and goodness, you will praise Him throughout eternity.