Disciples by the Sea

Series: Awkward Family Photos

April 01, 2018 | David Crosby
Passage: John 21:15-25

“I am the resurrection and the life,” Jesus said in John 11:25. It is the only time that anastasis is used to describe the resurrection of Jesus in the Gospels. In Matthew 27:53 the resurrection of Jesus is referred to as egersis, “a rousing, a rising up, a resurgence.” The verb egeiro is used repeatedly for “he is risen” (as in Matt. 28:6).

The disciples didn’t even know what to call it at first, Jesus coming back from the dead. They reverted to the word used by the scribes to describe the resurrection of the just in the last day, anastasis. This is the word that Martha used when she confessed to believe in the resurrection. Jesus in turn used the word to describe himself: “I am the resurrection.” And it is the word used for resurrection by Peter in Acts 1:22, 2:31 for “resurrection.”

The resurrection was supposed to happen when the kingdom came at the end of time. Instead, resurrection happened in that time and within history. Through the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, the Kingdom has come.

Jesus controls the wind and sea. He has come to restore what is broken and to bring about a new creation. That includes the new birth of every sinful individual who will turn to him in faith.

 Jesus is helping Peter understand what Easter means—what the resurrection of Jesus means to Peter personally.

The resurrection is God’s declaration and affirmation of Jesus of Nazareth as Son of God, Son of Man, and Savior of the world. The resurrection declares that Jesus is the Son of God with power. It affirms that Jesus is the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” including Peter’s sin.

Jesus has the power to restore all of creation, reconciling all things to God through his cross.

The risen Lord confronts his wayward disciple who is to lead the disciples when Jesus is gone. Peter will know forever firsthand what grace and mercy flow through the cross and the resurrection.

The Personal Address: Simon, son of John.

Jesus knows your Real Identity.

Jesus gave him a new name back when first he recruited him into the inner circle. He called him Peter which means “a stone.”

  • Jesus does not address Peter by that new name he gave him. He addresses him by his old name.
  • This is true even though the name Peter is used nine times in this passage by the gospel writer. He calls him Simon Peter and just Peter. But Jesus calls him “Simon, son of John.”
  • Peter has reverted. Peter has fallen. He has abandoned his new name, the name that Jesus gave him, and returned to his identity as the fisherman.

Peter has gone back to who he used to be.

  • Peter had insisted that he would go with Jesus to the end, that he would “lay down my life for you” (John 13:37).
  • Peter used the very verb that Jesus used in John 10:17-19 when he described what he would do at the cross—tithemi. This is the same verb for “took off his outer garment” (John 13:4).
  • That’s when Jesus prepared him for his failure by predicting that he would “disown me three times” (John 13:38).

When and where did this happen?

  • Not by the sea, but in the courtyard.
  • Not in the open country, but in the Big City.
  • Not when among friends, but with strangers.
  • Not in a time of peace, but in a time of crisis.
  • Not when hope ran high, but when hope was gone.

How did this happen—the actual event? It was during the trial of Jesus which was also Peter's trial. He warmed himself by “a fire of coals,” the same description in John 21:9 (only two in the New Testament). Could be a “charcoal fire.”

  • A “girl at the door” suggested Peter was one of Jesus’ disciples. He said, “I am not” (John 18:17).
  • An unidentified person by the fire suggested the same. Peter said “I am not” (John 18:25).
  • A servant of the high priest, a relative on the man whose ear Peter had cut of, challenged him: “Didn’t I see you with him in the olive grove?” And Peter again denied it, and, at that very moment, “a rooster began to crow” (John 18:27).

And life marched on.

  • Jesus was crucified and buried and raised from the dead.
  • The Passover Feast went forward as if none of these things had happened. The world did not stop spinning. The earth did not tilt on its axis. Jesus was dead, buried, and raised. And people all over Jerusalem continued with life as usual.
  • Life as usual may be the greatest temptation, as Peter.

The Repeated Question: Do You Love Me?

Jesus Wants to Hear You Say It.

Jesus captures Peter by the sea around the fire he built.

  • The moment is special. They have eaten breakfast together. It’s a beautiful morning by the Sea of Galilee. You won’t find a lovelier place in the earth.
  • It’s time for conversation when breakfast is done. The meal is intended to set the stage for what is next.
  • Jesus and Peter had talked at the Last Supper when night had fallen over Jerusalem. Now they will talk again at this last breakfast as the sun rises. He asks his questions publicly, in the hearing of the other disciples.
  • Tomorrow is another day” (Scarlett O’Hara in “Gone with the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell, the most popular movie of all time in USA and the second most popular book after the Bible).

The Question of Love:

  • Haunting quote by Beatles’ leader, “I really thought that love would save us all” (John Lennon as quoted by Philadelphia Inquirer two days after his assassination, December 8, 1980).
  • New commandment. I don’t know how you assess love as a virtue and as a way to live in this world. But I do know what mattered most to Jesus as he prepared to leave his disciples. “Love one another” (John 13:34).
  • Paul: Love is the greatest (I Cor. 13:13).
  • John: God is love (I John 4:8,16).
  • Peter: Love one another (1 Peter 1:22).

The Struggle with Three: Yes, Lord

  • Jesus predicted three denials (Jn 13:38).
  • Jesus insisted on three confessions of love.
  • The Power of “Yes, Lord.”
  • How did a ragtag band of nobodies become such a dominant force in the Roman Empire? The answer—the Resurrection. To say “YES” to Jesus is to tap into the greatest spiritual force in this universe. It is to start over again in thinking about life, history and the future. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead does this to us.

The Evidence of Restoration: Feed My Sheep.

Jesus Wants You Back, in fellowship and in service.

Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated in Memphis, TN, April 4, 1968—50 years ago. A said in a speech in February 4, 1968, “Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize—that isn’t important. I’d like somebody to mention that day (of his death) that Martin Luther King, Jr. tried to give his life serving others.” His most famous quote may be that we are to judge a man, “Not buy the color of his skin but by the content of his character.”

Forgiveness comes free, but it comes with a command. You cannot receive the forgiveness without receiving the command.

Restoration comes free, but it comes with expectation. You cannot experience the restoration without experiencing the Lord’s expectation of your future behavior.

Resurrection  is not a passive truth in our lives. It is the most explosive of all possible contemplations and affirmations.

Spoken love comes with motion Love. You cannot speak your love without doing your love.

  1. Peter confesses his love three times.
  2. Jesus calls him three times to feed my sheep.

Inner Healing comes with Outward Service. To be healed in your relationship with Christ is to be called to serve others, both fish and sheep.

  • The catch of fish may be about the evangelistic mission of the church—“I will make you fishers of men.” And Jesus reminding Peter in Luke’s account of his call (Luke 5:10): “from now on you will catch men.”
  • The sheep are those already caught and now part of Christ and his church. We are called both to catch fish and to tend sheep. These calls are not conflicting, as we suppose. We can and must do both the catching of fish and the tending of sheep.

The Risen Lord is here this morning. He has come to be with us in our celebration. He continues to fulfill the purpose for which he came, for which he was crucified, and for which he was raised from the dead. He is restoring broken persons, healing their hearts, and making them new creations. He is forgiving their sins and bringing them fully back into fellowship with God.

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