From Ignorant to Informed (John 21: 1-13)
by Rev. Jeremiah Cheung
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John v.4 “Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.” Verse 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.”
At the start, the disciples did not realize it was the Lord. But later on, they realized it was Him. The disciples moved from not knowing to knowing. What happened in between? After Jesus died on the cross, Peter told his companions, “I ‘m going out to fish.” Aside from Peter, there were six other disciples there at that time. They all went with Peter to fish. In the past three years, Jesus provided their basic needs, like clothing, food and other necessities. Now, that Jesus had died, they are without food, clothing and other needs. Peter said, “I’m going out to fish.” He meant I will go back to my old profession because he was originally a fisherman. He no longer thinks of being a preacher, he thinks of going back to fishing. The others said, “We’ll go with you.” But praise the Lord, that night they did not catch anything, until Jesus told them to let down their nets at the right side of the boat. They caught a large number of fish. This is similar to the miracle which Jesus did when he called Peter three years ago. They immediately realized that it is the Lord’s work. John told Peter, “It is the Lord.” From not knowing, they came to know that it was the Lord. From this scripture passage, let us also learn to know our Lord, let us really know what kind of a Lord he is.
I. He is the Risen Lord
This Bible passage tells us Jesus is the risen Lord. He has risen from the dead, he no longer remains in the tomb. In this passage, we saw Jesus spoke to his disciples in verse 5 “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” We also saw Jesus prepare a breakfast of fish and bread (v9) for his disciples; in verse 13, Jesus gave them fish and bread to eat. We have reason to believe that Jesus ate the fish and bread together with them. In Luke 24:43, it is recorded `Jesus took the fish and ate it in their presence.’ We also saw Jesus talk to Peter, man to man, in verses 15 -19. These tell us one thing – Jesus is a living Lord, he has overcome death, he is risen from the dead.
Christianity is established on two important foundations: 1. The Word of God 2. The Resurrection of the Lord. If someone could prove that the Bible is not God’s word, that everything written in the Bible is untrue, Christianity can immediately be dispelled. If anyone could prove that Jesus did not rise from the dead, Christianity may cease too. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, we who believe in Him will neither have a resurrection, and what good would it be to believe in Jesus then? There is a book entitled, “Who Moved the Stone?” by Frank Morison. The author started out to prove that Jesus did not rise from the dead. But during his research, he ended up believing in the Lord, because he could not disprove that Jesus really rose from the dead. Our Lord is a risen Lord, he is not dead.
II. He is the All-knowing Lord
Jesus asked them, “ Friends, haven’t you any fish?” They answered, “No.” Jesus 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. Jesus was a carpenter by profession, Peter was a fisherman by profession, what would Jesus know about fishing compared to a fisherman? But Jesus instructed them how to catch fish, and true enough, they were able to catch a large number of fish. This tells us that our Lord is the all-knowing Lord. He knew where the fish were. Jesus was not a professional fisherman, but he instructed the professional fisherman on how to fish. These days, we believe the experts too much, we don’t dare contradict the experts, because they are the experts. They have expert knowledge, their pronouncements are very accurate, but I want you to understand that our Lord is the Expert of the experts. You must listen to the words of the experts, but all the more, you must listen to the word of the Lord. The Bible is the Word of the Lord. When the words of the experts contradict God’s Word, you must listen to God’s Word, not the expert’s, because there are so-called experts whose pronouncements are illogical.
III. The Lord is full of grace and love
Peter said, “I’m going fishing.” The others said, “We’ll go with you.” If you were the Lord, won’t you become upset and think – `You’ve been with me for three years already, and yet your faith is still so weak. I have only been gone a few days, and you are now going fishing, useless people!’ But the Lord did not utter any word of rebuke; he only asked them if they had fish to eat. The Lord was concerned about their physical needs. Not only so, the Lord gave them 153 pieces of fish. ‘It would seem more likely if I spanked them 153 times.’ But, no, the Lord gave them 153 pieces of fish. A Bible interpreter said, “The 153 fish were not just large fish, they were different kinds of fish. When Peter saw this, he immediately recognized the Lord, because this was a truly amazing miracle.” Whether this is true or not, we can ask Peter someday. But 153 large fish shows how great the Lord’s grace is. Our Lord is He who fills our cup to overflowing. When they returned to land, they saw a fire burning with fish on it, and bread. The Lord had already prepared breakfast for them, concerned that it may not be enough for all of them, he said, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught. “ This is grace upon grace.
The Lord asked Peter, “Do you truly love me more than these?” What did he mean by `more than these’? There are different interpretations by different people. But clearly, they had just eaten breakfast, and caught 153 large fish; therefore, `these’ must refer to the blessings. The Lord asked Peter, “Do you love me more than these blessings?” The Lord is a Lord of blessings. The Lord blesses us because he wants us to revere and love him more; but many times, we tend to love the blessings more and forget the giver of these blessings! The Lord gives us wealth, yet we end up running after more wealth, the Lord gives us knowledge and education, we end up striving for more education and knowledge, the Lord gives us wisdom, and we in turn pursue wisdom more. We have forgotten the Lord who gives us these things. Do you love the blessings or the Lord who gives the blessings? May the Lord help us, when we receive blessings, may we never forget the Lord of blessings.
IV. He is the Lord who sends
When the Lord Jesus resurrected from the dead, he appeared again and again to his disciples. He appeared to his disciples not only to let them know he has risen but more importantly, he wanted to entrust the mission to them. The first time the risen Lord appeared to his disciples is in John 20:19-23. The Lord told them, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” But because Thomas was not there at that time, Jesus appeared again to Thomas, and his purpose was to also send out doubting Thomas. In John 21, Jesus appeared the third time. Three times the Lord asked Peter `Do you love me?’ Three times, also, the Lord sent Peter to : 1. Feed my lambs 2. Take care of my sheep 3. Feed my sheep.
We must realize that our Lord is a Lord who sends out. When the prophet Isaiah saw the vision of heaven, he was moved and when he heard the Lord ask, “Whom shall we send?” Because he realized that the Lord of Heaven and Earth is the Lord who sends out, he replied, “Here am I, send me.” We call Matthew 28:18-20 the Great Commission passage. “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” The Lord is not begging us to go, he is commanding us to go, because he is the Lord who sends. All authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Him, are you willing to go? If you are not willing to go, is it because you do not recognize that our Lord is the Lord who sends? As you realize that our Lord is the Lord who sends us out, are you willing to be sent out?