The 8th Miracle in the Gospel of John: The Miracle of Love

by Rev. Jeremiah Cheung

We have already studied seven miracles recorded in the Gospel of John. But there is an eighth miracle in John. In Chapter 21, there is a miracle of the 153 pieces of fish. John 20 is the conclusion of the book, because John 20:31 says “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John was referring to all that he had written in chapters 1 to 20, so he had meant for chapter 20 to be the last chapter. John chapter 21 is a supplementary chapter.

In this chapter, the main subject is Peter. If you know the Bible, you will find that Peter in the Gospel of John is different from Peter in the Book of Acts. Peter seems to have transformed into a different person. In John, Peter was impulsive, loved to be the leader and often spoke impetuously. But in Acts, Peter is a true spiritual leader, he is courageous and humble, his ministry was full of power; when he stood up to preach, 3000 – 5000 people turned to the Lord. John 21 records the turning point in Peter’s life. Because the Lord Jesus performed a miracle (of love), Peter’s life was totally transformed.

In this miracle, we realize the Lord requests three things from those who belong to him:
1. Love Him
2. Serve Him
3. Follow Him.

1. Love Him 1-15

1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.” John 21:1-15 is the best explanation. Why? V.15 Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” This is the Lord’s first request for those who belong to Him – to love him. However, before the Lord made this request, v.1-14 tells us how our Lord Jesus loves us. These 14 verses record a miracle, the miracle of 153 pieces of fish.

When you read the verses carefully, you will see that there were 7 disciples present then. Suddenly, Peter told everyone, “I’m going out to fish,” and they said, “We’ll go with you.” And so they went. These men were all professional fishermen. When Jesus called them, they left their nets and their boats and followed him. For three years, Jesus provided for their needs as they followed him. Now that Jesus is gone, they went back to fishing. They returned to their old profession.

Once, I heard Rev. Paul Shen share his testimony. In the 1960-70’s, to be a pastor is to be poor. Rev. Shen had studied in a foreign school, he had a good grasp of the Chinese and English language. An international company wanted to invite him to be translator. The salary offered was very good, and he was allowed to have Sundays off so that he can go and serve in the church. When he told his wife this news, he said his wife didn’t say a word. He said she just looked at me sternly. Of course he immediately understood his wife’s meaning. He then told his wife, “I have already rejected the offer. I just wanted to know what you think of it.”

His wife burst into tears and told him: “No matter how poor we are, as long as you serve the Lord your whole life, I am willing to suffer with you.” And the two of them cried together. Those who have decided to serve the Lord must never turn back! Now, these seven men were turning back to their old profession. However, the Lord really loved and understood them; he was merciful to them. That night, they caught nothing. This is actually the Lord’s grace and mercy. If they had caught much, they would have surely returned to fishing. The Lord didn’t allow them the chance to turn back, he didn’t allow them to catch anything.

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. And then he told them to throw the net on the right side of the boat and they were able to catch so much that they were unable to haul the net, a total of 153 pieces of fish. This is a miracle, two reasons evidence this:

1. The Lord commanded 153 fish to go to the right side of the boat – The disciples had been fishing all night, they caught nothing whether from the left side or the right side, because the Lord didn’t allow any fish to go near their boat. We should not be proud. If the Lord opposes us, nothing we do will succeed. It was the Lord who ordered 153 large fish (no small ones) to go near the boat’s right side. When they put down their net, they caught 153 large fish. Don’t you think this is a miracle?

2. The Lord performed a miracle he had done before – If you know your Bible well, you will have the impression that this miracle seemed to have happened before, right? In Luke 5, when Peter and his company were fishing. At that time, Peter was still a fisherman. He had fished all night and caught nothing, but when Jesus got into their boat and told him to put out into deep water, and to let down the nets for a catch, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break and their boat was about to sink. Immediately, Peter recognized this as a miracle. He fell at Jesus’ knees and then Jesus called him, saying, “… from now on you will fish for people.”

Three years later, Jesus did the same miracle. He is renewing his call for them to be fishers of men because they had turned back to their old profession. This is a miracle of love. You will find that in the whole chapter, Jesus never rebuked his disciples. If I were Jesus, I would have rebuked them first, “You had been with me for three years, yet you don’t even have a little faith! Just because I have gone away, you return to fishing, useless!” Not only did the Lord not rebuke them, the Lord prepared breakfast for them. When the disciples landed, they saw fish and bread; the Lord knew their weaknesses, the Lord called back his disciples with love. Just like the prodigal son’s father. The father didn’t rebuke his prodigal son at all, yet the prodigal cried and repented. Sometimes chastisement doesn’t work, only God’s love can change hardened hearts and cause the prodigal to return.

II. Serve Him 15-17

When they finished eating, the Lord Jesus had a man-to-man talk with Peter. The Lord Jesus asked Peter the same question, three times, “Do you love me?” Peter replied, “Lord I love you.” Why three times? Some people say because Peter denied the Lord three times, so the Lord had to ask three times.

Previously, I agreed with such an interpretation. But now, I find myself not agreeing; because I believe the Lord is not that petty to think -“you denied me three times so I have to seek reassurance three times and make you feel ashamed for what you did.” I don’t think it is so. Anyway, when we meet Jesus, we can ask him then. But one thing is for sure: the Lord wants us to love him. Three times, he asked Peter, “Do you love me?” Peter was the leader of the Church. In answering this question, Peter was representing the Church. The Lord is asking us, his church, “Do you love me?” Of course we say, “Lord, I love you.” But we are not only to love in words, but also in deeds. After Peter replied `Lord I love you’, the Lord entrusted to him three times the care of his flock. This is the relationship between love and service. Do you love the Lord? If you love him, are you serving him?

From this thrice-asked question, we see two kinds of relationship between love and service:

1. Service is a response borne out of love for the Lord – The Lord asked Peter, “Do you love me more than these?” What do `these’ refer to? Of course there are different answers, but from the context, this means the 153 fish they had just caught. These were God’s blessings, his provisions. The Lord was asking Peter: Do you love me more than these things I gave you? Meaning: Do you love the gifts or the Lord who gives these gifts? When Peter said, “Lord, I love you”, the Lord said, “Feed my sheep.” Then the Lord asked him twice more, “Do you love me?” Peter replied, “Lord I love you.” The Lord again said, “Feed my sheep.” The Lord wanted Peter to feed his sheep, to take care of his sheep.

Feeding the sheep and taking care of the sheep are the two missions of a shepherd. To feed the sheep means to supply the needs of the sheep, to care for the sheep is to oversee their needs. The Bible uses sheep to typify humans, because sheep are characterized by three unique traits: a. stubborn – sheep are stubborn, they don’t easily obey. Men are also stubborn, we become more so as we grow old. b. nearsighted – sheep are nearsighted. They can only see a short distance ahead of them. They can’t see the dangers that are farther ahead, so the sheep need a shepherd to guide them. c. blindly follows (no sense of direction) – sheep don’t know how to return home. Cats and dogs are amazing in that they know how to find their way back home, but sheep always lose their way. Men are like sheep, we are stubborn, nearsighted and have a bad sense of direction; so, we need a shepherd to feed and care for us. Serving the Lord is a response to his love. Do you love the Lord? If so, feed his sheep!

2. Serving the Lord is an extension of our love for the Lord – We cannot see God, but Jesus once said: “…whatever you did for these little ones, you did for me…” The Lord Jesus wanted Peter to feed his sheep, to care for his sheep. The Lord meant: If you really love me, love my sheep then. If you cannot love the brother whom you can see, how can you love God whom you can’t see? Serving is an extension of love. A Chinese saying goes: “If you love the house, you have to love the bird perched on its roof too.” If you love a person, you will love his family, even his cats and dogs. It is but reasonable, right? If you love me, then, you will also love my children, even my dog. On the contrary, if you don’t like me, you also don’t like my children. When you see my dog, and I am not around, you might even beat him, because the dog can’t tell on you. The Lord told Peter: “I am the good shepherd. I give my life for my sheep, because I love my sheep. If you truly love me, love those I love.” Serving the Lord is an extension of our love for the Lord.

III. Follow Him 18-23

The Lord’s first request is for Peter to love Him. The second is to serve Him and the third is to follow Him. Three years before, when Jesus called Peter, he had already told him: “Come, follow me.” Three years after, the Lord Jesus says again, “Follow me!” Why? Because Peter had started to turn back, he returned to fishing, to his old profession. A famous hymn says “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back”. On the evening Jesus was betrayed, Peter denied Jesus three times. Although he had already repented and the Lord had already forgiven him, Peter, in his heart, must have felt a twinge of unworthiness. So, he went back to fishing. Yet the Lord Jesus, through a miracle of love, recalled Peter. In fact, he entrusted the care of his flock to Peter. The Lord told him, “Follow me.”

But the Lord made two requirements:
1. Follow him even unto death
2. Wholeheartedly follow him.

1. Follow Him Faithfully Even Unto Death – The Lord Jesus told Peter: “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.” The Bible says this is to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. The Lord didn’t conceal it from Peter; he told him that if you follow me you will be martyred, you have to follow me faithfully even unto death. The prosperity gospel preachers nowadays say that as long as you believe in the Lord, everything will go well for you, you will be blessed. Although that is not totally wrong, it is only one-sided. There is glory and blessings, but there is also suffering, there is also the cross. We must tell the whole story, tell both sides of the story. According to church history, Peter was crucified on the cross for the Lord, but because he felt he was unworthy to be crucified like the Lord, he asked to be crucified upside down. We don’t know if that is true, but one thing is certain – Peter followed the Lord faithfully till death. After John 21, Peter never turned back, why? Because he experienced the love of the Lord; because of love, he faithfully followed the Lord to death.

2. Wholeheartedly Follow the Lord – When Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” This was most likely John. When the Lord told Peter you will be martyred for my sake, Peter didn’t say I disagree, but he asked the Lord about John. The Lord told Peter, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?” He meant, “John has his path to take, you have your path to take. I require different things of every one of my disciples. What have you to do with him? Just wholeheartedly follow me, that is all I ask.”

Among those who have wholeheartedly followed the Lord, Caleb is the most famous one. When the ten spies said Israel cannot enter Canaan, Caleb wholeheartedly followed the Lord. He didn’t let the ten spies influence him, he strongly believed that they can enter the land. When a million Israelites were opposed to entering Canaan, and in fact, wanted to stone Moses, Joshua and Caleb remained firm. Caleb stood by Moses and Joshua and said, “We can certainly do it as long as we trust in the Lord.” The Lord was pleased with him and declared publicly, “… my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly…”

Brothers and sisters, the Lord desires that everyone who follows him follow wholeheartedly, refusing to be swayed by any human influence. Comparing ourselves with others is a big obstacle to our following the Lord. Because when we compare ourselves with others, we will either become proud or feel inferior; and this will affect how we follow the Lord. Sometimes, when we serve the Lord together, why is it that someone becomes more and more welcome, everything seems so easy for him, and he doesn’t encounter obstacles? While, we begin to think `I am not welcome, I face many criticism and attacks; it is so unfair. The church isn’t fair to me. Why can others do that and I can’t.” The more you dwell on it, the unhappier you become. As a result you turn back. Actually, each of us must tread the path set out for us by the Lord, we are each accountable to the Lord for what we do with what he has given us. We don’t have to blame anyone else. If the Lord gave you two silver coins, he will not ask you for 5000; but if the Lord gave you 5000, he will ask you for 5000. Someday, when we face the Lord, you will discover everything is fair, so, the Lord said, “What is that to you? You must follow me.”

The Lord’s requirement for every believer is not the same, but the principle is the same: He wants you to love him, serve him, follow him. Do you love him? Serve him? Follow him?