John 21:1-19 Bible Teaching

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And when we come back you are not going to believe this . . . we are going to cover the entire chapter in one sitting.

It has taken us 107 weeks to cover the first 20 chapters and it will take us one gathering to cover the 21st.

I honestly didn’t plan it this way but the whole chapter really consists of a simple story.

So when we come back, John chapter 21.
John 21.19
June 28th 2015

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As per our usual course lets read out text for today – the chapter 21 of John.

John 21:1 After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself.
2 There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.
3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.
4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.
5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.
6 And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.
7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.
8 And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes.
9 As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.
10 Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.
11 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.
12 Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.
13 Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.
14 This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.
15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.

1 After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself.

So from the last line of this verse John is about to tell us a story, saying:

“And on this wise (or in this way) Jesus showed He Himself.”

When John writes that Jesus showed Himself “AGAIN” he is adding this visit of Jesus (and the story behind it) to the other two which took place behind closed doors.

You may recall that the Sea of Galilee is also known as the Sea of Tiberius in scripture.

We are told in the synoptic gospels that Jesus had promised to meet them here but only Matthew covers this story found in chapter 21 of John.

This is probably why John covers the details of the story more fully here in his account.

Remember, Peter James, John and Andrew all came from this place so they were safe here amidst their boats and nets. (Verse 2)

2 There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.

So it looks like there were seven men in the group.

We don’t know why they retreated to the sea (and, as we’ll see, to their old profession) but maybe it was like putting on an old t shirt for them. They had been away from fishing from three years now and this could have been some sort of an escape for them.

Additionally, they may have realized that their means of support was over. While they were following Jesus they were cared for by the generosity of others but now that He was gone maybe they thought, “Well, I’d better go back to work – which would be a very practical decision – and which also explains why they toiled all night to bring in some fish.

So far all John has told us is they were gathered near the Sea of Tiberius and who was there. (verse 3)

3 Simon Peter saith unto them, “I go a fishing.” They say unto him, “We also go with thee.” They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.

Seven men, all applying their wares and skills missed landing even one little fish.

4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.

This is yet another example of Jesus being in the presence – or at least the visual presence – of people who knew and loved Him while He was alive – and He was not known.

We know that they were not very far from shore (based off John’s admission that will come forward in a minute) so maybe, again, it was a matter of light – (being morning) or maybe it was another matter of distinguishing resurrected beings. Hard to tell.

So Jesus speaks up to them first and says:

5 “Children, have ye any meat?” They answered him, “No.”

Of course we have to note that Jesus refers to these fully grown, rough and tumble fishermen as “children.”

The Greek word is Paidon and it can mean anything from an infant to a wee child to a child.

Two not so known translations use the word, “Lads.”

Of course it could also mean infants or babes in the faith and I have a tendency to believe this is the meaning behind the Lord using it here.

In 1st John 2:18 John himself refers to his readers, who he is instructing on the eminent coming of Jesus wrote

“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.”

The terms little children here obviously has the same meaning – young in the faith, young in walking by the Holy Spirit.

So Jesus says, “Lad’s – my young ones in the faith, do you have any meat“ the word means any food that is usually eaten with bread but according to one Greek scholar the Greeks especially used this word to mean fish.

Essentially Jesus is asking, “Have you caught any fish?”

We have some seasoned fishermen here. They have been skunked. But Jesus calls them “youngsters in the faith,” and asks them (in my estimation) “Have you young in the faith caught any fish?”

We can approach the things we do in life like the rest of the world – through the typical means – our skills, our merits, our intellect, experience and education – or we can approach them as believers in the King, as followers of Him in faith.

Appealing to our abilities is easy – in fact it’s the fall back and first thing we look to isn’t it?

I think Jesus is pointing out to these men, in a subtle almost humorous way, that they are now in His employ, that they are now Christians who have gone fishing not fishermen who have left their faith on the shore in order to fish.

“Hey, hey you youngsters – have you any fish? You’ve received the Holy Spirit – remember? Did you appeal to it or did you appeal to your own abilities to “go a fishing?”

Learning to put Him and His way first, learning to trust in Him and His directions as we work and live in this mortal life is one of the most difficult things for some of us to learn.

There is the idea that we are football players who are Christians, or we are business men who are Christian – or sales people who believe.

NOT SO.

The scripture is clear – we cannot serve God and Mammon.

We are Christians who happen to play football, Christians who work in business, Christian who also fish.

With this being the order we learn to take all the principles of being involved in the activities of life and give God first priority – the lead, the reign, the controls.

We are not parents that practice Christianity. We are Christians that God has made parents. And Christ is in control.

Not easy. And the justifications and rationalizations are rampant, aren’t they?

Things like:

“Well, Jesus isn’t going to cast the nets,” or “Jesus isn’t going to make the oatmeal for the kids in the morning.”

True. We act – we do – we walk, but we do it with Him fully on the throne of our lives . . . and not ourselves.

Here Jesus teaches such a remarkable lesson – earlier Peter’s words were, “I go a fishing.” After a night of Him a laboring and nothing to show, they look on the shore and there stands their true King. His first words:

“Have you any fish?”

(beat)

In the King James the question is, “Have you any meat.” This word (Greek) means anything eaten with bread. It was used by the Greeks especially to denote fish.

Note that we are not supplied with a response here. Maybe they ashamedly sat there – eyes cast down – conveying the fact that no, they had failed to catch any fish.

Also note that Jesus offers a solution for success. He does not mock them for their failure nor does He question them further. He simply says (verse 6):

Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

Why the right side? No idea. Knowing God this was probably the side between them and the shore where it was shallow and the least likely place to catch any fish.

Nor are we told why they followed the advice – but fishermen are funny – they’ll try almost anything to have success.

And they cast and there was such a catch that they were not able to draw in the fish due to the haul.

At these words John, or as verse seven says, “that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter,”

“It is the Lord.”

And John tells us how that earnest, eager impetuous abrupt nature of Peter responds to such news –

“Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.”

The word for naked means nude – so its hard to tell if he was fishing nacabanchi or if he was just in his underwear.

And he grabs an outer garment or tunic, and casts himself into the water.

8 And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes.

So they were about 350 feet from shore or 125 yards and the rest came in on a smaller vessel.

9 As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.

Another interesting lesson – because of Jesus they were bringing in the catch but when they got there everything was ready for them – prepared and provided in some manner by the King.

10 Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.

We could spend some time guessing why He said this to them – there are a number of reasons why including that none should go to waste but let’s just leave it that He made the request and they acted. John writes

11 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.

Again, why Simon Peter went back and drew the net with the fishes to land is unknown. Were the others helping? Can’t say?

What is intimated is that the number of fishes – 153 of them – was a lot. So many that it seems John thought the nets would have broke – but he admits, they didn’t.

12 Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.

The word for dine in the original means the meal which is taken in the morning, or breakfast.

Obviously the fish they caught were not being eaten but again, the breakfast meal was all prepared.

And Jesus invites them to come and eat – and not only invites them but (verse 13)

13 Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.

We don’ read here that Jesus ate with them but we do read that He served them.

Amazing, huh?

Overcame the cross and the grave and is still serving them.

14 This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.

Another miracle – another visitation – He has provided for them, prepared the meal for them, served them, and once they had been fed, He gets down to business – what we will call the business with Peter.

There have been two visitations since He resurrected and Peter has been at all of them.
But according to the record, Jesus has not confronted Peter nor taken the time to heal him, or help him, or motivate him.

Here, back on Peter’s home surf and turf, full of fish and bread, Jesus appears to set things straight. (At verse 15 John writes)

15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

Let’s first speak of the ambiguity of this verse:

When Jesus said, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than THESE”

We do NOT know what the these were that He was speaking of.

Common contextual sense suggests that the these referred to the fish or the things associated with fish and fishing.

I say this because Peter was the one who said, “I go a fishing,” and line that leans toward him saying, “I am going back to my former life.”

I’m not saying that’s what he meant but he could have.

The problem is “these” (as in lovest thou these more than me) may be in the neuter gender, and refer to things – the boat, the fishing utensils, the work itself or the fish OR it may be in the masculine, and refer to the apostles.

If he was speaking of the objects the question would obviously mean, “Do you love me more than you love these things or activities?”

But if its in the masculine and refers to the apostles the question would be:

“Do you love me more that these other apostles love me?”

Peter jumped in the water and proved his tremendous love for the Lord – so its possible Jesus was asking him of He loved Him more than the others did.

We also have to remember that before Jesus was put to death Matthew 26:33 reports (in the face of all the apostles):

“Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.”

Peter was BIG on saying BIG things. Jesus may be calling him on such actions and statements.

Do you really love me more than all other things and more than other people?

Simultaneously, Peter also had been greatly humbled – denying the Lord three times.

And so Jesus gets down and works with Peter.

It’s what we do with people we love – we get down to the root of the weeds so they can grow. So imagine it:

It’s morning. They have a great catch at their feet. The Lord has made them breakfast and served them. Peter has once again shown – proven his ultimate and superior adoration for Jesus by jumping in the sea to greet Him.

Peter was probably thinking that he was on an open clear highway – that his denials were forgotten – as were his impetuous claims to be more devoted to Jesus than the others.

And then Jesus cracks things open:

“Peter, do you love me more than these?”

Peter responds:

“Thou knowest that I love thee.”

To me, this was a far more humble response than what Peter was inclined to make.

Normally, Peter would say something like, “I love you more than all, Lord.” But in this situation I believe Peter was getting real.

In response, Jesus says to Peter: “Feed my lambs.”

There are several implications related to what is happening here.

First, we have to note that Jesus is speaking to Peter. Peter was the leader, John tells us, to go a-fishing.

Jesus is redirecting this activity here and now for Peter and He is taking Him from being a fisher of fish to a shepherd of sheep. Another word for shepherd is pastor, taken literally from those who spend time in pastures with animals like sheep.

We read in Matthew 4 the calling of Andrew and Peter by Jesus. Remember:

Matthew 4:18-20 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

Here Peter had picked the nets back up.

And so Jesus pointing to the fish or the equipment may have been asking Peter where his allegiances lay.

“Peter, do you love me more than this life?”

“You know I love you, Lord.”

“Then let this stuff go and feed MY lambs.”

Peter was about to enter into the life of shepherding believers. Sure He would be preaching (fishing for men) but as time moved on he would more and more become a feeder of sheep.

What is the MAIN job of a pastor – main job? To feed them. Feed them what?

The word of God. Peter had been trained by Jesus Himself. By the Holy Spirit He would be reciting and teaching believers more and more and more and doing less and less fishing.

Why?

Peter was called to the House of Israel. They would make up the first believers. In time all that would hear would convert and the rest were headed toward the destruction in 70AD.

It would be Peter’s job to help teach and guide them. And what would ALL of them start out being? Lambs.

On the day of Pentecost there would be 3000 lambs ready for the slaughter.

Jesus tells Peter to feed them. Feed them His Word. He is hearkening back to the words of Ezekiel. He is telling Peter to do a better job of feeding His sheep then the shepherds of the House of Israel did feeding them.

In Ezekiel 34 (a great chapter we read the following):

1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
8 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock.

Here Peter had been up all night in an effort to feed himself and his family and friends.

Jesus was showing him that he would be taken care of until his work was done – and that his work was to feed the flock – beginning with the lambs, the young in the faith.

(Verse 16)

16 He saith to him again the second time, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?” He saith unto him, “Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.” He saith unto him, “Feed my sheep.”
(verse 17)

Second approach by Jesus – the same subject. Oh, the significance had to have been hitting home to Peter by now.

Lovest thou me?
Yea Lord thou knowest that I love thee.
Feed my sheep.

As Peter would head toward the grave those under his care would grow in faith and move from being lambs to becoming sheep.

“Keep feeding them. Keep teaching and preaching and instructing and guiding them Peter,” Jesus seems to be saying.

(Long beat)

Maybe there was a silence between Jesus questions. We can hear the sea rushing in and out, the fishing boats launching over the gravelly shore. (verse 17)

17 He saith unto him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?”

Third time same question, as biting and piercing to the heart of Peter as could be imagined.

Listen to how John describes Peter’s reaction.

Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, “Lovest thou me?” And he said unto him, “Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.” Jesus saith unto him, “Feed my sheep.”

What is really interesting about this are the Greek words used by Jesus and Peter when they speak of love.

In the first verse, when Jesus asks Peter:

“Lovest thou me” the love is agapao – “Do you love me with God’s love, Peter,” Jesus asks.

And Peter responds, “You know I love you,” Phileo – the love of a friend.

Peter was not so bold to proclaim perfect love for Jesus but humbly toned his professed loved down here and aligned it to the love of a devoted friend.

The second time Jesus asked Peter:

“Lovest thou me,” Jesus used agapao again! And again, Peter responded with, “you know I love you, Lord,” but the love from Peter has not changed. It’s still (what I believe was humbly) phileo.”

The third time, guess who changes in the way they approach question – Jesus or Peter?

Jesus does. The third time Jesus, stepping down to Peter’s level just as He stepped down from His throne and took on flesh, asks him a third time,

“Peter, lovest thou me?” Phileo. “Do you love me as a friend, Peter?”

This seems to break Peter’s heart. He replies:

“Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.”

Jesus saith unto him, “Feed my sheep.”

It is probable that Jesus, the Master teacher, used this setting to realign and approach a lot of items that could have gotten in Peter’s way.

His denials.
His return to the nets.
His impetuous claims of the past of total allegiance.

All the while telling Peter that there was much, much more to come. Including verse 18, where Jesus suddenly tells Peter his future, saying:

18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

In other words, Jesus says to Peter when you were young Peter, you freely went about where you wished.

You girded yourself (gathered up your tunic or robe to keep it from dragging) and went wherever you chose.

“BUT,” Jesus said, “but when thou shalt be old, (most writers suggest that Peter was put to death about 34 years after this encounter with Jesus) “but when you shall be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands (which seems to indicate surrender or crucifixion which tradition says Peter was crucified upside down), and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.”

We might read, And another shall gird thee to “Another shall bind thee.”
The Greek word for gird here is Zonname and it means to gird OR bind as in with a belt, so this could refer to Peter being bound to a cross.

I don’t think this speaks of Peter resisting at death but instead speaks of Peter losing the freedom to walk where he wanted but would instead be taken where he didn’t necessarily want to go.

John adds, speaking of verse 18

19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, “Follow me.”

We will pick it back up at this verse next week and wrap our 108 week verse by verse study of the Gospel of John up once and for all.

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