The Restoration of Our Denial

The resurrection happened. I would venture to say that none of you would be here this morning if, somewhere deep down inside, you either believed it or wanted to believe it was real. Jesus had told his followers in John 10:10 says that the thief only comes to kill and destroy our lives, but He came to give us life, life in all of its fullness.

It is no wonder that the gospel writer John declares the purpose of writing his book - that his readers might have life - immediately after he records the resurrection. Jesus’s victory over the grave is our confidence in eternal life. The promised life comes only through our connection with him.

You are now placed in Christ when you place your faith in Jesus Christ. Eternal life now becomes ours because the life we have in Christ is now coursing through our veins.

This morning there are two kinds of people listening to this Easter Message.

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1). Those who are in Christ.

2). Those who are not in Christ.

40 Days after the Resurrection

Jesus spent 40 days on the earth after His Resurrection for several reasons.

1). To demonstrate to His followers that He was truly alive.

2). To teach His disciples and prepare them for the task of spreading the good news of Jesus Christ and His resurrection to the world.

Jesus gives us a clear picture in John 21 of what it looks like to live as His disciples.

Cultural Problem:

Too many believers miss out on God's greatest blessings for us as His disciples because we are content with making mud pies in the slum of this world rather than experiencing the ultimate treasure of the kingdom of God.

Jesus calls us to Follow Him.

Chapter 21 begins with a fishing trip. Now, I don’t know about you, but, the reason I go fishing is to catch fish. Crazy idea, I know.

Now the disciples were not armature, hobby fisherman like most of us here this morning. Prior to Jesus’s calling them to be His disciples, they had made their living on the sea.

After the resurrection they went back to what they knew, which was catching fish. Notice the idea to fish was instigated by Peter. He told the other disciples, guys I am going fishing, and they all followed Peter to the boat. This is almost a repeat story of when Jesus first called Peter to be a fisher of men. They had been out all night and not a fish did they catch.

You knew that when Jesus showed up on the sea shore at day break this was not going to be another ordinary fishing trip. After assessing the situation that they had been out fishing presumably till day break and had not caught a single fish. When Jesus appeared on the shore they did not at first recognize Him. (his resurrected body) Jesus told them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat. So, without complaining they did as he commanded. Now you would think that the story is focused on the huge haul of fish that ensued after they did what Jesus commanded.

However, all of the focus changes when the disciple whom Jesus loves (John) says to Peter, “It is the Lord.” Now Peter, without hesitation put on his outer garments and threw himself into the sea, rushing the some 100 yards to meet Jesus. Now, why is this so significant? You would think he was not a very good companion to his friends because he left them to bring in the haul of fish. However, you have to wonder if the heart of Peter at this point was breaking wide open desiring reconciliation with His Lord and Savior.

Have you noticed how Jesus uses the things that we seem to naturally excel at to teach us vital lessons on what it truly means to follow and trust Him with our whole hearts, souls, and minds? Now, in the following scripture, He drives this point home even further with Peter.

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John 21:15–19 ESV

15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

1. Our Restoration will not depend on our morality but on Christ’s Mercy

Perhaps no disciple took greater comfort in his own works, effort, and moral standing than Peter. Nothing Peter said lacked confidence, and no one would have doubted Peter’s confidence.

Like pulling the final jenga piece from the bottom of the tower, it caused his self-righteousness to come crashing down to the ground in a big way.

This is a place that we all need to come to if we are to come to Christ. We must come to the point where we realized that no lasting comfort can be found in our Morality.

What does it look like to be Restored by God: Restoration “is to receive back more than has been lost to the point where the final state is greater than the original condition.

Peter needs to be broken, and some of you here this morning need to be broken, but he also needs to be restored. That is exactly what Jesus is doing in this scene. He is recreating the scene of Peter’s denial. Peter comes to realize that the restored life is not built on our human morality; it must always be built on Christ’s mercy towards us. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us anyway.

Note: The gospel of John only speaks twice of a charcoal fire, here (in verse 9) and also in 18:18. The first time is when Peter denies Jesus three times, and the second is when Jesus restores Peter. I’m sure the smell of the charcoal fire burning off in the distance was almost overwhelming to Peter. The smell of charcoal burning is the smell of Peter’s greatest failure and the soothing aroma of Peters restoration.

Question #1 “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”

The context of such a question is, do you love me more than these other men love me? What was Peters's comfort level when he was asked that fateful night whether he knew Jesus? In essence, the servant girl could have asked Peter if you loved Jesus more than your reputation or Jesus more than the crowd's perspective.

How can the one who denied three times that he even knew Jesus now be so bold as to claim to love Him more than other people?

Peter sounded with a confident, yes, you know that I Love you.

Jesus could nave been asking him:

1). do you love me more than the other disciples who were present did;

2). do you love me more than he loved those other disciples; 3). do you love me more than the large catch of fish, the boats and fishing gear.

The second is unlikely because there is no mention elsewhere of Peter’s love for the other disciples. The third is possible if one things that Peter’s decision to go fishing represented a turning away from Jesus to go back to his fishing trade. However, it seems that the first option is most likely.

The reality is that Peter was the only one who followed Jesus to the trial. He was also the one who was bold enough to pull out a sword and cut the soldier's ear off in the garden. Peter's impetuous nature would seem to show that he had a higher level of love for Jesus.

How do we show God that we love Him more than these?

*If We Love God Most, We Will Love Others Best.

Note: There is a reason why Jesus said that the second greatest commandment is like the first: If we love God with all our heart, we will love our neighbor as ourselves (Matt. 22:37-39).

Jesus is not questioning whether Peter should show love towards the other disciples, however, if we are not putting our love for God above everything and everyone else it’s hard for us to say that we love Him the most in our lives.

We love because He first Loved Us!

1 John 4:19 ESV

19 We love because he first loved us.

The very character of God is love. When Jesus asked if he loved me, He spoke from the heart of who He was.

1 John 4:7–8 ESV

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

What happens when We Don’t Love God the Most

We become our supreme love instead of God, love becomes distorted and diseased. Love ends up devolving into whatever we wish for it to mean.

This is the world as we know it: Everyone loves in a way that seems right in his own eyes. It is not hard to understand why there is so much confusion and conflict and heartbreak and violence in the world today. We live in an anarchy of love resulting in much of the horrifying things we hear in the news everyday. The distorted picture of love is exactly the reason that Jesus had to come and die.

Ephesians 2:3 ESV

3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

The distorted picture of love was reversed on the cross when Jesus showed the greatest act of love by allowing sinful wicked men to beat him, spit on him, and nail him to the cross.

The Resurrection is what now brings the restoration of God’s creation back full circle with what Love was intended to be from the dawn of His creation. He is now making all things new, so that we can now become the very reflection of His Love, mercy and grace.

The Greatest Love Ever Shown

It is impossible to truly experience love in it’s fullness apart from Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. “But God being rich in His mercy towards (Ephesians 2:4), “so loved the world, that he gave us his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

The author and perfecter of love stepped down through time and space, Love himself, stepped into our horrible existence of evil anarchy to redeem us (Romans 5:8), and now transforms us back from children of wrath back into the children of God (John 1:12) who are able to love him supremely and therefore love each other rightly - the way that He loved us.

The street sign hanging over the path Jesus calls us to walk does not say “Morality.” It say’s “Mercy.” His mercy is our comfort. When we fail - and we will fail - his mercy will restore us.

2. Our Restoration will not be for our own Priorities but for the People of Christ.

Not only does Jesus restore Peter, but He now commissions Him to complete the work that He started. He instructs Peter to feed His sheep.

Jesus Sheep

Jesus uses the term sheep to describe those that are His. Those who have been redeemed, bought back and paid for by the blood of Christ. Those who have received Christ and are a part of His family.

The most famous text in regards to His sheep is found in John 10. There is no question as to those who are His sheep. Jesus tells us that His sheep know His voice and follow Him. Once we place our faith in Jesus Christ for our Salvation we are ushered into a new community of faith. There is no such thing as bodiless believers. If claim to be a Christian but have no connection with the Church I would say that you have been deceived.

The name given to Jesus is Lamb of God. The spotless perfect Lamb who came to take away the sins of the world. Now your marching orders and Peter’s marching orders are to go and feed the flock so that they come to perfection on the day of Christ’s return.

*Sheep Need a Shepherd

Isaiah 53:6 ESV

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Note: Sheep have this tendency to stray away from the flock of God.

Matthew 9:36–38 ESV

36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Note: Jesus saw the great multitude of people and described them as sheep without a shepherd.

Cultural Note:

We are selfish people. Never in scripture are we told to love ourselves or consider our needs as the priority in our lives. Instead we are told over and over again to serve those who are part of the church - His sheep. Our focus will not internal but external. The way of Jesus is filled with opportunities to serve our brothers and sisters.

If all believers were truly fulfilling this calling and commission then why are there not more people in the Church and more people being saved. That is the point few Christians ever fulfill what God has called them to do. How many people have you discipled in the past year? 1, 2, 3, none.

If not why not? It takes too much time, your focus is on you and your family, your focus is on your job, your focus is on your comfort. Look what Jesus tells us about the cost of discipleship in Luke 14:26

Luke 14:26 ESV

26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

Following and loving Jesus means accepting responsibility for Jesus’ people, a truth that needs rehabilitation at this present time. Jesus Christ is not a ‘single’ person in the sense that he comes to us without other attachments. He is a ‘married’ person; he comes to us with a bride whom he loves and for whom he gave His life on the cross.

Being in a relationship with Christ while ignoring or discounting His bride has an infinitely greater dimension than we know. Genuine conversion with Christ means not only turning and accepting Christ but also turning to and accepting His bride, the Church

*Those who shepherd must Know the Word of God.

Sheep need a New Diet

The sheep need to have a strict diet of Scripture. No substitute will do. Only God’s word will nourish the sheep and bring growth. Peter figured this out because he eventually wrote in 1 Peter 2:2-3 “Like newborn infants, desiring the pure milk of the word, so that you may grow up into your salvation, if you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

A shepherds first responsibility is to feed the sheep. So, if Peter truly loved Jesus his declaration of such love should be displayed in how he feeds the people of God. Sheep meet together to feast on God’s word. We gather this morning to corporately feast on the Word of God. Consuming His Word causes us to grow, mature, and obtain the strength to go out and serve God.

*Sheep Should be Growing

One of the most rewarding part of being your pastor is when I see the growth in some of your lives. The most disheartening and sad parts of being your pastor is to see those of you who are the same this year as you were last year.

There is no growth in your life.

You do not have a greater knowledge or understanding of His word.

You are not serving and shepherding the flock any better this year than you did last year.

Shepherds or Mutton Farmers?

Back when the sacred authors used the imagery of the shepherd to depict Jesus, they had a clear understanding of the job description.

A shepherd is needed only when there are no fences. He is someone who stays with his sheep at all cost, guiding, protecting, and walking with them through the fields. He's not just a person who raises sheep.

Though those today who consider themselves "tenders of the flock," most are nothing more than mutton farmers. They build fence after fence, keeping the flock within sight so they don't have to dirty their feet plodding through the open fields. After all, the landowner frowns upon dirty feet.

Peter could minister the gospel of grace to others because ha had experienced it. When Jesus restored Peter, Peter gained firsthand knowledge of the mercy of Christ.

You cannot effectively teach people about God’s mercy unless you have experienced it for yourself. Our ministry must not flow out of a since of guilt or obligation to some how make up for all our failures.

Our ministry is from one imperfect person to another, from one broken sinner to another. As a one who has received God’s mercy, we remind one another of the grace we have found in Jesus Christ.

3. Our Restoration will not be to our own comfort but to the Cross of Christ.

*We have a Cross to Carry

Luke 14:27 ESV

27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

Jesus left Antonio’s palace in Jerusalem bearing His own cross and headed to the place of the skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.

They would place the cross beam for the cross on the shoulders of the victims as they were led away to a hill outside the walls of Jerusalem where criminals were hanged. A whole cross would have weighed somewhere around 300 lbs, the cross beam would not be as burdensome weighting around 100 lbs.

Where did Jesus go? He went to the Cross. It should come as no surprise that following a crucified Savior may mean there is a cross for us. That is what Jesus is telling Peter in verses 28-29.

A time was coming when he would be bound, taken against his wishes, and killed. WE need to be prepared to suffer for the sake of the gospel. Not all of us will suffer the same way, but if we are faithful to follow Christ, there will be suffering of some type.

There is only one way to prepare for suffering, and that is to learn to view it from God’s perspective.

John 16:33 ESV

33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

The conclusion of this scene clears up some of our misconceptions about what suffering looks like in the life of a believer.

Myth #1 Suffering is Easy for the Mature Believer

As an Old man, Peter would now be carried where he did not want to go (v.18). Writing to suffering Christians, Peter cautioned them not to be surprised at their “fiery ordeal,” as if something strange were happening to them (1 Peter 4:12). If suffering were easy or light, would Peter have described it with those words? Only pseudo-spirituality pretends that suffering is easy.

The Gospel does not minimize our call to suffer; it helps us see its ultimate purpose and gives us strength to endure.

Myth #2 The Amount we Suffer will be measured by our Behavior

When Peter first heard about his own suffering, his first response was, “What about [John] ?” (v.21). We often do the same when difficulty and suffering come our way. We look to those who do not appear to be suffering and ask, “What about them?”

We have a tendency to look at suffering through the legalistic lens: “Because of my sin, I have to suffer some, but I should not have to go through more than that guy. Look at his sin. We often look at suffering as some kind of cosmic penance that we only receive based on what we deserve and that we really do not deserve for it to last long.

Remember that all of us deserve death, “for the wages of sin is death,” (Rom. 6:23).

We say that suffering isn’t fair, but we do not want it to be fair. Fair is eternal suffering in hell.

Remember that it does not depend on you; it depends on God’s gracious sovereign plan for His honor and glory alone.

Myth #3 God isn’t in Control of my Suffering

This is perhaps one of the most prevalent and dangerous of all the myths about suffering. The logic goes something like this: suffering is the result of sin. God doesn’t sin. Therefore, suffering is outside of God’s control.

This logic will not hold up under the weight of scripture. What would happen to John was determined or pre-determined by Jesus’s will for John. So, what happened to Peter was determined by Jesus's will for Peter.

Your suffering is not meaningless or random. It is God’s will for you.

God did not send His son to die on the cross for you and me and then disappear from the suffering of this world only for one day to return again. Listen to how the older, wiser Peter instructs the sheep: 1 Peter 4:19

1 Peter 4:19 ESV

19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

CONCLUSION

So, where does this bring us on Easter Sunday morning, 2024? The Christian life is in one sense difficult, but in another, since it is simple. It is difficult because we are sinners who live in a cursed world, but it is simple because Jesus boils down the Christian life to two words: “Follow me.” Sometimes He will lead us to mountaintops and other times through the valley. Will we follow Him?

When the Prodigal Son Relapses

Almost five years to the day after he returned home the first time, the prodigal son emptied his bank account, packed a few changes of clothes, and snuck off for the faraway country. Again. The first year back, he was just glad to be home. The second year was the toughest; he still couldn’t get (rid of) … the shame that chewed away at his soul. In the third year, things leveled out a little. He started feeling more at home, back in synch with his former life. In the fourth year, certain things began to irk him. His old itches longed to be scratched. And the fifth year, it happened. All the former allurements came knocking, rapping their knuckles on his heart’s front door.

And so the prodigal relapsed. Re-sinned. Re-destroyed his life.

You know him—or her. Maybe it’s your best friend. Maybe it's your child. Or maybe it’s you. That thing you swore you’d never do again, you did it last night. You left the straight and narrow. Prodigals have a way of finding themselves right back in the pigsty.

In that moment … heaven and hell contend within you. Hell shouts, “Now you’ve gone and done it. You stupid piece of garbage. You’re a lost, lonely, hopeless cause. You’re a pig. And that’s all you’ll ever be.”

But there is another voice. It’s the voice of heaven, the familiar lilt of a Dad’s voice, echoing down the long hallways of hope … down to the deepest, darkest caverns of your pain. He doesn’t accuse. He doesn’t berate. He only mouths two simple words … of heaven’s redemptive love: “Come Home.” (the tender loving call of the shepherd)

The second time, the third time, the thousandth time, he will sprint … to meet you down the street, throw his arms around you, kiss you, and command that the fattened calf be barbecued. The Father is standing on the porch, his hand shading the sun from his eyes, scanning the horizon for the familiar image of the one who will ever remain, his precious, beloved child. “Come home.

Note: This is what Jesus did for Peter. The tender, loving voice of His crucified and now resurrected Savior is calling Him to return to the Sheepfold and “Follow Him.”

Will you Follow Him Today? (Even if following Him leads to your suffering and death). “Jesus, Jesus, there’s just something about that name. Master, Savior, like the fragrance after the rain. Jesus, Jesus, let all kingdoms and earth proclaim. Kings, and Kingdoms, will all pass away. But there’s something about that Name.