Follow Jesus Because He is Lord

Jesus is the Lord of our lives. He is the Lord of our homes. He is the Lord of our vocations. Jesus is Lord of our service. Jesus is Lord of our futures.

There is no room for self-effort when it comes to following Jesus in obedience.

John 21, also known as the Epilogue, is also an invitation to join Him in His mission of proclaiming the Gospel to the nations.

One more time in John’s Gospel the mission of the church is presented. And Peter is reinstated to service and called to follow Jesus.

This is perhaps one of the clearest pictures of what it looks like to follow the Lord and live as His disciple. Let’s dig in...

John 21:1–8 CSB

1 After this, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples by the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called “Twin”), Nathanael from Cana of Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples were together. 3 “I’m going fishing,” Simon Peter said to them. “We’re coming with you,” they told him. They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4 When daybreak came, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not know it was Jesus. 5 “Friends,” Jesus called to them, “you don’t have any fish, do you?” “No,” they answered. 6 “Cast the net on the right side of the boat,” he told them, “and you’ll find some.” So they did, and they were unable to haul it in because of the large number of fish. 7 The disciple, the one Jesus loved, said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tied his outer clothing around him (for he had taken it off) and plunged into the sea. 8 Since they were not far from land (about a hundred yards away), the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish.

Jesus Is Lord of our Lives

If you consider the last few chapters of this Gospel:

Ch 13-17 describe the night preceding Jesus’ death and focus on his final instructions to the disciples.

Ch 18-19 chronicle the arrest, betrayal, and crucifixion

Ch 20 - the Resurrection!

Now a fishing story. But its more than just a story, it establishes that Jesus is Lord of our lives. It also serves to establish once again that Jesus spent 3 years discipling these men to be “fishers of men,” and in a way, this story helps us to understand that symbolism again.

We will recognize the deep truth that without the Lord Jesus, we will do nothing. John 15:5

John 15:5 CSB

5 I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.

Some say here that Peter and the gang deserted their roles as disciples here and went back to fishing. I don’t think that is the case. They have to eat.

These guys are not just amateur fishermen. This was their livelihood prior to Jesus calling them as disciples. Now I am an amateur fisherman. It is always frustrating to go out and not catch anything. Its why they calling fishing and not catching.

These guys are out all night, and catch nothing. Isn’t interesting John makes it a point to tell us they are out at night…in the darkness.

Nicodemus came at night, and Judas left the group into the darkness. Mary came to the tomb early in the morning while it was still dark…darkness and light have a role to play in John’s Gospel.

Lamentations 3:22-24

Lamentations 3:22–24 CSB

22 Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! 24 I say, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him.”

You can see where this is going can’t you. Into this new morning, the Lord Jesus appeared, but the disciples didn’t know just yet.

21:5 - Jesus speaks into the moment, “You don’t have any fish do you?” “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you’ll find some.” They can’t tell its Jesus, but they take His advice…and catch a net load, 153 fish to be exact.

But when the miracle happens, John realizes who is on the shore… “It is the LORD!”

Folks, this is a picture of the deep spiritual reality that we cannot do anything on our own. It doesn’t matter about our gifts, our abilities, our experiences, our strengths, our weaknesses, our personalities…we are unable to follow Jesus apart from His work in our lives.

If we try to serve Him in our strength, we will do about as good a job as the disciples fishing that night.

Our confidence is not based on our own strength but in the sovereignty of the Lord Jesus Christ. Trying to serve Jesus in our strength would be like trying to stop a volcano with cork from a wine bottle. It just isn’t going to happen.

Listen if you want to be...

Godly husband, and love your wife as Christ loves the church…you’ll fail in your strength.

If you want to be a godly wife like Paul described in Eph 5:22-23, then you’ll fail in your own strength.

If you desire to be godly parents and raise your children in the Lord, you’ll fail if you try on your own strength, and you’ll fall flat if you depend on the strength of your local church, if your local church is also depending on its own strength.

If God has called you to be single, and that means you’ve got time to serve the Lord as Paul did in Corinthians…you’ll stumble in your own strenghth.

You’ve got a sin that won’t leave? It won’t so long as you’re trying to be victorious in your own strength.

BUT I’M ENCOURAGED BECAUSE OF THIS STORY! If we are following Christ, we won’t need to rely on our own strength…HE IS GOING TO PROVIDE EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED EXACTLY WHEN WE NEED IT! Philippians 4:19

Philippians 4:19 CSB

19 And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

I read one take on this story during the week from Matt Carter and Josh Wredberg,

“We may experience seasons of frustrations that serve a purpose we cannot see. As we follow Jesus, there may be days, weeks, months, even years when it feels as if we are failing. We may be following Jesus, doing what He says, and yet feel as if everything is going wrong. And to make it worse, we may not be able to see the purpose in it. It may not be until much later, if ever, that we discover the reason. In those times the object of our trust will be revealed.”

Watch this though…the area these guys failed, fishing, was the place of greatest confidence for them…they were professionals after all. We aren’t as strong and successful as we think we are.

Our confidence cannot be in our own strength but must be in Christ.

Here why this matters - The Mission of the Church matters. The mission of the church is to make disciples. This reality is pictured by the disciples going out to catch fish. Like that, the church goes out to catch people.

The church goes out and draws in the net. But if we go out on our own…we will fail. We must go out, and catch people, relying on Christ Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is Lord of our lives & His Church.

Jesus is Loved Above All Else

John 21:9–17 CSB

9 When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish lying on it, and bread. 10 “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus told them. 11 So Simon Peter climbed up and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish—153 of them. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 “Come and have breakfast,” Jesus told them. None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread, and gave it to them. He did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. 15 When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you know that I love you.” “Feed my lambs,” he told him. 16 A second time he asked him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you know that I love you.” “Shepherd my sheep,” he told him. 17 He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved that he asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” “Feed my sheep,” Jesus said.

Jesus is Loved Above All Else

The primary mark of the redeemed in Christ has always been love for God. Deuteronomy 6:5 declares:

Deuteronomy 6:5 CSB

5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

Jesus also taught the mark of a true believer was this love for God. Matthew 22:37. Paul wrote, “If anyone loves God, he is known by Him” in 1 Corinthians 8:3.

Here is SimPeter…If chapter 21 is for anyone, it is for Peter. John left Peter’s denial of Jesus kind of just hanging there without resolution. Sure Peter had already seen Jesus…but something, intentionally, has been left undone as John wrote the Gospel.

So Peter heard what John said, and well, this isn’t the first time Peter stepped out of the boat. Peter jumped and swam to the shore, the other disciples pull the catch in, and get to shore.

Take notice of verse 9…They saw a “charcoal fire...” Do you remember the last time, and only other time in this gospel where there was mention of a charcoal fire? When Peter denied knowing Jesus in John 18.

On that night Jesus was arrested, Peter had pledged his devotion to Jesus. He even stated he would die for Jesus. For Peter, there is little doubt in his mind that he could accomplish whatever he set out to do. In fact, Peter put a lot of pride in his own morality.

Peter toughted, really boasted of His BIG LOVE for Jesus when he pledged his life for Jesus in John 13, “I’ll lay down my life for you.”

The truth we need to get a hold of from Peter is that obedience is the evidence of genuine love.

But that night, when he denied Jesus…whatever morality he had, that was thrown out the window with the rubbish.

Peter needed to be broken…Psalm 51:17

Psalm 51:17 CSB

17 The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God.

We need to broken over our sin as well.

Jesus knew Peter would play a vital role in the launching of the Chruch. So Jesus didn’t leave him that way, and He doesn’t leave you that way. Jesus is Lord and so He picks up the pieces of Peter and restores Him.

Why look at the charcoal fire…it’s almost as if Jesus is recreating that moment when Peter denied knowing Him. Standing around the fire that night, Peter said, “I don’t.” Sitting around the fire this morning, Peter says, “I do.”

Jesus has shown one more time that human weakness and failure don’t have to be the end of the story because we have to rely on the strength and sovereignty of Christ.

Jesus asks Simon Peter three questions...

Verse 15 - the first question - “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”

Either Simon Peter do you love me more than the fish, or the disciples, or do you love me more than these disciples love me?…either way…there was something in the way of Peter’s love of Christ…Jesus must be first…committed Christians will love Christ more than anything else.

Jesus taught them the servant cannot serve two masters.

Fish? - Simon do you love me more than your vocation?

Disciples - Peter you say you love me but you denied knowing me…how can you make that claim?

Truth - Peter had to admit his effort wasn’t good enough.

Perhaps the first question and answer was too easy. Sunday school answer. Jesus doesn’t let Peter go with an easy response. He asks him twice more opening the heart of a wounded disciple.

When Jesus calls to discipleship, well-meaning responses will not work in the call to discipleship. We have to learn what it means to follow the call of Jesus.

Twice more Jesus asks him, “Simon do you love me?” (21:16, 21:17)

In first two questions, Jesus uses the word “agapao” which is the highest love of the will, and it implies total commitment.

Peter’s responds with “phileo” - Signifies affection and care, even a measure of loyalty.

Even though Peter’s love here is not what he claimed earlier, and is less that what Jesus deserved, Jesus still reinstates Peter. “Tend My Lambs.”

The third question cuts Peter to the heart. It crushes him. He is grieved.

He has experienced an “undoing” of his self-assertiveness because Jesus asked a third time about his love. Third times a charm.

Think charcoal fire scene earlier, three denials, three questions of his love.

FACING YOURSELF IN THE MIRROW AND SEEING YOUR SIN IS A TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE. Isaiah 6:5

Isaiah 6:5 CSB

5 Then I said: Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Armies.

Peter understood…He is crushed. His heart is broken, yet it is at the point of brokenness that sense our greatest need for mercy and grace.

Why?

It is at that point that we come to understand, like Peter, that we cannot follow Jesus, love Jesus, obey Jesus in our own strength.

Jesus could leave Simon Peter beaten up and bruised, but restored Peter back to service. In mercy, by grace Jesus lifts Peter up out of the ashes and brings healing to him.

Peter didn’t have to do anything here…Jesus paid for Peter’s denial…it was paid for at the cross. This is a reminder that when we fail, and we will, that Jesus will restore the repentant heart, the heart that is broken before Him.

Richard Sibbes said it best, “There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us.” (The Bruised Reed).

As Jesus is asking these questions, He is also giving Peter commands to feed the lambs, the sheep…to be a shepherd.

Jesus called peter to Shepherd rather than Fish. It’s interesting as Jesus is talking to Peter, He uses His old name, Simon, not Peter…pebble…not rock. The flow of the text is emphasizing humility and service, not primacy over the other disciples.

He denied knowing Jesus three times and now three times affirmed his love for Jesus and each time was commissioned to care and serve the flock.

When we commit to follow Jesus, and we follow…our priorities change. Instead of serving ourselves, which has kind of been Peter’s pattern, he is now called to serve the church…our focus and priorities begin to shift from internal to external. There is much to glean from this instruction to Peter:

The sheep belong to Jesus, not Peter. The head of the church is Jesus Christ, not a man in his place. Jesus is the One we follow.

The sheep need to be fed the Word of God, not the weeds of the world. There is no substitute for the Word of God. His Word is lamp unto my feet and a light for my path…His Word is what feeds and sustains us. Peter remembered this when he wrote his first letter… 1Peter 2:2-3

1 Peter 2:2–3 CSB

2 Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up into your salvation, 3 if you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Those who shepherd must know God’s Word. A pastor’s role is to feed the flock the food of the Word.

Sheep should be growing on God’s Word. This is why the discipleship ministry of the local church is important. An infant can’t handle real food, it needs milk. But we are to grow up into adulthood and crave the meat of the Word.

Peter could preach grace and mercy because he knew first hand what he was talking about.

John 21:18–25 CSB

18 “Truly I tell you, when you were younger, you would tie your belt and walk wherever you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you and carry you where you don’t want to go.” 19 He said this to indicate by what kind of death Peter would glorify God. After saying this, he told him, “Follow me.” 20 So Peter turned around and saw the disciple Jesus loved following them, the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and asked, “Lord, who is the one that’s going to betray you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” 22 “If I want him to remain until I come,” Jesus answered, “what is that to you? As for you, follow me.” 23 So this rumor spread to the brothers and sisters that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not tell him that he would not die, but, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?” 24 This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. 25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if every one of them were written down, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written.

Jesus is Lord of our Futures

Because Jesus is the Lord of Hope, He is the Lord of our futures. Committed Christians count the cost of following Jesus, and mean it when they sing, “Wherever He leads, I’ll go…I’ll follow my Christ who loves me so, wherever He leads I’ll go.”

I don’t know what the future holds for UABC. But I know who holds the future. He’s already there. Committing to following Jesus means you are willing to sacrifice everything and that you solely focus on Christ’s lead.

Verse 18, Peter finds out from Jesus that his future will be marked by death. Yet his death would glorify God. What? Paul wrote in Romans 12:1 that we are called to be “living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.”

If we are faithful to follow Christ, there will be suffering of some kind. Suffering doesn’t come in a “one size fits all.” The western church knows little of suffering like the rest of the Body of Christ around the world. Doesn’t mean we have to go looking for it, but it should make us question if we love Jesus as much as we say we do.

Peter then turns to Jesus, looking at John, and says…what about him?

Jesus’ reply is fairly straight forward…Peter what concern is it to you? Follow me.

The main concern…follow Jesus in whatever direction and manner He calls.

Friend, JESUS IS LORD.

This chapter is about discipleship, following Jesus. We see at the end of this is the call once more to follow Jesus.

John’s purpose is clear all throughout, point people to faith in Jesus. Won’t you do the same?

Father, thank you for your Holy and Inspired Word, this Good News, that has provided for us such a personal look at the Savior, our Lord Jesus. Father may we always press on even though we don’t know what is in store for tomorrow, but we know you’re already there. Let us confess anything that has come between our relationship with You. Lord may our love for You ever increase, may our knowledge of Your Word grow, and may we continue stand confident in Your mercy and grace. Amen.