Provision in the Risen Lord

Provision in the Risen Lord.

John 21:1-14

After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. 7 That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. 8 The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

9 When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. 14 This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

BACKGROUND

The main section of John's gospel ended at the close of chapter 20 with John's summary statement of his purpose in writing this book. His goal was that his readers may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing in Him they may have eternal life.

Now Chapter 21 of the gospel of John stands as the epilogue and along with the prologue of chapter 1:1-18 bookends the main part of the gospel. Some scholars will even argue that this chapter was not even written by John but by one of his close companions.

But there is no evidence that John's gospel ever circulated without chapter 21, all remaining manuscripts include it. And it serves as a fitting conclusion to this inspired gospel by answering a number of questions raised in the minds of the reader.

The first is who would care for the disciples after Jesus returns to the Father and was no longer physically there with them. Second, it brings closure to the story of Peter. Since he had denied Christ on the night of His arrest and was nowhere to be found at the crucifixion scene.

And even after seeing the empty tomb, he was unsure as to what had really happened. The epilogue reveals that Peter's denial and doubt were not the end of his story by relating his reconciliation with Jesus and the recommissioning by Him.

The first fourteen verses of chapter 21 answer the first question, which would have been on the minds of the disciples. For the first time in three years, they faced having to fend for themselves, since Jesus had provided for all their needs while He was with them.

The Lord made it clear that He would continue to do so. This time He demonstrated His commitment to meet their needs through a living illustration. But before the disciples learned the lesson that Christ would continue to provide for them, they first had to be brought face to face with their own inadequacy.

As a result, the passage illustrates two contrasting dependencies from which they could choose. The disciples could depend on their former trades and pick up on life as they had left it before Jesus called them, or they could continue in gospel ministry depending on His power and provision.

These two options face those who belong to Christ. Are we on our own, or do we follow Christ?

Verse 1

1. After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way.

The phrase “After this” refers to an unspecified time after the event recorded in chapter 20. The disciples had left Jerusalem and made their way north to Galilee, as Jesus had commanded them in (Matthew 28:10) “Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

Apparently, all eleven did not travel together in one group, since this incident involved only seven of them.

The twice repeated statement that “Jesus revealed himself…to the disciples” emphasizes the truth that after His resurrection He was not recognizable unless He revealed Himself. Just like we saw with Mary Magdalene in (Chapter 20:15).

What was true of physically recognizing Jesus is also true spiritually. No one, apart from the leading of the Holy Spirit, can call Jesus Lord, (1 Corinthians 12:3) says, “Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.”.

A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, because they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

“The Sea of Tiberias” is better known as the sea of Galilee. It got its name from the city of Tiberias on its western shore, which had been founded by Herod Antipas and named in honor of Emperor Tiberius.

The first hint that all was not quite right was that the disciples were not at the mountain where Jesus had specifically commanded them to wait for him (Matthew 28:16) but had gone down to the lake. And after a while Simon Peter grew impatient waiting for the Lord to show up so he told the others that he was going fishing.

Peter was an impulsive man of action, not given to standing idly by for very long. He was not suggesting that they do some recreational fishing to just pass the time, but rather was declaring that he was returning to his former livelihood.

Three lines of evidence support that conclusion. In (John 16:32) it says “Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.” Christ's prediction thus implies more than that the disciples would return to their own houses. Second, the use of the definite article with the noun translated “boat” suggests a specific boat, probably one belonging to one of the disciples or even Peter himself.

Finally, the Lords challenge to Peter in verse 15, ”Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” the word “these” in his question likely refers to the boats and other fishing equipment.

The Lord was calling Peter to turn his back on his former livelihood and be totally committed to serving Him.

Dutifully following Peter's regressive lead, the rest of the disciples that were with him “said to him, “We will go with you.” Certainty feeling inadequate to carry on any spiritual ministry on behalf of the kingdom of God, they were sure fishing was something they could do successfully.

“The seven went out and got into the boat” and began fishing. As experienced fishermen, they knew that the night time was the best time for catching fish on the sea of Galilee, “but that night they caught nothing.” the disciple's unsuccessful experience at something they knew how to do well was a lesson from the Lord about their inability to go back to their former lives.

There is nothing wrong with fishing, it was a respectable profession. But it was not what the Lord had called them to do. They were chosen to be fishers of men and having left their nets and followed Him, there was no going back. After a useless night of fishing, the disciples head back to shore, where “Jesus stood on the shore” waiting for them. None of them could recognize Jesus after His resurrection unless He revealed Himself to them.

Thus “the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.” in a mild rebuke which highlighted their failure in their fishing expedition Jesus says to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” Acknowledging that their attempt to return to provide for their own needs had failed, “They answered him, “No.” the disciples failure through that long night established their inability to give themselves successfully to any other enterprise than serving their Lord.

Not only had they dramatically been brought face to face with their own inability and divine sovereignty, but they were also next shown a miraculous creative act, demonstrating that Jesus would continue to provide for their needs.

The Lord began the second lesson by calling out to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” the disciples were no doubt exhausted and frustrated after their failed fishing expedition, and did not know at first who was speaking.

They must have been tempted to tell this bold stranger to mind his own business. After all, they were experienced fishermen, who was he to tell them what to do? And did he think the fish knew the difference between one side of the boat and the other?

Yet there was something authoritative in the voice that allowed for no argument or hesitance, so they obeyed His command. And to their astonishment, they cast their net, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. Just as He had rerouted all the fish away from their boat all through the night, Jesus now redirected a massive school of fish right into their net.

As a result, the net was so full that all seven of them could not pull it up. The parallel between this incident, which led to the disciples recommissioning, and their original call to be Jesus' disciples is remarkable. Turn with me too (Luke 5:1-7).

“On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.”

The “disciple whom Jesus loved” immediately recognized who the stranger was and said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” only He had such supernatural knowledge and power. Impulsive as ever “When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.”

So intense was his desire to be with Jesus that Peter could not wait for the boat to reach the shore. This showed the distinct characteristics of both John and Peter. John recognized Jesus first and Peter was quicker to act.

Meanwhile “The other disciples” lacking Peters impulsiveness, came struggling toward the shore “in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land,” since they were unable to haul it in, they were dragging the net full of fish behind them.

When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread.

Showing His compassionate care for the tired, hungry disciples, Jesus had prepared breakfast for them, perhaps miraculously creating the fish as He had done before with the feeding of the five thousand. He had said to them earlier “I am among you as the one who serves” (Luke 22:27), and He had washed their feet as an example of humble service.

Now the risen Lord showed that He would still serve the disciples who were faithful to Him by meeting their needs which they had been unable in disobedience to meet themselves. Here was a practical illustration of the words of Jesus in the upper room.

When the disciples had all made it ashore, Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” the fish and bread He had already prepared would serve to get the meal underway while they cooked some of the fish caught in the disciples net.

In response, So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore. He was able to pull the net full of fish onto the shore by himself shows that he was a man of considerable physical strength.

Now the Lord's invitation to “Come and have breakfast.” was a call to full fellowship. Feeling guilty for their disobedience in trying to return to their former trade and awed by the supernatural presence of their resurrected Master, however, they were surely uneasy, hesitant, and uncertain.

Yet, none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” they suppressed their question, because “They knew it was the Lord.” Just as their disobedience had resulted in failure, the disciple's obedience brought overwhelming success. The miraculous catch of fish and the meal He provided for them demonstrated to the disciples that Jesus could and would still meet their needs.

-nice little bow to wrap it up-