John 21:1-14. A Final Encouragement – to Fish
This last chapter in John’s gospel appears to be an appendix but it is a vital addition. Just as we now know that the appendix in our bodies has a function, so does this appendix to John’s gospel. The scene has shifted from Jerusalem where Jesus was executed. Later he appeared to his disciples in Galilee. They had undoubtedly gone there because they've been told to do so, firstly by Jesus towards the end of the last supper,
“But after I have risen I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” Matthew 26:32
And again, when Mary Magdalene and Mary, the wife of Clopas (sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus) met an angel at the empty tomb, they were told,
“Then go quickly and tell the disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ ” Matthew 28:7
The Ring of Truth
This passage was clearly written by an eyewitness - there are so many details that give it authenticity. The question needs to be asked why is this extra chapter here at all? Chapter 20 ends neatly,
“Jesus performed many of the signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 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.” Matthew 20:30
After this comes this appendix, but as we will see it's a very important reminder about the purpose of Gods church.
Encouraged to build God’s Church
The scene starts with the disciples fishing; they were, after all, fishermen. But then the scene shifts to the conversation Jesus has with Peter where he is told to, ‘Tend my flock,’ (John 21:15-19).
Surely people have to be blind not to see what this is saying.
a. Fishing represents evangelism - win men and women for Christ.
b. Shepherding represents pastoral care – building up and feeding God’s people by teaching them.
Christian conversion, turning to Christ, is not the end but just the beginning. When a person becomes a Christian, when Jesus is accepted as Lord and Saviour in response to God’s word to them, they have been chosen both to go into society to fish for God and then to follow people up, which means to feed them with God’s word. This is the role of every Christian, not just church leaders. All Christians are committed to a lifetime of service, both fishing and pastoring.
There is a contrast here between Christianity and all other world religions. Religion tells us that we must enter their particular philosophical system in order to have any hope of being reconciled to God and escaping the pressures of life. Adherents to religions then have to live in such a way that when they die, they hope they have reached a high enough standard to be acceptable to God.
Unfortunately Christianity can be presented like that. Join up, be baptised, be confirmed and live a good life so that one day you may be worthy of heaven. In this religious view, life is for earning God’s pleasure.
The gospel’s message is utterly different. Christ has already faced that judgement for you and me. He and he alone is able to put us into a right relationship with God. When we turn to the Lord Jesus and accept his forgiveness and his rule in our life, we are granted his pardon, we are forgiven for all we have done and all we will do that offends him. So in the gospel we are freed from self absorption, we don't need to worry “Am I good enough, will I be saved?” If I belong to Christ Jesus, he has already saved me, my judgment took place on that cross. This is wonderful news.
However, being forgiven, given a new start in life, is just the beginning - there is much work to do, both fishing and pastoring. Churches will need ‘all hands on deck’ in order to turn the tide of a godless society. There is much work to be done. Every Christian will need to put their energy into being hospitable, helping with the church’s children and youth work and especially in inviting others to hear the gospel. Unfortunately there are many church members who are ineffective and unproductive for the Lord Jesus. Peter reminded the church that each person has much work to do if we are not to be ineffective and unproductive.
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness, and to goodness, knowledge . . . If you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:5-8
Being perceived as good, genuine, caring people is vital for ministry. Being efficient is not the same as being effective. Are we all praying about how we can be more effective at winning people for and back to Christ? Remember enthusiasm and warmth are much more attractive than truths or correctness.
Hippies, young people who were dropouts, practised a form of Buddhism by trying to drop out of everything. There is no place for politics or religion, just escapism. Some want church to be like that, quiet, peaceful, beautiful music, just passive and relaxing.
But Jesus Christ insists that his church makes a priory of evangelism, of fishing. If we know that Jesus is the Son of God and we have tasted something of his love, won't we long to share this news in any way we can? Do you remember the Great Commission given by Jesus himself?
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
The problem is that people don't want the gospel to be taught. I remember taking a group of students to lead a Christian camp in Samara in Russia. We landed at the airport in a rickety, old, turboprop Aeroflot plane but then we were not allowed through customs. We were asked why anyone would want to come on a tourist visit to Samara! After many hours sitting on the floor we were allowed in - but only after a group of Russian students persuaded them.
A Christian who does not pass on what he knows and values soon finds that there is little he knows and little he values.
The disciples let their fishing net down again and this time pulled up 153 large fish. If this catch is then left alone they will rot. The fish must still be cared for so that they can be useful. Similarly, after evangelism, pastoring is needed; the metaphor changes but not the love and care.
This is surely why everyone who becomes a Christian needs to become active in a Bible teaching church. They need to attend that church regularly to hear the Bible being taught well, they will also need to get involved in a home group and also decide which of the church’s ministries suits them and the church best for them to serve in. All Christians must become committed to working for Christ through the local church. Both entrepreneurs and workers who prefer routines are needed. There will be tensions and personality problems but we all have to work through these.
Encouraged by the Love of the Lord Jesus.
After Jesus’ resurrection, he could have stayed with his Father, basking in the glory that was his by right, but instead, he chose to continue his work of encouraging and teaching his disciples.
William Arthur Ward wrote,
“Flatter me, and I may not believe you.
Criticise me, and I may not like you.
Ignore me, and I may not forgive you.
But encourage me, and I will not forget you.”
The Duke of Wellington, who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, was not an easy man to serve under, but he got things done! Brilliant and demanding, he did not want to shower compliments on his subordinates. But in his old age, a young lady asked him,
“What, if anything, sir, would you do differently?”
Wellington thought for a moment and then replied,
“I'd give more praise!”
Here we see Jesus, coming to encourage his demoralised and defeated team. There are many Christians who, like Peter, have fallen guilty of some particular sin – sometimes this is serious and they feel so ashamed. Doubtless Peter felt a complete failure when that cock crowed and Jesus looked at him. No words were needed.
We can also, like Peter, feel defeated and useless. But one of the Lord's great characteristics is that he never sees our failure as final.
Mark recalls that when the angel appeared to the two Mary's and Salome at the empty tomb, he said,
“He has risen . . . but go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee.” Mark 16:7
Peter must have been so encouraged by this message. He might not have gone to Galilee with the others without it, as he would have felt so ashamed. I suspect that when he reached Galilee he still wondered,
“Will I be trusted again?”
But look at verse 3, his confidence is clearly returning. Ideas are returning and he is beginning to lead again. He suggested that they go fishing and the others followed. The best time to fish was at night and the disciples had fished all night but the result was that they caught nothing.
Then a voice called out to them from the shore,
“Friends, haven't you any fish?” Jesus clearly knew.
“No,” they answered.
“’Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.’ When they did, they were unable to hold the net in because of the large number of fish.” John 21:6
Talk of ‘déjà vu’. Surely the penny must've dropped. They must have recalled what happened when they were first called by Jesus. On that occasion, Jesus was also on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and wished to preach to the crowds. So he borrowed a fishing boat, Simon Peter’s boat, to use as a pulpit. Sensibly he preached seated! After the sermon Jesus said to Peter,
“Put out to deep water and let down the nets for a catch.”
Simon had answered,
“Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will . . . ” Luke 5:1-11
What a great line that is for every Christian to keep repeating,
“But because you say so, I will”
They obeyed Jesus and the result was that they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. Peter was afraid of Jesus and said,
“Go away from me Lord, I am a sinful man.”
But Jesus was not going to leave Peter and the others, but replied,
“Don't be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” Luke 5:10
So they left everything and followed Jesus. Peter’s realisation that he was a sinner in God’s eyes was not a cause for him being rejected by God, indeed that realisation is an essential qualification. This is so encouraging, people who know how sinful they are can be used by God for his purposes.
On that day Peter and others were commissioned to become fishers of men. Jesus had proved that he can help them catch fish, so presumably he could help them, and us, to catch people for God. What a day that was. He had felt himself a sinner, a failure, but God had accepted him to be trained for ministry.
Imagine what Peter felt as this scene was repeated and he came to realise that the Lord Jesus wanted to use him again.
The scene is so eloquent – there was no recommissioning service, that was unnecessary, but Jesus, by all he did, was saying,
“Yes Peter, you did fail me, but I'm ready to use you again. I want you to fish for people.”
How encouraging that day must have been for the disciples. They must have been impressed with the master that they serve, one full of grace.
As we read the Bible, it will always bring us back to the wonder of the grace of Jesus. Many of us have made starts to the Christian life but have then failed. Some are overwhelmed by their failure and may even wallow in self pity, but Jesus says to us all, let's fish.
How wonderful is the way that the Lord Jesus treats all of us.
A dentist was working in East Africa and was treating an elderly bishop. He was fitting him with some new false teeth. After fitting the teeth, the Bishop went to a mirror while the dentist was washing his hands. The Bishop then said aloud,
“Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ.”
The dentist was somewhat shaken by this response, but the Bishop turned, smiled at the dentist and said,
“I've not been able to see that precious name for 20 years – without whistling.”
For a Christian it is unthinkable to use the name of Jesus as an expletive. His is a precious name, he is our saviour and our Lord.
Do we all regard the Lord Jesus in this way?
Encouraged to evaluate our work
Most Christians today, if asked how many fish they have caught, would have to answer, ‘Not any’ or ‘Not many.’ In this story two answers are given,
a. None at all
This is how many fish they caught before Jesus appeared. Without the leading of Jesus Christ these disciples, in spite of being expert fisherman, and highly skilled, caught nothing. Similarly, when Christians are fishing for men we need the leading of Jesus. Without him we can achieve nothing. When Jesus had given his final briefing to the disciples in the upper room, he had said,
“I am the vine – apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
If we are not seeing any people becoming Christians, we must ask ourselves, “Is Christ with us?”
b. 153 large fish
What are we to make of this large catch after following Jesus’ directions? The early church fathers had a wonderfully imaginative time giving possible explanations. Cyril of Alexander suggested that 100 represented the Gentiles, 50 represented the remnant of Israel and the 3 must stand for the Trinity. Jerome suggested that there were 153 kinds of fish. There are many more such implausible explanations. Isn’t it more likely that John mentioned this number because there was such a massive catch that they had bothered to count it?
Isn't the message that God wants us to learn that when we are abiding in Christ, living for him, seeking his will, we will be effective for Christ?
May I finish with two questions?
a. If we are Christians are we being effective and productive for Christ? Is God enabling us to help win men and women for Christ and then build them up? A good passage for study, for those who are concerned about their ineffectiveness, is 1 Peter 1:5-8. Here Peter suggests what we can do to become more productive for Christ.
b. If you are not a Christian, will you let Christ encourage you? He wants us to be members of his Kingdom, to be forgiven all that we have done wrong in the past and give us a purpose to live for in the future. Will you pray for the courage to commit your lives to the Lord Jesus today? Ask him to lead you in the same way that he led his first disciples and ask him to help you live for him.
BVP
