Now as we begin this last chapter of the Gospel according to John, the last of four separate, but connected accounts of the life of our Lord, we need to recognize its deep, enduring significance. We see there, the disciples going to sea...the Lord, again absent from them; His sudden reappearance, and then, breakfast! But following that, His solemn charge to care for His church...the sheep of His flock, and finally, revelation talk! In chapt. 20, peace talks, but now, final lessons in discipleship.
What we see first in this chapter should be of no surprise to us at all, by this time...Peter's concern for the things of this world, and the other disciples' willingness to follow him; secondly, their failure, due to their lack of spiritual discernment; and third, their submission to their Lord's call for obedience. Then, His gracious provision of a highliner catch of fish...His last recorded Gospel miracle, performed for those disobedient disciples; next, in the last section of the chapter, Jesus' teaching on the proper motivation for service, for Believers in any age...their love for God, and their love for others. And finally, their eventual reunion in eternity!
Remember that back in chapt. 20.21-23, Jesus had appeared to the eleven disciples, communicating His will to them, commissioning them for service, and commanding their obedience....now, all those disciples had to do, was comply! But rather, "I go fishing", with the others' ready agreement... "Let's do it!" I wonder, if Peter had said, "I go witnessing", or "I go preaching", or, "I go to the mission field", whether the response would have been quite as eager?
But let's get back to 21.1, "After these things...", Jesus made an appearance to a few of His disciples together...this time on the edge of the Sea of Tiberias, or Gallilee. Back in Matthew 28.10, we read that Jesus had earlier said to them, "Don't be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Gallilee and there they will see Me." So they had indeed gathered, but certaintly not at the appointed meeting place. In Matthew's account, Jesus had appointed a particular mountain, which was to be the place of gathering, so once again, they had missed the mark.
As John has recorded, Peter being Peter, had decided to take a small detour, and it wasn't long before he and the six who were with him had found and launched a boat, and were fishing. Of couse we know that the Lord had promised, as we read in Mark 1.17, that they would become fishers of men, but on this occasion, they couldn't even catch fish! You just have to wonder where their hearts were, both before they rode off the rails, and now, having just spent the entire night with nary a nibble!
But, then came the morning...and Jesus stood on the shore! What a promise there is for us, there in that fourth verse! We experience a good many dark, empty nights during our nights upon this earth...no hope, no joy, no fruit and no fish. Those disciples were down and out on their luck, and even moreso in their dependence upon Jesus. They had exercised their natural skills, and had experienced another "broker" for their efforts; and they had ignored their spiritual calling to begin, even in the absence of their Master, to "fish" the souls of men for salvation! And now, when they saw Jesus waiting on the shore, they "knew not" that it was Him.
Oh, when we fail to see the forest, when the trees get in the way. There was Jesus, Who they had been told would be waiting for them on the mountaintop; of course, He was very soon now to be found, as on that very day, with them in Spirit, wherever they happened to be, and regardless of the situation. When you least expect Him perhaps, He draws near to us without our even realizing it. Even when, like those seven wayward disciples, we're living in the flesh, or following the wrong leader, He's just that close! When we're "otherwise occupied", would be a very good time to put on our spiritual bi-focals, because these things are written for our learning.
Now in vs. 5 we read, "then Jesus said to them...". Remember, Jesus knows all, including the fact that those hungry fishermen, having worked throughout the night, would be wanting their breakfast...but first, one more miracle. Before He gave them sustenance, He acknowledged their failure! Contrary to what your personal opinion may be, in the flesh, we have nothing but nothingness. We're for all the world like those poor, estranged disciples, rowing to the distant shore with nothing to show for our efforts but our sweat and our tears and our nothingness. But there He was, in the haven of their rest, ready and waiting to take them from zero to hero!
As you might expect, Jesus' advice was simple enough, as recorded in vs. 6, "Just trust and obey." We might just as well face up to the Truth...Jesus is our Sovereign, and He expects to be obeyed as the Captain of our very souls. We might work our whole lives through, believing we have done just fine..and perhaps we have, from the world's perspective. But when you obediently turn your eyes upon Jesus, they're opened to entirely different ways and means...far removed from the world and its ways, you can be sure!
And finally, those disciples did exactly as they were told, by simple faith and simple obedience, with a great miracle resulting. Now notice from vs. 8, that Jesus had been one hundred yards distant, on the shore, yet they had clearly heard His instruction. So without even recognizing Him, they just knew that they just had to do what they had been told, if they had any hope at all for a paycheque. This is quite a lesson for "fringe-believers" who insist on believing in their own time, and in their own way.
Now vs. 7, "Therefore...", finally, a demonstration of spiritual discernment! At least, "that disciple whom Jesus loved" knew that there was only One Who could ever be responsible for such a miracle as this, and just like the blind man in chapt. 9, "...immediately, his eyes were opened"! This is exactly in keeping with what Holy Spirit has had recorded about John, throughout all this Gospel record...the only disciple to be present at the cross, and the first of the eleven to accept Jesus' resurrection. It's no wonder that he had the greater discernment here, and his response must have startled them all into reaction.
You know, I love John's insight here, and his loyalty to His Saviour in troubled times...but I've always had a soft spot for Peter, so full of bluster and beligerence! "Walk on water? I'm your man, Lord...I'll be right there!" Or..."Crucified? Far be it from You, Lord...not on my watch!" But what a change once Holy Spirit, like a mighty, rushing wind filled him up, moving him to boldly proclaim to the multitude, "Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God has made this Jesus, Whom you crucified, both Lord, and Christ!"
Don't peek ahead, now. We'll see more of him in our next lesson!
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