This Is Real Love
John 21 1-19 NIV
Purpose: To unify the people as one whole in the
Reality of the Resurrection.
2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus[b]), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee,
the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.
3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they
said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that
night they caught nothing.
4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the
disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No,”
they answered.
6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and
you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because
of the large number of fish.
7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the
Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his
outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.
8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net
full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.[c]
9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there
with fish on it, and some bread.
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just
caught.”
11 So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the
net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was
not torn.
12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the
disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.
13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the
same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus
appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus
said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that
I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
16 Again
Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know
that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
17 The
third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked
him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you
know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.
18 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed
yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out
your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want
to go.”
19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter
would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
Footnotes:
This is the Word of God
For the people of God.
Praise be to God
Amen.
John keeps telling us the story of
the Risen Lord, our Lord. Jesus appeared to the disciples for the third time.
He appeared to them twice in the upper room and this one on the shore of the
Sea of Galilee. This time there were just a few of them: Peter, Thomas (again),
Nathanael, and the sons Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. Peter
went fishing and he announced it. The rest of them wanted to go with him. The
story continues telling us that they didn’t catch any fish. Pay attention to
how the disciples went back to their old professions when they didn’t know what
to do. They needed direction. When we don’t have direction we get lost easily
and to find the way out of our mess takes time and courage to ask for
directions from God and to fix it. How
many times do we go back to old business that is not good for us?
Time had passed and it was early
morning, and Jesus was on the shore waiting for them, but the disciples didn’t
recognize Jesus. After all this time being so close to Jesus, sleeping in the
same house, eating at the same table, listening to His teachings, traveling
with Him, they didn’t recognize Him. How
many times we have failed to recognize Christ in the needy of this world, or
the child or teenager who needs good advice or a hug or words of hope, or even
in our own home? How many times does one member of our family need
encouragement or understanding or just the assurance that we love them?
Well, Jesus was before of their eyes, and they were not aware of Him.
In contrast with their lack of
attention and even interest, Jesus asked if they had caught any fish. He
continued giving them instructions on how to fish, not just well, but also for
a lot of fish. How many times do we not
pay attention when Jesus is showing us the right way to go? Notice that the
disciples didn’t ask for help. Jesus came and offered free and good help for
them, for us, for our own good. Always for our own good. And, then when they
were pulling the net back to the boat, the disciple who Jesus loved, John,
recognized Jesus. Finally, they recognized
that they were in the presence of the Risen Christ. We are in the constant
presence of Jesus every minute of our lives. Jesus is helping us and guiding us
even when we don’t ask for help because Christ cares about each one of us. We
need to care for each one other and for the people who are outside of church,
family, and friends.
John continued telling us that when
Peter heard that it was the Lord, he jumped into the water and swam to Him. He
wanted to be the first one to greet His Lord. Are we as excited as Peter that every morning we want to be the first
ones to say, “Good morning Jesus, did You have a good night?”
In the next part, John is guiding us
to the climax of the chapter. When the disciples were approaching to the shore,
they saw a fire of burning coals with fish and bread, Jesus was cooking. Why do you think that Jesus was cooking? We
may think that because He was a caring and a good Lord, He was providing some
food for His beloved disciples, and that is right, but there is something much
more important. In those days, like nowadays, many, many people didn’t believe
that Jesus was risen from the dead. Some people started the rumor that it was a
spirit, other said that it was the imagination, other that it was a vision. The
reality of a vision is important but still a vision. The rumors were to the
extent of saying that Jesus was a hallucination. It was not a vision, or a
spirit, or a hallucination, it was a real person with the holes in His hands
and His side pierced. And do you know why Jesus had to appear as a real person?
Because it was important for all His disciples and followers to witness and to
understand that He really had defeat death. Jesus chose life over death when He
defeated it. Even when we have problems and fears in life our way of living
always should be a joyful and peaceful living because when our worries defeat
our peace then death conquers life. We don’t live in this way.
Next, and almost at the end of this
chapter, comes something that it has a high meaning for me, because it was the
text that God used in my pastoral calling: the questioning by Jesus of Peter.
He was asking Him about his love for Him. The Greek verb is Agape,
it is the kind of love Jesus has for each one of us and His church,
deep, serious, and devoted love. The question that Jesus asked Peter sounds
simple, but it is very meaningful, and is still very important for us today.
Jesus is asking us today if we love Him, if we love Him with Agape
love. Pay attention how we are going to answer this question. When we answer to
our Lord, Yes I love You Lord. That means we are going to care, to love, and to
guard His people as we will do it for ourselves or one of our beloveds. It is
caring for Christ’s flock. When we answer Jesus, Yes I love you Lord, we are going
to place the gospel in our hearts and minds before anything else. When we
answer Jesus, Yes, I love you, Lord, we are going to change our lives because
we are going to care for others before ourselves.
My dear ones, true Agape
love, to try to love as Jesus loved is the greatest privilege in the
world, but it brings the greatest responsibility. It brought Peter a cross.
Actually, Jesus told him, the day will come when you are going to go when you
don’t want to go and where you didn’t choose. Sure enough, the day came when,
in Rome, Peter died for His Lord; he, too, went to the Cross, and he asked
nailed to it head downwards, for he said that he was not worthy to die as his
Lord had died.
Love always involves responsibility,
and it involves sacrifice. Here is where we can follow in the steps of Peter.
We don’t have to be biblical scholars or great missionaries, we have to be
ourselves and each one of us in our own way can guard someone from going astray
to a path of destruction and pain. Each one of us can feed the lambs of Christ
with the food of the word of God.
Let us pray,
Dear Father
Thank You so much for the great
privilege that is to love someone in the way You have loved us. Help us to feed
Your sheep and care for them. Help us never to give up or ignore a person who
needs Your love, Agape love.
In Jesus’ name, we pray.
Amen.
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