John 21:1-3
“After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin)), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 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.”
Perhaps the most fascinating thing about John’s gospel is that there’s a chapter 21 at all. Any writer, even one so meager as myself, knows that a story should stop once the great crescendo is reached. Perhaps a short scene showing the bliss of the romantic couple, or a quick clip of the hero riding off into the sunset. Yeah, that’s fine. But what of this everyday business that John gets into. Jesus has just come back from the dead, for crying out loud! That’s the single greatest event in human history and yet John shifts our focus to the disciples going fishing. Why?
The first thing we notice is who’s there. Simon Peter, who betrayed Him on that awful night, and Thomas, who refused to believe the resurrection until he saw Jesus with his own eyes, are mentioned first. That’s rather interesting because we’re often beset in our own lives with the worries that we aren’t really Christians. The real Christians are our pastors and people like that. Those are professional Christians and we’re, well…we aren’t.
At this point, we will break completely from discussing or considering the unsaved and their relationship toward God. The sinner who hasn’t come to Christ, after all, is in a state of war with Him, is hostile to God and can’t please Him. This, on the other hand, is a scene regarding the church and the believer, so we’ll discuss only those in a saving relationship with the Lord henceforth.
The reason that John includes this chapter is, to start, to show that the disciples are, once again, together! We would imagine that Peter and Thomas, if their recent performance was any indication of their status, wouldn’t be with them but that clearly isn’t the case – and thanks be to God for that. Christian unity doesn’t depend upon our perfection but upon God’s grace and the love He pours into our hearts. Christian unity is founded upon the bedrock principle that I’ve offended God with my sin but am saved! Blessed is the man or woman against whom the Lord does not count their sin! How then does that saved person, brought from the death of living selfishly to the glories of living for God, then forget the manner by which they were saved and begin to nitpick at the fleshly failures of other believers? So much damage is done within the church and private families by the spirit of criticism. A heart not at rest upon Christ is a heart that hasn’t fully reckoned with the righteous wrath it deserves. A hyper-critical spirit that seeks the flaws of others and that reminds them of their failures or the shortcomings every finite being certainly has, is the cause of so much misery in life.
This chapter and the better part of the last are written to show us the reality of how we should live together in Christ. Indeed, He is risen but He’s the whole purpose of the gospel was to bring us, sinners, to Himself. He comes to Mary, to all of them, and then specifically to bring Thomas back too. Jesus Christ did not, repeat did not, come to save us and then leave us to ourselves. Our salvation is not a degree we have hanging on a wall. It isn’t something that happened in the past that’s over now. He doesn’t declare us innocent and then go away. No! Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory, comes to these fishermen who had all scattered in fear at His arrest. He comes to this motley group who had lived with Him for three years and were still mystified by the events. How do we miss the picture of ourselves and our lives in this? Are you confused? Does the Enemy whisper to you at those private moments that you’re not a real Christian because you don’t have life figured out? Does a mistake or a sin from your yesterdays haunt you?
Take a look at the disciples here. They’ve seen the resurrected Christ and now they’re apparently unsure as to what to do with their day. Isn’t this like our own time too? Don’t we puzzle over our time and wonder if the routine things have any worth? It’s easy to think that great emotional highs should be the norm and that Christian life should be a rock concert all the time. Scripture, thankfully, gives us the pattern to expect.
They went fishing.
They went to work.
Always remember, it’s not your life you were saved from, but your sin. Your circumstances, your vocation, and the things of your personal existence are the means that God will use for your sanctification as He progressively brings you to deeper and deeper measures of blessedness. Your sin isn’t being dependent upon your job. Working isn’t a sin, but a blessed responsibility. A major mistake is avoided if we learn this lesson well.
Some commentators suggest that the disciples shouldn’t have gone fishing. Jesus, they say, didn’t tell them to go fishing and that’s why they caught nothing. That’s not the point. The point is to show us that to live for Christ is to go and do the things of life for Christ and His people. The issue is that they were together. They worked together, ate together, stayed together. How great a thing is a small word from a Christian brother or sister! What we see is that they went back to the daily lives they’d known and hadn’t been torn apart by bitter jealousies and rivalries. Peter had utterly forsaken the Lord and yet they went with him. There’s no sign of them reminding Peter of his colossal failure. Instead, we see fellowship as they worked all night. Maybe they didn’t catch any fish because they were too busy talking about all that had happened. We don’t know because we aren’t told. What we do know is that Jesus comes again to them.
We are a church. We are a family. We go back to our daily things but now these things are done in the Lord. Our lives are radically different and will continue on that trajectory that only those in Christ know as they move closer and closer to Him. The new convert is tempted to think that God will give him/her new circumstances. Maybe He will and maybe He won’t. But what He will do is give you Himself and that makes all the difference in the world.
Recent Comments