Revision as of 18:58, 7 March 2019

Objectives

Introduction

Main Body

• The gospel of John began with a Theological Prologue in which we were introduced to The Word, the creator, sustainer, and solution to the problem of sin. Here at the end of the Gospel of John we see how the ministers of God are now incorporated into the mission of God.

Setting the Stage

• Peter, and several of the other disciples have just finished fishing through the night. After catching nothing, Jesus calls to them from the shore and asks them to cast the net on the right side of the boat. The results are miraculous but what is even more surprising is that Jesus has already prepared breakfast over a charcoal fire on the shore. Jesus has demonstrated that even now, He will continue to provide for His disciples. The call to follow Jesus is not an empty call to blind devotion, but a call to follow the only one who can truly provide. Now, as we enter verses 15-25 we will see that while the call to follow is not a call to follow with no promise of provision, it is also a call to fallow with complete devotion and potential for significant hardship. Christ calls on us to follow, he promises to provide, but does not promise everything will be easy. Christ's call is one of complete devotion.

• Don't miss the symbolism present. The last time that Peter stood before a coal fire was back in John 18:18 "Now the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves. And Peter stood with them and warmed himself." What happened at this moment? Peter denied Jesus! The stage is set and Jesus is about to follow up on what is one of the most important questions still lingering. What is to be done with a follower once they have failed? What is to be done with Peter? At the original fire, three questions were used to demonstrate Peter's complete failure, here, again we will see three questions, but this time they are not to destroy Peter, no thy are to restore Peter.

• We can practically see Peter and Jesus walking together on the beach after their morning breakfast with the Apostle John following closely behind. John has chosen to write in a way that gives us the opportunity to listen in.

Complete Devotion (Verses 15-17)

• Verse 21:15. Notice a couple of features, Christ addresses Peter very formally. In fact, He does not even call him Peter, no Christ uses the formal name Simon, son of Jonah. Just like in his original calling John 1:42 "Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone)." Christ is demonstrating that service and dedication are not matters of courage or even competence, no service is a matter of Christ Himself.
• You might argue that John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." highlights a major theme of the the book of John, namely, God loves the world! In fact, John votes chapter 12-20 to the passion week, the greatest outpouring of love the world has ever seen. Now as we conclude the book, we ask an important question, does the disciple of Christ reciprocate that love? Here Jesus narrows and asks "more than these" multiple explanations exist, fishing, more than he loves the disciples, or does he love more than the other disciples. Probably, Christ is asking Peter, do you love me more than you love the other disciples?" In particular, during the three details Peter had chosen to show love for man rather than love for Christ. Jesus now asks Peter to play His highest love and dedication in Christ.
• Many languages have more than one word for love and Greek is no different. In John 21 we see Jesus using

As Christians we must have complete devotion to Christ.

The Cost of Devotion (Verses 18-19)

If we are to live devoted to Christ, we must be prepared to give all for Christ.

The Focus of Devotion (Verses 20-23)

Christians must place their focus on Christ, stop measuring themselves against other Christians, and instead measure themselves against Christ, the perfect standard of God.

According to Mark Bailey, the president of Dallas Theological Seminary, the the gospels only give us a total of 52 days in the life of Christ. Moreover, Chapters 12 through 20 of John only give us a window into 7 days of Christ's life. What does this mean, Christ did a whole lot more, but God, in His word has not chosen to reveal those aspects of Christ's life to act of us.

Conclusion

Have you erected a facade of devotion, or are you willing to admit failures of devotion and to throw yourself at the Savior asking for help in your devotion to Him?

Are you prepared to give all for Christ, or do you have a personal reserved area of your life?

Are you distracted by all those around, or is your focus on Christ and Christ alone?

• You may have answered any of these questions in a way that demonstrates failure. Perhaps you committed to Christ a few months ago and are now looking back and seeing failure. Maybe you have fallen back into complacency, maybe your dedication that was before so real has resulted in denial more recently. In John 21 we see an answer to the question, "what about Christians who fail?" The answer is simple, Christ provides forgiveness and asks for devotion. Don't let the failures of the past prevent you from successes today. Instead, let the failures of the past teach you the dangers of complacency and the need to walk fully dedicated. I see no evidence that Peter ever went back to "normal" fishing after these events. Peter put the past behind him and pushed forward in complete devotion to his savior. In fact, tradition holds that Peter suffered martyrdom around AD 67-68 and was crucified upside down, counting himself unworthy to be crucified in the manner of Christ.

References