Resurrection and Restoration

John 21

How does the resurrection matter to me today? There are several good answers to this question:

Here’s what the gift of salvation provides:

-       Innocence - Forgiveness is available for those you confess and turn from their sin.

-       Eternal Life - The problem of death is solved because you now have an eternal home

-       Purpose - You get to help others receive what you have.

-       Presence- The Holy Spirit comes to live in you. You are never truly alone.

But you might ask, “what about how I live out my daily life. I struggle to stay on track. I feel like I am constantly disappointing Jesus.” How would Jesus deal with someone who disappointed Him multiple times? 

So glad you asked. The Title of the sermon today is “Resurrection and Restoration” and our passage we will focus on is John 21. But before we get there, let’s retrace the steps of Peter, the lead disciple as he walks through the last days of Jesus’ time on earth.

On Friday night, we looked at Peter’s failure. How the enemy had asked permission to shake Him. 

Luke 22:31–34 (ESV) 

31“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 

32but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” 

33Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.” 

34Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”

Satan requested to sift Peter like wheat. This means the enemy wanted to shake Peter to break him down into pieces. But Jesus prayed for Peter, that even though he will fall, his faith will not be lost and he will be restored and will be useful in the Kingdom. 

But Peter is confident in his commitment to Jesus. He firmly believes he is ready to accompany Jesus to prison and to death. But Peter cannot grasp what is about to happen. He knows the powerful, miracle-working Jesus but he doesn’t know the Jesus who would allow himself to be arrested, shackled, and put on trial. 

Jesus tells Peter exactly what how he would fail. 

John 18:17–18 (ESV) 

17The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” 

18Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.

Peter would go on to deny knowing Jesus two more times before the rooster crowed. 

Luke 22:61–62 (ESV) 

61And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” 

62And he went out and wept bitterly.

Peter has been through it. He has become totally disillusioned and has failed to identify with the one he claimed he was ready to die for. He has denied knowing Jesus. He has failed the one he has followed for 3 years. 

Can you feel the gaze of Jesus on Peter? Can you feel the guilt in Peter’s heart? How could he have fallen from the brash, confident, daring close friend and follower of Jesus to a broken man who denied knowing Jesus? How could this happen literally overnight?

Have you ever felt this way?

Jesus is crucified mostly abandoned by His followers. He dies. He is buried. And then something miraculous happens.

John 20:1–10 (ESV) 

1Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 

2So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 

3So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 

4Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 

5And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 

6Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 

7and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 

8Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 

9for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 

10Then the disciples went back to their homes.

It’s fitting that Peter is one of the first to witness the empty tomb. He may be disillusioned but he hasn’t given up. He’s still trying to figure things out.

Jesus rose from the dead. He did exactly what He said He would do. He did something no one else could do. He conquered death! He paid the price for others to benefit from the price He paid. He offers an incredible gift to those who will repent and believe. As I said at the beginning, Jesus offers innocence, eternal life, purpose, and the presence of His Spirit. 

Still, the question remains, how does this affect those who have failed, those who have become disillusioned with Jesus because He is not who they thought He was?

This is what John 21 is all about.

John 21:1–3 (ESV) 

1After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. 

2Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 

3Simon 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.

The way that Jesus reveals himself is part of the message He has come to convey. Seven of the disciples are back in their homeland. They are from the region of Galilee which is a 4 or 5 day journey from Jerusalem. The Sea of Tiberias is another name for the Sea of Galilee.

Peter leads them to go fishing. For at least three of them, this was their profession. They knew how to fish. They still had access to a boat. John doesn’t tell us what was in they were thinking but we can speculate. They might have been thinking about going back to their old lives. Jesus was gone. They had no vision for the future. At some point they would need to provide for themselves. They might as well get started.

Or, they could have been thinking about feed themselves. Or, they could have just needed dome activity and being in the water felt natural to them. Or, they could have been remembering their call, when Jesus saw them fishing and called them to follow Him and He would make them fishers of men.

They catch nothing and are heading in. And then someone shows up.

John 21:4–6 (ESV) 

4Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 

5Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 

6He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish.

Why they listen to some random guy on the beach, no one knows. But fishermen are always looking for tips to change their luck. They take the man’s advice and they catch more than they can handle.

John 21:7–8 (ESV) 

7That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. 

8The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

Peter leaps at the chance to be with Jesus. The miraculous catch no doubt allayed any fears he had about this meeting. Also, this is the third time Jesus appears to a group that included Peter. He must be dying to get things straightened out with Jesus.

John 21:9 (ESV) 

9When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread.

We must not miss the charcoal fire. It was around another charcoal fire that Peter denied knowing Jesus.

John 21:10–14 (ESV) 

10Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 

11So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. 

12Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 

13Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. 

14This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Jesus literally sits down to breakfast with these seven disciples on the beach in the early morning. Sound idyllic. Jesus is about to conduct important business but there is no sense of doom and gloom.

Jesus addresses Peter. He’s traveled all the way to Galilee to this conversation in a setting Peter was comfortable in. The setting matters. Ladies, if you want to ask you husband to do something or buy something you’re not sure he’s in favor of, when and where do you bring it up? Probably not outside in the hot July sun while he’s doing yard work. 

Jesus pays attention to the setting and this expresses his affection for His followers. Jesus knows how to communicate. He knows where to communicate and He knows when to communicate.

John 21:15-18 (ESV) 

15When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 

16He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 

17He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.

Jesus uses Peter’s old name when He addresses him. Jesus had given him the name Peter. As John MacArthur says, ““Jesus called Peter by his old man because he was acting like his old self.” He has gone back to fishing at least for a day. Jesus sees the trends on our lives and He is great at pointing them out.

Sitting around a charcoal fire, Jesus asks the same question three times. Jesus is giving Peter the opportunity to be restored for the disaster that happened when he was asked the same question three times by another charcoal fire. Then the question was do you know Jesus?

Jesus asks Peter three times, “do you love me?” Some have thought that the fact that Jesus uses a different Greek word for love than Peter uses in the first two question indicates that Peter and Jesus are talking about different kinds of levels of love. This is unlikely because the two words for love “agape” and “phileo” are used as synomyns throughout John’s writings. 

The issue is not the type or level of love, rather the issue is whether or not Simon Peter loves Jesus after everything that has happened. Jesus wants Peter to say he love Jesus three times as a way to replace Peter’s three denials that indicated he didn’t love Jesus. Also, Jesus is giving Peter the assignment to be a shepherd to His followers. These followers would soon explode in numbers. Jesus is saying, “Peter, your restoration and your assignment are all about your love for me.”

Applications

Are you struggling to live like you know Jesus?

Have you become disillusioned with Jesus? 

Do you struggle to live a life that pleases Him?

You repent but nothing seems to change. Though you want to turn around, you never really do.

I want to encourage you with This.

Imagine you are having breakfast with Jesus in your favorite breakfast spot in your town. You are remembering the things you have been doing that make it look like you don’t know Jesus. Jesus looks right at you and says, “do you love me?” And He says it over and over again to correspond to the number of your failures. 

People can say they have been saved and they are repentant but that can all just be another form of works salvation if they do not love Jesus. That’s why Jesus named Matthew 22:37-38 as the greatest commandment. 

Matthew 22:37–38 (ESV) 

37And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 

38This is the great and first commandment.

A lack of love for Jesus is sin. When you do things that dishonor Him, you are failing to love Him. Repentance without love for Jesus is incomplete repentance.

The resurrection opens the door for your restoration. 

Each of us have to answer the question Jesus asked Peter. 

Do you love Jesus?

The good news is when you love Jesus you get to help take care of His sheep, His followers. You get to help others know Jesus, follow Jesus, and love Jesus.

Close

Will you love Jesus, today?