#35 – Knowing God Better – John 21

I’ve really enjoyed being in this study with you. At the start, I thought I’d be writing maybe 7 or 8 emails. But once you get into Scripture, it’s tough to pull out or hit the surface.

When I first received Christ, I was so excited to read the Bible and see God’s perspective on life. At the time, I was a student, the very end of high school. I realized that I had to alternate nights…studying one night, reading the Bible the next.

It was the only way to get the studying in!

Well, here we are at the last chapter of John. The disciples are probably still trying to figure out their lives now that Jesus is not with them. Peter does the sensible thing and goes fishing. Back to his normal way of life: fishing.

3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”
“We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.

Bummer to try to return to your old, familiar way of life, only to find out it isn’t working any more.

4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. 5 He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?”
“No,” they replied.
6 Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.

They’d seen miracles before.

7 …the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!”

There’s John again, referring to himself as “the disciple Jesus loved.” When they got to shore, Jesus had breakfast ready for them.

10 “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said.
11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.

12 “Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.

I’m wondering why it would cross their minds to ask who he was. Maybe Jesus didn’t look quite the same. Maybe it now took some faith to know him…just like we know him, not based on physical appearance.

13 Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. 14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.

Now we see an interesting dialogue between Jesus and Peter.

15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”
“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.

If you’ll read John 21, you’ll see that Jesus asks him this question three times, which hurt Peter’s feelings some. Jesus told Peter to feed and take care of his sheep.

Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.

You know that Jesus isn’t talking literally about sheep. He’s referring back to what we read in John 10:14:

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.

And John 10:27:

27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me…

So Jesus is now telling Peter to feed his sheep.

Q – Why do you think Jesus asked Peter if Peter loved him?
A –

Q – Why do you think Peter’s love for Jesus would be the requirement for Peter’s job of feeding Jesus’ sheep?
A –

Here’s why I think Peter would need to love Jesus in order to do this job. Peter would face persecution, just like Jesus did. Jesus talks about this next:

18 “I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”

There is only one motivation strong enough to endure that…if you love Jesus. If you are convinced that he is the Lord, the Savior of the world.

I used to think it was kind of mean for Jesus to tell Peter this. But then I wondered if it might have been extremely kind. Here’s why.

After Jesus’ arrest, Peter (out of fear) had denied he even knew Jesus – not once, but three times. Jesus was now telling Peter that Peter would be faithful to Jesus for the rest of his life, until death.

In some ways, that would be encouraging to Peter. It would give him confidence in his leadership role, in feeding other believers, in helping others know Jesus, like he knew Jesus.

Next lesson will be our last. I’ll wrap up the end of John’s gospel.

Sincerely,

Marilyn Adamson
director of EveryStudent.com
and StartingwithGod.com