Will It Be Enough? - John 21:15-19 - April 8, 2012
Series: Resurrection Sunday (Easter 2012)
For Martin and Gracia Burnham, missionaries in the Philippines, it should have been one of the most wonderful moments of their lives. It was, in fact, their 18th wedding anniversary and they were celebrating it by getting away to an island resort. At first it was everything they had hoped it would be, but the joy turned to terror when Abu Sayef guerrillas burst into their room one night. Although they had no way of knowing it at the time, they would spend the next year of their lives in captivity, trudging through the jungles at gunpoint, as the guerillas decided what to do with them.
Some months into their ordeal word came that Gracia’s family had collected a sizable amount of ransom money in order to purchase their release. The question on every one’s heart was this: Would it be enough? Would it be enough to satisfy the guerillas demands? Would it be enough to purchase their freedom? Would it be enough to give them a new lease on life?
Will it be enough? That’s a question that we ask at different times as well, isn’t it? Take your favorite sports team, they practice endlessly for the big game, when the moment comes, the question you’re asking is: Will it be enough to win the championship? … A general, committing his troops to the battlefield, wonders in his heart: Will it be enough to ensure victory? … A marriage in trouble, a couple seeking help, the question overwhelming them: Will it be enough to save their relationship? … And on and on it goes: Will it be enough? Is a question we have asked ourselves many times.
This morning I want to introduce you to a man who is asking that same question. His name is Peter and he was one of the first disciples that Jesus called to come and follow Him. And that's important to note this morning because it means that Peter was with Jesus from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. That’s means he would have been there for many of the miracles that we read about in the pages of the Bible. He was what we would call an eye witness to lives being changed as Jesus ministered to those in need. Peter was there when the blind received their sight – he was there when they saw the world around them for the first time. He was there when the lame were healed and took their first steps, and when those with leprosy were restored he was there to see the gratitude on their faces. He was there when Jesus fed thousands from a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish and he was there when Jesus raised the dead to life. He saw all this and more with his own eyes because he was there!
Friends, you need to understand that this fisherman named Peter was a man of extremes. He lived life passionately. It was Peter who got out of the boat and walked on the water when Jesus called him to come to Him. It’s Peter who got all wet when he took his eyes off of Jesus and began to sink beneath the waves. It was Peter who, when Jesus began to speak of the necessity of His coming death and resurrection, took Jesus aside and tried to rebuke Him for saying such things. It’s Peter who refuses to let Jesus wash his feet that last night. It’s Peter who Jesus rebuked for such a refusal and it’s Peter who then cries out “not just my feet then but my whole body.” He truly is a man of extremes.
And it’s Peter who boldly proclaimed that he would lay down his life for Jesus. It’s Peter who drew his sword and attacked the servant of the High Priest the night Jesus was betrayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. And it’s Peter who told Jesus to his face that he would never deny Him no matter what may come.
And friends, it’s Peter who’s asking that question: Is it enough? Open your Bibles with me, please, to the Gospel of Luke - Luke, chapter 22, beginning in, verse 54. This is what we read there …
“Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.” But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said. A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” “Man, I am not!” Peter replied. About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.” Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.” (Luke 22:54–62, NIV)
Those were tears of remorse and shame and brokenness; tears of self-revulsion and despair. Tears shed by a man who had done the very thing he vowed he would never do. Tears shed by a man who has failed himself and failed his friends. Tears shed by a man who comes face to face with who he really is and doesn’t like what he sees. Those are tears shed by a man who now knows a level of despair he did not know existed before that moment in time.
And it’s only going to get worse. With the benefit of hindsight we know what’s to come. Things go downhill fast. Peter is probably there when the crowds call out for Jesus to be crucified. He’s there when Jesus is beaten, mocked and scorned. He is there when Jesus is nailed to the cross. And he is there, powerless to change anything, as Jesus sheds his blood and life is given over to death. He is there when the body of Christ is taken down from the cross and laid in a tomb. Perhaps he is there as the stone was rolled across the opening, sealing out all light and taking with it, all hope.
“This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be,” Peter must have thought. Everything he had hoped for, worked for, longed for, prayed for – all of it crashing down around him in those days. Truth is, sometimes life just doesn’t turn out like you expect it will. Dreams are shattered and hopes are crushed. And some of you, perhaps all of us in some way, know the reality of those things personally. We know hopelessness, despair and grief, pain and sorrow and suffering. And we’re told to look to the cross and to the empty tomb and like Peter we are left wondering what it all means. Yet inside, deep within our hearts, there is a flickering of hope as we wonder: Will it be enough, for me?
Scripture tells us that in the days following the resurrection and those moments in which Peter wondered what it all meant, that the risen Jesus began to appear to the disciples. You see, Christ’s body hadn’t been stolen. It had not been moved nor removed. God had raised Jesus from the dead. And the apostle Paul gives testimony to these things in the book of 1 Corinthians where we read these words …
“Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved … For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also.” (1 Corinthians 15:1–8, NIV)
Folks, hundreds of people saw Jesus after he had been raised from the dead. They walked with Him and talked with Him and ate with Him. They sat and listened to His teaching. Thomas, full of doubt, touched the wounds the nails had left and finally believed that the one who stood before him really was Jesus. These men and women were eye witnesses to the reality of the resurrection – Jesus who had been dead had been raised to life! It is a historical fact verified by hundreds of witnesses who bore testimony to it with their lives! This is the wonder of the empty tomb that we read about earlier today. This is the wonder that is still for us today – that Jesus who died has been raised to new life by the power of God.
And Peter was among them. He was among those to whom Jesus appeared. But Peter is uncharacteristically silent during this time. We have no record of his response to these things until several days later when the risen Jesus appears to the disciples for the third time. Turn to the Gospel of John with me for a few moments. There is a passage of Scripture there that we need to see today. John 21 and we’ll begin reading in verse 1 …
“Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. “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.
Now I don’t know if you see it or not … but Peter’s still fishing. Jesus, his friend, his teacher, his Lord, has been crucified, died and has been buried, has been three days in the tomb – but now the tomb is empty. The body has not been moved. It has not been stolen. God has raised Jesus up to new life. Christ has been resurrected. And Peter is still fishing. He’s still in his old life and his old way of living with it’s values and priorities. He’s witnessed the life, death and resurrection of Jesus but he doesn’t yet comprehend what it all means. In his guilt and shame and fear he is still wondering: Is it enough?
And some of you are in the same place that Peter is. You’ve heard of Jesus, maybe gone to church for years even. Every Christmas you hear of the birth of Christ, every Good Friday, the death of Jesus, every Easter Sunday the resurrection of the Lord. But you’re still fishing. You’re still wondering what it means. You’re still trying to figure out if it is enough. The truth is that some of you haven’t yet accepted what it means and your life, like Peter’s hasn’t changed. You’re going through the actions of practicing your religion rather than living out your faith.
If I could sit down with each of you individually this day I would ask you to tell me about your relationship with Jesus Christ. Let me tell you right now that some of you would struggle to do so because you don’t have a relationship with Jesus. You know a lot about Him – you might be able to quote facts and verses and tell me about all the miracles – but you can’t tell me about the place Jesus has in your life – because He doesn’t. You know about Him but you do not know Him personally. Like Peter you are still wrapped up in sin and shame and darkness and at the same time you are trusting that you are living a good enough life to be acceptable to God. Yet you have no assurance of salvation, no release from the burden of guilt and shame that sin brings, no freedom from bondage to sin, no hope in death and no peace in life. You, like Peter, hear of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and you’re still wondering: Is it enough? Is it enough to transform your life? Is it enough to replace despair with hope; fear with peace, shame with forgiveness? Is it enough to change the entire focus of your life – your values, priorities, and dreams? Is it enough to bring you new life? Let’s keep reading …
Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. 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. 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. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 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. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. As He did so I wonder if they flashed back to that last night when Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and shared it with them. And I wonder if they remembered the words He had spoken that night, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” (Luke 22:19) That was just before He took the cup, again gave thanks, and passed it to them saying “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:27-28) They didn’t understand those words at the time but now, in light of the death and resurrection, those words took on a whole new meaning.
Folks, understand this: the cross is the one place where the wrath of God and the love of God come together in the person of Jesus Christ. By the grace of God, the sins of the world were heaped upon Jesus that day. Your sins, my sins, Peter’s sins. In His flesh, through His blood, He pays the penalty that God’s holiness demands. He who was without sin, becomes sin for us, that through Him we might become the righteousness of Christ. That’s hard to wrap our minds around; it’s difficult to put in perspective. But let’s try …
Take every sin you’ve ever committed – sins of commission things you have done but ought not to have done – and sins of omission – things you did not do but out to have done. Take every lie – no matter how little it seems to you – that you’ve ever told, consider every lust filled look at someone else that you have cherished, every covetous thought that you’ve pursued, every angry word you have spoken, every selfish deed you’ve relished in, every careless act you have undertaken. Add to that every denial of God that your lips have spoken or your actions have proclaimed, every rejection of God’s word, His will and His ways in favor of your own, and know that the punishment for the least of those things was eternal separation from God in a place of everlasting torment. That is what our deeds have earned for us. That’s what God’s justice and holiness demand. This is what God’s wrath is poured out against and not a one of us can stand before such wrath and declare our innocence, for just as Peter did, so to do we know our own guilt. And that is why Peter is wondering: Is it enough? Is the blood of Christ enough to atone for my sins? Could God ever love me? Forgive me? Call me His own? Give me a future? Can God deliver me from death to life, from bondage to sin to freedom in Jesus?
Romans 5:8 says that “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) On the cross God’s wrath was confronted with God’s love and the result was this amazing thing that we call “grace” today. To receive grace is to receive unmerited, undeserved, unearned favor from another. When we accept that Jesus died on our behalf, to satisfy the punishment our sin demands, so that we might stand before God forgiven and cleansed of sin and shame and darkness, we receive God’s grace – His unmerited favor – favor that we do not deserve and cannot earn … but favor that is poured out upon us none-the-less.
Look back to our Scripture passage in the Gospel of John. John 21 verse 15 … This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead. 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.” 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.” 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.
Friends, Jesus has a special word for Peter here - Peter who felt worthless, shamed, and fearful because of his own sin. Peter who might have feared that Jesus could never forgive him nor love him after what he had done. And Jesus knows it. When the women discovered the empty tomb one of the angels said to them this: “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter. ” (Mark 16:6–7, NIV) “Tell His disciples and Peter.” Why would he say that? Peter was one of the disciples – why speak his name separately? Because Peter needed to know that it was enough. That through the death of Jesus even Peter’s sins had been forgiven and that Peter was able to experience God’s grace.
And that’s what’s happening here. Peter is being forgiven in a way that he can understand. He’s being transformed. He’s receiving God’s grace in Jesus Christ. Peter’s life began to change when he first met Jesus; it was transformed when he accepted the work of the cross and the reality of the empty tomb personally!
Jesus goes on to say to Peter … 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.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”” (John 21:1–19, NIV)
“Follow Me!” and Peter did. This man who denied Jesus, who hid in fear, who turned away, this man who was a fisherman became a fisher of men! Shame replaced by grace, fear replaced by boldness, sorrow replaced by joy, despair replaced by hope! He truly became a new creation in Jesus Christ – his whole life was transformed!
I began this morning by telling you about the ransom paid for Martin and Gracia Burnham. Unfortunately it was not enough. They endured several more months of captivity, and then, during the operation to set them free, Martin was shot and killed. But today Martin celebrates the resurrection in the presence of the risen Lord because 2000 years ago, long before he was ever born, another ransom was paid. It was paid in the blood of Jesus Christ and the fact that it was enough for Martin, for Peter, for you and for me, was proclaimed for all the world to see when Jesus rose from the grave. The empty tomb is God’s proclamation that it is enough! The ransom has been paid and we have been set free to new life in Christ Jesus our Lord!
Like Peter we enter into this world, alive physically, but dead spiritually because of sin. We are born again, to new life, this time spiritually, when we receive the grace that God has shown us in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We believe, repent of sin, receive mercy and become new creations in Christ. A transformation which results in a new beginning as we live, like the apostle Paul says, by faith in the son of God who loved us and gave His life for us. And God’s final word is that it is enough!
Let’s pray. ….
Lord’s Supper …
I’ll ask the servers to come forward at this time please and as they come you’ll notice that on the table before me are the elements of the Lord’s Supper – the bread and the cup. The bread is a reminder of the body of Christ given over to death to atone for our sins, the cup a reminder of the blood that was shed that our sins could be forgiven. They are a reminder of the day when both the wrath, and the love, of God, came together in Jesus. The result is the grace that we can receive today through faith. And it is enough for you and for me and for all whom the Lord will call.
Don Francisco sings a song called, “He’s Alive.” It tells the story of the resurrection from Peter’s perspective – the turmoil Peter goes through and the grace he finally receives. The great line in the song is this: “He’s alive, and I’m forgiven, Heaven’s gates are opened wide!” And that’s true for every one of us who believes this morning as well.
As the bread and the cup are being served this morning I’ll ask you to hold on to them until everyone has been served and then we will eat and drink of them together. In the mean time we have a video clip to watch. May this be an opportunity for each of us to praise God, to ponder God’s word which we have heard this day; to give Him thanks for the cross and tomb which are both empty, and to give thanks that Christ lives today! Amen? Amen!
Serve bread and cup and play video …
He is risen … (He is risen indeed!) Let us eat and drink with thanksgiving in our hearts!
Closing Song …
Thank you for joining us …
Benediction …
