8 14 16 “Breakfast with the Savior”
John 21:1-14
Jesus used “fishing” as an example of His KINGDOM Power to save and provide from the beginning of His ministry. Do you know what the “Ichthus” is? It is the Greek Word for “fish” but became the “sign of the fish” used by early Christians as a secret Christian identifying symbol and now known also as the "Jesus fish." An acronym of the Greek letters stands for "Jesus Christ, God's Son, Saviour". (Iota (i) is the first letter of Iēsous (Ἰησοῦς), Greek for "Jesus". Chi (ch) is the first letter of Christos (Χριστός), Greek for "anointed". Theta (th) is the first letter of Theou (Θεου), Greek for "God's", the genitive case of Θεรณς, Theos, Greek for "God". Upsilon (y) is the first letter of (h)uios (Υἱός), Greek for "Son". Sigma (s) is the first letter of sōtēr (Σωτήρ), Greek for "Savior".)
According to tradition, ancient Christians, during their persecution by the Roman Empire in the first few centuries after Christ, used the fish symbol to mark meeting places and tombs, or to distinguish friends from foes. According to one ancient story, when a Christian met a stranger in the road, the Christian sometimes drew one arc of the simple fish outline in the dirt. If the stranger drew the other arc, both believers knew they were in good faithfull company.
John 21: 1-13: “Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 "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. 4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5 He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered. 6 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.
7 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. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. 9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. 10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught." 11 Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.”
I. Jesus’ REVELATION
A. Jesus’ appearance is ALWAYS TIMELY, isn’t it? (vs. 4) It’s always according to His perfect plan, and many times it doesn’t fit ours. It may have been that Peter’s denial had stayed with him and he thought, “I failed as a disciple. Let me go back to what I know, to what I do best. Let’s go fishing.” It may just be that human beings need to eat and they were at Galilee, so let’s get some food.
It may be that the disciples were in Galilee because that’s where Jesus told them several times He would appear to them. This appearing is the third time that Jesus appeared to His disciples in the body, and so by this testimony WE are convinced of His Bodily Resurrection.
Jesus also appears at a time of great need. They had fished all night, their profession, and they caught nothing but at Jesus’ command, when they dropped their nets to the opposite side of the boat they caught more fish than they could have imagined.
At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, He taught his disciples in Matthew 4:19: "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." He now is near His Ascension and again uses fishing, food and fellowship as another teaching moment. Not by accident, but very timely.
B. His appearance is COMPASSIONATE. (vs. 5) I don’t want you to miss the essence of the story, that Jesus appeared in his resurrected body and showed his divine power, but He also demonstrates his human-like concern. The term for “Friends” is actually “Children.” This address in the Greek includes the tone and care of a father. These guys were the adopted children that God the Father had entrusted to Jesus; they were the future of the Church. They were HIS, bought with the price of His blood. Jesus’ question, ‘Do you have any fish?” demonstrates the care that God has for us in our temporal everyday needs as well as in our spiritual life; He has promised that his grace will ALWAYS be sufficient to care for us in every way.
C. Verse 9 says: “When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. 10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught." Trust Jesus as LORD to PROVIDE, now as Before. His resurrection and His ascension will not mean abandonment, but MORE care than ever. He is more than capable to provide for our bodies just as He has given us life for our souls.
You could even take it a spiritual step further: Jesus VERY MUCH cares for his Body, the CHURCH. He wants us to be nourished and healthy, NOT emaciated, hungry, or destitute. He provides the divine example of how we also should care for our own bodies, but especially the household of faith. Jesus already knew they had caught nothing, but yet He asks them because He wants them to recognize their needs and their reliance upon Him for all of their needs to be met. As a matter of fact, HE had fish cooking and bread BEFORE they made their extraordinary catch. His resurrected presence is assurance of His continued CARE. Trust Jesus to provide!
D. His appearance is POWERFUL. (vs. 6) Here we have yet another FISH MIRACLE- a supernatural exercise of power through natural means. Jesus directs them specifically with the “where” and the “how”. Following Jesus’ directions always gets powerful positive results. Do you trust YOUR own instincts and logic, or do you trust God’s providence? “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” God’s direction is powerful; There are always results when you obey Christ’s orders.
Exactly 153 LARGE fish filled the net and the net didn’t tear! Not one fish was lost that should have been caught. This was God's way of saying that the gospel will go out into all the world and it would accomplish God’s gospel design for men and women everywhere: To draw whomever God has CALLED to the Saving Grace in Jesus, the Savior, Son of God and not one of them would be lost! Reminds you of what Jesus said in John 6:39; “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me…” No matter what kind of fish we may be dealing with, they can be caught by the net of the gospel. You notice that the net did not break; not one was lost.
The Number “153” is significant in that it is an exact number; it is a large number of LARGE fish to be caught in one net at one time. The number for “53” is the same Greek root word which is in the word Pentecost, “Pentekonta”. It would be just a very short time after Jesus’ Ascension when many were gathered in Jerusalem, including the disciples, and when the Holy Spirit would descend at Pentecost, the great net of the gospel would catch 3,000 people, proving that the Spirit of Jesus and the Power of the Gospel was even MORE POWERFUL AFTER His death than before. The “GREATER THINGS” and “THE GREATER WORKS” which Jesus spoke about earlier to His Disciples would occur in the midst of the disciples and the Word would be preached with such HOLY SPIRIT- POWER that 3,000 human “fish” would be dragged into the Kingdom in a single day!
II. The disciples’ RECEPTION or RESPONSE: The Church’s Resolution
We’ll take just a few minutes to see the Reception or response of the Disciples who were present, realizing that their response should also be the Church’s Resolution; it should be the response of those who are Followers of Christ.
John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, is quick to recognize Jesus and exclaims profoundly: “It is the LORD.” His exclamation, “IT IS THE LORD”, again affirms the deity of Jesus Christ, who died, was buried and risen to save those who would follow Him. Those who are closest to Jesus will RECOGNIZE his work first and PROFESS Jesus AS LORD! Their profession accompanies a heartfelt desire to tell others, so OTHERS will RECOGNIZE Jesus as Sovereign LORD and God and serve Him only.
B. Again we have Peter. He enters the picture with a Big SPLASH! Always full of vim and vigor, jumps off the boat. When he hears the words, “IT IS THE LORD”, it’s, “Gotta go,” Always ready to jump in at a second’s notice. I wish I was more of a Peter sometime. Most would take OFF their outer garment to jump in the water, but Peter throws on his covering; - Peter had it off to work but he wanted himself covered in the presence of the Lord. So he wraps his outer garment around him and dives in. He no doubt wants his denial of Jesus to be behind Him; he wants to be reconciled again to His Savior (which we will see next week).
His zeal shouldn’t be disregarded here but rather commended... He had strong affection for our Lord, and so must all who would QUIT the world in order to obey the command of Jesus to FOLLOW HIM. To come to Jesus is to REVERE Jesus as LORD and to OBEY Him as Lord! He jumps into the water and quickly swims to shore, as the other disciples are dragging the fish and boat in and as soon as they get in, Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish which you caught and we’ll put some of them on the fire, and who is the first one mentioned? “Peter went up and dragged the net to land.” He doesn’t say, “I was first in, let those guys do the work.” He reveres Jesus in His obedience.
C. The rest of the disciples aren’t mentioned specifically, but one thing is certain, they showed themselves to be devoted followers of Christ. They were not as flamboyant as Peter, not as profound as John, but careful and honest, mindful, faithful workers, not attention seekers, just devout Jesus-followers. Hard workers, standing close by to help drag the fish to shore, taking special attention to the work that had to be done, in the presence of the Risen Savior. Their example tells us as the Church to SERVE JESUS AS LORD where and when we are called through OBEDIENCE to the commands of THE LORD.
What were we called to be? You probably learned the song when you were in Sunday School: I WILL MAKE YOU FISHERS OF MEN IF you FOLLOW ME! That song and this story reminds us of the earlier words of Jesus to "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." Opportunities are many! Everyone one of you fits the mold of at least one of the disciples. Some were not fisherman by trade, but that doesn’t matter to Jesus. The GOSPEL NET is to be manned by everyone who has heard the call to FOLLOW JESUS. Everyone here has a valuable part in this church body. Are you in the boat? Are you onboard to cast out the Gospel Net and drag in those whom God has drawn into the net of His Kingdom?
Jesus said in Matthew 13:47: "Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish.” Everyone has a powerful position outside of these walls. We ALL CARRY THE MESSAGE if we have the Spirit of God in us. That’s God’s design for the Church. You may not be exactly like John or Peter: Maybe you have to prayerfully help to drag in the nets, maybe you’ll have to support someone else, walking along side of them in order to drag the net. But God brings a Church body together and perfectly equips us in order to carry out God’s will and plan right here, right now, and we have just what it takes. Don’t hold back, NO ONE is to be a “closet” Christian. No one knows better than you what God wants you to do. SERVE where and when and how God calls when opportunities arise: HE WILL EQUIP. HE WILL PROVIDE!
We are called to be FISHERS OF MEN. We are called to fish for men and women who are drowning-lost in a sea of sin. We throw out the gospel net and we are used by God to drag them into the ark of His Covenant of Grace…SAVED BY HIS GRACE. Let’s go fishing!
OUTLINE
I. Jesus’ REVELATION
A. His appearance is TIMELY(vs. 4)
B. His appearance is COMPASSIONATE. (vs. 5)-“FRIENDS”
C. His appearance is assurance of His continued CARE. Trust Jesus to provide
D. His appearance is POWERFUL. (vs. 6)-Another Fish Miracle
II. The disciples’ RECEPTION and RESPONSE is the resolution of Followers: Their response should be our resolution.
A. John: It is the LORD: RECOGNIZE and Profess Jesus AS LORD!
B. Peter: A Big SPLASH! but first wrapped his outer garment around him: REVERE and Obey Jesus as LORD C. The rest of the disciples: RESPOND in serving Jesus AS LORD where and when you are called through OBEDIENCE –
Devout followers of Christ are honest-hearted, faithful hard-workers, devout Jesus-followers.
