Pastor Scott Andrews | February 18, 2024
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John 21:1–19
I shared this poem with you 15 years ago, so most of you weren’t here, and the rest of you won’t remember it – so I’ll share it again. By T.C. Hamlet, it’s entitled “Two Frogs in Cream.”
Two frogs fell in a can of cream.
Or so I’ve heard it told;
The sides of the can were shiny and steep,
The cream was deep and cold.
“O, what’s the use?” croaked No. 1.
“Tis fate; no help’s around.
Good–bye, my friends! Good-bye, sad world!”
And weeping still, he drowned.
But number 2, of sterner stuff,
Dog-paddled in surprise,
The while he wiped his creamy face,
And dried his creamy eyes.
“I’ll swim awhile, at least,” he said –
Or so I’ve heard he said;
“It really wouldn’t help the world
If one more frog were dead.”
An hour or two he kicked and swam,
Not once he stopped to mutter,
But kicked and swam and swam and kicked,
Then hopped out, via butter!
I’m sure you’ve probably never stopped to think that life can be like a frog in a can of cream. But I’m sure most of us can relate to the seeming endless kicking and frequent frustrations that accompany the Christian life. And what becomes especially irritating is when those frustrating circumstances are of our own making, our own negligence, our own apathy, or even worse, our own failure. We strive to be what God wants us to be, labor over decisions, only to find, at times, we fail to measure up to God’s call, we fail to make the right decisions.
As you turn to John 21 this morning, ponder these questions: Have you ever failed the Lord? Failed to measure up? Failed to fulfill God’s purpose for your life in a given situation? Have you ever seemed unable to know the peace that comes with God’s forgiveness after you failed? This morning, I want to encourage you to keep kicking – to keep your head above water. I want to encourage you with the truth of Philippians 1:6, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” I hope to encourage you by showing from the life of Peter that despite our failures, we are going to triumph in Jesus Christ. You see, the last time we were together in Luke, we saw Jesus calling Peter in dramatic fashion. After a fruitless, night-long fishing expedition, Jesus instructed Peter and Andrew to push out in the deep and let down the nets. Not the best fishing plan – what do you know, Jesus, you’re a carpenter.
But, He was also the Master, so they did. And the catch was unlike anything they’d ever seen – nets breaking, two boats sinking – clearly miraculous. Peter realized he was in the presence of Someone other. He fell to his knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” To which Jesus responded, “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.” And so, they pulled their boats and nets and presumably the fish up on shore, left everything and followed Him. Thus began a three-year amazing journey. Perhaps you’ve had your own Luke 5 experience – why, you can even remember the day Jesus called you to Himself.
But now, we roll the clock forward: past the Last Supper, the night of His betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane, to when Peter denied three times he even knew Jesus. What would he do now?
And you may be sitting there thinking, “I can relate – I’ve failed too many times. I don’t have what it takes. For whatever reason, despite my best efforts, I’m a failure. I’m a failure at home. I’m a failure at work. I’m a failure at school. I’m a failure in my relationships. God could never use me. In fact, I’ll just sit and be a spectator – a fan. I’ll come on Sundays, but don’t expect me to do anything – don’t expect me to get involved – I’ll just disappoint you.” And now, you think your place in the church is at the bottom or on the sidelines. Your impact minimal, unimportant, insignificant, non–existent. I hope we have people like that here this morning – people who have blown it miserably – because this message is for you. The message is for all of us, because we all blow it – but the truth is, God is eager to restore us. The message today is this: God uses everybody, even the most unlikely characters of all – even the most unlikely person sitting in this room. How do I know? Look at the story of Peter.
I don’t know what comes to mind when you think of Peter. Some think of the strong guy at Pentecost – first leader of the church. Others think of a man who was constantly messing up – a guy who boasted too loudly, constantly ran his mouth, prayed too little, slept too much, acted too fast, and followed too far. The fact is, Peter was a man who needed a Savior, just like you, just like me; who needed forgiveness, again and again, just like you, just like me; and who needed to be transformed, just like you, just like me. You see, Peter had one thing going for him: in all his shortcomings, his frailties and failures, he had passionate heart for Jesus. He was owned by Christ, whose power is perfected in weaknesses. Some of you need to hear that this morning. You need to know that this unschooled, ignorant, fighting, fearful, inept, sometimes faithless man God used to turn the world upside down. He is an encouragement to every person who has ever had the thought, Jesus could never use me.
We know Peter as the disciple with the foot–shaped mouth. He was impetuous – he said and did things without thinking, and it got him into trouble all the time. Outside of Jesus, Peter is the central figure in the gospels. In the list of disciples, he’s always first. He was first among the disciples. Apart from Jesus, no one is mentioned in the New Testament more than Peter. No other person speaks as often, or is spoken to as often. No disciple is reproved as often, and no one but Peter is so presumptuous as to reprove the Lord. No other disciple so boldly confessed Christ, and so boldly denied Him. No one was so praised by Jesus, and no one else was called Satan by Jesus. He failed the Lord many times. His biggest problem seemed to be his mouth. He was always opening it, always interrupting, continually asking questions, frequently giving advice and sometimes even commands. Most of the time, he didn’t even know what he was talking about.
You know the stories. In Matthew 14, he said, “Lord, let me walk with you on the water” – then he took his eyes off Jesus, and found himself sinking, unable to keep his head above water. Like a frog, in a can of cream.
There was the time Jesus was teaching on forgiveness, and Peter interrupted, how many times should I forgive someone – seven times? Peter knew the tradition of the elders –you’re supposed to forgive someone three times, so he thought he was being real magnanimous. Seven times, Lord, aren’t you impressed? Not really Peter, you should forgive seventy times seven.
There’s the time Jesus was talking about His coming crucifixion, and Peter pulled Him aside and said, “God forbid it – I’ll never let that happen to you.” That’s when Jesus said, “Get behind me, Satan.”
The very next chapter, Matthew 17, was the Mount of Transfiguration – Jesus was transformed before them. “Lord, it was good for us to be here. Let us build three tabernacles – one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” This time, God Himself reproved Peter from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, be quiet and listen to Him!”
At the Last Supper, Jesus was teaching on servanthood. He took a towel and a bowel of water, and He began to wash the disciples’ feet. He got to Peter, who said, no way, Lord – not me – I could never let You do that. Jesus said, if I don’t wash your feet, you have no part of me. Okay, then give me a bath. Peter, sit down and be quiet – you just don’t get it.
Later that evening, Jesus prophesied all the disciples would fall away – desert Him, flee that very night. It was, after all, a fulfillment of prophecy – strike the shepherd, and the sheep will scatter. Peter’s response? Not me, Lord, you can count I me. I’ll follow you – even if everyone deserts. I’ll follow you, even to death. Peter, Satan has desired to have you – to sift you like wheat. But I’ve prayed for you. Peter’s response? You’ve got it all wrong, Jesus – you forget who you’re talking to – even though all fall away, I’ll never desert you. Peter, before the rooster crows, this very night, you will deny me three times.
When they got to Gethsemane that evening, Peter couldn’t even stay awake. And then the final act in the drama of redemption began to unfold. They came to take Jesus, ultimately to the cross, to fulfill the script written before the creation of the world, to provide redemption for mankind, and what did Peter do? He drew a sword and cut off Malchus’ ear. He actually tried to prevent Jesus from going to the cross, even though Jesus had been telling them for months what He was going to do.
Jesus took this guy – this inconsistent, big–mouthed, bumbling, self–centered man, and made him first among the disciples. Peter is an encouragement to every person who has ever tried and blown it. The one who tries really hard, but often does it wrong. The one who has a passionate heart for Jesus. Because, you see, Peter’s life doesn’t end there. We get to John 21 and find Peter down – perhaps as down as we have seen since that night of Jesus’ betrayal. And, we find him failing the Lord, yet one more time. Maybe you too have failed, yet one more time, and you’re down. I want you to listen carefully as we look at John 21:1-14.
We’ll stop there for now. Our outline will look like this:
- Peter’s Untimely Failure (1-3)
- The Lord’s Understanding Restoration (4-17)
- Peter’s Ultimate Triumph (18-19)
In Matthew 28, Jesus told His disciples to go to Galilee and wait for Him there. They went, but when they get there, Peter said one evening, “I’m going fishing.” You need to understand he was saying more than that he was taking the evening off for a leisurely fishing trip. This is the first time since Jesus called Peter to be a fisher of men we see him fishing commercially for fish. Remember Luke 5, “Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not fear; from now on you will be catching men.’ When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.” And for 3 years, the boats sat on the shore, the nets dried out, and Peter does not fish. He followed the Lord, failures and all. Do you remember when Jesus called you to be a follower?
And yet, we get to John 21 after his most significant failure, that of denying the Lord, and we find he was quitting. He had failed the Lord for the last time and was quitting the call Jesus had given him to be a fisher of men. He no doubt felt he could never measure up to the high calling God had given, he chucks it in. He was returning to his old way of life as a miserable failure. Maybe still a fan, but not a follower.
Before we’re too hard on Peter, let me ask you, have you ever felt like that? Lord, I just can’t do it – I can’t be what you want me to be. I’ve failed for the last time, I quit. I think that’s exactly how Peter felt. So the text says he with his friends got in the boat and fished all night and, interestingly, caught nothing.
Don’t miss that. While it had been over three years since they had last fished, they were pros. They didn’t break out the rod and reel. They used nets and a boat. They knew what they were doing – night was the best time to fish, they knew the best spots, and they caught nothing. The emphasis is on the word that – that night they caught nothing – this was unusual.
Why stress that? Those of you familiar with the story know Jesus is going to perform a miracle. They’re going to catch a lot of fish. But, what we overlook is the miracle actually begun that night. Their nets looked like neon signs all night that said “Danger – Stay Away!” Now, before moving to our next point, allow me to make a couple of points of application:
First, a lack of success may be of a lack of God’s blessing. I don’t want to make more than is here, but the next time things aren’t going well – at home, work or school – when you’re not seeing the success you would like, maybe you should examine your priorities – maybe God is trying to get your attention – perhaps, not always, but perhaps you are neglecting what God wants you to do, and you need to refocus.
Second, misplaced priorities can have a detrimental effect on the lives of others. Notice, Peter said, “I’m going fishing,” and six others said, “We’ll go with you.” If he was in fact abandoning his God-given responsibilities, his disobedience resulted in the disobedience of those around him as they followed his example.
So, Peter and his buddies returned to fishing, but Jesus had other plans, which brings us to point two, The Lord’s Understanding Restoration. After fishing all night and catching nothing, Jesus appeared to them as a stranger on the seashore. They didn’t realize it was Jesus. Jesus called, asking, “Children, you don’t have any fish, do you?” It’s worded in a way to expect a negative answer. How did He know? Because He had kept the fish away all night. The dejected answer came back “No.”
So, the stranger recommends they throw their net on the right side of the boat. As I understand it, it was not uncommon for someone standing up high on the seashore to look down into the water and see a school of fish. And so, the disciples, assuming this, complied and cast out their net.
Now, you need to understand what happened here. First, Jesus kept the fish away all night. Now as the disciples cast the net again, every fish in the Sea of Galilee made a beeline for the net. Before the net spoke of danger, now it invited the fish to respond to the Master’s call. There were so many fish seven grown men were unable to pull it into the boat – they had to tow it ashore. Meaning, when God does a miracle, He does it right – verse 11 says there were only large fish – no little fish here. This was some fish story.
Why did Jesus do this? Why perform this miracle? To remind Peter of his Luke 5 experience. I think it was a subtle rebuke. He was standing on the shore, where they should have been, and He was saying, “I’m still here, I’m still the Lord, I called you to be fishers of men, there’s work to do, what are you doing out there in the boat?”
Is God saying that to you? We face a particularly trying, troublesome time, maybe a time of failure, and it causes us to misplace priorities, we forget about the Lord and what He called us to. And so, to get our attention, God in His rich mercy, subtly rebukes us, He might work the miraculous. He reminds us He is still God, still in control, and there’s still work to be done.
Think about it. The disciples were in the same water, same boat, same net, same techniques. They didn’t change anything, except now they were listening to God. And under the same circumstances they found failure, they now found success. Interesting, when they pulled up the net, it was like deja vu. We’ve seen this before – this already happened once. And it had – it was almost the same story 3 years earlier when Jesus called them to be fishers of men. Again, it was a subtle rebuke, quietly asking them, what are you doing in the boat? It hit John first, and you can almost here him say in a hushed, excited whisper, “It is the Lord.”
Hearing those words, Peter immediately remembers Luke 5, the great catch of fish, the calling to be a disciple – a follower – the last 3 years, and he asks himself, “What am I doing out here?” He jumps in the water, swims ashore to find Jesus already had breakfast prepared for them – on a charcoal fire. That’s interesting – when Peter was in Caiphas’ courtyard, denying the Lord, he was warming himself by a charcoal fire. This whole story, even the smell, reminds Peter of his failure.
Why did Jesus have breakfast for them? To remind them He would take care of them. Remember the 5000 with two fish? The 4000 with a few small fish? They ate their breakfast in silence, perhaps wondering what would come next. But, before we get to that, let me point out some thoughts just for fun. Notice the Scripture records, very clearly, they caught 153 fish. Commentators for centuries have tried to assign a particular meaning to that number. Consider:
1. Cyril of Alexandria said: 100 = Gentiles
50 = Jews
3 = Trinity
153 Total!
Do you get the significance? Neither do I.
2. Another scholar pointed out that once Jesus took five loaves and divided them, and there were twelve baskets left over. Five plus twelve equals seventeen. Why is this important? Hold on.
3. St. Augustine said: 10 = Law (i.e., Ten Commandments)
7 = Grace
17 again
It you add 17+16+15+14…3+2+1=153!
4. Jerome said there were 153 species of fish known in the Sea of Galilee at that time. This, he said, speaks of universality of the Gospel message. Can you believe it, there was one of every species of fish in the net.
5. Present Author – “The number of fish caught is given, 153. The number of nations of the world known at that time was exactly 153. How significant this is! Thus, all the nations of the world will be gathered into his kingdom.”
I’ll tell you what I think 153 means. It means it was a lot of fish! Fisherman of that day (and remember, the author John was a fisherman) would immediately recognize this was some catch – 153 fish and all large. Wow – this borders on the miraculous! Exactly.
But let’s not forget the main point: Jesus is restoring them in a time of failure. In the following verses, Jesus probes the innermost corners of Peter’s heart. Let’s read verses 5-17.
Peter knows right off this is going to be a serious conversation when Jesus calls him by his given name, Simon, and not the name Peter He had given him. You’re acting like the old Simon, not the rock Peter. And He asks Peter three questions. First, Simon, do you truly love me more than these? These what? Two ideas:
First, these things could refer to the fishing equipment, boats, nets, etc. Do you truly love me more than fishing, if so, what were you doing out there last night? I called you away from these tasks and gave you the work of the kingdom. Could God be asking you the same thing? Do you truly love me more than the things in life that keep you from the life to which I called you? Isn’t it easy to get sidetracked, to amoral things like fishing, be it recreation or career, that prevent us from performing the things God called us to do.
Second, “These” could refer to the other disciples. You said you did. Peter had boasted he loved Jesus the most, that is, even if all others forsook him, he would not – he would follow Jesus and even die for Him. Another subtle rebuke at Peter’s actions, drawing his mind back to his three-fold denial.
Now, we need to be aware of the choice of words used by Jesus and Peter during this conversation. There are different words for love in the Greek language, and they can refer to different kinds of love. Two of those words appear in the Scripture, agape and philia. Most of the time, I think we make too much of the differences in the words – most of the time, they’re just synonyms. But when John switches them within a conversation, we should take notice.
Jesus asks Peter the first time, do you have an agape, that is, a self–sacrificing love for me? Peter couldn’t say yes – he’d be lying – his denials proved that. So he responds, “Yes Lord, you know that I have a philia love for you – you know that I have a brotherly affection for you.” Verse 16, again, Jesus asks Peter, do you have an agape love for me. And again, Peter answers, Lord, you know that I have a philia love for you.
And Jesus gives commands, tend My lambs, shepherd My sheep. The first time, He spoke of lambs, the second, of sheep, perhaps speaking of the all-encompassing nature of caring for young and old, new and mature believers alike.
But now, in verse 17, we have the knockout blow. Jesus asks Peter a third time, do you love me? Only this time, He uses Peter’s word. Peter, do you even have a philia love/a brotherly affection for me? The text says Peter was grieved. His love and loyalty for the Lord had been brought into question a third time, perhaps reminding him of the three times he had failed the Lord in the courtyard. Try to understand the emotion which must have flooded Peter’s soul at this very moment. He had been cut to the heart with that third question.
And yet he responds with one of the greatest statements in Scripture: “Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you.” He appealed to the Lord’s omniscience. You know all things! Yes, you know I’ve failed over and over. You know I denied you three times. You know I failed you last night. But Lord, you are also able to look at my heart – please don’t look at my actions – look at my heart and know that I love you.
The truth is, He knows us when we fail Him. I am not trying to minimize the importance of our failures, but I am trying to encourage you through them. He knows when we fail Him, if we truly belong to Him, it grieves us. And there are times you come to the end of a day, to the end of a week and say, Jesus, I blew it. Please look, not at my actions, but look at my heart and know that I love you. And when He has us at that point, when we are at the bottom, and we have no where to look but to Him, He will restore.
Notice one other thought. Peter’s denials had been rather public. He vehemently denied he knew the Lord before all those standing in the courtyard that evening. There’s no doubt his denials had become known by the disciples. And I’m sure his status was now in question. Would he ever be an effective leader in the future church? Jesus answers the question for them. Yes, he had denied the Lord publicly, but now, the Lord rebuked him, restored him, and recommissioned him publicly. Peter, shepherd – pastor, care for My sheep. Notice, they are His sheep, not Peter’s, not mine, not any pastor’s.
So in closing, look at verses 18–19 as we see Peter’s Ultimate Triumph.
Peter was now where Jesus wanted him to be, and He said, Peter, you’re right, I do know all things. I do know that you love me. In fact, Peter, you will one day prove you have an agape – a self–sacrificing love for Me – you will die for Me.
The idea here is that when you were young, you were impetuous – you said what you wanted and went where you wanted to go. But, when you are old, someone else will dress you and lead you where you don’t want to go. They will stretch out your hands and you will die for me. Most believe Jesus revealed to Peter he would die for Him on a cross. The one to lead him where he did not want to go would be an executioner.
In fact, Jerome later wrote of Peter, “he was crowned with martyrdom under Nero, being crucified with his head downwards and his feet upwards, because he alleged himself to be unworthy of being crucified in the same manner as the Lord.” Tradition tells us he was crucified upside down.
Regardless, what an encouragement that must have been to Peter. He had promised He would follow Jesus anywhere; even if others fled, he would follow Him to death. And now, despite all his failures, Jesus tells him he will do just that. And in verse 19, Jesus says to Peter, again, “Follow Me.” And Peter does, permanently. Oh, it doesn’t mean we never see Peter failing again, but we never see him fishing again. His life seemed to be drastically changed from this moment.
My desire for you this morning is that you leave here, encouraged to follow Him. Yes, we will fail, but we’re going to make it, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”