I decided to continue my thoughts and study from my post last week. For this part I am predominantly dealing with the Gospel according to John. (All passages are from the New Living Translation)
John 21:1-3 - "Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples. 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."
Here we find the disciples after Jesus appeared to them. They were left wondering what to do next and their natural reaction was to stay together until Jesus showed up. Now, Jesus has appeared and left them again. And what do they decide to do? Go fishing. Go back to doing the work that was originally put before them prior to Jesus' call to be a disciple. What do we do when we are lost and have no direction? Where do we go? I would like to say that the disciples modeled for us that we go back to doing the work put before us. For some of us this is business, art, parenting, ministry, or anything else. Jesus equips and empowers us and then has us go back to doing the work placed in front of us.
Then, in the next verses, we see this:
John 21:4-6 "At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?” “No,” they replied. 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 didn't know who the guy on the beach was...but they listened to him. They have been fishing all night long and have found nothing and some random person tells them to try something different at dawn the next morning...and they listen to him! Why? But then I remember a similar story in the New Testament. In Luke's gospel almost this same exact story happens before the disciples are called to follow Jesus. Maybe the reason they listened this time is because they remembered another time in which a man called to them from a beach. That was the time they first met Jesus. There is something like a full circle here that is interesting to just take notice of. Maybe this is the disciples' way of learning to listen. Learning to wait on Christ. Maybe they were setting themselves up for this same scenario? What if Peter remembered that time he first met Jesus on the beach of the Sea of Galilee and was wanting to remember that moment. Maybe he was just doing what came naturally by going back to his work and that's all it was. I just like to imagine that Peter had some secret intuition that we can't read into the story.
Jump forward to verse 7...
John 21:7-9 - "Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore. When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread."
Peter. My dude. Where do we go from here? We literally go to Jesus as fast as we can no matter the cost!!! Peter is modeling one of the most important things for us to do when we have lost our way. Peter sees this miracle, hears that it is Jesus, and just abandons the work set before him (for a time, because he does go back I want to say right now). Peter knows the vital importance of running to Jesus. This is the first step, in my opinion, of Peter's model of Sabbath. Though there is work to be done, we must always run to Jesus for a time. Fast forward to verses 10-11 "Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn." Here we see the next step of Peter's model of discipleship, running to Jesus, but after sitting with Jesus for a time, we go back to the work with a renewed vigor. But Peter is also continuing the model of how to cope when we are lost or confused or trying to figure out our next step. We stick together, we resume life, we work, we run to Jesus, and when we have recharged, we go back to work.
The next set of verses have a huge amount of significance...but they do not need to be fleshed out as I would like here right now. So I will save verses 12-17 for another time and just mention that this is where Peter is asked three times by Jesus if Peter loves Him. Each time when Peter affirms his love for Jesus he calls for Peter to take care of his sheep. This is of importance with modeling where we go because after being recharged with Jesus and going back to the work, we take the time to take care of each other and take care of Christ's sheep. (Here I would like to make a small push for my personal beliefs and say that I do not believe that the sheep Jesus was referring to only included other believers. I believe that this is a far more inclusive symbol.)
Now, John 21:18-23 - "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.” Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.” Peter turned around and saw behind them the disciple Jesus loved—the one who had leaned over to Jesus during supper and asked, “Lord, who will betray you?” Peter asked Jesus, “What about him, Lord?”
Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me.” So the rumor spread among the community of believers that this disciple wouldn’t die. But that isn’t what Jesus said at all. He only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
This first part seems a little odd and, again, there is much that could be discussed or talked about...but let's focus on verses 21-23. Jesus is reminding Peter that he does not need to worry about others. There is enough in life to worry about. Rather, worry about the work that is before you and stay focused on Jesus and rejoice with others as they are blessed. My favorite verse is Luke 12:25 "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" (I actually am not 100% sure which translation I memorized this from. I think the NIV but I could be wrong.) Jesus is more worried about living Him and loving others than us being worried about the blessings bestowed upon others.
John 21:24-25 - "This disciple is the one who testifies to these events and has recorded them here. And we know that his account of these things is accurate. Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written."
Now, this is where I want to end. You might think it is weird to include this verse as important to answering the question: Where do we go from here? But I think it is of the utmost importance. When the disciples were left abandoned, alone, confused, frustrated, and lost they stuck together, ate, waited, went back to the work before them, ran to Jesus (even leaving the work behind for a time), come back rested and renewed in Christ, we take care of others, we persist in our work and in Christ without worrying unnecessarily about others good fortune, and then...here it is...we PGFWABF. This is a little thing I came up with in college when I became fascinated with the Doxology. (Give a listen to the band My Epic's version of the Doxology by the way!) It simply stands for Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow. That is what the author is saying here with these last two verses. There is SO much that could be written but all the books in the world could not contain the wonderful and awesome things that God has done!!! In all things we PGFWABF! That is what we do when we have lost our way from the path. Through all of the processes the disciples model for us after losing their way following the death of Jesus there is a theme of praising God and His absolutely amazing and stunning work done in our world. Even that which we cannot see.
Thank you so so much for reading. I truly hope that these most recent posts have meant something to at least some that read this. Forgive me if my thoughts have seemed wandering and at times not entirely clear. I am always open for questions. As usual,
Always Seeking the Truth,
Dylan
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