He Always Sustains Us | Sermon 05/05/2024

All right, if you would please open your Bibles with me to the gospel according to John chapter 21

John 21 title of the sermon today church is he always sustains us he always sustains us

We're gonna be in verses 1 through 14 today John 21. So with that said here now

The inerrant and fallible words of the living and true God God chapter 21 After these things

Jesus manifested himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias And he manifested himself in this way

Simon Peter and Thomas called Didymus and Nathanael of Cana and Galilee and the sons of Zebedee and two others of his disciples were together

Simon Peter said to them. I'm going fishing They said to him we will also come with you

They went out and got into the boat and that night they caught nothing But when the day was now breaking

Jesus stood on the beach yet. The disciples did not know that it was Jesus So Jesus said to them children.

You do not have any fish. Do you they answered him? No And he said to them cast the net on the right -hand side of the boat and you will find a catch

So they cast and then there were not able They were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish

Therefore the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter it is the Lord So when

Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord He put his outer garment on for he was stripped for work and threw himself into the sea

But the other disciples came in the little boat for they were not far from land But about 100 yards away dragging the net full of fish

So when they got out on to onto the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it and bread

Jesus said to them bring some of the fish which you have now caught Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land full of large fish 153 and although there were so many the net was not torn

Jesus said to them come and have a breakfast None of the disciples ventured to question him.

Who are you knowing that it was the Lord? Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them and the fish likewise

This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples after he was raised from the dead

Thus ends the reading of God's Holy and Magnificent Word. Let's pray once more as a church

God we need you Every single one of us needs you here

We need you in our lives God I need you to illuminate your word to me and to your people today

Moved by the Holy Spirit and the power he has Lord we need you

Lord your people need you They need you to be able to hear it. They need you to be able to understand it

We need you to be able to hold on to these things And keep them and cling to them and hold them fast

Lord we need you. We need you today. We need you tomorrow We need you all week. We need you

Lord for eternity. And so God I Thank you for that. I pray Lord that your people here would be edified and encouraged challenged convicted

Whatever each person needs Lord May you see fit to do in the hearts and minds of your people.

Please be with us Lord in this moment Pray this in Jesus name. Amen Well church we have finally come to it we've come to the end of the gospel according to John We're in the final chapter of John chapter 21 chapter 1 was famously called the prologue

The prologue and many people don't realize that this chapter chapter 21 is called the epilogue the epilogue epilogue is made up of two words in the

Greek epi is is a After literally after and then log is logos which is word

And so an epilogue is quite literally an afterword. This is the afterword in John's gospel so The thing is though John intended for chapter 20 our previous chapter to be the culmination of the history and Theology of Jesus Christ that he has been working so hard by the

Spirit to establish he intended for chapter 20, which we just had gone over to be the premier moment is it is the resurrection moment the the resurrection

Appearances I told you last week. I called it the eighth sign on the eighth day It is the supreme moment of John's evangelistic work chapter 20.

Is it it's huge and That's why right before this chapter chapter 21 even starts

He said this and we went over last week Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples which are not written in this book

But these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and Believing you may have life in his name now

Many scholars have said that chapter 21 doesn't fit. Well Educated men have come forward and said you know what?

chapter 21 doesn't fit well in this gospel to me, okay, and They say that because they consider chapter 21 so anticlimactic

Where's the great heroic end to this wonderful gospel?

They they think that chapter 20 the resurrection of Jesus and his multiple appearances

That was truly where John ended But I reject that idea.

I reject that This chapter wasn't added at a later date by someone who wasn't

John in fact, let me tell you to this day All the archaeologists all the scholars who have looked through old libraries every single

Manuscript of John to every single one of them that contained not fragments But the whole they all contain chapter 21.

There's not one that's missing chapter 21 where it stops at chapter 20 There is no evidence

To support this claim. And so like I said every single thing

John wrote from chapter 20 chapter 1 I'm sorry in the prologue until now

Has been thought out Intensely very much. So you see in their culture even

Jewish writers were influenced by Greek forms of writing at the time so Prologues and epilogues are very much a part of that influence

John included a prologue which so if epilogue is

Epilogos an afterword prologue is a before word prologues of before word

And that's what John included. That's something that not even the other gospel writers included in theirs.

And so the question is is it possible that John wrote chapters 1 through 20 and then took a break and then came back and wrote chapter 21.

I suppose I suppose But he would have done it and it was him and it was probably not that long of time after but I don't even think that there needs to be some sort of distance or time in between him writing chapter 20 and 21 an epilogue has a purpose and John has been very purposeful.

And so this is very much What God intended to have in Scripture, okay?

This is God's providence God's plan that chapter 21 be included just as much as chapters 1 through 20 and so let me tell you ahead of time this epilogue this after word will

Serve several purposes. Okay Chapter 21 first of all serves as somewhat of a legal statement to the end of an eyewitness account this

Acts like the end of an eyewitness account. That's what chapter 21 kind of fulfills that moment what they all saw the prologue included also

Christ had introduced him to the reader and now the epilogue introduces the ones who continue in the ways of Christ even after he has departed and So chapter 1 connected the the story of Jesus with the people of God Before his arrival into the world before his incarnation.

That was chapter 1 What was Jesus like before he came? The prologue chapter 1 pulled back the veil we saw into the heavenly room

We saw that Jesus was eternally God But in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was

God all things have been created through him And not anything that was made was made apart from him. We got to see heaven the veil

We got to see it pulled back. Jesus is from eternity past and then he stepped into his own creation

That was chapter 1 but then chapter 21 what we're in now connects

Jesus to the people of God After he's left After he's ascended so chapter 1 the connection of Jesus to before he came chapter 21 the connection of Jesus to To the point now after he's left the earth so Heaven has been brought down to earth in Judea That was chapter 1 then the epilogue takes the things of heaven and shows that they're in for there for the entire world

The mission continues it's not over This eternal son of God didn't come down for 11 men or a couple hundred people the mission continues

And so this chapter Will wrap things up it'll it'll wrap up even storylines so to speak storylines of like Peter and the

Disciple whom Jesus loved we've talked about that that that that's John how Peter and John and their stories have intertwined from the beginning

We saw in chapter 13 at the Last Supper John was laying on the bosom of Jesus Peter was across the table and and Peter's like hey

Who John do you think is going to betray Jesus who who's

Jesus talking about and John and Peter are having this communication in chapter 13 and then then we see that John was somehow connected to the priests and In chapter 19 after Jesus was betrayed in the

Garden of Gethsemane What John was able to open up a locked gate and let

Peter in to the courtyard of the priests and so you have that dynamic you have

Peter and John then then Peter and John again, and and that's where You have this juxtaposition where John was at the cross

John wasn't afraid to go away He stayed at the cross.

He saw the he saw the crucifixion of his Lord, but Peter had denied Christ three times and ran away you have that difference and Then you have of course that moment in chapter 20 the last chapter where Mary Magdalene comes running to Jerusalem Comes to where all the disciples are staying and says his body's gone

I don't know where they've laid him and then once again who comes running Peter and John run to the tomb

Okay, and so this chapter is going to close their dynamic

We're gonna see that mostly next week for our final sermon and John. We'll see the Peter John dynamic and But of course, of course chapter 20 was the climax

How could the resurrection not be the climax? but have you ever seen a

Movie or you've read a book and it ended right at the pinnacle Moment and all of a sudden

Curtains come the you know, the credits roll and you're like what if only

That's it That was amazing But if only I could see more right?

Yeah, you can watch something and you're like I Wish we could see what happened to the characters after this momentous

Occasion this climax and so a lot of you know that I really enjoy Tolkien Jrr.

Tolkien so to give you an illustration chapter 20 In John is like the destruction of the ring.

It's the destruction of the ring It's the structure destruction of Sauron and Mordor and everything comes crashing down.

It's climatic The heroes have won goodness has won it's clearly the high point of the story in Lord of the

Rings and then chapter 21 in John is Kind of like the rest of return of the king

It closes up all the remaining storylines of the characters introduced it shows how things progress forward

And so what will life be like after the ring has been destroyed? And so here you go

John gives us that here what happens after the crucifixion and resurrection and where is it going?

And I would say even the book of Acts continues with that. So with that said let's get into the text verse 1

Okay We don't know how far into the 40 days that Jesus walked on the earth

It's been at this point after his resurrection, but some time has elapsed Okay could have been days

Could have been a week But obviously since the last time we saw

Jesus appear was one week into the 40 days that's when he that's when he showed Thomas who he was he showed him his scars his wound and That was the

Sunday after that Resurrection Sunday, so it can't be more than a few weeks at this point and Jesus appears to them again

So it says verse 1 after these things Jesus manifested himself again to the disciples at the

Sea of Tiberias And he manifested himself in this way. This is another appearance

It's a sudden appearance It's a supernatural and spontaneous manifestation of Jesus Interestingly this word in the

Greek Phanero can be related to shining. Okay a sudden bright appearance of Jesus Christ the risen

Christ before his disciples who were at the Sea of Tiberias and John says that he manifested himself in this way

It was just it was different than someone walking up at a distance Someone who you could see coming across the land and then all of a sudden he stands there at the shore.

This was different Previously Jesus appeared to them privately in locked rooms or even a small garden but now in these sudden

Manifestation Jesus appears out in the open He appears out in the world he's even beyond the holy city of Jerusalem and Do you notice something that it's always been

Jesus that comes to them. It's always Jesus that approaches them He came to them to to take them as his disciples

He comes to them in all the appearances They're not seeking he seeks them

Here they are. They're up in Galilee again. He seeks them. That's God.

That's God He seeks after you he comes after you and I that's that's our

God and so John chapter 6 told us by the way that the Sea of Tiberias is another name for the

Sea of Galilee This is the same sea. This is the Sea of Galilee So they've they've left

Jerusalem which is in the south and they they headed north up to the

Galilee Region where most of them live honestly, most of them have houses up there

Their villages are near their Cana and Nazareth and that's where many of them are from.

In fact in chapter 1, that's where we saw many of them called Many of the disciples were called where they are now in some way

It ends where it started for them. It ends where it started But this time

Jesus doesn't just intend to appear before them. He already did that So so what is

Jesus here for if he doesn't need to prove to them? Look, I'm risen I'm alive if he's already done that sufficiently

Why is Jesus here? Let's keep going verse 2 Simon Peter and Thomas called

Didymus and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee and the sons of Zebedee and two others of his disciples were together

So you have five of the eleven apostles mentioned here five You have

Peter Thomas Nathanael John and James.

Those are the sons of Zebedee But there's seven men here

They don't he doesn't name the two other disciples though. It's possible.

They could be apostles Of the eleven it could be Philip It could be

Peter's brother Andrew It could be Matthew the tax collector James the less Thaddeus or Simon the zealot we don't know

They could be two other disciples who are not part of the eleven But what we do know is that there are seven total disciples of Christ here in this scene seven total disciples verse 3

Simon Peter said to them. I am going fishing and They said to him we will also come with you and they went out and got into the boat and that night they caught nothing

So you have the disciples of Christ? They're they're back in the Galilee region and Peter says he's going fishing

He's simply going fishing and the rest join him Now I want to say something many like to argue

That right here this shows since Peter was fishing and that was

Peter's old occupation before His calling with Christ that this demonstrates apostasy that Peter has left the faith that he's

Started over and he's fishing again. I reject that Because the text doesn't tell us that Some have said that this activity shows them endeavoring upon aimless pursuits in desperation after the resurrection

I Reject that as well What is most likely let me tell you what is most likely happening?

Because by the way that makes for really good preaching I guess Wow, these guys were back to where they began they gave up they left

Jerusalem They went back to their old lives. I don't believe that. I don't believe that That's not the case makes for good preaching, but it's not true.

Okay, and so What I believe is most likely is Again when when

Jesus was crucified, it was the Passover weekend And then right after Passover is what the

Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days and that makes sense because The Apostles were where seven days later.

They were still in Jerusalem. They were still celebrating They were still a part of it probably celebrating in an even better way once they saw

Jesus Terribly mourning before they saw him, but they were there nevertheless and so I believe

That it's possible When they when Jesus revealed himself to Thomas and the rest of the disciples in that locked room.

He gave them instructions He gave them instructions. He commanded them go north now that the feast is over and wait for me and I will come to you.

I Say that because And again, it's not something that's certain but it's something that has happened multiple times in the

Gospels Jesus has commanded them go here go on without me cross the

Sea of Galilee Do this go there and I'll be there and that has happened before so it's happened again they

They didn't go back to their old lives They didn't apostatize It says in the previous chapter they rejoiced when they saw the risen

Lord It says that Thomas saw him and fell to his knees and worshipped him my

Lord and my God and We have the audacity to think That after Jesus breathed on them and said receive the

Holy Spirit and with that they believed and that after all those amazing tremendous things in That resurrection moment that they said not

I'm done. I'm going back to fishing. That is not true. I Don't believe it and so They rejoiced

When they saw him they were ordered to go back up. They were to wait for their mission instructions

And in the meantime while you wait for the mission of the Lord, what do you do? But you go fishing

You're right next to the Sea of Galilee You don't live near the Mount of Olives. You don't live down south.

You live next to the sea You're a fisherman your whole life. What do you do? But maybe go fishing and that's really how you see it.

Does it look like in this text? Simon Peter simply came to them and said

I'm going fishing and they said him we'll come with you Does it really look like? People who've lost everything they've lost all belief.

They've lost all faith. No, no, they're going fishing they join join in and Sure Do these men not look exactly?

Precisely like the men in the book of Acts who they become to be. Yeah. Yeah, I can agree with that But they're waiting for that Pentecost moment

They're waiting for Jesus to ascend when Jesus ascends and Pentecost happens. Boom That's where the mission really begins for them.

And so that hasn't happened yet the Lord must eventually leave for that to happen this also goes to show that when

Jesus blew on them in the Previous chapter and said receive the Holy Spirit That was more about their ability to believe or have faith

And it wasn't the exact moment when they were endowed with the mission of the gospel at that special event of Pentecost That's where everything would change.

So the focus here in our text isn't really on why?

Peter and the others went fishing. It's more on how their fishing went How did it go and it went terrible?

It went awful John says they caught nothing now

Fishermen know often you go fishing at night and you get some good catches, right? That's that's not that's not a bad thing

But it's possible that John is employing some of the similar themes that he's used this whole time in this gospel darkness themes

Night themes when Judas left it was at night You have all these moments where Jesus was betrayed at night

It's like when darkness falls. That's where evil occurs. That's what John has been trying to show and so Here in this moment for these men they went fishing and it was night and they were without Jesus They're without him, but they must work while it is still day.

They they have to work When the Spirit empowers them to work the disciples are then still coming to terms with this incredible resurrection

And they must learn as Jesus said in chapter 15 that apart from him they can do nothing

They need him They need him and so their nets were empty

Jesus is going to illustrate this for them apart from me you can do nothing and they go fishing as they await their orders and mission requirements from the

Lord Jesus Christ and they go fishing and They see in this example, they need him their nets are empty verse 4

But when day was now breaking Jesus stood on the beach if the disciples did not know that it was

Jesus Okay Just like the dawning of that Easter morning

So Jesus is standing at the shore as the Sun is rising the disciples just caught nothing

And they caught nothing in the dark now They get everything with Jesus in the light. The Sun is rising

Jesus appears this no doubt speaks to the Transformative reality in which the disciples now live since Christ saved them

And so it's hard to speculate though if they Couldn't see him

Because he was so far off They were you know, it'll tell us a hundred yards into the sea fishing and they see a figure on the beach and so we don't know if they're

Spiritually hindered from being able to see him or it's just because of the distance. We don't know

I At this point, I don't know why they would be hindered from seeing him because he's appeared to them multiple times now

But I suppose it's possible. I think he was just far away from them. They couldn't make out who it was

Go to verses 5 and 6 So Jesus said to them Children, you do not have any fish.

Do you and they answered him? No, and he said to them Cast the net on the right -hand side of the boat and you will find a catch

So they cast and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish

Just as the prologue said Those who believe in his name would be given the right to be called the children of God Jesus calls them as such children

Because he is the true son We are the true Children of God and the

Lord then asks a question to which he already knows the answer and he frames it in a negative way You haven't caught any fish.

Have you? You haven't caught any fish. Have you and this isn't the normal word for fish by the way in the

New Testament This is specifically Fish ready to eat like fish that's cooked.

He says you don't have anything to eat. Do you? They were in the dark

Jesus is in the light Jesus came to them Not they to him

He recognized the situation for what it was. They didn't they were unable to provide a meal for themselves

They caught nothing. So what Jesus comes To provide for them

Cast the net on the right -hand side throw it starboard and you will catch some fish fish

They don't even verbally respond to his command. They just do it Okay They caught so many fish.

They weren't able to even pull the net into the boat and The whole point of this is not that they needed fish

This Account is not because they needed fish, but they needed Jesus They needed him

It's not that they need to try casting the net a different way. They need Jesus's way always

One commentator says the magnitude of fish is not intended for a meal Jesus provides fish before they get to the shore

But this was to symbolize the effective Authorization and promise of the risen one to fulfill the missionary mandate that he has given to his disciples

This might also explain the willingness of the disciples to obey a stranger's command from the shore because in this moment the disciples were more shepherds than fishermen for they heard and Responded to the

Good Shepherd's voice boom the Good Shepherd commanded They didn't know to question they just did they just obeyed the results belonged to Jesus Jesus put the fish there but faithfulness

Was the expectation of the disciples, right? Because we need him to carry out the

Great Commission We can't spread the gospel of the kingdom in our own power

Christ provides the catch and Notice that it will be large

We also see though that the Great Commission isn't that Jesus does everything for you?

But he did tell them what to do and where to cast and he provided the fish that were already there and they obeyed

That means that this life this Christian life Is just about obeying him this this evangelism this this

Great Commission I don't I don't have to make sure that people are saved.

I don't have to make sure that they're there I don't have to make sure that I'm doing it all perfect, but I just obey and He'll tell me what to do

And so I go to his word and I look what to do and I do what he says and he'll tell me what to say

And so I look and I see what he says and that's what I say. I give the gospel I don't give something else and I give that and I'm just faithful and When no one becomes

Saved I walk away with gladness in that at least

I obeyed Jesus Christ Do I mourn for the people who didn't turn and repent at the hearing of the gospel?

Absolutely But I leave it to him. I just put the net out and He'll fill it or he won't that's his prerogative

And so we need him But in our in our dependence you can see here that we're not inactive.

We're not inactive We're active verse 7 therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter It is the

Lord so when Simon Peter Heard that it was the Lord he put his outer garment on for he was stripped for work and threw himself into the sea

Okay Just like we have seen John the disciple whom

Jesus loved is quick to recognize or understand Jesus and Peter is quick to act

John's like it's the Lord and Peter's like say no more putting on a shirt jumping in the water

He just goes right for it It's the Lord It's the

Lord is the one who gave that command It's the Lord and so when Peter heard it's the Lord he put on his outer garment and dove into the sea to swim to shore and he put on the outer garment because the

Greek says here that he was Gumnos or Gymnos, that's where you get the word gym

G Y M In fact in in Greece the gym is where everyone trained naked

So the word here means that he was he was stripped Probably not fully naked, but that's that's the word one.

So when people say I'm going to the gym Historically, it was the place where you go take off everything.

And so It's strange, huh, and that's kind of how it is nowadays anyways who gets a gym at home

Right, that's probably better these days Anyhow, he was stripped for work and that word is in italics in my

Translation it it ought to be for yours and what as well if it's even there for work isn't actually in the

Bible It just says that his outer garment He put on in his outer garment because he was stripped.

It doesn't say for work again I believe that he didn't go back to his vocation.

He was waiting the mission order So I reject I reject that translation edition and so I Don't think

Peter was naked I I think that he must have had some undergarment thing on some inner garment

On not and he was missing the outer one Normally, of course someone would take off their shirt to jump into the water right like oh, it's

Jesus boom Take it off then dive, but Peter's like he's so excited to see the Lord. He's like, let me put on a shirt, right?

You know weighs him down and everything. It's like dragging him and he's like, ah, you know, it's even harder now, but that's

Peter Maybe Maybe he felt he was indecent for the

Lord He had to put on the outer garment and the word here put on is more like girded or wrapped

So it's possible he put on the outer garment and then he did the thing where they gird themselves and they kind of put it on and Bring it around their legs and tight like a big old diaper, you know, look at up by the way

That's something they did in the Old and New Testament Girded themselves girded their loins and that would allow him to not be possibly weighed down so much with the water.

So but There's an element in his jumping That Peter is taking himself in all his possessions to follow his

Lord Peter loves Christ in times past The other time that there was a moment where Jesus told them to throw the nets out was

Luke chapter 5 Luke chapter 5 and and they catch all this fish and the nets break but here

This is different in Luke chapter 5 Peter marveled at the great amount of fish

This is marvelous. Look at this fish But this time the net is full and Peter forsakes the full net of fish and sees

Jesus he doesn't care about fish anymore He cares about Jesus his Lord jumps straight into the water after him leaving it all behind verse 8

But the other disciples came in the little boat For they were not far from land, but about 100 yards away dragging the net full of fish

So since John wrote this and John was still on the boat He gives the perspective as one who stayed on it posed to Peter who made that 100 yards swim to shore by the way 100 yards is the length of four

Olympic swimming pools. So he went after it Go to verses 9 and 10.

So when they got out of on the land They saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it and bread

Jesus said to them Bring some of the fish which you have now caught

This really is incredible In the days of Jesus's earthly ministry he washed their feet

Now as the resurrected glorified Lord He serves them again.

That's Jesus for you and the disciples have been out all through the night

They're tired Probably got cold that late spring night

And they've been trying to catch fish and here the Sun comes up And Jesus prepares a hot meal for them

When Jesus got the fish Where Jesus got the fish in the bread or how he got it, we don't know

Possible. He just materialized it the way that he materialized before them and The last time that we see a charcoal fire in the

Gospel of John was with Peter In fact, this exact word was in chapter 19 when

Peter had denied Christ and he was warming himself at the charcoal fire with the enemies of Jesus and If you remember at that moment at this charcoal fire

Peter's warming himself and then Jesus was questioned at Annas Anas's property and then bound and taken after being slapped and spit on Jesus was dragged by the temple officers and He was taken across the courtyard and Peter's warming himself and looks up and saw

Jesus and it says that their eyes locked Peter went away

Weeping bitterly. That's the last time a charcoal fire was in this gospel account and It makes me wonder if Peter looked at the charcoal fire when he came up on the beach and Then he looked at Jesus in the eyes

And he thought about what happened last time I wonder if maybe a brief moment of sadness came to him.

He sees Jesus with the charcoal fire He looks at Jesus. He remembers the last time that charcoal fire with Jesus was in Happ occurred was when he denied him and so No doubt we can remember

Painful things Shameful things Things that were ashamed of before the

Lord and he can take those shameful things He can take this charcoal fire now resurrected and he'll use it for good

Now Peter is going to remember the way that Jesus provided for him with the charcoal fire

He's not going to remember the way he denied Jesus with the charcoal fire And you know, it might resonate with you, too

Who knew that before the Lord saved me? that my addiction to alcohol and the daily consumption of it would give way to mercy and grace and and those things symbolized in the

Communion wine that we have here that I get to take today and it's different for me Now I look at the wine

Previously I would have drank so many bottles and and Gotten drunk and fallen asleep and passed out not taking care of my wife and daughter

But now I can look at it with joy. It reminds me of his blood. It reminds me of forgiveness I see the bread.

It reminds me that he atoned for those sins that I'm so shameful of What do you need to look at now that Jesus has redeemed?

I don't need to look at wine now and think of that. I don't I don't I can now look at that as forgiveness and grace

Christ can take the person who viewed their childhood home as a place of abuse

Their home as a place of abuse not a place of shelter not a place of safety and He can take that and he can give you your own home now and you can go to that home

And that's a place of productivity. That's a place of godliness That's a place of protection that's a place of love

Having a home now is not the home of abuse anymore. Christ gives us good things

That's redemption he takes what was bad and he makes it good for us now what's interesting is

Jesus says Bring some of the fish which you have now caught which you have caught as Though he's giving them the credit for the catch, but we all know it was

Jesus He was the one who brought the fish to them he's told he was the one who told them what to do when to do it where to put it and All they did was put out a net in the mission.

The Lord is giving them and us He provides It's him

But he wants us to labor for him. He commands us to bring in what he has already chosen caught and determined as his

We do it we just throw a net out and It reminds me of Ephesians chapter 2 verses 10 for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus Unto good works that God prepared beforehand that we might walk in them works

Do you see how? Antithetical that is to a legalistic religion God Prepared the good works that we would walk in them they're his and The same thing goes here

He provides it we get the privilege to participate in God's plans of salvation for the souls of humanity.

That's an honor that's a privilege and The last thing we ought to see with this bread and fish meal is the difference to the

Last Supper before his death The last time that Jesus and the

Apostles ate together was at the Last Supper in the upper room at the Last Supper is

Is where Jesus served them the bread and the wine

Demonstrating what the act that he was going to complete for them To give his body and to give his blood for them.

That was the Last Supper here at this meal The bread and all the fish demonstrate the meal he intends to serve

For all the future disciples who will believe through their word Like the bread and the fish in chapter 6

He's gonna multiply it through the Apostles The Last Supper is over The Last Supper he gave his body he gave his blood now on the beach

He gives them bread and fish things. He already multiplied because through the Apostles he's gonna

Multiply more bread and fish that is the gospel disciples the kingdom

It's gonna spread. That's the image that we're supposed to have You see there's enough to go around The gospel isn't only for these men or or just those in Judea.

There's so much abundance of salvation It's offer will be extended to the entire world

We'll see this especially next week when Christ tells Peter feed my sheep

He even says it feed my sheep and in this way This is more like the true

Last Supper before he leaves When's the next time we'll have supper with Christ Church The next supper with Christ will be the heavenly feast at the resurrection in which the bridegroom will gather his bride

And every single believer will be at that supper and it will be glorious Look at verse 11

Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land full of large fish 153 and although there were so many the net was not torn

Now believe it or not this verse has caused a lot of speculation among scholars And not just recently but even with the early church fathers origin

Augustine and Jerome all of them wrote about this verse in particular

You know why the fact that the exact number 153 has come up in this verse has baffled students of the

Bible since the beginning of the church Since it was given the

New Testament And so the question is why? When so many other times rounded estimates are given in the

Bible. Why is the exact number? 153 given, okay There are several theories to this and I'm looking at the clock since we have time.

I'll go through them real quick with you They're interesting stuff here. Okay. Why does it say?

153 The first theory is this The thought is one of the disciples was simply astounded by all the fish in the net and Because he was previously a fisherman and they would count their fish before and take the fish to market

Because if you have multiple men in a in a fishing trade, you need to know when you sell the fish

How much money did give to each guy? so sometimes they would count the fish and and Someone's astounded by the amount of fish and maybe they simply counted the number and they came to 153 fish

Mysterious Amazing they simply counted them. The next theory comes from the book of Ezekiel You see in both

Hebrew and Greek Their alphabets and the letters in them were also represented by numbers for counting

And so the announcement of this Messianic River is Stated in Ezekiel 47 there's going to be this

Messianic River It's going to flow from the Messiah and Ezekiel 47 verses 9 through 10 says it will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes will live and There will be very many fish for these waters go there and the and the others become fresh

So everything will live where the river goes and it will come about that Fishermen will stand beside the river from and Getty to any blame

There will be a place for the spreading of nets Their fish will be according to their kinds like the fish of the great sea very many

Ezekiel 47 So, let me tell you what astounds people is

Is that this name and Getty Has letters in its alphabet totaling 17

Okay, hold on to that and a glame Has letters in its word in its?

letters totaling to 153 exactly and what's interesting with 17 and 153 is that 17 is the triangular number of 153 in fact to make a an equilateral triangle starting with the number 1 and N53 starting at 1 you need 17 rows

So people are like and Getty is 17 and a glame is 153

That's the triangular number 17 of 153 and so those who believe in that theory would say that the water is the message of the gospel it spreads from the

Messiah the water goes out and and then you have gospel fishermen

Who stand on the side of the riverbanks of the gospel water and the fishermen throw out nets as Ezekiel 47?

says and They make disciples they catch more fish fish of every kind and they

The 153 fish here and John is pointing to that promise in Ezekiel People would say with the the number addition there

Another theory is that when Solomon acquired laborers to build the temple for God the very first temple of God he needed a hundred and fifty three thousand laborers to build the temple that was in first Kings 5 and So people who believe this theory think that the 150 fish represent the church

Of course disciples and then the church who is saved Represents what the new temple of God and Solomon was building the temple of God and he needed a hundred and fifty three

Thousand laborers to do it. So that's another theory One scholar.

This is just interesting to me. I Think like the Ezekiel one that's kind of it. That's a little bit a bit of its compelling to me

I don't even think you need to add up the words for the Ezekiel one to even make some sense with John 21

But this is this one is really interesting Someone went through the Gospel of John they added up the word believe how many times is in the

Greek New Testament, which is 98 and Then they added the total times that the the name

Christ or Messiah was in John That's 19 and then they added the word life, which is 36 altogether 98 plus 19 plus 36 is 153 and John that's believe

Christ life adds up to 153. Okay So what do

I say about all these? I Simply don't know guys. I don't know. I think there are connections and Symbols and image references in the

Bible from here to there and there to here that we don't even fully know now The Bible is so intricately connected in so many places.

It is Unbelievable, but I don't know what I don't know.

I just can't be sure Very compelling some of those what I do know is that Christ Will never fail to get all the fish

That's what this is showing Christ will never fail to get all the fish He'll never fail to get all the sheep, which is what he'll refer to them in a few verses

Christ will never be stressed Christ will never be strained to get all of the fish

You see in Luke 5 the other time the disciples see

Jesus tell them to throw out their nets and they catch a multitude of fish based on Jesus's words get this

That time in Luke 5 When they caught all those fish the nets broke the nets broke and tore but now

With resurrected power power given by the Spirit and commissioned by Christ The net will never break

The net will never tear and that's what John says right here in this verse and although there were so many the net was never torn

So before they catch a multitude of fish in Luke 5 the nets tear they lose fish

There were so many but now here after the resurrection The net is not torn

The Nets different now. We must truly understand. There is no limit to the net of Christ Being able to gather everyone whom he desires to gather without tearing

Won't tear anymore. The gospel will not tear the gospel will not fail the gap the gospel will grab

Everyone it intends to grab so go to verses 12 and 13 Jesus said to them

Come and have breakfast None of the disciples ventured to question him.

Who are you? Knowing that it was the Lord Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them and the fish likewise

So the 153 number is never mentioned again Jesus has always been the one to provide even if the disciples or the church have a role to play in it

He provides them breakfast as far as we can tell

These are some of the last words to this to the disciples as a whole from Jesus in chapter 1

He told them follow me and then he invited them and he said come and see and here at the end

Jesus approaches the disciples and says not come and see he says come and eat. I Like that It's like of course a

Baptist pastor would say that right But he says come and eat And no one spoke.

No one said a word There's something marvelous about his presence among them

It kind of seems like the disciples were even a bit apprehensive as they came up as they approached

Jesus They're apprehensive and yet excited to be with him. What will the

Lord do? What will he say now What's the purpose of this new appearance on the beach?

And so Jesus sees that with them and he lovingly invites them come eat a meal

It says though that none of them ventured the word is actually dared No one dared to ask him.

Who are you? Which kind of shows that they wanted to But they're not like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus and Luke 24 who were kept from recognizing him.

They know They know this is the Lord now. They don't need to investigate his wounds anymore

They don't need to look at the nail holes in his wrists They don't they don't need to ask any more questions pertaining to his identity.

Is this the risen Lord? This is their Lord, they know it no more signs are needed

Nothing he doesn't have to prove himself to them they believe and Really you and I might wonder what's the issue here?

Why is it that they they no one dared to ask him who he was? What's the problem here?

And I think it's probably harder to put ourselves in the Apostles shoes than you might think because We read these over and over again, we believe the miracles we believe the signs we believe this stuff but these were men who were with Jesus their rabbi their master for three years every day and They were next to him.

They loved him. They saw the things he did But then they saw him die

And not only did Jesus die. He didn't die gently and pass away These men saw

Jesus die a gruesome death a horrible death, but then he resurrected and The wounds are still there, but he's different to them now.

He's different. He wasn't simply resuscitated He wasn't simply raised in the same way as Lazarus.

The risen Lord is different now. He's even Displaying more power.

He's appearing in places where it's locked and on the beach out of nowhere

He he's the same Messiah. They've always loved but at the same time he's much bigger than they could ever imagine and so Can you kind of get it now?

They have this moment of Wonder but also nervousness It's like when someone you haven't seen in a while Or something has happened and you're like, is that really you right?

It's this moment of wonder even though you you really know who the person is, of course, that's them but you it's it's marvelous verse 13

Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them and the fish likewise this is

Not like the Luke 24 resurrection appearance when they gave him broiled fish and he ate in front of them

We don't see Jesus eating here in this moment That's a different occurrence and so the the point you guys

The point of this appearance has not been to convince them anymore. It's not

He's done that This meal on the beach is Christ's meal.

It's about him and it's from him Not for him

The picture here is showing two things number one Again we're reminded of John 6 when he fed the 5 ,000 followers fish and bread and in that chapter

He spoke what he said. I am the bread of life John 6 51

I am the living bread that comes down out of heaven if anyone eats of this bread He will live forever and the bread also which

I will give for the life of the world is my flesh So in this meal on The shore of Galilee is symbolized what

Christ has already given the disciples He's given them his flesh.

They will live forever. They have his flesh and blood as an offering for sin and number two

This meal shows that after the resurrection and even the after the ascension

Christ will provide his people with everything necessary to carry on the mission of the gospel and We even see that Symbolized here in our

Lord's Supper every week We have all that we need in Christ by the Spirit of God to carry out what he has commissioned

Excuse me those thousands of years ago So when he gave bread and fish here he's giving himself and he's

Given himself to us our final verse verse 14

Says this is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples After he was raised from the dead

In Judaism three was a number of completion three times

John writes full certainty But as this section is made clear this appearance of the risen

Christ was intended to demonstrate the continuation of his presence and How always even to the end?

Jesus is with his disciples He's with you

He's with the church You and I are never alone The new era of the people of God has started right here in John 21.

The church begins and We can count on his presence Hebrews chapter 13 verse 8 says

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday Today and forever if he was with them, he's with you and me

In another place. It says he continually lives to make intercession for us even to this moment

John says in his first letter. We always have an advocate for the foot with the

Father Jesus Christ the righteous always have an advocate and though many have used

Revelation 3 20 as An invitation for conversion it is not

Excuse me Revelation 3 20 in that context after speaking to the

Laodicean Church to repent Jesus invites them to himself

If that's the case for you

If you've been like the Laodicean Church If you've been far from God if you've been wandering from God if you're considering going more towards your sin than to Christ if if if you've thought about leaving all of this if you've

Thought about leaving God Jesus says in Revelation 3 20 behold I stand at the door and knock if anyone hears my voice and opens the door

I will come into him and will dine with him and he with me and Just like Jesus approached the disciples on the beach

He approaches those who are considering turning from the mission and the life that he gave them

He comes to your door and he knocks he comes to them. He comes to the

Laodicean Church He comes to those who are neither hot nor cold. They're lukewarm He comes to those who are waning.

He comes to those who are weak And it says that he knocks on your door

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into him and will dine with him and he with me

He will enter he will dine with you whenever you and I need to keep going He feeds us

He will feed us. He will renew us because in the end Jesus is the true fisherman

Jesus is the true provider. He is the bread giver Calvin said thus we call the bread which we daily eat our bread

Give us this day our daily bread and Yet by asking that it may be given to us.

We acknowledge that it proceeds from God. It's ours. It's our possession It's our daily bread, but we need him to give it and this is how

You and I continue forward in the mission of the gospel and the mission of this life until we finish the race

We don't have to do this mission in the dark without Christ Like they were fishing at night without the

Lord Christ will be with us as we walk in the light

What do you need to ask Jesus today What do you need to ask

Jesus to feed you with today, what are you starving for? What do you need that only

Jesus can provide you see? There's people who send lanterns up in the sky

There's people who put messages in a bottle and they throw it out to sea and they hope it goes somewhere

But more sure than any of that you today If you're weak if you're waning if you're thinking of wandering or if you already are

More sure than the message in the bottle More sure than the lantern that goes up in the sky.

You can ask Christ what you need right now and he will give it and That's for certain

Guys, this isn't just a sermon. This isn't just a conclusion. I'm telling you I've seen it

I've seen it what you need. He will give What he knows you need he will provide

This isn't a platitude. This isn't for a hallmark card This is the

Christ on the beach who says he'll provide your need always Even to the end

I dare you to ask I dare you to ask tell me about it later I'd love to hear it because that's what he does

That's what he does let's pray Heavenly Father Thank you for the message today

Lord we recognize we need you We see here in John 21 that the

Apostles Although we're waiting for the mission orders One last lesson was given to them

That they would recognize That apart from you they can do nothing They can't spread this gospel without you

We can't spread this gospel without you We can't live this Christian life without you

We can't suffer through what we're suffering without you We can't get to the next life without you.

We have no assurance without you We need you we're dependent on you

God we need you for our very next breath We need you to cause us to rise in the morning we need you

God When we lose our jobs we need you God when we lose our health we need you

God when we lose our loved ones We need you God When we're being chastised by the world

We need you God We need you God to help us to keep our minds focused on the author and finisher of our faith

God there's so many things there's work. There's school There's ministry stuff even that gets in the way.

We need to see you Christ. We need to see you today We need to keep things in the heavenly perspective

Lord help us to do that We need you for another day and another day and another day and another day