When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs."
John 21
For Easter, I've been slowly making my way through LifeWay's Easter study - Behold Your King. Always desiring to have a full belly from the entirety of the study, I am reminded Truth comes in nuggets. There are parts of books and studies that will stick out more than others. The story of Peter's restoration is one such example.
Peter denied Jesus three times. When the rooster crowed, it was suddenly as if Peter was fully aware of what he'd done. Jesus had forewarned him of his denial. Peter didn't believe him. But hearing the rooster, Peter collapses and runs away in shame -- weeping bitterly. His running away to weep surely was a run of shame and understanding the brokeness of his fellowship with Jesus. Death was in sight, not the resurrection. And, I'm certain Peter didn't fully understand all of this.
For the last several days, I've camped out on John 21. It's a good one. I remember singing a song about Peter feeding Jesus's lambs in Vacation Bible School circa 1995/1996. But here we are and the message of this song is more important today than it has ever been.
The disciples know of the resurrection as this point, but they are found doing the thing that is considered most normal -- they return to their nets. I can identify. When things seem crazy and I can't really make sense of everything in my own life, I return to the normal -- a song, a TV show, a passage of scripture. All of it is used by Him to gain attention. I digress. While reading John 21 another round today, I noticed a few things that I'd like to point out:
- The disciples recognized the voice of the man talking to them as the Lord's when their nets were full. The Lord provided for them. And they immediately knew it was Him. On a simple level, do we recognize the provision of the Lord in our own lives? Do we attribute it to Him? We should know it is Him by His work in our lives. He is always working. He is always near. When He calls to us to "pull up our own nets," may we immediately know it is all from Him (v.7).
- Peter jumped out of the boat and ran to the shore. Peter knew of the resurrection. He'd visited Jesus's tomb. He'd already seen Jesus. But here, on the shores of Galilee, Peter JUMPS to go see Jesus. Restoration was in sight, and Peter inherently knew he wanted to restore all that had changed in his relationship to Jesus (v.7).
- There were a total of 153 fish in their nets. Precision. I will fully admit there are times where I have to rethink the validity of the Bible. Not one to merely accept the answer of "because the Bible says so," I have doubted the records of the Bible before. Don't throw me to the wolves. I think that's a good thing. Therefore I fully appreciate John's attention to the details and noting the number of fish they were able to catch after Jesus commanded them to let down their nets. (v.11).
- Jesus gave His disciples simple commands - "Come and have breakfast." (v.12). I'm not sure why I'm struck by these words, but they represent fellowship. Jesus fellowshipped with His disciples before His ascension. What a simple, beautiful command for a bunch of men who needed the personal interaction with their Savior.
- Peter's restoration of relationship occurs in John 21:15-19. Three times Jesus asks Peter to feed His lambs or sheep. Peter seemingly feels frustrated that Jesus continues to ask. Doesn't He get it? Yet, I find this interaction to be both tender and sweet. While Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus reinstates Peter to a powerful position by forgiving and offering grace three times. Peter needed Jesus to restore His relationship. He needed the forgiveness of the Savior that he, himself, couldn't conjure up on his own. And Jesus gave Peter that and so much more.
For the sake of already being so verbose, I'll briefly explain here. We are in desperate need of reconciliation. We all have gone astray. We have denied Jesus. We denied Him from the womb. But in God's grace He has brought believers near. He has regenerated the heart of the unbeliever to turn to Him. We have been reconciled to God because Jesus did what we are unable to do. He fulfilled the requirements of the law and paid the price for our sin -- He became sin. He received the punishment that we deserved. He rose from the grace on the third day. Because He lives, we are free from the chains of sin and death. We are free to live to Him. We are restored. We are reconciled. And in this restoration we are free to live as He directs -- as He guides -- as He leads us.
That is beautiful.
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