A Fishing Trip For Peter Series

A rather intriguing and controversial news item hit the news stands and the media in the last week. A mega-church pastor in Atlanta got into trouble with the law. That’s not particularly unusual, but the reason for the trouble with this pastor was.

Pastor Creflo Dollar of the 30,000-member World Changers church in Atlanta was having a discussion, apparently, with his 15-year-old daughter at about 1 a.m. a week ago Friday when things got emotional. There was a disagreement about the matter of attending a party, and then, apparently, the 15-year-old became not only rebellious, but disrespectful. According to the 15-year- old, and her 19-year-old sister, Pastor Dollar then not only got emotional, but he got physical. There are conflicting accounts about exactly what happened, conflicting between the daughters’ accounts and the pastor’s accounts, but what happened for sure was that the 15-year-old called police and they arrested Dollar for assault and cruelty to children.

The controversial issue with regard to this story is not only a matter of what actually happened, but not knowing who, for sure, who you sympathize with. I was a little surprised on Wednesday night when we discussed this story among the deacons and the deaconesses that all of us were quite sympathetic with the dad and the pastor. And what we all, all five of us who were there Wednesday night, admitted is that we have, at one time or another, been parents to teenagers. We all know just how hard it can be to keep your cool and to not find yourself losing it when a teenager becomes not only rebellious, but disrespectful.

What this story reveals is just how difficult things can get even for Christians in the heat of any challenging moment—whether it’s a matter of attempting to assert your authority over a rebellious and difficult child, or in the course of an ugly argument with a spouse, or even in a case when you are called upon to stand up for the Lord Jesus Christ, and due to fear, or peer pressure, or both, you fail miserably.

And such, of course, was the case with all the disciples with respect to Jesus and His crucifixion. All of them had claimed that they would rather die than abandon Jesus in His most difficult moment. But on the very night they made this incredible commitment to Christ, they all failed at the moment of His arrest, fleeing for their lives. But the disciple who made the loudest and most assertive claim to faithfulness, who stated in John 13:37 and Matthew 26:33 that even if all the other disciples deserted Jesus, He would not, was Peter, who was clearly the leader among the 12. He had not only contradicted His Lord’s predictions about what He would do but had pridefully claimed that His love for the Lord was far greater than that of any of the other disciples.

And so there had to be a bit of a guilty, uncomfortable feeling for all the disciples when they saw Jesus again, but especially for Peter. For he had not only abandoned Jesus in His time of deepest need, but he had failed more miserably than all the rest in that he had specifically denied even knowing Jesus three times on the very night of Christ’s arrest.

So, Peter’s failures point us to a question. What if, in the heat of a moment, perhaps when you were caught off-guard, you blew it? And you blew it big time. And you know it. What do you do when you blow it and you know it? How do you relate to Jesus, and more than that how will He relate to you in response?

And from this story which is found only in the Gospel of John there is great encouragement for us this morning, because what it tells us is this: When you blow It and you know it, show it, and Jesus will forgive, accept, restore and bless you.

Now Peter’s leadership among the disciples is demonstrated not only by his initiative in spiritual matters, but after Jesus’ resurrection, with regard to his preferred recreation, which had also been his occupation—fishing. Apparently, he and the 11 remaining disciples were in Galilee awaiting their appointed meeting with the resurrected Jesus at the mountain he had told them to go to. The disciples had arrived in Galilee, and they apparently had some free time. So, Peter announced he was going fishing. Fishing, back then, was apparently more often a night-time activity, at least with respect to the low elevation lake, the Sea of Galilee, or the Sea of Tiberius as it is called here. And six other disciples decide to join him, most notably John, Peter’s best buddy by this time, a fisherman by trade as well, and the eyewitness writer of this account.