A Passion For Prodigals

“A Passion for Prodigals”

John 21:1-25

John 21:3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.

No story in scripture is more winsome that the one Jesus tells in Luke’s gospel about the son of a wealthy man who asks for and receives his inheritance and then leaves home and “wastes” it all in riotous living. He ultimately finds himself hungry and destitute living in a far country without food, funds, or friends and longing for home. At the end we see him reunited with his father and enjoying the blessings of his father’s house and heart. There are many examples of prodigals in real life and in Scripture. My focus this evening is not so much on the prodigal himself but on God’s passion for prodigals. God doesn’t love rebellion but he loves rebels. I want to use Peter as an example of this passion from prodigals.

I. The Problem for the Prodigal

a. The fainting

Several things have happened prior to the events in chapter 21 that are noteworthy. Peter has seen the empty tomb personally; he had seen the risen Lord along with 9 other disciples and he had seen Jesus, this time with Thomas present, and now we are told that this is the third time he appears to Peter and 6 others. Verse 14 makes this very clear and I believe for a reason, Peter and the others backslid knowing full well that Jesus is raised from the dead! Now before we throw stones at Peter and his crew, we need to be reminded that many believers backslide today under the very same circumstances. We know He lives but we drift away from Him anyway. We rebel in spite of the truth of the resurrection! Peter was afflicted with a fainting faith and you and I are also “prone to wander from the God I love.”

TWO MILES OF DITCH

I was headed home late from a wedding reception and had about a two hour drive when a friend said to me, "Remember that for every mile you drive there are two miles of ditch".

I was in the car before that really sunk in, and then it hit me, for every path we walk, there are two miles of ditch along the journey inviting us to veer off the road, twice as many chances to stray away from God.

Few of us intend to go into the ditch. No one just drives down the road and says "Hey I'm going to drive into the ditch" or appropriately in Peter’s case, “I'm going back to fishing". For most of us, it is a simple hugging of the shoulder and little by little we move ourselves from the path of following Jesus and somehow we end up off the road and in the ditch.

b. The followers

Backsliders seldom stop to consider the consequences of their actions. Peter goes fishing and 6 others join him. Rebels always influence others. There is an interesting episode in the life of Peter that occurs later in his career that is recorded in Gal 2:11 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. 12 For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. 13 And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.

The prophet Jonah put the lives of an entire ship’s crew in jeopardy; King David set a chain of events in motion that led to the death of a loyal soldier named Uriah, the death of three sons and the rape of his daughter. Sin will always cost us more than we ever dreamed that it would. A backsliding believer will never know what his or her rebellion will cost. Some of the damage will show up immediately but some may not be revealed for many years.

c. The futility

They fished all night and caught nothing. When you are out of the will of God you forfeit His favor and make yourself the object of his discipline. Obedience brings blessing and disobedience brings blasting! You will never have a minute to enjoy your rebellion. And like any loving parent God will begin the process of constructive correction!

Hebrews 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

II. The Pursuit of the Prodigal