Let us read John 21:15-19. “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.’ He said to him a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.’ (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, ‘Follow me.’”[1]
All of us faced a tough year this year. We feel we just barely survived. We did not thrive. To most of us, it was a tiring year. It was not a thrilling one. Usually, at the end of the year, we either rejoice or regret. We rejoice for the things we fulfilled this year. Or, we regret for the things we failed to do. Either way, as we face a new year, it is tempting to lay low. For those of us who did a lot of things, we may think we have done enough. We feel we deserve a break. For those of us who made a lot of promises but failed to deliver, it is tempting to simply throw in the towel. We think, “Why try at all?” Either way, we end up just watching things happen rather than making it happen. But this morning I challenge you to “Lay it on the line… again.” Never GIVE UP. Always GIVE IT ALL. Let us pray first…
We really don’t know what prompted Peter to suddenly decide, “I am going fishing.” (v. 3) The Lord already appeared twice before the disciples. Some say he was turning his back from the Lord. But he did not say, “I am going back to fishing.” Yet, he “undoubtedly had a sense of failure over his sin in denying the Lord.”[2] Others say that maybe he has some bills to pay and, while waiting for the Lord in Galilee as He had previously told them, he decided to earn some money the way he knew best… fishing. Whatever the reason, the usually impulsive Peter brought with him six other disciples.
Throughout the whole night till dawn they caught nothing. You know, this made some people doubt if they were really good fishermen. It is because whenever the Bible mentioned that they were fishing, they usually caught nothing! Then, about 300 hundred feet away, somebody shouted from the shore, “Do you have any fish?” It was embarrassing but they had to answer “No.” (v. 5) That person on the shore shouted back. “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” (v. 6) At first they did not recognize who that person was. But they obeyed. To their amazement, they caught 153 large fish. John immediately recognized who that person was. “It is the Lord!” (v. 7) Peter was so excited that he jumped from the boat into the water and swam towards the shore to meet the Lord. On the shore, the disciples “saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread.” (v. 9) The Lord Himself prepared breakfast for them. Inviting them for breakfast, He “took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish.” (v. 13)
Surely, this encounter brought back a lot of memories. The miracle of the big catch must have reminded Peter the day the Lord did a miracle like that also. That day, Jesus called him to become a “fisher of men.”[3] According to the Bible Exposition Commentary, “Jesus called the disciples and us to be ‘fishers of men.’ This phrase was not invented by Jesus; it had been used for years by Greek and Roman teachers. To be a “fisher of men” in that day meant to seek to persuade men and ‘catch’ them with the truth.”[4] It was a reminder of his calling as well as the rest of the disciples. When Jesus distributed the bread and the fish to them, it was His way of reminding them also of the feeding of the 5,000.[5] He may have reminded them also of His last meal with them. The location itself must have brought to Peter’s mind a lot of the moments he spent with the Lord near the vicinity of the Sea of Galilee or the times they crisscrossed the lake. One of them must be the night he walked on water with Jesus.
The charcoal fire on the shore brought back a very painful memory to Peter. It reminded him of the night he denied the Lord. John 18:18 tells us that that night “the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.” He had just denied the Lord to a servant girl. Then John 18:25-27 tell us, “Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, ‘You also are not one of his disciples, are you?’ He denied it and said, ‘I am not.’ One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, ‘Did I not see you in the garden with him?’ [The guy must have said, ‘Aren’t you that guy with the bad aim? You aimed for the neck but you only hit the ear.’] Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed.”
I think whenever we face a New Year we are equally bombarded with a lot of memories. Many things are brought to mind, either memories that lead us to rejoice or memories that lead us to regret. Now, the fact that the Lord served a meal is rich in significance. “In the ancient Near East a host who extended hospitality to others and provided food for them was implying that He would defend them from then on. Consequently Jesus’ invitation may have been a promise of commitment to them like the oriental covenant meal. Such a meal involved acceptance, forgiveness, and mutual commitment. By accepting His invitation the disciples were implying that they were committing themselves to Jesus afresh.”[6] Just like Peter and the rest of the disciples, now is the time to renew our commitment with the Lord. We are to lay down our lives on the line again for Him. We should never give up. We should always give it all.
After the breakfast, the Lord asked Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” (v. 15) That question painfully brought back again another sad memory to Peter. The last night they with the Lord, when He revealed that all the disciples would forsake him, Peter proudly declared, “I will lay down my life for you.”[7] He even boasted, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.”[8] Jesus was actually asking Peter, “Do you love Me—as you claimed—more than these other disciples love Me?”[9]
Though the question hurt him, Peter answered, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” The second time the Lord asked him again, Peter gave the same answer. When Jesus asked him the third time, “‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’” (v. 17) Peter denied the three times. But the Lord also gave Peter a chance to reaffirm his love for Him three times. And He even gave him a new commission: “Feed my lambs,” (v. 15) “Tend my sheep,” (v. 16) and “Feed my sheep.” It was new beginning for Peter. The Lord was asking Peter to lay down his life on the line again for Him. Instead of giving up, he should give it all.
Remember that Peter boasted, “I will lay down my life for you.” Though he failed to follow through at first with his commitment to die for the Lord, Jesus said he will finally get his chance to fulfill it: “‘Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.’ (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.)” Ultimately, Peter glorified God. He got to lay down his life for the Lord in the end. He bravely died a martyr’s death for Him.
It’s the same with us. We may not get the chance to die for the Lord. But He is giving each one of us the chance to live for Him. We may feel ashamed that we failed to follow through with our commitment to obey Him. Or, we have laid our lives, our time, our efforts and our resources on the line before. But we feel like nothing or little has been accomplished despite our sacrifice. Don’t give up. Still give it all. Starting today, in view of the New Year, let us make a commitment to lay down our lives on the line again.
Brother and sisters, just as He told Peter, the Lord is also telling us, “Follow me.” (v. 19) If we love the Lord, let us follow Him. Let us lay down our lives on the line again. Never give up. Always give it all.
Let us pray…
[1]Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2]John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983-c1985), 2:344.
[3]Luke 5:1-11.
[4]Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, “An Exposition of the New Testament Comprising the Entire ‘BE’ Series”—Jkt. (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996, c1989), Jn 21:1.
[5]John 6:1-15.
[6]Thomas Constable, Notes on John 2008 Edition, 309. Available from http://soniclight.com/constable/notes/pdf/john.pdf.
[7]John 13:37.
[8]Matthew 26:33.
[9]Wiersbe, Jn. 21:15.
