I am not a good letter writer. It seems as if I always leave something out. When I do write letters, I often have to add a P.S.
This final chapter of John's gospel seems to a postscript. The closing verses of John 20 seem to conclude the book. Then, as an apparent postscript, chapter 21 is added.
Scholars have long debated why this 21st chapter was added by John to the book.
Two answers are most often suggested. Some say, John added this chapter to clarify the nature of the church's ministry. Now that the second coming of Christ had apparently been delayed, what was the church to do? We see the answer clearly expressed in the dynamic dialogue between Jesus and Peter in verses 15-17.
Another possibility was that John added this chapter to demonstrate once and for all the reality of the resurrection. Was Jesus really raised fro the dead or was it simply an illusion? The answer to that question is clearly provided in the description of the resurrected Lord as a person who could spot a school of fish (v. 6), start a charcoal fire (v. 9), and cook and eat a meal (v. 13).
Both suggestions have merit, but I believe John's purpose was even broader than this.
The purpose of chapter 21 is to describe the dynamics of discipleship.
John ended chapter 20 with a call to discipleship. Through belief in Jesus as the Son of God, John said, we will find new life. But what would that new life be like? What would be involved in discipleship? This is the question John seeks to answer in this final chapter.
A Fullness
First, John tells us that when we follow Christ we will experience a fullness.
In the aftermath of the events in Jerusalem which had left the disciples confused and uncertain, they found a sense of stability by returning to the familiarity of their fishing. However, a night on the water had produced nothing but empty nets. Early in the morning hours, a man who stood on the shore suggested they put down their nets on the other side of the boat. They followed the stranger's suggestions. The stranger of course was Jesus. When they raised their nets they found them full. John says they later counted the fish and there were 153.
Scholars have offered various suggestions on the meaning of the number, 153.
Cyril of Alexandria said that the 100 represented the fullness of the Gentiles.
The 50 refers to the remnants of Israel who will be gathered into God's kingdom.
The three is a symbol of the trinity to whose glory the fullness of the Gentiles and Jews would be brought together.
Jerome said that there are 153 different kinds of fish in the sea.
Therefore, the number, in his opinion symbolized the day when all men of all nations will be gathered together in Christ.
The suggestion of Augustine was even more ingenuous. He said that 10 is the number of the commandments and thus represents the law. Seven is the number of wholeness or completion and thus represents grace. Together these numbers equal 17. When you add up all the digits from 1 to 17 the total is 153. The obvious reference then is to all who by law or by grace have been brought to Christ!
Such a theory reminds me of an evangelist with an inordinate affection for biblical numerology who began his sermon by saying, "Turn to Revelation 2, verse 3. That equals 5. The beast has 4 toes and that makes 9. Repent!"
I don't believe the number had any special significance other than to symbolize a full net, an overabundance of fish.
More important than the number is the underlying message. When you try to live your life on your own, your nets will come up empty. But when you live in obedience to the command of Christ, you will experience a fullness of joy and power: power under pressure and joy in the midst of sometimes unpleasant circumstances.
A certain lady made a box of Bible verse containing a selection of God's promises from Scripture. Each verse was written on a small piece of paper and was then rolled up to make a miniature scroll. About forty or fifty of these were placed in a tiny open box. She called it her promise box. Many years later when confronted by many problems, she thought of her promise box. She searched through her dresser and found it. She prayed, "Lord, you know how depressed I am and how much I need encouragement. Is there a promise in this box that can help me?" After she finished her prayer, she walked over to the window where the light was better. As she did, she tripped over a loose edge of the rug and all the promises spilled out on the carpet. As she sat on the floor, she looked toward heaven and said, "Lord, how foolish I was to ask for one promise when all of them are for me."
When you follow Christ, all of God's promises are for you. And that means a fullness of life like you can find nowhere else.
A Fellowship
When we walk with Christ we will also experience fellowship. One of the most beautiful pictures in John's Gospel is this one of the disciples gathered around an open fire with their Master, enjoying the fellowship of each other's company.
All of their failures were forgotten. All of their faults were overlooked. All of the differences were ignored. Egocentricity was eliminated. Problems were put aside. They were molded together as one in Christ Jesus. They had fellowship!
Some criticize the church today as being irrelevant and ridicule the Christian life as being insignificant. But I want to tell you there is no fellowship on this earth like the fellowship which is found between true believers in the church of Jesus Christ.
When a couple has a special problem and a Sunday School class gives them time alone by taking care of their children for a weekend, that's fellowship. And you find that in the church.
When a staff member has a wreck and his family is incapacitated and a group of senior adults provides food for them for an extended period of time, that's fellowship. And you find that in the church.
When a woman's husband leaves her and her friends come by just to cry with her, that's fellowship. And you find that in the church.
You can look the world over and you will still not find the fellowship that is experienced in the church between men and women who are followers of Jesus Christ.
A Function
There is more. When we follow Jesus Christ we will also have a function. Consider the dynamic dialogue between Jesus and Simon Peter in verse 15. How hard it must have been for Simon Peter to sit down and look into the eyes of the one whom he had denied three times. Jesus knew what Simon Peter was going through. He knew how his failure haunted him. That's why Jesus asked him three times, "Do you love me?" Jesus gave Peter a chance to wipe out the memory of his three-fold denial with a three-fold dedication.
Notice how Jesus responded to the declaration of Simon Peter: "Tend My lambs" (v. 15), "shepherd My sheep" (v. 18), "tend My sheep" (v. 17). Jesus reminded Peter, "It's not enough just to say you love me. Your function is to translate that love into a ministry of active concern for others." We are to be a shepherd church.
Dr. James Coggin once told about a man who lived four doors down from Travis Avenue Baptist Church who committed suicide while they were having their church service. Within the shadow of the church. Yet, somehow the church had not been able to minister to him. Dr. Coggin said, "As I thought about that experience I concluded that God would not be pleased about that."
Our worship is important, but unless we translate adoration into activity, our worship is meaningless. Our declaration of love is important, but unless we translate that outcry into outreach, then it is no more than "sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal" (1 Cor. 13:1, KJV).
The church has a function. We are to be the hands by which God touches a hurt and hungry world. That's what following Christ involves.
A Foe
There will also be a foe. Whenever you march in obedience to God's commands, whenever a church dares to follow the mandate of God and move forward in ministry, opposition will raise its ugly head.
Jesus' prophecy in verse 18 of those who would oppose Peter and bind him and restrict his action is no more than what will happen to all of us. If you think that following Jesus is a problem-less primrose path, then you are mistaken.
The road of discipleship is not always easy.
Sometimes the opposition is from within. Our old nature continually seeks to pull us down and defuse our spiritual power. Sin no longer reigns in the life of the Christian, but it still fights. Paul warned Timothy, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths" (2 Tim. 4:3-4). Sometimes we are our own worst enemy.
At other times, the opposition is from without. When you get serious about following Christ, Satan will launch an attack on you that will rock you on your heels. Jerry Clowers was right when he said, "The devil has an alphabetical list of my temptations." And he will use them all.
When people criticize you and Satan opposes you, don't despair. That goes with the territory when you follow Christ.
A Freedom
Jesus suggests another intriguing idea in our text. When we follow Jesus, we will also have a freedom.
I've always been intrigued by the response of Simon Peter to the prophecy of his death. He looked at John and said, "What about him, Lord? Will he have to die, too?" (v. 21). In His answer, Jesus was not actually rebuking Peter. Rather, He was reminding him of the uniqueness of every person in the kingdom of God. We may be brothers, but we are not identical twins.
When you follow Christ you don't have to fit into anyone else's mold, except the one commanded by God's Word. You don't have to talk a certain language, except the one commanded by God's Word. You don't have to look a certain way, except to look like what you profess to be according to God's Word. We are unique! And praise God, He gives us the freedom through obedience to His holy Word to be ourselves.
