“DO YOU NEED A SECOND CHANCE?” John 21:1-19
FBCF – 4/16/23
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Ever broken a promise? Done something or said something that disappointed someone? Hard to recover from those moments sometimes.
- Sometimes the broken promise or the moment of disappointment is not a monumental thing – You promised to bring cookies to a party, but you forgot. Your wife wanted you to get some pine straw for the flower beds in the front yard, but you forgot.
- Sometimes the broken promise or the disappointment has major impact & long-lasting consequences – You broke the promise you made to God to save yourself & your purity for your future spouse, or the promise you made to your spouse on your wedding day to “keep yourself only unto him or her.”
- You may be living under a cloud of regret & guilt right this very moment b/c of a broken promise that haunts your memory.
Every one of us has experienced the sting of disappointment when someone has broken a promise made to us. And every one of us has experienced the pain of regret when we have failed in some way. Disappointment & failure are part of what it means to live in a fallen, sinful world. And the deeper our love for someone is, the deeper the pain we feel when they fail us or we fail them. If we didn’t care about someone, then we most like are too concerned about disappointing them or failing them. But when we truly love someone, the thought of failing them can be nearly unbearable.
“Behold! The Lamb of God” series – As we’ve walked through different passages in the Gospel of John, we’ve been able to see how a relationship w/ changes everything in our lives:
- We’ve seen how “This Jesus” shows us what to believe, where to walk, & how to be saved.
- We’ve seen how having a relationship w/ Jesus makes us want to be like Andrew & bring others to meet Jesus.
- We’ve seen how having a life verse can help us truly make Jesus the priority in our lives.
- We’ve seen how Jesus will quench our spiritual thirst.
- We’ve seen how knowing that Jesus prayed for us & is praying for us gives us great encouragement to live for Him.
- We’ve seen how the death, burial, & resurrection of Jesus promise us victory in this life & the life to come!
One of the points I made last Sunday – Easter Sunday – was the Jesus gives us victory over our failures. And that is exactly what one of His main disciples needed to know & experience. Today’s sermon: “Do You Need a Second Chance?”
EXPLANATION – John 21:1-19
“Biggest Loser” reality TV show – contestants strive to lose massive amounts of weight, sometimes as much as 264 lbs like Michael Ventrella did in 2010. (https://biggestloser.fandom.com/wiki/Michael_Ventrella)
Peter could probably be called “The Biggest Loser” when it comes to the disciples. His failure in denying Jesus is the most well-known, well-documented failure of all Jesus’ disciples.
- He failed Jesus in the Upper Room – “Lord, you will never wash my feet” (John 13:8). “Though they all fall away…I will never fall away” (Matthew 26:33). “Even if I must die w/ you, I will not deny you” (Matthew 26:35).
- He failed Him in the Garden w/ Malchus. Peter meant well but accomplished nothing. Jesus told to put his sword away b/c his arrest & crucifixion had to happen.
- He failed Him in the courtyard 3 times when he was asked about being one of Jesus’ disciples: “You’re not one of His disciples, are you?”… “Didn’t I see you w/ Him?”… “I’m pretty sure you’re one of His disciples.” And Peter began to curse & swear that He was not! Then the most haunting crowing of a rooster the world has ever heard happened, followed by the look that drove Peter out into the darkness, weeping bitterly over his denial of Jesus, his failure, his broken promises.
This moment in Peter’s life shows us some important realities about denying Christ, either by our words or by our deeds:
- We lose our joy – Luke 22:62 – “He went out & wept bitterly [w/ agony, w/ mental suffering].”
- We lose our courage – Peter had been so bold in his pronouncement of his standing w/ Jesus, even to the point of death.
- We lose our direction – Just have to wonder where Peter went when he left the courtyard that night. He had been so confident in following Jesus, & now he had nowhere to go.
- We lose our assurance – The man whose name literally meant “rock” was broken apart by a lowly servant girl standing by a fire.
But that’s not the end of the story as we see in John 21.
APPLICATION – Jesus offers us restoration when we have failed.
All of us need a second chance at different times in our lives. And when we look at how Jesus responded to Peter’s failure, we see how He responds to our failures.
HE SOUGHT HIM OUT – Let’s go back to last Sunday, to the empty tomb. When the women arrived there early that first resurrection morning, the angel gave them the amazing news that Jesus was alive – “He is not here. He is risen!” And then the angel gave them these instructions: “Go, tell His disciples & Peter” (Mark 16:7).
- “Now go & tell His disciples, & especially Peter” (CEV)
- “Now go & tell His followers. And be sure to tell Peter” (ERV).
- “But go, tell His disciples, even Peter” (NET)
Peter’s denial of Jesus had separated him from the other disciples. No doubt he had to wonder, “Am I a traitor or am I a disciple?” Knowing human nature, some of the other disciples had probably gossiped about him & shunned him.
Isn’t that what happens to us sometimes? We fail in some way – disappoint some folks – let some folks down. Next time we see them, they ignore us or won’t look our way. Unfortunately, happens in church sometimes, too.
But isn’t it encouraging to know that, when everyone else is looking away from us, Jesus is looking for us! He made sure that Peter got the message that Jesus was looking for Him. After all of his failures, Jesus sought him out & sent for him specifically. No other disciple was mentioned by the angel – only Peter.
- Remember that angels are God’s messengers. So the message that God had for Peter: “In spite of your failures, Jesus is seeking YOU!
- That’s the same message God has for you today, too.
HE SPOKE TO HIM – We’re not sure exactly where Peter went after his denial of Jesus. But if like most of us, he probably went into hiding, secluding himself from other people. Last thing we want do to when we’ve blown it big time is to be around other people. Sin separates us from God & separate us from people, too. And the enemy pounces on our moment of vulnerability & works hard to convince us that no one want to be around us ever again.
Once again, we see that, in the lowest moment of Peter’s life, Jesus made a point to meet w/ him & speak to him before He met w/ the rest of the disciples. Don’t know where it happened or how long the meeting was or what He said to Peter. But…
- Luke 24:34 – “The Lord has really arisen. He appeared to Peter!” (TLB)
- 1 Corinthians 15:4-5 – “…He was buried and that He was raised to life three days later, as written in the Scriptures; that He appeared to Peter and then to all twelve apostles.” (GNT)
- And you can be sure that there were some amazing words shared w/ Peter when Jesus appeared to him!
If you are trying to hide from folks, pulling away from people in your life b/c of your failure & fear, you need to stop b/c Jesus wants to say something to you. There won’t be any public humiliation from Him. There won’t be any anger in His eyes toward you. There won’t be any scolding in His words. He’s not going to berate you, fuss at you, bawl you out, or rake you over the coals.
HE SET HIM FREE – John 21:15-17 – Jesus didn’t ask Peter if he knew how badly he had hurt Him. He didn’t ask Peter to promise to do better – “Shape up or ship out!” He didn’t ask Peter if he was sorry for messing up so badly, if he was sorry for being such a failure. He simply asked him, “Do you love me?”
- Asked him 3 times b/c Peter had denied Him 3 times.
- Asked him publicly b/c Peter had denied Him publicly.
- Jesus knew the big plans He had for Peter in the formation of the early church after the Day of Pentecost – the plans He had for Peter to be a major preacher of the Gospel – the plans He had for Peter in some serious Kingdom of God work. So the other disciples needed to hear Peter make a public declaration of His love for Jesus to remove any doubt in their minds about Peter’s status.
- And with that final declaration of his love for Jesus – “Lord, you know all things; you KNOW that I love you” – Jesus restored Peter & set him free from his failure & set him free to serve God for the rest of his life – which he did. Never denied Jesus again!
Who here today needs to be set free from your failure? Who here today needs to simply tell Jesus that you love Him – that you really love Him & want to obey Him? Who here today wants to be set free to serve the Lord for the rest of your life?
CONCLUSION – “IDENTITY” video
https://www.sermoncentral.com/church-media-preaching-sermons/sermon-video-illustrations/identity-4975-detail
