In last week’s sermon, we said that the last section of chapter 20 taught five principles of the gospel. And one of them was the abiding presence of Christ. That is an essential doctrine of the gospel; that Jesus Christ is alive, that though He died on the cross, He arose from the dead, and ever lives to make intercession for us.
That’s an important doctrine, because it reveals that Christ has procured two essential things for the Christian life. One; that the death of Jesus Christ provided the payment for the penalty of our sins. But two, His resurrection has provided new life for those who have been forgiven. Jesus died on the cross that we might die to sin, and that our penalty for our sin would be paid. But Jesus rose from the grave to show that we have new life, a life free from sin and death, a life of fruitfulness and purpose and eternal reward.
The reason we are given new life is so that we may have a life of fellowship with God. Our justification is the beginning of spiritual life. But God desires not just that we have the forgiveness of sins, but that we enter into the relationship of communion with him, constant communion with him. True spiritual life is life in communion with God. That is what enables this new life to be the abundant life which Jesus promised. It’s abundant, because the Lord is with us, in us, and working through us. You cannot have more abundant life than that.
So that is what John is illustrating in this record of yet another post resurrection appearance of Jesus Christ. It is obviously additional confirmation of His resurrection, but even more importantly, it serves to teach us the presence and power of Christ that is available to us, even though He has ascended into heaven.
Now notice that John intentionally uses a word to describe Jesus’s appearance which helps us to understand this principle. Twice in vs.1 and again in vs.14 John uses the word “manifests” to describe Jesus’s appearance. On the one hand, we might recognize that means He suddenly appeared, as if to say He was instantly there. But more importantly than that, it means that He simply made what was there already visible. He made the invisible, visible. That is the important thing; Jesus is always there. He is always with us. We may not see Him, but like Thomas discovered in last week’s message, Jesus was aware of all that he had said to the disciples in Jesus’s physical absence. So as both Moses and David stated in the OT, the Lord will never leave you nor forsake you. He is always with us, whether we see Him manifested in presence or in power or simply known by faith, He will be with us always. Jesus said in Matt.28:20, “lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Now while it is easy to proclaim such principles in times of peace and plenty, it is another to hold to such belief in times of feeling abandoned, or discouraged, or frightened, or in persecution. I’m not sure what the disciples were feeling as we catch up to them in vs.2, but I assume it might have been a little bit of all of the above. The last time Jesus had appeared to the disciples was the second Sunday after His resurrection. Eight days after the resurrection, on a Sunday evening, Jesus appeared in the locked room to meet with Thomas who was disbelieving the disciples report of the resurrection. And so Jesus made a divine appointment to reconcile Thomas.
But now it’s probably been a couple of weeks or more since that day. Jesus was on the earth for a total of 40 days after His resurrection. And John tells us in vs.14 that this was the 3rd time that He had appeared to the 11 disciples. We don’t know how long had transpired between the eighth day and this day. But we do know that Jesus had told the disciples in Matthew 28 to go to Galilee and that He would meet them there on a particular mountain. And we can surmise from vs 14 that they had been waiting for Jesus to show up at the mountain as He indicated, but He had not yet appeared. It might have been a week or more that they had sat on this desolate mountainside waiting for the Lord. There probably wasn’t much to eat. It might have been the same mountain that Jesus fed the 5000. There were no supermarkets out there. And the boys managed for a few days, and then they began to get hungry, frustrated and tired of waiting.
So Peter wakes up one morning, looks down the mountain at the Sea of Tiberius below, also known as the Sea of Galilee, and says, “I’m going fishing.” And the other six disciples that were there with him said, “We will come with you.”
By now, we all should realize that Peter was a natural leader. If Peter said it was a good idea, then everyone else did too. Peter is always presented first in any list of the disciples. It was because he was a natural leader. He was probably a pretty big guy, a strong man. Verse 11 makes it sound like Peter pulled the net to shore all by himself. I’m not sure that’s what it means, but that’s a possibility. But no doubt he was a big, strong guy. A courageous man. He wasn’t afraid of too much. He hardly ever held up his finger to see which way the wind was blowing. He just jumped in. And the disciples followed his leadership.
But we also ought to learn a lesson from this. There are a lot of men out there that are natural leaders that have found their way into the pastorate across this country. They may have a natural talent for communication. They may be funny, they can tell interesting stories. They may have a natural talent of convincing people to follow them. They may be exciting to be around. It’s easy to follow charismatic people. But they may not always be acting on behalf of God. They may be acting on their ego, or on their appetite, or they may be on a power trip. And we need to be careful to discern whether or not such men are being led by God or not.
Well, it’s obvious to me that Peter was not being led by God. He was led by his appetite. He was led by his desire to do something, to make something happen. Nothing was happening on that cold mountain. And down at that lake he knew he had his little fishing boat docked and ready to go fishing.
Another lesson to be learned is that man’s timing is not always God’s timing. Peter was ready to get moving. It had been weeks since the crucifixion, Jesus hadn’t shown up again and Peter was restless. But to move when God hasn’t told you to move is a foolish thing. As a pastor, as the leader of this church, I can assure you that I constantly have to check my motivation. Is it God appointed, or man appointed? Is it God’s timing, or my timing? In my opinion, most of the time God seems to move really, really slow. And sometimes He seems really late. I hate hearing these self righteous types that always pontificate about how God is always on time. I don’t doubt that God is always on time. But I do believe that God has a different time piece than what we use. Peter said as much in 2Peter 3:8 when he said, “But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.” I think it’s possible Peter learned that valuable lesson on this very fishing expedition. God’s clock looks a lot different than our clock. So learning to wait on the Lord’s timing is a difficult thing for us, as it was for Peter and the disciples.
Another lesson to be learned from this is that man’s talent is worthless in the new life of a Christian without God’s authorization. Peter and all of those guys with him were experienced fishermen. They were professional fishermen. They had made a career out of it prior to becoming disciples. But they were supposed to be fishers of men now. They left their nets, remember, and followed the Lord. That occasion was another fishing expedition when Jesus told Peter to cast on the other side of the boat and Peter said, “Lord, we’ve been fishing all night and caught nothing. And we are expert fishermen. But to show what an understanding guy I am, I will do it at your request. Just to show you I know what I’m talking about.” And on that occasion, they caught so many fish that the boat started sinking. So afterwards when Jesus said, “Come and follow Me and I will make you fishers of men,” they left their fishing business and followed the Lord.
But now here they are after the resurrection, obviously still not getting the connection as to what this post resurrection ministry is all about, and so Peter thinks he’s going to take matters into his own hands and get the ball rolling. He decides to go back to his old profession. After all, they are going to need to eat. They have to make a living. Jesus isn’t here to feed them, so they have to make a living. Makes perfect common sense. If we had of been there, we would all have said, “Wait for us, we’re coming too.” Especially Nick. He always wants to fish.(!)
And yet all the natural talent in the world couldn’t fill their boat with fish. They caught nothing. And they fished all night long. Not a bite. Nothing to show for it. I think the lesson is pretty clear. Our talents, our wisdom, our experience, are useless in the Christian life if they are not directed by the Lord as He would have us to work. I don’t care how much talent some musician may have. I don’t care how much ability to communicate a person may have.
You know, there is a worksheet that has found it’s way in many churches where you can supposedly discover your spiritual gift. And maybe you have done that worksheet. I did it once. Let me tell you something. That’s man’s approach. God doesn’t use a worksheet. He doesn’t look at your natural talents or abilities. He looks at your potential. He looks at your heart. He looks at your willingness to be used and to serve. He looks at what He can do through you, and not what you can do without Him.
Don’t misunderstand a very important distinction. Natural talents do not equate to spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts are things that God wants you to do which you may not have any talent to do naturally. So God gives you the Holy Spirit to equip you and lead you and develop you to do what He wants you to do. It’s not of the flesh, but of the Spirit. God doesn’t look at your capability, but your capacity. Your willingness to be obedient to Him. Then He will fill you with the power to do it. A work of God doesn’t come from you, it comes through you from God.
A good illustration of that is found in the last chapter. In John 20:22, it says Jesus breathed on the disciples and *said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” So they received the Holy Spirit then, several weeks before Pentecost. Then on the day of Pentecost, in Acts 2:4, it says that they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Holy Spirit was giving them utterance. See, the principle is having the right capacity, and being yielded to the Lord in obedience, He is able to fill you to fulfill His purposes. He is able to give you the talent or wisdom or strength to do what He wants you to do. And as we see in Acts, this unlearned fisherman named Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, stands up and preaches from the word of God and has an unbelievable harvest of 3000 souls. That’s the secret of fruitfulness that is being taught here in this passage.
So back to our story, they worked all night but were unfruitful. They accomplished nothing because they were relying on their own experience and talent and wisdom. And then Jesus appears. He manifests Himself to them, standing a hundred yards away on the shore. They don’t know it’s Jesus at first. That’s been the typical response at all Jesus’s appearances. No one recognizes Him until He is ready to be recognized. But Jesus has been there all night long. Watching them, listening to them, waiting for them to get tired of doing it their way. Waiting for them to come to the realization that they had accomplished nothing. And then Jesus kind of rubs it in, just a little bit. He calls out to them, “Hey guys, do you have any fish?”
And the disciples have to say what no fisherman ever wants to admit; they had caught nothing. I’ve asked Nick that very question many times before, and he never gives a straight answer. He always start talking about the one that got away. No fisherman likes to admit failure. So they said, “No.” I bet they said more than what John records for us. But maybe it’s better he didn’t record it. I’m sure they had a few choice words to say though when Jesus responded, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” But again, discretion being the better part of valor, John simply records that they cast their net on the other side and then were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.
Listen, the point is not fishing on the right side versus the left side. It’s not one method over another method. It’s not one program over another program. The answer to fruitfulness is not a children’s ministry or a youth ministry or this program or that program. The point is it’s God’s way or no way. If you want real fruitfulness in God’s church, you need to do it God’s way. You may have a lot of activity, you may have a lot of enthusiasm, you may have a nice boat, and a lot of people rowing and shouting commands. But if it’s God’s church, you better do it God’s way. God has a blueprint for the church. And I got to tell you, most churches don’t have a clue what that is. But if you want your life to count for the kingdom of God, then you better find His blueprint and stick to it.
Isaiah 55:9 says, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” So also if we are going to see fruitfulness, we need to make sure we rely not on common sense but on uncommon grace. 1Cor. 1:27, “but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.”
Now what does fruitfulness look like? Well, it may not look like what you think. Let’s notice what happens here when the disciples obey Christ. First, it produced recognition of Christ. John immediately recognizes when they start hauling in this load of fish that it has to be the Lord. He tells Peter, and Peter gets so excited he puts on his clothes and throws himself in the water and starts swimming to shore. He wants to be first to see Jesus. I will say that I love Peter’s enthusiasm. He may not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was enthusiastic. And I think this shows how much he loves the Lord.
Listen, when real fruitfulness happens, it produces the realization of Christ likeness in His people. That is what fruitfulness looks like. It’s not just converts. It’s not members. It’s not the size of your building or your congregation. But people recognize Christ in your church. Fruitfulness produces the nature and character of Christ in the church which is recognizable. And secondly, it produces love for the Lord. You know how you can tell Peter loved the Lord? He left his boat, he left his nets, he left this incredible haul of fish. Peter didn’t care about fishing anymore. He didn’t care about his career anymore. He cared about being with Jesus.
Well, I’m sure some smart guy out there is saying, “Well sure, but fruitfulness is also defined by 153 fish.” But I would suggest that it isn’t the numbers that we should focus on. I’m suggesting we focus on the abundance that the Lord provides, and particularly the capacity of the nets. The text says that even though all those fish were in them, they did not break. In other words, the Lord increases your capacity. That’s the true nature of a spiritual gift. It’s not a natural thing, it’s not according to natural causes, but when you are yielded and obedient to what God wants you to do, He increases your capacity. Matt. 13:12, “For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”
When Peter got to shore, he discovered that the Lord already had a fire going, and fish and bread already cooked ready to eat. And the Lord told them to come and eat breakfast, and to bring some of their fish as well.
Listen, we can read a lot of things into this breakfast that aren’t necessarily there if we’re not careful. But what I can say with certainty is that the Lord wants us to bring to Him our contribution, but it is His grace that provides the resources that we need for our new life in Christ. He is the provider, He is the means of power, the means of provision. He wants our contribution, but mainly, I think He wants our fellowship. He wants communion with us. Jesus said to the church in Laodicea in Rev. 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”
We tend to use that verse as an invitation to unbelievers. But in reality it is an invitation to believers, to a busy, self absorbed church that has no time for real fellowship with the Lord. He is calling us, knocking on our heart’s door, wanting to have intimacy and communion with us. That is the purpose of the gospel. To restore us to the relationship man enjoyed with God back in the Garden of Eden. To restore us to fellowship with Him. And when we abide with Him in fellowship, we will have fruitfulness in the church.
Jesus talked about this relationship of fruitfulness and fellowship in John 14:15, and I will end with this passage as a summary of the message this morning. Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
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