John 21

There were several resurrection appearances of Jesus Christ. Even in the previous chapter our Lord appeared to Mary Magdalene, to the disciples without Thomas, and then to the disciples including Thomas. Each of these appearances is offered as proof of one central miracle, the resurrection of Christ from the dead. In the final chapter of John’s gospel we read of a final extended interaction between several of the disciples and the risen Lord, providing us with important direction for the ministry of the apostles, and for the progress of the church throughout the centuries to come.

It is amazing to think of the disciples returning to their previous lives, at least to some degree, after Jesus had already shown Himself to them as risen from the dead. Here we find them fishing, not for men, but for fish, and that without success. They caught nothing all night long. Jesus, unknown to them at first, instructs them to cast the net on the other side of the boat, and they then caught more fish then they were able to handle. The Savior, who earlier in His ministry had walked on the water, is in charge of all the creatures in the sea, but more than this he also rules over the hearts of men. He intends to employ His church as fishers of men.

This Lord Jesus Christ, now the first man resurrected to immortality, is certainly known to them, but He is also mysterious in His being, so that, in some sense, it would appear that they do not seem to know Him. This Jesus cooked breakfast for them. Even in this glorious condition, He is serving the church, just as He was before His death when He washed their feet, and especially when He went to the cross to die for them.

If we remind ourselves that it is our glorious King who gives these men bread and fish, it should not surprise us that we are being called to humble service, a service that we should not presume to be only a part of our brief time here on earth as mortal creatures. Jesus defeats death for us, not service. There is no reason for us to conceive of eternity as devoid of opportunity to express our care for God and for each other. We begin that care now, care that is based on our love for Jesus Christ.

Peter is asked three times with some slight variation this question: “Do you love me?” Prior to the cross, Peter had denied the Lord three times as Christ had predicted he would, and now he affirms his love for him three times. The task that He is given, in order to show forth the love that he professes, is the feeding of sheep. People are the sheep referred to here, and the Word of God is the food for which our souls hunger. Jesus is not above giving physical food to His disciples, yet the primary way that Peter, and all of the ministers of the Lord’s church, are to feed the flock of God, is as servants of the Word. We need food for our bodies, but we also need sustenance for our souls. Ministers of the Word need to bring the Word of God to the people of God. To do this well they must love Christ, love His church, love the message of the gospel, and love the Scriptures; and they must be willing to devote themselves to bringing the whole counsel of God to hungry people.

This is what it means for such men to follow Jesus Christ. They must love Him more than their own lives, or they will always choose their own respect before men and themselves above Him. Peter is being called to give Himself over to Christ, the church, the gospel, and the Word, as a dead man in the eyes of the powers that be in this world, but as a living lover of Christ in the eyes of heaven. This is the way for such a man to glorify God, and this is the way that the risen Lord of the church directs that His Name would be made known.

The specific pathway for any one minister of the Word or any one member of the body of Christ belongs to the secret things of God. It is beyond us to know how long we will live, exactly how we will suffer, and what the precise outcome of our efforts will be. It is enough for us to find our identity in the One who serves, and to love the One who first loved us. How long John will live compared to Peter, and how either one of these men will die is not their business. We need to obey God and trust Him with all the unknowns of our existence.

The final chapter of the four gospels ends with these words: “Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” This is a fitting conclusion to these four blessed accounts of the life of our Lord. We do not know everything about Him, just as we do not have exhaustive knowledge of ourselves, but there is far more to be known in Him than there is to be known in us. What we do know is enough for us to give our lives to the Son of God who gave His life for us. It is our privilege to rejoice in Him always, and to serve Him as those who earnestly entreat the Father with these words, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”