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John 21
records Yeshua's third resurrection appearance
to seven of the disciples. It takes place up north
in the Galil, where they were from. After these
things Yeshua manifested Himself again to the
disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested
Himself in this way. Simon Peter, and Thomas
called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee,
and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His
disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them,
"I am going fishing." Even though Yeshua promised
to make Peter a fisher of men, Peter still liked
to fish. He still had interests which he enjoyed,
and that’s good. That’s healthy. I know that even
though I love serving the Lord, and witnessing,
and teaching the Word of God, and the other responsibilities,
I still have many other interests which I enjoy,
which enrich my life, and there is room for all.
The other disciples said to him, "We will also
come with you."
They
went out and got into the boat; and that night
they caught nothing. You don’t have to catch
fish to have a good time fishing. Just being on
that marvelous, amazing substance called water
is enjoyable; being out at night under the stars
over the Kinneret, with some good friends, are
pleasurable in themselves. It’s also nice to catch
some fish - which they hadn’t done.
But
when the day was now breaking, Yeshua stood on
the beach; yet the disciples did not know that
it was Yeshua. Distance was a factor. They
were more than 100 yards away. Maybe it was still
dark. But, it’s the same Yeshua, who is still
and forever capable of doing miracles. So Yeshua
said to them, "Children, you do not have any fish,
do you?" They answered Him, "No." And He said
to them, " Cast the net on the right-hand side
of the boat and you will find a catch." Notice
the specific details, including a record of the
conversation. This is eyewitness testimony from
someone who was there, who heard and saw exactly
what happened and what was said. This really happened.
So
they cast, and then they were not able to haul
it in because of the great number of fish.
Wow! What a catch! How fun! How marvelous!
What an experience! I wish I could have been there!
But even more important than the actual catch,
this is a sign to the disciples of their new mission.
The risen Messiah will be with them. He will give
them all the guidance they need to fish for men.
They will be successful. There will be a huge
catch of humanity, and the nets will hold. The
huge catch will be brought in.
Therefore
that disciple whom Yeshua loved (John, who,
due to his great humility does not name himself,
setting us an example for us to follow) said
to Peter, "It is the Lord." John seems to
be the most spiritually sensitive, and is the
first to recognize that this extraordinary event
had to have been caused by Yeshua.
John is
insightful and Peter is bold. So when Simon
Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer
garment on for he was stripped for work, and threw
himself into the sea. But the other disciples
came in the little boat, for they were not far
from the land, but about one hundred yards away,
dragging the net full of fish.
So
when they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal
fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread.
Yeshua said to them, "Bring some of the fish which
you have now caught." Simon Peter went up and
drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred
and fifty-three; and although there were so many,
the net was not torn.
It sounds
like that the net normally would have been torn
from such a large catch, but this time it wasn’t.
The shoes and clothes of the Jewish people should
have worn out during forty years of wandering
in the wilderness, but they didn’t. They were
on a supernatural mission, and they had supernatural
protection. The Emissaries will likewise be on
a supernatural mission for the rest of their lives,
and their will miraculously be provided for, protected,
until their mission is accomplished. And you will
be too!
Yeshua
said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None
of the disciples ventured to question Him, "Who
are You?" knowing that it was the Lord. Yeshua
came and took the bread and gave it to them, and
the fish likewise. The risen Messiah is thoughtful.
He prepared a simple, healthy breakfast for these
hungry men. This is now the third time that
Yeshua was manifested to the disciples, after
He was raised from the dead.
A hundred
and fifty-three fish! What a haul. And, a nice
little profit, too, for the fish could be sold
in the market that day. Did Peter say, “wow, now
I’m really prospering. I may not be that good
of a disciple, after all, I denied my Rabbi, the
one I believe to be the King of Israel, and the
Messiah, in His time of need. Maybe I should keep
on fishing for the rest of my life?” No. In fact,
Yeshua makes it clear that God intended that Peter
pursue a very special calling.
So
when they had finished breakfast, Yeshua 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, "Tend
My lambs." He said to him again 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, "Shepherd 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 all things; You know that
I love You." Yeshua said to him, "Tend My sheep.
Peter's
three-fold denial is matched by Yeshua's three
fold question about Peter's love, and Peter's
three fold reaffirmation of his love, which Yeshua
accepts as genuine. Peter is now fully restored
and recommissioned.
Peter
is told to do something with his love for Yeshua,
to demonstrate by shepherding God’s people. Peter
is commissioned by Yeshua to shepherd God's sheep,
to pastor God's people. This does not mean that
Peter is the head of the church, or the leader
of the other apostles. They were equals, each
were great shepherds of the flocks of God in various
areas.
And likewise,
if we truly love Yeshua, and love God, we must
do something for others. We must not be self-absorbed.
We must do what we can, even if it is in a small
way, for the people of God around us. Are you?
Let me
also say that it’s not easy being a shepherd.
Shepherds must do more than teach. He leads, guides,
protects, and corrects the flock.
There
are different kind of sheep and as a result there
are different functions of a shepherd.
Then,
there are good sheep who are eager to be led to
good pastures. They are a pleasure to shepherd.
But there
are also the wounded sheep. They need special
attention. They need extra love, time and attention
in order to be mended and healed.
There
are sick sheep who will infect they other sheep.
They need to be isolated from the flock until
they are not infectious.
There
are lazy and dull sheep. They need to be motivated.
There
are sheep that wander away. They need to be sought
after and brought back to safety.
There
are sheep who nip at other sheep. The shepherd
must end disputes. Sometimes the shepherd will
get nipped in the process himself.
There
are sheep who attack the shepherd when they don't
get what they want. There are some pretty nasty
sheep. They might need the rod and the staff applied.
There
are wolves in sheep's clothing. They need to be
discerned and exposed and excluded from the flock.
They need to be driven away. We’ve dealt with
a number of them over the years.
A lot
of shepherds get discouraged, tired out. I can
understand why they leave their calling. Pray
for me, for Bill, for Rabbi Glenn, for wisdom,
for strength, for endurance.
Yeshua
continues by predicting that Peter will get another
chance to make up for his denial of Yeshua. "Truly,
truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you
used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished;
but when you grow old, you will stretch out your
hands and someone else will gird you, and bring
you where you do not wish to go." Now this He
said, signifying by what kind of death he would
glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said
to him, " Follow Me!"
Simon
Peter will be allow the privilege of Kiddush HaShem,
sanctifying the name of God, being willing to
follow God, and not deny Him, even to the point
of death. When a human being follows the Lord
with all their hearts and souls, and loves their
Creator more than their own life, this glorifies
God. This adds to the glory of God.
And, tradition
says that this prophecy was fulfilled in Rome,
exactly as Yeshua predicted. Peter was to be crucified,
but because he didn't want to die in the same
way as His great King, so as to be compared to
His wonderful Lord, of whom he considered himself
to be unworthy, Peter was crucified upside down
- a horrible, painful death, but a death that
showed that he was totally committed to the living
God, and had overcome his past denial of the Lord.
Wow! What a man - what a great man, Peter turned
out to be!
Peter,
turning around, saw the disciple whom Yeshua loved
following them; the one who also had leaned back
on His bosom at the supper and said, "Lord, who
is the one who betrays You?"
John is
close to the center of the action, and close to
Peter, as he almost always was. So Peter seeing
him said to Yeshua, "Lord, and what about this
man?" Peter inquires about John's destiny.
But Yeshua doesn't answer Peter’s question about
John’s future.
Yeshua
said to him, "If I want him to remain until I
come, what is that to you?” There is no personal
prophecy for John about his life, like there was
for Peter. Instead the Lord tells Peter, “You
follow Me!" It’s not Peter’s business to know
about John’s personal destiny in this world. It
is his business to follow the Lord himself, as
it is our business. Therefore this saying went
out among the brethren that that disciple would
not die; yet Yeshua did not say to him that he
would not die, but only, "If I want him to remain
until I come, what is that to you?"
This book
was written toward the end of the First Century.
John was one of the last of the Apostles left
alive. A rumor must have been circulating that
he wouldn’t die - that Yeshua would return before
John died. But, Yeshua did not predict that John
would not die before He returned, so John clears
up the rumor that he won't die.
Let me
point out that one does get the idea that the
First Century disciples had the idea that Yeshua
would return soon. If they could expect them in
their day, how much more should we 2,000 years
later, with Israel back in the Land, with the
nations gathering against us, with all the other
ancient prophecies pointing toward their fulfillment!
John ends
this great, great book by letting us know that
this is a truthful, reliable eyewitness account,
not written by others, but by the one man on Earth,
who of all men, was closest to the Lord Yeshua.
This is the disciple who is testifying to these
things and wrote these things, and we know that
his testimony is true.
And, John
doesn’t want us leaving thinking that these are
the only things that Yeshua did and said. And
there are also many other things which Yeshua
did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose
that even the world itself would not contain the
books that would be written.
There
were many other signs, wonders and miracles that
Yeshua did; there were many other great encounters
that He had with various people, many other insightful
conversations that Yeshua had, many other great
teachings that Yeshua gave, many other great prayers
that He prayed, but the ones that John wrote for
us are dayaynu - they are enough for us to know
who Yeshua is, to know how He connects us to God,
and gives us eternal life; enough to know what
we should be doing, and how we should be living!
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