Restorative Failure
An unnecessary story
Chapter 20 creates a perfect ending for the Gospel of John
Jesus rose from the dead
Appears to His disciples (all of them, starting with Mary)
Commissioned them to be the new incarnation
Breathed on them (inspired them by the Spirit)
Had a moment with Thomas (because he missed the first go-round; remember, Jesus stops for the one)
And, ends with a perfectly satisfying conclusion:
Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31)
So, why is there another chapter?
Many scholars think that the last chapter was a later addition.
Some think that someone other than John wrote it.
Most think it was John, but some still think that he added it on later.
Because there’s still a loose end that needs to be addressed: there’s still someone in need of restoration.
Here’s the story:
Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No,” they answered.
6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. 9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. (John 21:1-17)
Introductory stuff: the first part of the story is interesting and compelling, but we’re not going to focus on it other than to mention three things.
There’s been a lot of commentary over the centuries about the 153 fish, SO many people trying to find symbolism there.
I’m not a big fan of number codes in the Bible. When the Bible wants us to find deeper meaning in a number, it generally tells us.
There’s a perfectly plausible explanation for why the specific number 153 appears in the text: because that’s how many fish there were.
What would you do if you were out fishing and caught an insane number of fish? Would you go home and tell your friends, “We had the best day fishing! We caught so many fish!”
If you told the story that way, what would your friends ask?
You would absolutely count them and say, “We caught 153 fish!”
Time and again, the Gospel writers demonstrate that they are not writing legend or spiritual symbolism but eyewitness accounts. They bear all the hallmarks of authenticity.
This happened. You can trust it.
And, it happened in the real world; therefore, it is Good News for the real world!
None of them recognized Jesus
I’m not sure exactly what to do with that…
Other than to ask, have you ever seen anyone risen from the dead?
You might have a hard time believing it too.
And, the Bible makes clear in many places that a resurrection body is not the same as a “perishable” body.
I can’t wait!
You do know that this is your birthright in Christ, right?! Resurrection!
Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Philippians 3:20-21)
In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:52-58)
I love that when they came up to Jesus, they saw that He already had a fire going with fish on it!
He didn’t need their fish.
Nevertheless, He invited them to bring their fish to the fire to share in the meal with Him.
Let’s be clear, He doesn’t need you to give yourself to Him
The classic line that Jesus has no hands but yours isn’t at all accurate. I get what it’s trying to get at: the idea that we are the incarnation of Jesus, the body of Christ working in the world, by the power of the Spirit.
But, let’s be careful that we don’t lapse into a classic misunderstanding: Jesus is sure lucky to have me doing all this work for Him!
John 15 doesn’t say, “Apart from us He can do nothing.”
The truth is He is perfectly capable of doing everything He wants to do in the world, but He invites us to be a part. When we bring our fish to the fire, we get the honor of sharing in the King’s Table.
If you’re not bringing your fish to the fire, you’re missing out! What is He asking you to bring?
The restoration of Peter: ok, that’s the introductory material. Now, we move to the meat of today’s message. What’s John 21 all about? Restoring Peter.
If you’ve got any familiarity with the Gospel story, you will remember that Peter had made a huge mistake, a significant betrayal.
Right before He was arrested, Jesus predicted what was going to happen, and then told the disciples that they would all bail on Him.
Peter’s response, in classic Peter fashion:
“Lord, even if everyone else abandons you” (even if all these other guys do; can you imagine the chutzpah it took to say that in front of them?)…
“I never will.”
“I would follow you even to death.”
Of course, as Jesus pointed out, Peter had an entirely unrealistic view of his own courage. We cannot boast virtue that has never been tested.
Jesus prophesied that Peter would deny Him three times, and that’s exactly what happened.
Peter was somewhat braver than the others in that he snuck in to the scene of Jesus’ trial.
But, when people recognized him, particularly by his backcountry Galilean accent, and asked if he was with Jesus, he denied ever knowing Him. Three times. The last time is particularly telling, as the Bible says he called down curses and swore that he didn’t know Him.
At that moment, the rooster crowed as Jesus predicted, and their eyes locked. A poignant moment as the soldiers were demanding Jesus prophesy for them and, without their knowing it, His prophecy came true.
Peter ran away and wept, and Jesus went to the cross, all His disciples having abandoned Him.
Well, all His male disciples.
Whoever said the Bible is misogynistic hasn’t read it.
Of course, we know this isn’t the end of the story. Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to all His disciples. He ate with them. He taught them. He made them promises of power. He commissioned them.
And, Peter was there.
But, can you imagine how he must have felt the whole time?
Sure, all the other disciples (male) ran off too, but he was the only one who boasted, “Even if everyone else leaves, I never will. I will go with you anywhere, even to death.” He was the only one who claimed, “I love you more than the rest.” And, he was the only one who had denied knowing Him, not just once but three times.
Even, with the resurrected Jesus standing right in front of Him, speaking to Him, teaching Him, loving Him, empowering Him, commissioning Him, the shame must have been crippling.
Can you relate? Even though you have seen Him, know Him, hear from Him, speak to Him, still you carry this deep brokenness?
It’s possible to be near to Him and yet to carry the crippling effects of shame.
And, what does shame do? It disqualifies us from the life that Jesus came to give us (from this free life, this claimed, commissioned, covered life that we like to talk about here at Canopy). Or, more accurately, it makes us disqualify ourselves.
This, I think, is why we find Peter in John 21 right back where we first met him.
He had originally left his nets to follow Jesus in the hopes of being a part of something special.
He had spent 3 ½ years with Jesus, learning from Him, as part of His inner circle of closest friends.
He had been commissioned into a vibrant, world-changing ministry.
Yet, he ended up back with his nets.
Now, I’m not saying that Peter had definitively rejected the call of Jesus and was going back to fishing full-time, but I can’t see how that thought wouldn’t have been at the forefront of his mind that morning.
“You can’t do what He’s asked you to do.”
“You’re a fraud.”
“At least you know how to fish. “
The irony, of course, is that, on that particular morning, he didn’t know how to fish very well. Talk about adding insult to injury. “You, Peter, are an abject failure.”
Then, a voice from the shore: “Throw your net on the other side.”
Peter’s heart must have just about beat out of his chest. He had heard that same voice say the same thing in the same place before (Luke 5). Back to the beginning.
They did what He said and 153 fish.
“It’s the Lord!” John says. But, Peter didn’t need any further confirmation. He was already wrapping a cloth around himself; in the Galilee men often fished naked or in nothing but a little loincloth. He didn’t wait for everyone to row back. He jumped in the water and swam 100 yards to Jesus.
And, what did he find there? Jesus seated by a charcoal fire.
The last time we saw Peter by a fire, he was calling down curses, denying even knowing Jesus.
Jesus led him back to a fire.
Smell and memory are powerfully linked. I don’t think this is accidental. It is intentional. As we’ll see Jesus was determined to take Peter back to the place of betrayal.
Do you love me more than these?
The second reminder
He called into question Peter’s boast, “Even if all these betray you…”
Three times, “Do you love me?”
And, the third time, Peter broke.
Three reminders and the third reminder a threefold repetition, mirroring Peter’s failure.
We might think that sounds incredibly cruel. Couldn’t Jesus just have said, “Peter, don’t worry about it.”
Not if His goal was to restore Peter.
Jesus knows that for us to be restored in the middle of our failure, our sin, our brokenness, our betrayal, our shame, those things by which we have disqualified ourselves, must be taken very seriously, confronted, and removed.
Jesus cut Peter deep here. Because, that’s what surgeons do. That’s how they deal with the things that are killing us.
For Jesus to restore Peter, He had to take him back to the place of pain and lead him through it to life, to freedom. You can’t go around it. You’ve got to go through it.
You see, Jesus had big plans for Peter. He was going to use him to save the world. “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”
But, Peter didn’t see that when he looked at himself. Jesus saw a rock; Peter saw sand. Peter had disqualified himself, but Jesus wanted to requalify him.
Why? What did Jesus see in Peter? What qualified him to be the rock of the Church? Three things:
His failure
“You’ve failed. Now lead.”
He cuts out failure and replaces it with identity. He cuts out failure and replaces it with authority. He cuts out failure and replaces it with calling.
A great failure makes you a great leader in His Kingdom IF you bring that failure into the presence of the risen King and offer it to Him as a sacrifice of worship.
Allow Him to bathe it in His grace.
J.M. Barrie, who created Peter Pan, once said, “We are all failures – at least the best of us are.”
Just as we can’t boast a morality that hasn’t been tested, we can’t trust a leader that hasn’t failed.
The powerful left hand of God.
His love
Peter could have run from Jesus, hung to the back of the boat, waited for Jesus to call him out, but he jumped in and swam to him. He flew to Him.
Be like Peter.
Don’t let your shame keep you away. Fly to Jesus. Don’t get cleaned up. Don’t wait until you’re how you should be. You’re never going to be as you should be. At least, not without Him.
And, when he got to Jesus, He was honest and authentic.
There was no deflecting, defending, groveling, explaining away.
There was only sorrow over the hurt he caused the One he loved.
When Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him, Peter answered humbly and sincerely: “You know I do.”
His love for Jesus qualified him for the vocation that Jesus gave him.
That’s how it has to be: it’s not our love for people, for service, even for justice, that qualifies us for usefulness in Jesus’ kingdom.
It has to be love for Him.
That’s the only thing that will sustain us.
That’s the most loving thing we can give to people around us.
Jesus did.
Jesus did it all
Jesus called Peter
Jesus walked with Peter
Jesus taught Peter
Jesus empowered Peter
Jesus commissioned Peter
Jesus died for Peter.
It was all and only grace that qualified him.
And, if Jesus has qualified you, there is no power anywhere that can disqualify you. Not even yourself.
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[j]
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31-39)