Well, here we are at the last chapter of John's Gospel. The
chapter covers a morning that Jesus spent with His disciples before He ascended
into heaven. What happens here isn't all that odd. Jesus does a miracle. He's
done that before. And yet, it is a little odd. There is no comment on the
miracle. Raising Lazarus gave Jesus the opportunity to teach something.
I am the resurrection and the life.
Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.
That miracle set up a teaching from Jesus. But there is no
comment here, no teaching. And that makes it stand out a bit.
In past sermons I've used Thomas as an example. I've also
used Jesus as an example. Today, I'm going to use this event as an example. But
first, you need to know what happened. So, listen as I read our text, John21.1-14.
John is pretty straightforward in what he writes here. One
night, some of the disciples go fishing. They catch nothing. As the morning
dawns, a man calls to them from the shore. 'Caught anything?' They confess
their bad luck. So, this stranger tells them to try the right side of the boat.
They do that and catch so many fish that they can't pull the net into the boat.
That's when John realizes that it's Jesus and tells the others. Peter jumps
into the water to get to shore as fast as he can. I hope to return to that in
another sermon. The others follow in the boat. When they get to shore they find
Jesus inviting them all to breakfast. The scene fades to dark while you hear this
voice-over. 'This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the
disciples after he was raised from the dead.'
So, once again I ask what I hope is becoming a familiar
question. Why is this here? What is this supposed to teach us? It's pretty
clear that whatever it is, it's not on the surface the way it is in John 3.16.
We'll have to dig a bit.
So, Jesus performs another miracle. Except John never calls
them miracles. He calls them signs. And a sign is something that points to
something else. So, when Jesus healed the man born blind it led up to a
discussion about spiritual blindness. The miracle was a sign about who can see
Jesus for who He is and who can't.
What's this sign about catching fish pointing to? To answer
that we'll need to look at another instance of miraculous fishing. This
happened when Simon Peter was just Simon. Jesus told him to let down his nets.
After a bit of a snarky attitude, Simon let down his nets and suddenly found
them filled with fish. Simon was awestruck. And Jesus told him,
Do not be afraid; from now on you
will be catching men.
That sounds awfully close to what we have in John 21. So,
what do you think? Could this also be about 'catching men'? Well, that would
make sense. Jesus is about to hand over His ministry to these men. It would fit
for Him to say something about it before He leaves.
But what's the point that He's making about catching men?
Look at the details that John includes. First, it was a lot of fish - so many
that John tells us that they were not able to haul them into the boat. It was
an amazing catch. So, lots of fish. Is that about lots of people? Do you think
that Jesus is saying something about the success of these men's efforts at
gathering many, many people into the kingdom? Could He be promising them that
so many would believe that it would simply be amazing?
But there are more details. How were they able to catch all
these fish? Well, first, they had to cast their net on the right side of the
boat just as Jesus told them. But there must be more going on. Throwing a net
in a certain place does not guarantee success. I'll bet they tried the right
side at least once during the night. Jesus made the fish gather at the right
spot at the right time so that casting the net would catch them.
So, how is it that these men were going to be able to become
so successful in catching people? As they obey His commands, Jesus would make
sure that their efforts resulted in great catches. And Pentecost was the first
example of this.
All of this is labelled, 'the third time that Jesus was
revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead'. What's being
revealed about Jesus? How about His power and His promise for the future of
these men? 'Continue to follow Me, obey My commands, and you will find that
there will be many people being gathered into this new community called My
Church. I know that it's hard to believe, but I'll make sure it happens.' Jesus
is encouraging these men for the hard work that remains for them after He
leaves.
Now, all of that is important and helpful as the Church
continues to gather people into the Kingdom. Jesus promises success as we
continue to follow Him. But that's not what I want to stress most this morning.
What I want you to grasp is how Jesus communicated all of that to these men. He
could have shown up a third time in that locked room and gathered the guys
around Him and explained in a detailed lecture what He was promising. He didn't
do that. Instead, He performed a miracle, a miracle that He did not explain or apply.
Last week I was reading through Exodus 19. Israel is fresh
out of Egypt and in the wilderness. God is about to meet with these people to
make a covenant with them, starting with the Ten Commandments. He tells Moses
to prepare the people for His arrival. And when He arrives this is what
happens.
On the morning of the third day
there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very
loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses
brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at
the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The
smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled
greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke,
and God answered him in thunder. The Lord
came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain.
Put yourself in the situation. It's a quiet spring morning
and you're standing near this mountain. And all of a sudden God shows up. And
how do you know that? Your senses are attacked. There are the things that you
see: the lightning, the fire, a thick cloud. And there is smoke everywhere.
Then, there are the things you hear: thunderclaps and a loud trumpet blaring,
louder and louder. And then, finally, there are the things you feel: the world
beneath your feet is shaking and not just a little. It must have been quite the
sensory experience.
Why did God do that? He wanted the people to understand
something. God was showing up. He wanted them to have a sense of what that
means and who He is. He's not just one of the guys. He is the great and the
awesome God.
So, why didn't He just say that? He certainly could have
chosen some really good words to explain who He is. It would have been
eloquent. It would have been clear. And it certainly would have been accurate. But
He didn't do that. And here's the reason. Sometimes what you need is an
experience of God and not words about Him.
And that's what was going on with those disciples and the
fish. Sometimes what you need is an experience of God and not words about Him.
During the years following Pentecost these disciples were
busy fishing for men. To be sure, it was not all easy going. There were difficulties
and discouragements. But they could encourage each other simply by saying, Remember
what it felt like when we saw all those fish.' They had words to explain what
was happening, but it was what happened that gave power to the words. Sometimes
what you need is an experience of God and not words about Him.
Jesus still uses experiences to communicate, though it's not
usually a pile of fish. But there are some things you will need to do if you
are going to grasp what Jesus is communicating. First, you'll need to notice
what He's doing. You have to see it.
What's a rainbow?
A rainbow is an optical and
meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and
dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing
in the sky.
Wikipedia. And, of course, all of that is accurate. But it
doesn't actually answer the question. A rainbow is the sign of God's promise
not to destroy the world again, even though we deserve it just as much as they
did back in Noah's day. How many people see a rainbow, but don't really see it.
They notice it in the sky and think about how pretty it is or maybe even the
scientific explanation. But how many think about that promise, a promise that
keeps them alive? They see it, but they don't see it.
Your lives are filled with things like rainbows - signs,
events that Jesus brings into your lives to communicate some revelation about
Himself. How are you doing at seeing them? One key ingredient in being able to
see is to take the time to look. Most Americans - Christians and not - are far
too busy to stop and look. And that's why they don't see. And they miss out on
experiencing God's revelation of Himself. Don't be among them.
Along with seeing these things you need to interpret them wisely.
There is the scientific interpretation of things. So, a baby is born. Egg and
sperm. Conception and implantation. Gestation and birth. Baby.
But there is also another interpretation of a baby being
born. A new person created. Someone with his or her own personality, a body and
a soul, and a future filled with good and bad. Someone with talents and
abilities to change the world. Someone who will live forever - either near to
Jesus in a new heaven and new earth or infinitely far from Him in hell. A baby
is an amazing act of God.
For God to communicate something of His wonders to you,
you'll need to see what He is doing and then interpret it wisely.
Jesus could have just given those guys words to hear.
Instead, He gave them something to see. He does the same with you. Sometimes
what you need is an experience of God and not words about Him.