The Gospel of John #4
“Gone Fishing”
Pastor Kris Freeman
Revolution Church
Epilogue: Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples
Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee.[a] This is how it happened. 2 Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin),[b] Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.
3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”
“We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night. 4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. 5 He called out, “Fellows,[c] have you caught any fish?” “No,” they replied.
6 Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.
7 Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. 8 The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards[d] from shore. 9 When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.
10 “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.
12 “Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. 14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead. 15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?[e]” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”
“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. 16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”
“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said. 17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.
18 “I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others[f] will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”
The hardest issue is life is FORGIVENESS .
Before forgiveness, we carry a number of different emotions and experiences.
Those who have been hurt Those who have hurt others
Anger Regret
Vengeance/Revenge Shame
Brokenness Guilt
Bitterness Hopelessness
Betrayal Lack of self-esteem/confidence
Distrust Fear
We could continue – but the issue is FORGIVENESS will ELIMINATE all of them.
The song “Forgiveness” by Matthew West was written about a woman whose family members were killed by a drunk driver, and she chose to turn it into a ministry and fight to set him free!
Jesus had every good EARTHLY REASON to be upset at Peter.
1. He was a disciple – every leader in the Bible had a fatal flaw.
2. He was a denier – every moment Peter had to stand up, he backed down
3. He was a defender – of Jesus, except at the crucial moment
What forgiveness does is release the PURPOSE in the problem.
Forgiveness comes in these critical ways:
1. Admittance of the sin/problem/issue/failure (Romans 3:23, 6:23)
2. Belief in the power of Jesus Christ to save and forgive (John 3:16)
3. Confession of our sins to God (1 John 5:11-12)
4. Deliverance of that sin through REPENTANCE.
Repentance is to turn away from sin, turn toward God, and turn your mess into God’s mission for you!
Because of forgiveness, Peter became a leader of the early church and a man who witnessed thousands of people profess Jesus as Savior! His actions and words have inspired MILLIONS but JESUS is the reason for it all!
#FORGIVENESS
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