John 21:1-14
Don’t Go Back
The thing that we have noticed about John’s gospel is that he wrote
the events that had a message. He selected the miracles to record
because they had a message. He selected to record the Upper Room
Discourse because of the message. He gave us the resurrection
witnesses who came with a message.
And it seems to me that John may have wanted to add this event to
clear up a FALSE message. This chapter almost seems to be an
addendum. The gospel could have naturally ended with the last
chapter, but the now elder John wanted to clear up an error that was
circulating and causing confusion. What was the error?
John 21:23 Then went this saying abroad among
the brethren, that that disciple should not die:
yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die;
but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what
is that to thee?
You could see how this error could have confused the body of Christ.
So John, some 60 years after the resurrection of Jesus and near the
end of his life, wrote a fourth gospel and included the details of
Jesus’ 3rd resurrection appearance.
\\#14\\ tells us this was ONLY Jesus’ third appearance to the
disciples.
1. 1st appearance in the upper room without Thomas
2. 2nd appearance in the upper room with Thomas
3. 3rd appearance along the Sea of Galilee \\#John 21:14\\
\\#3\\ The impression that most get from this passage is that some of
the disciples, Peter in particular, were considering going back to
their old lives. After all, these men weren’t fishing with rods and
reels. They got a boat and went out as they used to go, as commercial
fishermen.
1. That could have been true but we don’t know the background
of this event, but this is ONLY the third appearance of Jesus
to the disciples \\#14\\.
a. Upper Room w/o Thomas
b. Upper Room with Thomas
c. Here
d. It does not seem to me that this would be a discouraging
time.
2. Instead, it could be that the disciples are simply obeying
what Jesus had commanded them to do.
a. Jesus had pre-arranged to meet His disciples around
Galilee.
Matthew 26:32 But after I am risen again, I
will go before you into Galilee.
Mark 14:28 But after that I am risen, I will
go before you into Galilee.
b. I think it is more likely the disciples went to meet
Jesus and, while waiting, decided to take the boat out
one more time.
3. However, whether Peter was considering going back to his
old lifestyle or not, it is obvious that he was struggling.
a. He was still filled with guilt and regret.
b. So much guilt and regret that his old life might have
looked pretty good.
c. Peter probably welcomed the thought of a simpler day,
a day like those he used to have when his biggest
worry was how many fish he was going to catch.
LISTEN TO ME - When we get shook to our roots, we are tempted to do
things that we would not normally be tempted to do.
1. Some become bitter, both at the people that have hurt them and
at the God who allowed it.
2. Some seek revenge.
3. Some shut down - depression, discouragement.
4. Some make some very foolish and rash decisions.
5. And some quit on God.
This story is not about…
1. Jesus helping the disciples to catch fish. He had done that
already.
2. Jesus fixing dinner for the disciples. The dinner we are
looking for is on the other side.
This story is about Jesus reclaiming and re-commissioning His
disciples, all of them to some extent, but especially the one who
perhaps would take his failure the most seriously, Peter.
This passage emphasizes the main things a Christian needs to
concentrate on when they experience a "down-to-the-roots" shaking.
I. The first thing Jesus pointed to Peter to do was to love Jesus!
A. \\#15, 16, 17\\ Notice where Jesus pointed Peter’s attention.
It was to his love for Jesus.
1. Sometimes things get so tough that nothing else makes
sense.
2. In those times, you must get back to the basics.
3. The most basic of all basics for a Christian is to
know that…
a. Jesus loves us.
(1) Get this one first.
(2) Put it in your mind and don’t let the devil
take it away.
b. We LOVE Jesus.
(1) Get this one second.
(2) Don’t do anything that would be contrary to
this fact.
4. Sometimes, that is all we have to keep us sane in an
insane world.
5. Let’s notice some things about this text.
B. Let’s consider some things about the questions Jesus asked.
1. It was not a difficult question.
a. The basic question that Jesus is asking Peter is, "Do
you love Me?"
b. It is a simple enough question.
2. The fact that Peter could not answer it tells us
something about Peter’s condition.
a. Peter had been through a very traumatic experience
which had left him confused and messed up.
b. That is not necessarily a bad thing.
c. Peter had made some pretty braggadocios statements
just a few days before.
Mark 14:27 And Jesus saith unto them, All ye
shall be offended because of me this night:
for it is written, I will smite the shepherd,
and the sheep shall be scattered.
28 But after that I am risen, I will go
before you into Galilee.
29 But Peter said unto him, Although all shall
be offended, yet will not I.
(1) Notice what Peter had said.
(2) IF ALL OF THESE FORSAKE YOU, YET WILL NOT I.
(3) Peter was comparing his love to the others and
boasting that his was the greater.
(4) Then, when the time came to die with Jesus, Peter
denied Him—not once or twice but three times.
(5) Remember those two elements of braggadocios
Peter.
(a) Peter boasted that his devotion to Christ
was creator than the other disciples.
(b) Peter denied Jesus three times.
C. Then, would you consider the number of Jesus’ questions?
1. \\#15, 16, 17\\ THREE TIMES - The same number of
times that Peter denied Jesus.
2. That was not a coincidence.
3. Peter was offered the same number of times to
affirm his love for Jesus that he denied Jesus.
4. \\#17\\ "Peter was grieved because he said unto him the
third time, "Lovest thou me? "
a. That statement explains WHAT Peter felt but not WHY
Peter felt it.
b. I don’t believe Peter was grieved at the QUESTION
but at the COUNT.
(1) In truth, even though it looks like Jesus asked
Peter the SAME question three times, HE
DID NOT.
(2) And even though it looks like Peter answered
the question Jesus asked three times, HE
DID NOT.
(3) Perhaps that will make more sense in a few
minutes.
c. Of Peter was not grieved at the question, what was he
grieved about?
(1) The number of times Jesus asked it!
(2) I believe that when Jesus asked the third time,
Peter recalled his three denials.
(3) I believe Peter realized," He’s asking me three
times because I denied Him three times."
D. Consider the questions that Jesus is asking.
1. It may appear Jesus asked the same question three times,
but He did not.
a. The Greek has many more words than our English.
b. There are three words for LOVE in the Greek.
c. We can’t see it, but each time Jesus asks Peter
about His love, He steps down in the degree of
love that He is asking about.
2. \\#15\\ In the first question, Jesus asked Peter if He
loved Him more than anything else or any body else.
John 21:15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith
to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest
thou me more than these?"
a. The first question uses two terms to emphasize the
degree of Peter’s love in Jesus’ question.
(1) The first is in the Greek word used for LOVE.
(a) It is the word, AGAPAO (ag-ap-ah’-o).
(b) This is the word used for the highest
form of love. It is the love of TOTAL
COMMITMENT.
(2) The second is understandable even in English.
(a) It is the phrase, "more than these";
that is, more than the other disciples.
(b) We remember Peter’s boast.
(c) "IF THEY forsake you, YET WILL NOT I."
(3) Together, these terms mean that Jesus was
asking Peter if he loved Jesus more than
anything, more than everything, and even
more than the other disciples.
(4) Braggadocios Peter would have answered "YES"
without thinking, but this is not that Peter.
b. Some seem to think Peter WOULD not answer this
question in the affirmative. I tend to believe
Peter COULD not.
(1) The number of times Jesus had asked the
question along with the comparison to the
other disciples was deja vu to Peter!
(a) His own words probably haunted him!
Mark 14:29 … Although all shall be offended,
yet will not I.
(b) And the disastrous results—3 denials.
(2) What is Peter supposed to say now?
(a) Is he to repeat the obviously inflated
and arrogant statement he had made
just a few nights ago?
(b) He COULD not bring himself to say that!
(c) I think he wanted to, but he did not
know his own soul right now.
c. Let’s think of Jesus for a moment.
(1) Was Jesus doing this deliberately? Yes.
(2) Why?
(a) Because neither hiding your sins or hiding
from them is the way to get over them.
(b) Acknowledging them and seeking forgiveness
is.
(3) Jesus wanted to get the 2 ton canary out of
the room.
(4) He wanted Peter to deal with what he had done
and to move on.
(5) Friend, that is just what He wants you and me
to do!
(a) Have you ever failed? Sure you have.
(b) Repent of it, confess it, and turn from it!
d. Peter COULD NOT answer this question with a simple
YES.
(1) So when Peter answers the question, he repeats
the statement but changes the word for LOVE.
(2) Instead of using AGAPAO, He uses PHILEO
(fil-eh’-o).
John 20:15 … Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love
thee.
(a) Phileo is the word used for an
AFFECTIONATE LOVE, A DEEP LOVE.
(b) However, it is not the word that would
have been used for a love of TOTAL
COMMITMENT.
(c) Peter stepped down the degree of the word
used.
(d) Peter also does not say that he loves
Jesus more than the others.
(3) Peter answered the question with an affirmative
answer, but it was not the same question that
Jesus had asked.
e. Jesus could have pretended that He didn’t notice
the change, but He did not. Instead, Jesus pushed
Peter to come up a notch.
in the Greek, it would have been obvious.
3. \\#16\\ Second Question
a. Jesus asked a similar but different question.
John 21:16 He saith to him again the second
time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?
b. Jesus used the same word for love, AGAPAO, that He
used the first time.
c. Only this time without the comparison to the other
disciples.
d. Peter would have probably noticed that Jesus had
taken out the comparison.
(1) Before, braggart Peter didn’t mind boasting
that his devotion to Jesus was greater than
the others, but this broken Peter could not
say that.
(2) If the problem Peter was having was only in
comparing his love for Jesus to the other
disciples, he could now give a simple, "YES,"
meaning that he had a totally committed love
for Jesus.
(3) But Peter could not bring himself to declare
that he had a love of total commitment.
(a) He had failed the Lord.
(b) His guilt and shame would not even let
him declare a love for Jesus LIKE the
others, let alone one that was SUPERIOR
to them.
e. My own guess is that this must have disappointed
both Jesus and Peter.
(1) Jesus was trying to pull the YES answer to
this question from Peter.
(2) Jesus wanted Peter to know that he was forgiven
and that He had confidence in Peter.
(3) Peter, however, had no confidence in himself.
(4) Peter gave exactly the same answer he gave
before.
John 21:16 Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I
love (phileo) thee.
f. So what does Jesus do with a defeated, deflated
disciple?
(1) Does He cast him away?
(2) Does He heap more shame upon him?
(3) Does He bagger him?
(4) No. Jesus asks a third question
4. \\#17\\ Third Question
John 21:17 He saith unto him the third time,
Simon, son of Jonas, lovest (phileo) thou me?
a. This time, Jesus uses the same word for LOVE that
Peter has been using, PHILEO.
b. It is as if Jesus were saying, "Peter, if that is
all you can give Me, I will take it."
c. To this Peter answers….
John 21:17 …him, Lord, thou knowest all things;
thou knowest that I love (phileo) thee.
d. Peter was grieved Jesus repeated question.
(1) Was it because it was the THIRD TIME?
(2) Was it because Jesus was having to settle for
the PHILEO love?
(3) Was it because Jesus kept asking instead of
just letting Peter off the hook?
(4) No one knows for certain.
5. Does that mean that it was irrelevant to Jesus how much
Peter loved Him? NO!
1. Jesus has commanded us to love Him with all of our
heart and all of our soul.
2. He expects and demands it.
3. It was not Peter’s love that was diminished.
It was Peter’s arrogance and confidence.
4. Jesus knew how much Peter loved Him, and Peter would
eventually his love, his courage, and his devotion.
5. In fact, Jesus revealed that in the prophecies of
Peter.
John 21:18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself,
and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when
thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth
thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and
carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
7. Soon the Holy Ghost would come and give Peter a different
kind of confidence, a confidence in God and not in the
flesh!
II. Serve your Jesus!
A. The second area that Jesus pointed Peter to when he had
been shaken to his roots, was serving Jesus.
1. Service does two things:
a. Service gets your eyes off of self and on others.
b. Service gets your eyes off of self and on Jesus.
2. Service is always a good therapy.
a. If people would quit focusing so much on their
problems and look at the problems others are
having, they would be a lot better off.
b. Jesus’ answer to Peter’s great shaking was "FEED
MY SHEEP."
B. As two different Greek words are used for LOVE in this
section, so two different Greek words used for FEED.
1. \\#15, 17\\ The Greek word for FEED is BOSKO, meaning
to TEACH or nourish them.
2. \\#16\\ The Greek word is POIMAINO (poy-mah’-ee-no),
meaning to tend and to keep, to govern, to rule.
3. These two terms summarize what Peter and every pastor
is to do for his flock.
a. Feed them the Word of God.
b. Tend and keep them in the ways of God.
When you are shaken to the foundations, DON’T GO BACK!
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