John 21:18

In John 21:18 Jesus said, "Verily, Verily I say unto thee, when thou wast young, Thou girdedst thyself, and walkest whether thou wouldest; but when thou shalt be old, Thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and take thee whether thou wouldest not."  Peter was bold in his actions, but there was coming a time when he would find himself in the hands of guards.  We today may speak of how strong we are in the faith, but God warns us we may find ourselves in the hands of the powers of the world.  Verse nineteen adds, This He spake, signifying by what death he should glorify God.  And when He had spoken this, He saith unto him, "Follow Me."  Three times Jesus had asked Peter if he loved Him and had instructed him to feed His flock after he said he did.  Now, Jesus was telling Peter what the cost would be.  Ultimately, Peter would be executed for his faith in Christ.  Having been fore warned of the cost, Jesus once again issued His original call to Peter, "Follow Me."  We today need to ask what kind of death we will have to glorify God. We may live a long and prosperous life, but at the end, the question will be whether at our death we glorify God.  We, as followers of Christ, must realize that this life is temporary, no matter how long we live. So, while we have the strength and agility, we must be spreading the gospel.  We, like Peter, know we could be killed for our faith in Christ, but we must still simply follow Jesus.  If we do, no matter how we die, our death will glorify God.

John 21:15

John 21:15 says, So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?"  He saith unto Him, "Yea, Lord, Thou knowest I love Thee."  And He saith unto him, "Feed My lambs."  After their physical need was satisfied, Jesus began to address Peter, but He did not address him as Peter, but as Simon, son of Jonas.  Peter's faith had not proven to be very rock like, so Jesus addressed him as He had originally met him.  I can only wonder how Peter was feeling as he was again in the presence of Jesus, though this time it was a resurrected Jesus.  Peter was not moving away now, though, but was staying with Jesus.  Jesus asked if Peter loved Him more than these.  Our love of Christ must be greater than our love of anyone or anything else.  Peter answered that Jesus knew he loved Him, even if his actions hadn't shown it.  If we fail in our relationship to Christ, that does not mean we don't love Him still. It only means we need restoration.  Jesus then told Peter to feed His lambs.  Peter was to bring the lost to Christ, and they would be as lambs, needing nurturing.  Jesus was now again entrusting Peter with this task.  Verse sixteen adds, He said unto him a second time, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me?"  He saith unto Him, "Yea, Lord, knowest that I love thee."  He saith unto him, "Feed My sheep." The question was not exactly the same, but it still dealt with how Peter felt about Jesus.  I don't think Jesus was attempting to make Peter feel bad, but simply was getting him to examine his love for Jesus.  When we fail, God does not come at us to punish us but calls us to examine our love for Him.  Jesus had not forsaken Peter but was calling him to a recommitment to his calling.  Verse seventeen continues, He saith unto him a third time, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me?"  Peter was grieved because He said unto him a third time, "Lovest thou Me?" And he said unto Him, Lord, "Thou knowest all things, and Thou knowest I love Thee."  Jesus saith unto him, "Feed My sheep."  Peter was grieved, but I believe Jesus was also when Peter denied Him.  We may profess a love for God, but we need to realize that God knows all things.  Though Peter had denied Jesus at the cross, he now submitted to Him again as Lord and told Him that He knew that was true.  We can never fool God, but when we as His followers fail Him, we can certain that He waits to welcome us back and to have us continue to feed His sheep.

John 21:12

John 21:12 says, Jesus saith unto them, "Come and dine."  And none of the disciples durst ask, "Who art thou," for they knew it was the Lord.  That invitation meant two things at least.  One was to have their hunger satisfied after fishing all night.  The other was to fellowship with Jesus and each other.  As His followers, Jesus gives us the same invitation today.  We come to Him to have our needs met, but more importantly to fellowship with Him and each other.  When He offered the invitation, the disciples did not have to question Who Jesus was.  They knew it was Jesus and He was the Lord.  When God calls to us today, we must recognize the same thing.  He is the Lord. Verse thirteen adds, Jesus then cometh, and taketh the bread, and giveth them, and the fish likewise.  They had just recognized Jesus as Lord, but He was still serving them and meeting their needs.  We today need to have that same servant attitude as we serve God.  We are not better than those we witness to.  We are simply forgiven.  We certainly are not better than other believers even if we feel that they have sinned more greatly than we have.  Jesus, even after His resurrection, was willing to be a servant to His disciples, and we should be likewise.  Verse fourteen continues, This was now the third time that Jesus showed Himself to His disciples, after He was risen from the dead.  Jesus did not just appear once to His disciples and then go away.  He had appeared to others, like Many Magdalene, but this was His third appearance to a group of His disciples.  They were to be the main ones to begin the spreading of the gospel, and Jesus was ensuring they knew the truth of His resurrection.  God will never leave us confused about the reality of the resurrection of Christ if we are His followers.  Salvation through Christ alone is the only way, and we must always present this truth to the world.

John 21:10

John 21:10 says, Jesus saith unto them, "Bring the fish which ye have now caught."  We notice again that Jesus had not needed their fish in order to feed them, but He did ask them to bring their catch to Him. We today are promised that as His followers our needs will be met, but we still need to bring everything we have to God.  I personally believe that the idea that ten percent is God's and the rest is ours to do with as we please is wrong.  We are to bring everything to God, and after He meets our needs, we are to pray that He will direct us on how to use the other ninety percent.  Again, my personal belief, I don't believe that God expects us to live in abundance while others go hungry.  Verse eleven says, Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land, full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was the net not broken.  Peter had left the ship to get to Jesus, but he was quick to do what Jesus instructed them to do.  Matthew Henry says that this order to bring the fish was to teach them that blessings were not to be buried and laid up, but to be used and laid out.  They had been unable to bring the net in until they were working under the command of Jesus.  We today may be struggling to accomplish things in life because we are working under our own power instead of the power of God.  We must allow God to be in control of everything we do.  We are called to be fishers of men but if we are struggling with empty or broken nets, as the disciples struggled and failed to catch anything before being directed by Jesus, we need to make sure we are following His command.  When we do, we may start to have an abundance of souls being saved.  God has promised to provide for our needs, not our wants, and we need to bring everything we are blessed with to Him.

John 21:8

John 21:8 says, And the other disciples came in a little ship;  (they were not far from land, as it were two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fishes.  We cannot say that all should have done as Peter and abandoned the ship to get to Jesus.  We need to remember that Jesus was the one Who told them where to cast their nets.  John was the first to recognize Jesus, but He stayed on the boat.  Those who remained on the boat could not condemn Peter, because he was simply going to Jesus.  Sometimes people today do things that seemingly leave all the hard work for others to do, but if they are truly doing it for God, they are to be commended by those still dealing with the net and fishes, as it were.  Not everyone serves God the same way and not everyone is noted the same way.  The other disciples that stayed on the boat are not mentioned again by name as was Peter, but that doesn't mean they were less committed to Jesus. Verse nine says, As soon as they were come then to land, they saw a fire of coals, and fish laid thereon, and bread.  They had not brought their catch to Jesus yet, but He already had a meal prepared for them. I believe that it is important that we bring to God all that we can to advance His kingdom, but He will meet our needs even if we come empty handed.  God will provide, and even if in this world we go hungry or suffer for His sake, we can rest assured of His everlasting provisions.  All we can bring to God is our self.  We never need to feel jealous of the Peters of the world.  Those who are well known by the world for their service to God are no more important to Him than those who are never noticed.  Jesus did not say for Peter to come first, nor for the others.  The provision was for all equally.

John 21:6

John 21:6 says, And He said unto them, "Cast the net on the right side, and ye shall find.  They cast therefore, and now they were unable to draw it in for the multitude of fishes.  The disciples still had not recognized Jesus, but they were willing to listen to what He said. They had failed on their own but hadn't totally given up.  We need to listen to others at times today when we are feeling defeated, but we ultimately do need to ensure that the advice we heed is from God. The Holy Spirit will enable us to know what is from God.  When the disciples did what Jesus told them to do, even though they didn't recognize Him, they had an over abundant success.  There may be times when God gives us great blessings that we aren't even aware are from Him to start with.  The disciples had left all to follow Jesus, and He was there to meet their needs.  We need not worry that God will ever desert us.  Verse seven says, Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved, saith unto Peter "It is the Lord."  Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, He girt his fishers coat unto him, (for he was naked), and cast himself into the sea.   John recognized Jesus first, and he told Peter.  John was quicker to recognize Jesus but was slower to try to reach Him.  When we recognize Jesus, and know it is truly Him, we should tell others.  Peter was always quick to act.  He did not ask Jesus to bid him to come to Him, but again left a boat to get to Jesus.  We must at times leave all that seems secure to us and simply go to Jesus.  He is our only real source of strength and safety.  Peter wasn't going to wait for a more convenient time.  He was going to Jesus.  Peter abandoned all else to get to Jesus, possibly because he had earlier abandoned Jesus to save all else.  He needed restoration with Jesus.  If we find we have abandoned God in any way, our first priority must be getting back to Him and being restored.  Peter had not stopped being a disciple in the eyes of Jesus, but he did need to be restored in his own eyes.  We do not cease to be saved if we fail God, but we must come to Him to be restored to what we should be as His followers.

John 21:4

John 21:4 says, But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.  The disciples had been fishing all night.  They had caught nothing, which had to add to their frustration.  Though they had seen the empty tomb, and Jesus had appeared to them after the resurrection, they were seemingly still at a loss as to what they should do next, and weren't even successful at what at least some of them had done before.  They were no longer looking for Jesus, but He was there on the shore. When we are in doubt about what to do next, we need to look to God for direction.  Verse five says, Then Jesus saith unto them, "Children, have ye any meat?"   And they answered Him, "No."  These were grown men, but they were followers of Jesus and children of God. As His followers, when God calls to us, it as His children, not as anything we were before.  He will not leave us in doubt and confusion if we only listen to Him.  Jesus asked if they had caught anything.  When we are off, doing our own thing, God is always going to be questioning us about how successful we are by going our own way.  There is always going to be a sense of a lack of fulfillment when we are not looking to God for direction.  We cannot follow God as we should if our focus is on the world.  It must have been even more frustrating for the disciples to have to admit their failure even at fishing.  There was nothing sinful about fishing, except it wasn't what Jesus had called them to do, and they were doing it by their own design.  There are many things today that are not sinful, but if we are doing them without God's leadership then they are wrong.  We must do everything under His leadership if we are to be faithful followers.