Imagine yourself on the beach by the sea of Galilee, soaking up the story of God’s mercy and unconditional love, which by the way, are not just for Peter but for you too. Imagine yourself sinking into the warm sand. The waves are lapping up on the shore. I want you to soak up this story you and I are about to read together like you would soak up the rays of sun on that actual beach. It’s a real place and it’s a true story. Here we go!
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Transcription:
Who do you love to go out to breakfast with? My husband and I try to go out every Saturday morning to a place called The Family Pancake House. It’s our place. We can just relax and sip coffee after coffee and go over the things that happened that week and laugh together. Sometimes I tear up talking with him. There’s something about breakfast. It can be the most intimate meal of the day. Hi, welcome to the Bible for Busy People. I’m Erica, your host, and today you and I, figuratively speaking, are going to have breakfast with Jesus. This is the moment that you and I have been waiting for, the reunion of Jesus and Peter. God’s love is always coming after us. I heard a pastor once describe Jesus as the hound of heaven. He’s always pursuing us. Psalm 23 right there in the middle of your Bible says that His goodness and mercy are running after us all the days of our lives. So don’t believe the lie that God’s mercy and unconditional love are just for Peter. They’re for you too.
Now, I want you to join me on the beach beside the sea of Galilee. Imagine yourself sinking into the warm sand. The waves are lapping up on the shore. I want you to soak up this story you and I are about to read together, like you would soak up the rays of sun on that actual beach. It’s a real place and it’s a true story. Now, before we dive in, I want to remind you that Peter and John and the others, they now know that Jesus has risen from the dead. They’ve seen him with their own eyes. We’re past the empty tomb now. Jesus has walked through a room where the doors were locked and appeared to them and he said these words,
Peace be with you.
And there is so much more that I hope we can explore this year together in the Bible. But for today, again, John 21 beginning in verse one.
Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. 2 Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee,
That’s James and John
…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.
I want to pitch a small tent here because at this point in their lives, the disciples weren’t sure what was coming next. They were uncertain and perhaps even still afraid. So I get it. They’re like, we’ll go back to fishing. This is what we know, but Jesus had another plan picking up the story now, in verse four.
At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. 5 He called out, “Fellows, 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.
Does that story ring a bell? Remember when Jesus and Peter met for the first time and the same story happened? Could it be that Jesus was sending a signal to Peter to remind him of that time when Jesus asked him to go out after he had spent a whole night fishing and he caught nothing, but he said, because you ask I’ll do it. Could it be that Jesus was reminding Peter and reminding you right now, that he’s the God who doesn’t give up on his children? I hadn’t planned to say that, but I think this is where the Lord is leading us today.Verse seven now.
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?” “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 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.”
Do you know the story of how Peter died? He was crucified, but when they led him to the cross, he refused to be crucified in the same manner as the Lord he loved, and he asked them to crucify him upside down. You see, God changed Peter’s heart and the way he did. It was little by little. Little by little. Peter’s heart changed in the presence of Jesus. The more time he spent with the Lord, the more he understood how to love others. The more he understood how to love God. One of God’s names is Redeemer. He redeems our lives from the pit. We learn in the Psalms, and I don’t know if you noticed in the story, Jesus asked Peter if he loved him three times to counteract the three times. Peter denied that he knew Jesus. That’s the power of redeeming love. It changed Peter and he became such a different person. Still passionate, but more loving, and it gives me hope and it should give you hope because the more time we spend with Jesus, little by little, he changes us too. Oh, you are so loved.
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