The Third Sunday of Easter | 04 05 25 | A Sermon on John 21:1-19 | by David H. Brooks |

            1After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. 2Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

            4Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. 7That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. 8The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

            9When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. 10Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 11So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. 12Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. 14This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

            15When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19(This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

“To Love or to Be Loved”

Our gospel text today—a post-resurrection story of a breakfast by the Sea of Galilee—is a minor mystery for Bible students because it appears after the Gospel of John seemingly has ended. Chapter 20 ends with the statement that “this book” was written so that the reader or hearer may “believe,” or come to faith in Jesus the Christ, God’s Son and by that believing have eternal life. So, for chapter 21 to essentially begin “but wait, there’s more” is a tantalizing tidbit that Bible sleuths simply can’t resist. Most of us know this story because it has at its core the “rehabilitation” of Peter, who needs restoration after his awful failure on the night before the Resurrection. However, this story also points to another needed restoration or remedy.

As the story of Jesus told in John’s Gospel builds to the events of the Passion, we are introduced to an anonymous disciple who becomes know as the “beloved disciple,” or “the one whom Jesus loved.” This beloved disciple is never directly revealed, but over the centuries the Church has developed the tradition that it is John who is the “beloved disciple.” Without going down the rabbit hole of whether that is true or not, it is enough for us today to notice that there is—how should we phrase this?—a tension, a rivalry between Peter and this other disciple. A quick look at the career of this unnamed disciple in the gospel of John shows that the beloved disciple, who appears after the raising of Lazarus, is close at hand at the Last Supper (establishment of the Eucharist); is present at the foot of the Cross (does not run away during persecution); gets to the tomb of Jesus first, and, upon seeing it empty, believes; and here, at the fishing party/breakfast, is the first to recognize the stranger as Jesus (recognizing Jesus’ voice/power/presence). By contrast, Peter comes up short during the same time frame.

Now, while our lesson does not include it, this chapter ends with Peter questioning Jesus about this other disciple, and Jesus telling Peter, “That one is not your concern. Follow me!”

I want you all to think about the fact that the Gospel of John, the gospel whom many know as the “gospel of love,” has, as Jesus’ final spoken words, “follow me!”

This is a vital word to us in a day and time when we all wish to believe that “love” is the only criterion that matters. Yes, we are called to love—but we are called to love rightly, to let love be partnered with hope and faith. Yes, we are to love—but we are to love as followers of Jesus and be guided in learning the way of love from his example—he who loved God above all. Yes, we are supposed to learn to love, but we are also supposed to learn that we are loved by Someone—and that His love makes our ability to love rightly possible.

Jesus begins his restoration of Peter by asking a question that many commentators fret is vague or inadequate:  do you love me more than these? What are “these,” we might say? Is this about the other disciples present there? Well, here we are at a breakfast made full, complete because of the word of the Lord. “Do you love me, or do you love these things I provide—the catch of fish, the breakfast itself? Do you love me, or do you love more these things of this world—the life you had before, the tasks that you had mastered?” Here, Jesus uses the famous ἀγαπάω, meaning love that is unconditional, even sacrificial—the type of love God has for us. In return, Peter replies with φιλέω, meaning fondness, a warm love or regard that comes from shared experiences among friends. From this confession of friendship and affection, Jesus tells Peter to care for the most vulnerable of the flock that belongs to the Lord. A second time: is your love unconditional? Peter again replies, you know I call you my friend. And again, a command: I want you to put yourself at risk and be shepherd for my sheep. A third time, yet here Jesus lowers the expectation: do you have φιλέω, are you really my friend? Of course, for the third time, Peter declares he is the Lord’s friend. In response, Jesus gives another command to care for the sheep.

Please notice: in response to Peter’s assertions of love, Jesus calls for obedience—go to those places I direct you; go to those people among whom I will be found.

By contrast, the beloved disciple goes to where Jesus is found, regardless of the potential consequences, because he is loved. This is the only distinguishing mark we have of this otherwise anonymous disciple—we are introduced to him as being in the Lord’s love.  To put it plainly: the beloved disciple is the faithful one, the one who believes, the one who follows because he trusts Jesus’ love for him. It does not matter if there is treachery afoot—the beloved disciple wants to be where Jesus is. It is irrelevant that Jesus is dying, that there are soldiers everywhere, that danger is all around—the beloved disciple goes to where Jesus is. It does not matter that the tomb is empty, that there is only silence—the beloved disciple is confident that Jesus is risen. It does not matter that it appears to be a stranger on the shore—the beloved disciple recognizes his Lord in the face of the stranger. And, to Peter’s protestation about the one Jesus loves, the Lord’s only reply is “you have no need to worry about him. Follow me—so that you can learn how much I love you!”

Dear ones, that is our Lord’s desire for each of us: to not count the cost, to not be afraid, to go wherever our Lord is found, to be ready to greet him every new morning because, knowing how much he loves us, we discover again and again that He loves us even more than that. As one of our saints here loves to remind me: it’s like Augustine said: God loves each of us as if there is only one of us. Amen.

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©David H. Brooks

   Pr.Dave.Brooks@zoho.com

   Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

   Durham, NC USA