Dial In with Jonny Ardavanis - Dial In - John 21:1-25 (Ep. 54)

Episode Date: July 19, 2020

Dial In is a devotional series with the intention of helping followers of Christ understand God’s word and love Him more. Jonny seeks to communicate the profound depth of scripture in a digestible and condensed format each weekday. The goal of the podcast is that our “minds would be renewed” as we behold who God is in His word. In this series, Jonny is walking sequentially through the Gospel of John.In this episode, Jonny covers John 21:1-25For more information on Jonny Ardavanis and Dial In visit: https://www.jonnyardavanis.comTo watch the video series: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGB5fYWHTNemqp9aZC232egEnjoy!

Hey guys, my name is Johnny Artavanis, and this is Dial In. We conclude our study in John's Gospel as we come to John chapter 21, verses 1 through 25. Let's dial in. John chapter 21. After this, Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas, called the twin, Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, And he revealed himself in this way. Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore, yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, Children, do you have any fish? They answered him, No.

He 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. That 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. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from land, but about a hundred yards off. When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, Bring some of the fish that you have just caught. So 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.

Jesus said to them, Come and have breakfast. Now none of the disciples dared ask him, Who are you? They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. Now this was the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. When 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. He 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. He said to him a third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was grieved because he had said to him a 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. Truly, 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 are old, you will stretch out your hands and another will dress you

and carry you where you do not want to go. 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. Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them. The one who had also leaned back against him during the supper and had said,

Lord, who is it that is going to betray you? When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, Lord, what about this man? Jesus said to him, If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me. So the saying spread among the brothers that this disciple was not to die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not going to die.

But if it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things and who has written these things. And we know that his testimony is true. Now there are many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. What a joy it's been for me to be able to study the Gospel of John. And as we conclude our study,

we need to understand that this final chapter is really important because what is glaring from the accounts of all the different gospel writers is that Peter, the leader of the disciples, had denied Jesus. We saw how Jesus had reacted and restored Doubting Thomas, but how does Jesus react and restore Peter who denied him three times? The passage begins in John 21 when Peter gets tired of waiting and disobeys the Lord and tells the disciples, I'm going fishing. And they say, okay, we'll go with you. So this is Peter who is so discouraged and so self-doubting that he goes back to his old

life. Jesus had already told these disciples that they were now fishers of men. Peter was essentially deciding that he was going to abandon his call to ministry, if you will, and go back to fishing his old life. I think he must have felt inadequate. He must have felt guilty. And I think he felt weak. Peter had already seen the risen Christ twice, and now for a third time here on the shores of Galilee. So he knows Jesus is alive, but he still has serious doubts about himself, and Jesus has to go right to the core of the issue in this final chapter of John's gospel. Now you've got to understand, Jesus has really significant plans for Peter, and what Jesus asks of Peter in this passage is what he asks of every

single one of his followers today. The Christian life ultimately comes down to loving Jesus. It's not a morality checklist or check boxes of performance. It's truly and genuinely loving Jesus. And this is what Jesus is after with Peter in this final scene in John's gospel. Jesus had asked these disciples to leave everything behind to follow him, to deny themselves, to lose their life in order to find it, to be willing to die for them. And what compels and fuels this type of denial or self-sacrifice is nothing other than love. Our mission for God is preceded by our devotion for God. And Peter is doubting his mission here because he is doubting his own devotion. So the disciples are in the boat, they're fishing, and Jesus calls out to them from the shore and tells them where to cast their net.

They haul in a huge catch of fish. But at that point, Peter is gone because he realizes that it is Jesus who is talking to him and he is swimming to meet his master. And when the rest of the disciples arrive on shore, Jesus is sitting there with his friend, and yet his servant, Peter. And as they are concluding breakfast, John records this conversation that occurs. Verse 15, Simon Peter, son of John, do you love me more than these? Now what is Jesus asking? Do you love me more than what? He's asking Peter, do you love me more than your old way of life? Do you love me more than success, career?

Do you love me more than anything else? And the word that Jesus uses here is the word agape for love. It describes the highest form of love, the purest, noblest, best, and deepest love in a full sense. He says, do you love me at this high level? And Peter replies and says to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. But he changes the word here. Jesus uses the word agape and Peter uses the word phileo. He drops it down a notch. Phileo describes a brotherly love, a friendly love, a affection. This is kind of like my Los Angeles Laker love. So Peter knows he can't say, you know that I agape you, because he knows that would sound hypocritical because

Peter had just denied Jesus three times. So he says, of course, Lord, you know that I phileo you, you know that I have an affection for you. So Jesus' response is, then feed my lambs. Again, a second time, Jesus asks him, Simon Peter, do you agape me? And Peter's response is, yes, Lord, you know that I phileo you. I have an affection for you, Jesus. But Jesus is asking him, do you have a noble, pure, high, devoted form of love for me? And for a second time, Peter responds and says, you know that I have a phileo love for you. And lastly, a third time, Jesus asks him, do you even phileo me, Peter? Jesus changes his word to Peter's. He says, do you really even phileo me? In other words, do you even really have an affection for me, Peter? Do you really even like me? And Peter's response is obviously full of discouragement.

And he says, Lord, you know that I love you. John reveals in John 2 25 that Jesus knows everything. He knows what is in the heart of men. And Peter knows this. And Peter pleads the omniscience of Jesus here saying, Jesus, you know all things. You know my heart and you know that I love you. And Jesus's response to Peter is, then feed my sheep. The Bible never calls for a life of legalism or a life of fear or law. It always calls for a love for God. Our Lord makes it clear here in this passage, and he has made it clear all throughout John's gospel. In the 14th chapter of John, as you remember,

on the night before his crucifixion in the upper room, verse 15 of chapter 14, he says to his disciples, and he says to all of us today, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. Verse 21, he who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me. Verse 23, if anybody loves me, he will keep my word. My father will love him and we will come in and make our abode with him.

Verse 28, if you loved me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the father. There is no need to overcomplicate Christianity. Followers of Jesus Christ love God and obey him. And Jesus asks Peter here, do you love me? This is the greatest commandment and yet it's not rocket science. We don't have to get lost in the Greek and Hebrew to understand the simplicity of this passage and the heart of Christianity, loving Jesus. Finally, if the Christian life is boiled down to loving Jesus and obeying him, and love is the fuel of that obedience, how then can we grow in our love for Jesus? What's the

answer? By understanding, comprehending, beholding, and believing in Jesus' love for us. Peter had much evidence of the love of Jesus for him. And so do you and I. Jesus holds to us his nail-pierced hands. He gives you his spirit. He is interceding for you now. He loves you. And he asks you today the same words he asked Peter. Do you love me?

Stay dialed in.