This is the last segment of my study on the gospel of John. As the apostle draws close to the end of his narrative he again reminds us that he was an eyewitness to all these events. But more than that, he tells us, as he has told us in diverse ways throughout his gospel, that what he has presented to us is more than enough for the reader to accept it as Truth and believe on Jesus the Messiah.

If our reaction is to think that 21 centuries later we are so much more advanced and sophisticated than those people – particularly in science and technology – that what constitutes proof to them is no longer good enough for us, we have missed the point.

Remember, Jesus Himself, again and again refused to give “experimental” proof of His claims. He could have given the Pharisees a sign from Heaven if He had wanted; after all, He calmed a storm on the Sea of Galilee; He even walked on water. But Jesus knew that such proof was not needed; in fact, it could be misleading… because the devil also has supernatural powers. If believing on Jesus depended on the strength of a miracle, we all would have an excuse to commit any crime we wanted to… All we have to tell the judge is that we were just obeying a supernatural voice.

That loophole is irrevocably closed by John’s testimony throughout this gospel: All of us are capable of recognizing what sin, righteousness, and judgment are all about. And so, all of us can recognize the voice of the Shepherd calling us to His Kingdom

John 20:30-31 Many other signs therefore also Jesus did before his disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life in his name.

What is written in the gospel is enough.

What does it take to continue the mission?

The last story John has for us seems to me to be a last intimate goodbye between Jesus and His closest disciples.

John 21:1-6 After these things Jesus manifested himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias. And he manifested [himself] thus: There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael who was of Cana of Galilee, and the [sons] of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples.

Simon Peter says to them, I go to fish. They say to him, We also come with thee. They went forth, and went on board, and that night took nothing. And early morn already breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; the disciples however did not know that it was Jesus.

Jesus therefore says to them, Children, have ye anything to eat? They answered him, No. And he said to them, Cast the net at the right side of the ship and ye will find. They cast therefore, and they could no longer draw it, from the multitude of fishes.

Evidently, the disciples are still waiting for the day Jesus appointed to meet them all, one last time. Peter goes back to fishing and the others go with him. But as happened that first day that Peter encountered Jesus (Luke chapter 5), they could not catch any fish. And as happened on that day, a man whom he hardly knew tells Him where to cast the net and loads of fish swim into it… again, so many that one boat cannot draw the net on board.

The repetition is impossible to miss:

John 21:7-8 That disciple therefore whom Jesus loved says to Peter, It is the Lord. Simon Peter therefore, having heard that it was the Lord, girded his overcoat [on him] (for he was naked), and cast himself into the sea; and the other disciples came in the small boat, for they were not far from the land, but somewhere about two hundred cubits, dragging the net of fishes.

Now, at this point, we cannot tell why they did not recognize the man on the shore as Jesus. Maybe it was the twilight of the early morning hours. But both John and Peter know that it is Him, immediately.

John 21:9-11 When therefore they went out on the land, they see a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. Jesus says to them, Bring of the fishes which ye have now taken. Simon Peter went up and drew the net to the land full of great fishes, a hundred and fifty-three; and though there were so many, the net was not rent.

And here John gives us again eyewitness details of this encounter. The detail that the net was not rent, is again part of the repetition from Luke 5. And in it there is a whole other sermon about how God rewards our obedience with supernatural abundance, often more than we could ever imagine. And that that gift comes with no “down-side”.

We have all read about people who have won the lottery and then a whole sequence of events follow that turn out to leave that person worse off than before they won it. But the gifts that God give us, come with their own enabling: He gives us the ability to use those gifts. Why not? He is our loving Father…

But that is another sermon.

Here, the detail that the net did not rend tells us another thing: Peter was a big man. He goes back to the boat and, by himself, drags up over the gravel and sand a net full of wet fish probably weighing close to 200 pounds. No wonder people kept noticing him in the courtyard of the high priest during Jesus’ trial.

John 21:12 Jesus says to them, Come [and] dine. But none of the disciples dared inquire of him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.

So here, we get a detail that explains why the disciples on the way to Emmaus did not recognize the resurrected Jesus either. There was something about Jesus’ resurrected body, especially after He ascended to the Father (just after talking to Mary of Magdala), that made His identity hard to recognize by our physical senses alone. What it is, we don’t know.

But it makes sense. Jesus has re-entered the supernatural dimension of the Kingdom of God. Human flesh and blood cannot exist there. So, the body Jesus has is a new kind of body: not limited by the constraints of the laws of physics of this world (He can appear and disappear at will) but also, as a consequence, not fully perceptible by our bodily senses that work according to those physical laws.

Yet, the disciples knew it was Him. How? The same way we know. Our spirit, made in the image of God’s Spirit, can sense the things of the spirit.

John 21:13-14 Jesus comes and takes the bread and gives it to them, and the fish in like manner. This is already the third time that Jesus had been manifested to the disciples, being risen from among [the] dead.

So, Jesus has breakfast with His disciples; something He surely had done many many times before. And as He had done many many times before, He has something more to teach them. He begins with Simon, who is probably still shaken, scarred inside, by the fact that he denied knowing Jesus at His trial.

Here again is an occasion where the Greek words used by John are relevant to the understanding of the passage. In English we use the word “love” to mean many kinds of love. But there are several words used in Greek and two of the most common in the Gospels are: Phileo = the love of family and friends; translated by Darby as “attachment” and Agape = the word used for the love of God, sacrificial, unshakable love; translated by Darby as “love”.

Notice how Jesus asks His questions and how Peter replies:

John 21:15 When therefore they had dined, Jesus says to Simon Peter, Simon, [son] of Jonas, lovest (agape) thou me more than these? He says to him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I am attached (phileo) to thee. He says to him, Feed my lambs.

Given what we know, Jesus’ question could almost sound cruel. Remember, Peter himself was the one that said, “even if all these abandon you I never will” (Matthew 26:33-35) and “I will lay my life down for you” (John 13:37).  But even then, Jesus replied directly with the truth, He told Peter then, “I know you will deny me.” And when the rooster crowed the third time, Jesus, still bound and beaten by the priests’ guard, turned aside and looked at Peter across the crowd in that courtyard.

It may sound cruel… but the truth of our failings will always sound cruel to us. Of one thing we can be certain, the tone in Jesus’ voice, the expression in His face, were never angry or cruel; yet He stated the truth. And the truth hurts.

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews speaks about this truth:

Hebrews 12:4-12 (NIV) In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.

So, Jesus uses Peter’s own words, “Do you agape me more than these?” By this point, Peter has reaped the bitter fruit of his boasting and bravado. When the time came to face the impossible, of course he could not face the impossible; he caved! He knew He had failed Jesus, maybe even betrayed Him; and he wept bitterly that night.

We can only imagine what is going through his mind, or the contradictory feelings in his heart that, here is Jesus, again sitting next to Him, treating Him with the same kindness as He treated him before; as if nothing had happened. That was the way it was when He appeared among them in the upper room… as if nothing had happened! But that’s crazy talk, as we say. He showed them His wounds, the spear gash on his side… Something awful had happened, Peter had failed Him, and yet here He was again with them…

Is he waiting, as we say, “for the other shoe to drop”? And then comes Jesus’ question: Straightforward as always, kind as always, but it cuts so deep.

Peter answers honestly… of course he cannot claim to agape His Lord, not that kind of love…  but he knowns his own heart. He could never live without Jesus. “Lord, I phileo you.”

There! He said it. Now what? Maybe he is expecting to lose his position as leader of the disciples, but surely he is hoping that he will not be cast away. After all, Jesus said He would never do that. And then comes Jesus’ answer:

“In that case, feed my lambs”

Did Peter do a double take? Jesus is giving Him charge to take care of the young and defenseless in the flock. So, it’s not to be in charge of the whole flock but, yes, he can do that: feed them, teach them what he knows… that, he cannot mess up.  But Jesus asks again:

John 21:16 He says to him again a second time, Simon, [son] of Jonas, lovest (agape) thou me? He says to him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I am attached to thee. He says to him, Shepherd my sheep.

Notice how Jesus scaled down the question: It is no longer, do you agape me more than these, it is, “Do you agape me?”

Again, we can only guess what is going on in Peter’s mind. If you were him, what would you be thinking? Was my answer that I phileo him not good enough? Or is Jesus doubting even that? Does He know something about me that I don’t know? But no matter how hard those doubts hit Peter, he replied honestly again… “I phileo you… I know that Lord, I know I phileo you… you must know too.”

And Jesus scales up the commission: “In that case, shepherd my sheep… yes Peter, lead them.”

Before Peter has a chance to wrap his head around this, Jesus asks again…

John 21:17 He says to him the third time, Simon, [son] of Jonas, art thou attached (phileo) to me? Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, Art thou attached to me? and said to him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I am attached (phileo) to thee. Jesus says to him, Feed my sheep.

Jesus has scaled down the question all the way to Peter’s level, no longer requiring agape but phileo. Again Peter must go through all sorts of doubts: Is Jesus telling me I don’t even phileo Him? “No, please Jesus, don’t say that… I phileo you, I do, please… tell me I do.”

And Jesus tells him, “I know you phileo me…That is enough: Feed my sheep.”

That is the bottom line for us.

Jesus has never asked us to be perfect. He has never asked us to be super Christians better than the rest. He is just asking us to follow Him, as the sheep follow the Shepherd… depend on Him, love Him as hard as we can right now; and if we do that, that is enough.

If we love Him, He will use us to carry out His mission in this world. The agape Love will grow in us, in time, because He will make it grow.

Peter was indeed full of doubt that if he had betrayed the Lord once, he would do it again. But Jesus goes on and tells him, “when the time of testing comes, you will stand fast…”

John 21:18-19 Verily, verily, I say to thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst where thou desiredst; but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and bring thee where thou dost not desire. But he said this signifying by what death he should glorify God.

And having said this, he says to him, Follow me.

And so, the story is almost over. Of course, John has been there listening all along, supporting his best friend all along. And as Jesus and Peter get up to walk and continue talking, he naturally gets up with them.

John 21:20-21 Peter, turning round, sees the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also leaned at supper on his breast, and said, Lord, who is it that delivers thee up? Peter, seeing him, says to Jesus, Lord, and what [of] this [man]?

John 21:22 Jesus says to him, If I will that he abide until I come, what [is that] to thee? Follow thou me.

Peter will always be Peter. Impulsive, always trying to figure out what comes next. And we do well to hear Jesus’ answer to Him.

God has a job for each one of us. And we should learn from that conversation between Jesus and Peter, that He will always prepare that job for us so that we can do it. He will not give us a mission we cannot accomplish. He may have a lot to teach us through it; we may have a lot of growing up to do as we work our way through it… but that is OK, that is His job for us.

Guess what? He has other jobs for the rest of His sheep.

We are all part of the mission. And what He has me doing may have nothing to do with what He has you doing. The resources He gives you may not be what He gives me; the field He has me working in could be completely different from your field. But we are both, we are all, His sheep and His servants.

We can never judge one another. We should never, ever compare ourselves to each other. All we can do is do our job and help one another as we cross paths in our mission.

John finishes that anecdote with what must have been to him a humorous note:

John 21:23 This word therefore went out among the brethren, That disciple does not die. And Jesus did not say to him, He does not die; but, If I will that he abide until I come, what [is that] to thee?

And here is his conclusion:

John 21:24-25 This is the disciple who bears witness concerning these things, and who has written these things; and we know that his witness is true. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which if they were written one by one, I suppose that not even the world itself would contain the books written.

This story, as I have seen it, and told it to you, is enough. Now, the rest is up to you.