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Good Tuesday to you my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Have you ever thought about what it might be like to have a meal with Jesus, as we read in the Gospel accounts happened often for the disciples and other friends of Jesus? The past three days we’ve been looking closely at John 21, and the third encounter Peter and six other disciples had with the resurrected Jesus, on the shoreline of Lake Galilee early one morning after they’d fished all night with no success.
They were weary, frustrated, disappointed and I’m sure having so many great memories of Jesus with them on that lake, they strongly felt His absence. Oh how they longed for more time with Jesus, but they had no idea when or if they’d ever see Him again. Have you noticed WHEN your mind and heart are most open, even longing for an encounter with God? When is that my friends?
Yesterday we sat on the beach with the disciples as they ate breakfast with Jesus, and watched as Jesus and Peter had a remarkable, life changing discussion about the integrity of their relationship. It was a turning point, a ‘defining moment’ in Peter’s life. Can you point back, in your life journey, to similar times you and God have had such significant conversations?
Let’s rejoin the story in John 21:19 “Then Jesus said to Peter, ‘Follow Me!'” Yes, as we saw yesterday, Jesus now for a third time over the months of their relationship, was inviting Peter to make a major decision about the path and purpose of His life, but Jesus was also ‘re-commissioning’ Peter as one of His disciples, who would be a significant Ambassador of Jesus after Jesus left and returned to heaven.
But I also believe Jesus was inviting Peter to get up from sitting on the sand with the others, where they’d had breakfast, and take a private walk with Jesus, just the two of them. There was evidently more Jesus wanted to say to Peter that would be just for his ears, intended to touch his heart deeply. I conclude that because of vs. 20 “Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them.”
Please note here again, as John the author of this Gospel has done several times before, he gives us his commentary on this moment, in parenthesis: (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, ‘Lord who is going to betray You.) Please note two important things here. First, evidently when Jesus invited Peter to take a stroll down the beach, just the two of them, John also got up and followed them, but from a respectful distance. WHY? I think it’s because John had a very deeply rooted relationship with Jesus and if at all possible, never wanted to be far from Him.
John never wanted to miss anything… not a word Jesus said, not a look on Jesus’ face, not even the looks in Jesus’ eyes. John treasured every moment he was near Jesus. He, like the other disciples, had no way of knowing how long this unexpected Lake Galilee shoreline breakfast was going to last, or when Jesus might suddenly leave, and maybe most important: when or if they’d ever see Jesus again?
I see no indication the other five disciples sitting on the beach moved. Only John. The same is true about the other four times John refers to himself as “the disciple Jesus loved” in the past few chapters of John’s Gospel. We’ll look at those again tomorrow, because they are so powerful and give us such a significant insight into the unique relationship Jesus and John had together. I think it’s the same relationship Jesus wants with you, me, and everyone who trusts Jesus with their lives.
As Jesus and Peter are walking down the beach together, why is it ONLY John gets up from the breakfast fire to follow them? If I had been sitting among them, would I have followed Peter and Jesus as John did, or would I have just stayed sitting on the beach as 5 other disciples did?
This question stirs deeply in me… Is my heart like John’s? Is my relationship with Jesus like John’s? And what about each of you my friends?
Let’s walk along with John, close enough to see Peter and Jesus ahead, but at a respectful distance so as not to eavesdrop on their conversation. Evidently John and Peter had discussed it in detail after the fact, so John gives us this insight as to what happens next: John 21:21 “When Peter saw him (John), he asked, ‘Lord, what about him?”
Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow Me!” Oh my, what a statement! What did Jesus mean by that? What do you think Peter thought Jesus meant?
Do you see Peter, like all of us, so easily is distracted from his intimate moment with Jesus, and is drawn to compare himself with someone else, rather than keeping his attention focused on Jesus and relishing this moment they have together? Why do we allow that to happen to us, my friends?
Do you notice Peter is now, for a fourth time, invited to a deeply personal ‘follow Me’ relationship with Jesus? Did you ever have the experience as a child when your mother took a firm grip on your chin and turned your face toward her, and said sternly but lovingly, ‘look at me when I’m talking to you’!?
Without touching Peter, I think that’s what Jesus is doing here. Jesus longed for a very special relationship with Peter, which as He had with John, would be unique to Peter and would maximize Peter’s potential. Peter was always looking around to see what was going on with other people, or to see what other people thought of him.
Listen my friends… do you hear it? Is Jesus saying the same to you and me today? Is Jesus inviting us to focus on HIM, the risen Jesus, and hear His invitation to “follow ME”, and not be so easily distracted? How much do we miss out on with Jesus, by our distractions?
Do you notice John once again gives us a little commentary on the moment: “Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die, He only said, ‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you.” (John 21:23) I’ve always wondered where did this rumor start? Only Peter heard what Jesus said, and it was several years before John wrote his account. That leaves me with only one possibility. The disciples on the beach likely were inquisitive, as you and I would be. “So Peter, what did you and Jesus talk about when you walked with Him?” Oh the problems rumors cause! My friends, let’s be rumor killers, never rumor spreaders. No one is helped by rumors, do you agree?
Finally, John draws his unique account of Jesus to a close with these words: “This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.
Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (John 21:24,25) Oh how true it is! More books, poems, music, plays, and sermons have been written about Jesus than any other figure in history.
Do you see John taking personal responsibility for what he has written? Do you see him inviting anyone to ask him any question, confident that what he has written is truthful and accurate? But do you also see one more thing here…do you see John saying in effect “I’ve written you the story of my best friend. I could have written much, much more, but I’ve carefully chosen what I’ve written so you could come to know Him as I have known Him.”
At the end of the day, this question remains for every living human being: WHO is Jesus Christ and what is your relationship with HIM?
Can you hear John, Peter and the other 5 who sat on the beach that day with the resurrected Jesus, asking you and me and every person that question? And what is your answer my friends?
As you perhaps know, Ramadan, the month of prayer and fasting for Muslims all around the world has begun. God reaches to Muslims this month, more than any other time of the year, in part because they are seeking Him more earnestly than at any other time of the year. And God is inviting them to eternal life. Do you remember Jesus prayed “Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3) Oh I urge you to join me in praying that many Muslims would come to know Jesus this month.
Oh Lord Jesus Christ thank You for these chapters in John’s account of You, which have invited us to an intimate relationship with YOU! Oh I pray that millions of people, including many Muslims, would come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord!!
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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