The Risen Lord Cares For His Children

St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran church

Pastor Mark Gartner

Sermon for Easter 3 – April 19^th and 22^nd, 2007

John 21:1-14 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. "I’m going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We’ll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, "Friends, haven’t you any fish?" "No," they answered. He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught." Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Dear Friends in Christ, From the disciples’ perspective, Good Friday marked not only the death of their Leader, but the death of their happiness as well. After Jesus’ crucifixion we find them stunned, saddened, disoriented and behind locked doors. They learned in a most convincing way that Jesus Christ was central to their lives. Without Him, there was only emptiness. It is hard for us to imagine, then, the euphoria they must have experienced with the knowledge of Jesus’ resurrection. We can only guess at their joy to see and speak with the Risen Christ. Easter certainly changed things in a big hurry. The disciples moved from sadness to gladness, and as we have seen in our Scripture lessons from the book of Acts, from timidness to boldness. Our text for this morning is one of a number of Jesus’ resurrection appearances recorded for us in Scripture. It displays for us the joy and encouragement the Risen Christ brought to His disciples – something we clearly see in John’s words and Peter’s actions. And it reminds us that if ever we, as Christians, are asked what is the source of our joy and strength in life, we could do no better for an answer than to think about how Jesus is still active in our lives:

Sermon Theme: The Risen Lord Cares For His Children

1. With perfect love

2. With perfect timing

We’ll proceed by briefly working our way through the text and then drawing present day application from it... "Afterward, Jesus appeared again to his disciples by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathaniel from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. "I’m going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We’ll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing." The time of our text was sometime between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. The place was the Sea of Tiberias, better known to us as the Sea of Galilee. The cast was 7 disciples, 5 of whom are named -- Peter, Nathaniel, Thomas and James and John the sons of Zebedee. Before becoming full time disciples, many of these men made their living by fishing, so it’s not hard to understand that without Jesus as their daily, physical focal point anymore, they returned to doing what they knew best. As was the favored custom of that day and place, they fished at night. But they had no luck. "Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize it was Jesus. He called to them, "Friends, haven’t you any fish?" "No," they answered. He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some. When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish."

As morning broke, a friendly stranger appears. We know who it is, but the disciples didn’t. The friendly stranger offers advice on their fishing strategy, and they listened. Perhaps it was the authority in his voice that led them to immediately listen. Perhaps the stranger’s suggestion seem very similar to a command given to these same fisherman by Jesus the Christ about three years earlier. Whatever the case, the results were the same as then – a miraculous catch of fish. And at that moment the light went on in John’s head. "Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from the shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread." We’ve become somewhat accustomed to Peter’s immediate (and sometimes unwise) reaction to things. Here we have another example. But we can’t really blame him. He wanted to get to shore fast, and the quickest way was to hit the water. So he wrapped his outer garment around him and plunged into the lake The best explanation I read was that was an act of respect because he wanted to appear before His Master fully clothed. Another explanation could be that he was just frazzled and acting irrationally.

What all the disciples found upon their arrival was a shore meal being prepared... "Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you just caught." Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to His disciples after he was raised from the dead." We are told the disciples didn’t have to ask who this was. They knew they were standing in the presence of the Lord. And with this encounter the disciples were confirmed and solidified in the fact that Jesus Christ was risen indeed. And maybe that’s why Jesus repeatedly came to the disciples, so they would never ever wonder if their minds were just playing tricks on them. We are told that this was the third time Jesus appeared to a group of disciples, though there had been other appearances to individuals...

If we are looking for application of this text to our lives today, I believe it can first be found here, in the concern of Christ that His followers know He is alive and with them. Jesus wants us to know that He is with us. His concern is that we understand He is there for us and that He loves us. He may not talk with us face to face over a meal of fish as He did with the disciples in our text, but the Risen Christ continues to speak to us in His Word. And in the Word it is evident that His concern for us spills into every area of our lives.

For example, it concerns our Risen Lord when we worry, so He tells us to cast all our anxieties upon Him. It concerns Christ when we are troubled or disheartened or weary of life, so He invites us to come to Him for rest. It concerns Christ when we feel we have to shoulder heavy burdens by ourselves, so He tells us to come to Him in prayer and ask with the promise that it will be given to us, seek and we shall find, knock and the door will be opened to us, all in harmony with His good and gracious will for our lives. It concerns Christ when we feel insignificant or of little worth, so He reminds us that we, individually, are of such great worth to Him that He gave His life for each of us, and that He loves us with an everlasting love. It concerns Christ when we are weighed down by our sins, so He points us to the cross and says, "Yes, you are a sinner, but when I said ‘It is finished’ I meant it. You are forgiven. So now, go forward living for me in the present rather than dwelling on the past." It concerns Christ when we feel lonely, so He comes to us with the assurance that He is with us always, even to the end of the age, and that He will never leave us or forsake us. And when we understand the Risen Christ’s concern for us, which is the first application of our text, we will also understand the second, namely the emotion that this information produces in the hearts of Jesus’ disciples. The emotion of joy...

What do you think it was like for the disciples when they came in from their boat to the shore and saw that lunch was provided by the Risen Christ? We’re not told of any dinner conversation. But I think we can say with certainty what was present. There was a lot of awe. There was a lot of spiritual strengthening going on. And there most certainly was a lot of joy welling up in the souls of the faithful; a joy that would empower them to do what they would eventually be called to do – preach the good news of this Risen Christ to all the world. Not that this would be easy. In fact it would be hard. But the knowledge of the Risen Christ gave them strength for the journey and power for living. With the promise of His presence and the sure hope of life eternal, the resurrected Lord Jesus filled those first century disciples with joy.

How about for us today? Is the knowledge of the Risen Christ producing the same emotion in us? Answers will vary. But I suspect the answer for many of us is: Sometimes. And if we’re wondering why the answer isn’t "all the time," perhaps it is because we let too many things get in the way. I heard a story that might help illustrate this point. A lady who watched and studied eagles was watching eagles when she came upon an eagle that was killed by a bullet wound. She thought to herself how did that eagle which flies so high in the sky get wounded by a gunshot. She figured out that the eagle must have for just a moment flown too close to the ground and the hunters. It forgot to stay far enough away from the dangers on the ground. In a way that is what it is like for us as we live on this earth. If we keep our faith "high" which means that we keep our faith focused on Christ and the work, which he did for us, we will be safe forever. But if we allow ourselves to "come close" to the earth and all its sinful temptations we can be fatally wounded by the attacks of the Devil and the sin of this world. If we think we are able to fly low and sin and the devil will not get us, we are playing a very dangerous game with our eternity. Our home is not on this earth, but our home and highest priority is heaven.

The disciples in our text didn’t fly low. Just the opposite. They were flying high, transported and propelled by the knowledge of the Risen Christ. And they stand as examples for us today. Although the calendar may suggest otherwise, Easter is not over. In fact, Easter is never over, is it? The Risen Christ is with us... comforting us with His concern and providing joy for us with His presence. Alleluia. Alleluia. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. He is risen for us. Alleluia. Amen.