John 21:1-8

00:00:00:25 – 00:00:22:14
Clint Loveall
Hey everybody. Thanks for being back with us again today. We appreciate that as we get close to the end of the Gospel of John, starting the 21st chapter today, a long story will probably take a couple days to unpack it, but I’m going to read the first, half or so of it through about verse eight. Then we’ll come back and unpack it.

00:00:22:19 – 00:00:46:41
Clint Loveall
After these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the sea of Tiberius, and he showed himself in this way, gathered there together, where Simon Peter, Thomas called the twin Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples. Simon Peter said to them, I’m going fishing. They said, we’ll go with you. They went out and got in the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

00:00:46:46 – 00:01:07:21
Clint Loveall
Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach, but the disciples did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, children, you have no fish, have you? They answered, no. He said to them, cast the net to 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 there were so many fish.

00:01:07:26 – 00:01:30:51
Clint Loveall
The same. The disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, it is the Lord. When Simon Peter heard this, that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and he jumped into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only 100 yards off.

00:01:30:55 – 00:02:12:47
Clint Loveall
One thing as we get into this chapter, a couple of things. The first is sort of a historical question. Many Bible scholars make the case that chapter 21 feels like an addition. We mentioned this yesterday as we got to the end of chapter 20, which does kind of feel like an ending. The difference is it as opposed to something if you were with us when we were in the story of the woman caught in adultery in John eight, we know that at some point it clearly looks like that was added because we have manuscripts, they have copies of manuscripts where that story is not in them.

00:02:12:52 – 00:02:42:31
Clint Loveall
And then later that story is in them in what appeared to be older or, or newer manuscripts. So we know there was a time in which that story wasn’t in at least some of those. That’s not true. In chapter 21. Chapter 21 is in all the oldest manuscripts we have. But there are some who believe that before that, or if we could go back further than we can, we would find that maybe the book originally ended at the end of chapter 20.

00:02:42:36 – 00:03:02:21
Clint Loveall
Now, I, I don’t know that that’s a big deal. And I don’t know that you need to have an opinion on that. You may or may not even care about that. But I will say that as we go through this, notice something that is going to be pretty prevalent throughout this chapter. There’s going to be a lot of callbacks.

00:03:02:25 – 00:03:43:33
Clint Loveall
It is really interesting how many stories and themes and even specific words that show up here in this after report of the resurrection. And so, as, as we get into this, just we’ll try to point those out. So the setting is it’s after the resurrection, after Jesus showed himself and the disciples are there, and I believe seven of them decide to go fishing, kind of led by Simon and, why they do this or whether they’re stir crazy or whatever reason we’re not told, but they decide to do that.

00:03:43:33 – 00:04:05:12
Clint Loveall
So they went out and they get in the boat and they catch nothing. Now, here’s here’s one of the first callbacks, just after daybreak. When was the last time we were told it was very early in the morning? It was the Easter story. It was when Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb. And so here Michael, we have the disciples.

00:04:05:16 – 00:04:33:41
Clint Loveall
They have been fruitless. You you’ve made the point many times as we’ve gone through this study, light and dark matter in the Gospel of John, they have been able to do nothing to catch nothing in the dark. And now, just after daybreak, Jesus shows up on the beach. But they don’t know it’s him. And if that sounds familiar, it should, because just a chapter ago, we have almost some of the exact details coming through this story.

00:04:33:41 – 00:04:42:27
Clint Loveall
So, I think John is working very hard to help us connect this and resonate with the Easter story.

00:04:42:32 – 00:05:07:03
Michael Gewecke
So this is one of those books, and we’ve said this before, that in many ways, John is trying to give the the church that has been around for a little while the story of Jesus and, in a way that is accessible and compelling and ties together all the themes so that there are some things that we find just get treated throughout this gospel as somewhat common knowledge.

00:05:07:03 – 00:05:26:16
Michael Gewecke
Like, for instance, Jesus isn’t surprised a single time in this gospel of where he’s going. Jesus is in control the whole time. All the other gospels tell that story with a little bit of a different gloss here, Clint, I’m struck by the idea that at daybreak, Jesus finds the disciples doing the thing that they’re good at again, right?

00:05:26:28 – 00:05:52:58
Michael Gewecke
That we have fishermen who are back at the task of fishing, and there’s something really compelling theologically about that, that at the end of this book, as we now begin to see all of these bookends made that tie back to previous points in the story we have in the setting daybreak, a revelation moment, a time in which those men who were following Jesus go back to a skill set that they had previous right.

00:05:52:58 – 00:06:13:53
Michael Gewecke
And we have in the other. We have this gospel idea, of the, fishers of men. Right. So now here you have these men fishing for fish, and at the end of the day, they find themselves not being successful in that task. And it’s fascinating that it’s these men who we ask the question, what will they do now?

00:06:13:53 – 00:06:38:25
Michael Gewecke
What will be their future? What happens after their life with Jesus? After Jesus dies? His resurrected? They know that this is no longer a first appearance kind of story. This is a what happens after the first appearance kind of story. And I think what we’re going to discover as we make our way into even just this section, though, I think it’s fleshed out more as the story continues.

00:06:38:30 – 00:06:58:01
Michael Gewecke
We’re just going to discover that their life is different. It’s changed. There’s some yes, they might be fishing and they might even not be as good at the fishing as what they would love for themselves to be. But yet there’s something that’s radically different as as this daybreak comes, they live a different kind of life. This is a metaphor.

00:06:58:03 – 00:07:11:09
Michael Gewecke
It’s a teaching. It’s a sermon about discipleship, and it is involving the scenes and the people. And some of these images and even words. But right now we’re learning something about what it means to be on the other side of resurrection.

00:07:11:15 – 00:07:34:46
Clint Loveall
And I think that’s the question that hangs over this text. What are these men now? They were following Jesus. Jesus has been killed. He’s appeared to them, but it’s not yet clear what that means to them now. And I want to be clear when it says they’re lowering nets. This is commercial fishing right there. They’re fishing at night.

00:07:34:51 – 00:08:02:06
Clint Loveall
They’re fishing with nets. This isn’t a couple guys out with fishing rods just passing time. This is the idea. Is this going to be their commerce? Is this going to be their job. Are they now going back to what they used to do? These are men at a crossroads. And it’s possible that John is telling us a story about a fork in the road for them, and they go back to what they know.

00:08:02:11 – 00:08:26:33
Clint Loveall
But that’s ultimately not what they’re going to end up doing. So, Jesus, they apparently don’t know it’s Jesus yet. He calls out, and he kind of assumes they haven’t done well, no fish, have you? They say no. He says, put the note, the net on the other side. We’ve seen stories like that in the gospel. Again, a kind of supernatural knowledge.

00:08:26:38 – 00:09:00:36
Clint Loveall
Now they’re not even able to haul up the net because they catch so many fish. And the disciple whom Jesus loved. We’ve had that conversation. That’s very likely. John says to Peter, that is the Lord. So they recognize Jesus in his counsel to them in the results. And though they don’t seem to recognize him personally, maybe because of the distance, maybe some other reason here in his actions, he’s proven to be the Lord again.

00:09:00:36 – 00:09:31:30
Clint Loveall
We’ve seen this throughout the Gospel of John. And when Simon Peter heard it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked and he jumped into the sea. That’s a strange verse. It likely means that he had taken off his outer clothing and was working in kind of a loin cloth, or what we might call underclothes and, the strange detail is not that he would, I think one translation Michael says something like he had he was stripped for work.

00:09:31:35 – 00:09:54:14
Clint Loveall
It would not be typical for a Jewish man to be nude in front of other Jewish men working on a boat, that that’s very unlikely. It probably does have to do with some under clothing, but the curious detail is that he put on his clothes and jumped into the sea, and nobody knows exactly what to do with that.

00:09:54:14 – 00:10:29:18
Clint Loveall
One school of thought is that it was a sign of respect, that now knowing this was Jesus. Another idea is that he wants to have his clothes with him, and they make it harder to swim, so he wears them and and I think the most allegorical, but maybe the most interesting is that when he sees Jesus on the shore, he realizes he’s no longer a fisherman, that he takes his possession with him, and he leaves the boat, symbolic of leaving that life behind.

00:10:29:18 – 00:10:58:48
Clint Loveall
Now again, that that’s reading between lines of the text pretty hard. I don’t know that it says that explicitly. That’s maybe more of a preaching point than an actual point in the text. But I think it’s it’s an interesting idea that some people have put out there. And Peter gets there first. Again, impetuous run ahead. And then the other disciples come in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they weren’t that far off, only about 100 yards.

00:10:58:48 – 00:11:09:24
Clint Loveall
And you know, this sets up, I’d say a lot of the power of this story is in the back part of it, the second half. But this sets up the story pretty well.

00:11:09:28 – 00:11:34:27
Michael Gewecke
There’s some really great lines being walked here in the writing and telling of this story. Clint, because we do have this relationship that happens between the disciple whom Jesus loved. Verse seven, we’ve talked about that it’s likely John, the writer of this book. Isn’t it fascinating? He is the first one to recognize Jesus for who he is, right?

00:11:34:31 – 00:11:58:39
Michael Gewecke
And yet gives 100% credit for Peter being the guy jumping in the water, swimming back to shore. And yet, you know, yes, you have this idea. Peter puts on his clothes, he goes back, no. What else is there though? He leaves behind a miraculous catch of fish that they have to drag, that it’s not just that he’s leaving behind the possibility of a career.

00:11:58:46 – 00:12:24:28
Michael Gewecke
He’s leaving behind a, an absolute avalanche of resources that that they just caught. And the point here, I think, is fascinating, that on one hand, you have John, who is not going to give Peter credit for seeing Jesus for who he is right off the bat, but he’s going to give him credit for jumping in the water first and leaving everything behind that he can get to the shore to be with the Lord.

00:12:24:28 – 00:12:46:31
Michael Gewecke
Right. But then on the flip side, you’re going to see how that plays on as the story goes, and you’re going to see that there’s going to be more details between Jesus and Peter. Then there’s going to be more details between Jesus and the disciple that Jesus loved. There is some relational connections being resolved here because there’s some leadership conversation being passed on here.

00:12:46:46 – 00:13:09:11
Michael Gewecke
But, you know, Peter is a leader of the early church and looked up to and respected and turned to for advice and counsel as the church begins to be a body that represents Jesus Christ in the world. And when Jesus ascends, it is only going to be these men who are experimenting on the edge of what are we going to do with our lives again on the other side of this?

00:13:09:16 – 00:13:32:13
Michael Gewecke
And and they’re navigating that crossroads. And ultimately and eventually they are going to very clearly have chosen that they’re going to be servants. They’re going to be the people who represent Jesus’s teaching. They’re going to pass it on to the next generation. So they’re going to be baton givers in that way. And I think what’s fascinating about a story like this is it’s a little bit historical.

00:13:32:13 – 00:13:51:09
Michael Gewecke
It’s a little bit, Jesus comes back and it puts all of us at the crossroads of asking, so then what is the case for all of us? And also there’s a kind of leadership setup in this. So then here are the people who we turn to in the earliest generation of Christians to be faithful interpreters and guides of what Jesus taught and did.

00:13:51:22 – 00:14:13:54
Michael Gewecke
There’s a lot of things, I think, sort of bundled into this thing, while also combining these details that we’ve already had the story, the moments, the power of water, right way of Jesus who turned, water into wine. You’ve got miracles, stories that happen, at the well where Jesus has this information. There’s a lot of moments in which water has significance in the story writ large.

00:14:13:58 – 00:14:37:28
Michael Gewecke
It makes the clear sense that you have a scene set with fishermen on water. Jesus knowing about the fish, the the choice between the money represented in that net versus the calling to be fishers of men. All of this is in play and this gospel, I think however you want to put the emphasis is fine. I just think you have to allow that.

00:14:37:28 – 00:14:39:54
Michael Gewecke
John’s doing a lot with few words here.

00:14:39:59 – 00:15:15:43
Clint Loveall
Yeah, I would even argue there’s some foreshadowing in the text. The idea that when you fish on your own, it’s largely unsuccessful. When you fish following Jesus instructions, it’s fruitful. And where is that going to go? That’s going to go into evangelism. That’s going to go into working in the church, spreading the good news that when one is guided by Jesus, one bears fruit, one catches fish, one catches people, and one brings them also to the Christ.

00:15:15:43 – 00:15:35:37
Clint Loveall
And so I think John is, there’s there’s a lot going on here. I think this is a really well crafted story. We’re only about maybe a third of the way through it. Well, maybe, depending on how you how you look at the last part. But, I hope you could join us tomorrow. We’ll continue through.

00:15:35:39 – 00:15:43:18
Clint Loveall
We’ll look at the conclusion of this story. There again, there are some really interesting things that are about to happen.

00:15:43:22 – 00:16:00:41
Michael Gewecke
This is one of those stories, Clint. Just by way of conclusion, this is a story that we teach our kids. I think it’s very hard to teach what is actually happening in history. I think there’s an element that you could read this story and think it’s all about the miraculous catch a fish, which it’s certainly that’s the miracle at play here.

00:16:00:41 – 00:16:27:03
Michael Gewecke
But I think John doesn’t think or want us to be surprised by, wow, they caught so many fish. I think we’re supposed to see this is a pivotal moment of revelation. And there’s this mysterious, unexplainable. What’s next for the the people who follow Jesus that’s happening under the surface? It’s one of those amazing stories that might appear to just be a simple, hey, look, this is miraculous.

00:16:27:03 – 00:16:31:06
Michael Gewecke
And it is actually far, far deeper than what meets the eye initially.

00:16:31:06 – 00:16:53:51
Clint Loveall
Well, there’s some strangeness to it. You have some, but not all the disciples. You have Jesus who they do or don’t recognize. You have the idea of fish. You have the idea of Peter swimming in his clothes and running to stand in front of Jesus while the other disciples do the work. There’s just this is one of those stories that functions on a lot of levels.

00:16:54:03 – 00:17:07:24
Clint Loveall
On the surface, it’s an interesting story, but I think it is so well crafted by John that as you start digging in, you think, wow, he really got a lot of stuff in here. Yeah, I think that’s only more true tomorrow.

00:17:07:37 – 00:17:11:18
Michael Gewecke
That’s well said. Join us tomorrow. Love to see you then. Thanks for being with us today.

00:17:11:20 – 00:17:12:01
Clint Loveall
Thanks, everybody.