John: When Jesus Shows Up

Guest preacher David Duran from King's Cross Church in Plymouth preaches from John 21:1-14 about the disciples meeting Jesus after the resurrection. Discussion points: Jesus knows exactly where we are and what we experience in life, Jesus has things under control even when everything seems to be falling apart, Jesus loves to welcome lost and wandering people back to him.

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  Scripture reader: [John 21:1-14] After this, Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the sea of Tiberius and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas called the twin, Nathaniel of Canna in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, I'm going fishing. They said to him, we will go with you. They went out and got into the boat. But that night they caught nothing. 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, came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land but about 100 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. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

  This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

  Preacher: Well, good morning. It's a joy to be here with you all. As Alexis mentioned, my name is David Durand and I'm a church planter with sin Boston and with harbor network planting Kings cross church down in the Plymouth area. I always like to mention that to people because it amazes me. It seems like everywhere I go, there's someone that has some sort of connection to Plymouth or the Plymouth area and love for you all to know that just in case you know, people who are looking for a church down in that area. I would love to connect with them and share with them about what we're doing.

  I actually brought some, some prayer cards and a little bit of information. We would be honored me, my wife, our four children, and the folks that are a part of our team. We'd be honored if you would pray for us. We know that nothing significant for God's kingdom happens apart from prayer. So if you would grab one of those prayer cards, put it on your fridge, pray for us as often as we come to mind, we, we truly would be honored.

  I also want to say, I'm, I know he's not here this morning. He's somewhere in France, but I'm so grateful for your pastor. Fletcher has been a friend to me. He's been a mentor to me. He's been a friend. He's been a mentor. I'm so grateful for him and the way the Lord has used him in this area, I, I got to meet Fletcher a couple of years ago through our connection with Harbor Network. And I think by extension, What he's, what he's done for me personally and also what your church has done. You guys have you've supported us. I don't know if you know that or not. We, we actually have an event next month in Plymouth where we're going to serve 24 children and their families, they'll receive backpacks, school supplies, hygiene kits, a new pair of shoes, a free meal. All the while they'll be hearing about the hope that we have in Jesus Christ and you all have been a part of that. And, I just want to say, I'm, I'm grateful for Fletcher, but I'm also, very, very grateful for you.

  Well, before we look at our passage this morning, I know we've, we've prayed a few times already, but I would like to pray just one more time and then we'll look at God's word. Let's pray. God, we need you this morning. We need to be reminded who you are. We need to be reminded what you've done and what you're doing that we need to be reminded that you're good. I thank you for the way that you've already done that today or we admit that we are so prone to forgetfulness or how quickly we forget all that we have in Christ. We fail to remember that the Holy Spirit is our helper, that he's our guide. We tend to be like Peter when he gets out of the boat in the middle of the storm and, and starts walking towards Jesus and our focus so quickly it shifts to the storm that's raging all around us. And Lord, we take our eyes off of you and we acknowledge that together or this morning, we pray that you would fix our gaze directly on you as we look at your word. Let us come face to face with the risen Jesus. Convict us where conviction is needed, encourage us, where we need to be encouraged. Lord, I, I pray for your help, God that you would help me to say things that are true and honoring to your word. Lord, I pray that we would all leave here with greater love and greater affection for King Jesus. And we ask this in Jesus name, Amen.

  Well, being lost is one of the worst feelings in the world. It doesn't matter if you're a two year old child or a 50 year old man. It is terrifying to be lost. We moved here last year from South Carolina. Me and my wife are four children. One of them was a two week old. So that was an adventure. But part of this move was renting a 26 ft U-haul loading everything we have into that truck and driving it 800 miles to get here. Now, I'm sure many of you know, this when you rent a U haul, you don't really need any kind of special documentation. You just need a driver's license and they'll give you this this massive U-haul. It's really, it's kind of scary if you think about it.

  But so I'm I'm driving this, this massive thing and the first few hours are pretty easy. We're going through a rural area. I'm kind of getting the hang of everything. not, not too much of a problem but then a few hours in things start to pick up a little bit first we hit Washington DC. Little bit of a test there. A couple of issues navigating some of the roads. we have a GPS which tells you where to go, but it doesn't create space for you and the, the, the lane so that you can move over. So it, it was, it was a bit of a test for me there. But, we, we made it, we got through DC not too bad.

  But then a few hours later we hit New York City and here my friends is where the problem begins. The GPS is telling me to go down one particular road. Also, there's three car, there's two cars following behind me. This is just a fun fact. I guess GPS, we're all going to the same location. GPS is telling me to go one direction, the other two are told to go other directions. I don't know how that works but it, it was a very confusing time on a number of, of levels here. But I'm, I'm got the GPS is telling me to go this way. I'm in the lane, everything's good to go. But then I see a sign in front of me and it says low bridge ahead and I know that if I continue in that direction, this is going to be a very bad thing. I am going to end up on the news. But this is, this is all that the GPS is giving me go this way, go this way. I, I can't figure out what to do.

  So we pull over on a side road and it just keeps telling me, go, go back the same way, the same way with the low bridge sign. And now I'm officially lost. Whipping this 26 ft U-haul through Yonkers trying to figure out where the heck am I going? We eventually made it obviously, but it was, it was an adventure.

  If, if you've ever been lost before, whether that's, hiking through the woods or driving somewhere or maybe you're, you're traveling abroad and you get off on the wrong stop and now you're not sure. Ok, how do I get back to, to where I'm supposed to be? You know, that immediate sense of panic that starts to set in, your heart starts beating fast. You begin to feel a little bit disoriented. You start to, to panic a little bit. It's not, it's not a fun feeling at all. Being physically lost is scary, scary for anyone that I think there's a different kind of lostness that's much more frightening than being physically lost and that is being emotionally lost or you might call it being existentially lost.

  So, what do I mean by this, this is that, that feeling of disconnectedness from everything around you. Maybe you feel like your life has no purpose. You feel like you have no direction or no movement in your life. It's, it's that feeling when you finish college and you studied for a degree, you're all excited to sort of begin your career and now you can't find a job in your area of study and you're not sure what you're gonna do. It's how you feel when you experience a tragic loss in your life. And now you don't know where to turn. You're not physically lost in these instances. You, you know exactly where you are, but you feel lost nonetheless. I think we all experience this kind of losses to a degree throughout the pandemic. So much uncertainty, so much sadness, so much fears, confusion about what needs to be done about what's gonna happen. There was, it was a crazy and, and difficult time to be lost physically is bad. It's terrifying, but to be emotionally lost, that is much, much worse.

  In the passage that was read for us this morning, John 21:1-14, we find seven of Jesus's disciples experiencing that feeling of being emotionally lost. These guys had been following after Jesus, the five of them that are specifically named in the passage. We know they've been following Jesus for over three years. They did everything with him. You've, you've studied the book of John, you've seen this, they ate with him and drank with him. They traveled with him, they asked him all kinds of questions. They sat under his teaching, they watched him do miracles. And although Jesus, he told his disciples that he would be crucified and he told them that he would rise again, the reality of Jesus's death and resurrection. It's, it's caught the disciples by surprise.

  And by the time we come to John 21 Jesus has appeared post resurrection to his disciples two other times. And, and this, of course, it isn't including the time where he appeared to Mary Magdalen right outside of the tomb. So these guys, they know that Jesus is alive, which is incredible news for them and for us. But the problem is they don't know what to do now. They don't have a sense of direction. They don't know where they're supposed to go or what they're supposed to do. And no doubt there is now a sense of confusion among them. So they want to return to what's familiar. They've left Jerusalem, they've made the 70 mile trip back up to the sea of Tiberius and they are going fishing.

  And I've heard this and, and maybe you have too, that this return to fishing, this return to what was familiar for these disciples was a sign that they had doubts and maybe that they had even abandoned the faith. And I, I don't think that's what's going on here. I think more likely they're feeling that emotional and existential lostness. They're searching for some kind of grounding in their life. And so they return to what they know the disciples in this passage. They do what many of us have done when we feel the same kind of feeling we go back towards what is familiar.

  What I wanna do this morning is I want to make four observations on this passage regarding Jesus and the sense of lostness that his disciples feel. I want you to see how Jesus responds to these men whom he loves deeply. And in seeing this, I want you to see how he responds to us as well. So four things, I'm gonna give them to you now and then we're gonna walk through them one by one.

  So first, Jesus knows exactly where his disciples are. Second, Jesus has everything covered. Third, Jesus is still with them, that is his disciples and he's for them. And finally, God is willing and able to use failures.

  Let's look at the first one. Jesus knows exactly where his disciples are. Look again at verses four and five. I'm gonna read them for us. John writes 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. So I love the gospel of John for a number of reasons. And the church I was at in South Carolina. Prior to moving, we were actually preaching through the book of John. So I loved studying and preparing for many of those messages, messages. But one of the things I really love about John is the way that he, he writes and the way that he uses imagery to convey theological truth.

  And in verse four, we have one of the more common ways that John does this. You've seen this, I'm sure as you've, as you've gone through John, but he loves to compare darkness and light. You caught that as you've as you've gone through darkness and light two of John's favorite pictures even way back in the beginning. In chapter one, John writes in verse five, the light he's talking about Jesus, the light shines in darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. In chapter eight verse 12, Jesus says, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life again. John 12:35 and 36 Jesus says the light is among you for a little while longer, walk while you have the light less darkness overtake you. The one who walks in darkness does not know where he's going while you have the light, believe in the light that you may become sons of light.

  You get the picture. There's many more examples that I could show you in John's gospel. But I hope, I hope you see kind of what, what John does, at least on a small scale here. John in verse one here. He's absolutely intentional in saying just as day was breaking, just as the light begins to come, just as the sun is beginning to shine. The Son of God appears to those He loves. Jesus knows exactly where these men have gone to and he seeks after them in their lostness. He seeks after them in their confusion.

  Notice too how Jesus addresses his disciples. Did you catch the word that he used? It's, it's a little bit unusual. He addresses them as children says, children, he caught any fish. Now this this word it can be used in, in different ways. I mean it, it could be used to refer to an infant or a child that's a little bit older. And Jesus uses this word quite often. It's all throughout the gospels. Jesus is speaking to children and talking to children. But what's interesting is the way that he uses it here. You see this is the only place in John's Gospel and it's actually the only place in all of the gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, where Jesus uses this specific word to refer to his disciples.

  I think Jesus in a very special way in this moment. He wants to comfort his disciples like a tender father speaking to his, his little ones. Jesus wants his disciples to feel reassured and although they don't yet know that it's the lord that's talking to them. Jesus knows exactly where his children are. I wonder if there's anyone here today and you feel like Jesus doesn't see you, he doesn't see what you're going through. He feels distant, uninterested in your life. Seems like he's left you on your own to just sort of figure things out or he's, he's left you on your own to pick up the pieces of whatever kind of mess. Maybe you find yourself in. I want you to know Jesus knows exactly where you are. He knows what you're going through. You're not alone. You don't have to feel, you don't have to face whatever it is that you're going through alone.

  There's other people in this room, I'm sure who are, are doing great work is going amazing. Your family is doing well and at this moment you couldn't be happier. Truth is many times, life changes in an instant, sometimes it's for the better, but other times it's for the worst and no matter who you are, there's going to be times throughout our lives where it feels like God is distant, it feels like maybe he's turned his back on us. It feels like he doesn't care. Well, friends, just like Jesus knows exactly where his disciples are. Jesus knows exactly where you are. He sees you, he knows you and he cares now it's, it's nice to think about and reflect on the fact that Jesus knows where we are, that he, he knows what we're experiencing.

  He knows what we're feeling, but it's even better to recognize the next point here. And that is that Jesus has everything covered. He knows where we are and Jesus has everything covered. Jesus asked the disciples if they've caught any fish after a entire night out fishing and they respond with a, no. Now, I don't know if any, there's anybody in here who enjoys fishing. I, I like to fish. I find it very relax. I find it very enjoyable even if I'm not catching anything. but if you've ever been fishing for a long time and then someone comes up to you and they ask like, hey, what have you caught? How, how's it, how's it going? Have you, have you caught anything today? And you have to tell them no, it's really, it's kind of demoralizing. There's been times when I've, I've gone out fishing for a few hours and I come home and my wife asked me, like, how'd it go? Do you know, what did you catch? And if I have to, the times are few. Ok, typically I'm, you know, I, I'm able to catch something but, she, she, what did you catch? And when I respond with, no, she gives me this look like, well, what are, what are you doing? Like, you wasted your time for the last three hours? It's, it's a very demoralizing feeling to fish all night and not catch a single fish for these disciples. Very disheartening.

  The disciples are, are coming back, they're on their way back to shore. They're tired, they're hungry and they're discouraged. But then look, look at what Jesus says to them. He says, cast the net on the right side of the boat and you will find some. Now, if you've been fishing all night, you haven't caught a thing, you are willing to try anything. So some guy on shore, you don't know who he is. He's calling your children. That's a, that's a little bit different. Tells you to cast your net on the right side of the boat. Why not give it a shot, right? It can't hurt. So they cast it and now they were not able to haul it in because of the quantity of fish. Jesus has everything covered in an instant. The situation has gone from them having zero fish to having 153.

  And Jesus, he loves to work this way. He loves to take a situation that seems utterly impossible and make it beautiful. I think about immediately the story of Jesus feeding the 5000 and we, we know that it was really more like 12,000 when you include women and children, hungry people, nowhere to go. Jesus has compassion on them and he takes a little boy's lunch of five loaves and two fish and he feeds everyone with 12 baskets left over.

  What about when, when Jesus calms the the storm, John doesn't record that in his gospel, but the other ones do, there's a storm that's raging while Jesus and the disciples are, are out on a boat and they're actually on the same lake that these guys are fishing on now. The sea of Tiberius and the sea of Galilee. That's the same body of water. But the storm is, is raging. The disciples are afraid. And Jesus remember he's in the boat and he is asleep. Not because he doesn't care, but because he's not worried. The disciples are terrified saying master, master, we were perishing. This boat is going down. We don't know what we're gonna do. And Jesus calmly gets up and he tells the wind and the waves to be quiet, he tells them to be still and immediately the storm stops.

  More than any other moment though, it was during the crucifixion where it appeared that Jesus in fact did not have everything covered to the disciples. To everyone who was watching. It appeared as if Jesus had failed. He was undergoing the punishment of a criminal. He was mocked, stripped, beaten, he was nailed to a cross by everyone's standard. This was the picture of someone who had failed miserably and in every possible way.

  Oh, but the reality is, this was just the beginning of triumph. This was just the beginning of victory as Jesus hung their arms stretched out, breathing his last few breaths. He actually had everything covered in a very amazing and beautiful way because his death serves as a covering for sin in his death. He endures the punishment that each one of us deserve because we have broken God's law. He endures the punishment of God in our place so that we don't have to experience that punishment selves because the reality is every one of us. We have broken God's law. We've gone astray. We have said God, I don't need you whether verbally or internally in our hearts. By the way that we live, we've all done that and Jesus took the penalty that we deserved. And then three days later, as you saw last week in John 20 Jesus rose from the grave. He died in our place and he rose again to new life that we too might experience new life.

  And we enter into this new life when we turn from our sin and trust in Jesus's perfect sacrifice on our behalf. Friends, Jesus literally has everything covered at the highest possible level. And because of that, we can trust that He will meet all of our needs in our lostness, in our confusion, in our Brokenness. God provides for us.

  Paul wrote, Paul wrote in Romans 8:32, He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all. How will he not also with him graciously give us all things when things seem impossible in your life, when it seems like there is no way out. Imagine for a second what it must have been like to be those disciples standing there watching their Lord watching Jesus be crucified. They're watching their teacher and their friend undergo an excruciating death. They had, they had to think at least in some sense that their life was over, that they had wasted three plus years following after this Jewish rabbi. And now these, these disciples here in our passage, they're returning from a failed fishing trip and Jesus wants him to know he's got everything taken care of. He's got everything covered. What seemed like failure has actually turned into victory. And Jesus wants us to know he will do the same thing for us as well.

  Next, let's look at how Jesus is still with them. That is the disciples, he's with them and he's for them. Remember, this is the third time now that Jesus has appeared to his disciples and he's, he's given him a little bit of instruction. You, you saw that in verse 20 maybe last week when he said as the father has sent me. So I am sending you. But these guys, they still don't know what's going on. This is this is a reoccurring theme for the disciples. They're not sure they're not sure what is going on.

  But look, look what Jesus says, look what he does. And he says, when they, when they catch the fish and now they're coming to shore, let's read this. 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've caught. So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore full of large fish. 100 and 53 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them come and have breakfast. Jesus the risen Lord with all power and all authority makes his disciples breakfast. He didn't have to do this. He could have appointed someone else to go. He could have sent an angel to prepare breakfast. But Jesus himself, he shows up and he cooks for his disciples. He's with them. He's for them. He provides for them.

  Now this scene for Peter, it had to be a little bit tense as he's approaching shore here. John, the ever perceptive disciple, he realizes that it's Jesus that's talking to them from the shore. And then Peter, the ever impulsive disciple immediately strips down, jumps in the water and swims towards Jesus. Remember Peter? He has seen Jesus twice post resurrection. But they, they haven't really talked about the incident. You know what I'm talking about the incident. Peter was the one who said to Jesus, even if I must die with you, I will never deny you. That's what Peter said. And then that very same night, the night of Jesus's arrest Peter on three separate occasions said, I do not even know that man.

  And now, so imagine the same as Peter's walking up on shore. He smells the charcoal fire, even if it's just for a moment. His mind had to go back to that night where he's in the courtyard of the high priest, he's warming himself around the fire and he's telling those who would ask him. I don't even know who Jesus is. Now. The second half of chapter 21. You'll see this next week. It goes into greater detail of the interaction between Jesus and Peter. But just notice how Jesus greets Peter, this man that was so close to him yet would deny him. Look what Jesus does. He doesn't scold him. He doesn't ask him, how could you have done this to me? Doesn't shame him in any kind of way. No, we make some breakfast. He welcomes him. He shares a meal with him and he enjoys fellowship with the person who said, I don't even know you.

  Friends, Jesus loves to welcome lost and wandering people back to him, even those who, who've cursed him, even those who mock and make fun of people who love him. Jesus loves to cook breakfast for these kinds of people too and in their confusion and in their lack of direction, Jesus shows up, he makes breakfast for his disciples and in doing that and providing for them in this way and sharing a meal with them. Jesus is showing them, I'm with you and I am for you.

  Finally, God is still willing to use failures. God is still willing to use failures by the world standards. Here, these disciples are failures in the world's eyes. They followed a failed teacher and a false claiming Messiah, these guys appear to be unsuccessful, no purpose losers. That's what the world would say about them. They're like, and in this example, I'm not demeaning anyone in this way, but they're like the small town guy who, who moves to the city trying to make it big. And before they know it, they're back working third shift in the small town that they came from by the standards of the world that is not success.

  But Jesus loves to use those who appear as failures, even those who have directly failed him. He loves to use those kinds of people. He loves to take broken and insecure people like you and me and use us in a mighty way for the kingdom of God. And it actually seems to me like this is God's preferred way of doing things. There are way too many examples to list but over and over and over again, God takes weak, forgotten and directionless people and transforms them to be used for the glory of God.

  There's too many to list like I said, but I wanna just give you a couple to, to hold on to here. Abraham was an idol worshiper from who God called to be the father of many nations. Moses at one point was a baby placed in a basket on the edge of the Nile River because Pharaoh, he wanted all the Israelite boys dead, but God would call him that boy to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt, rehab was a prostitute in Jericho who recognized the power and the goodness of God. And she would go on to be in the lineage of Jesus. David was a poor outcast, sort of shepherd boy overlooked shepherd boy who would go on to become the king of Israel. Do you, do you get the picture here?

  God loves to take those who look like they have no purpose and use them in a mighty way for his glory. He loves to take those who look like they have no purpose and no direction and fill them with his power for his purposes. The gospel, the good news about what Jesus has done is good news. Not only because our sin is forgiven, but because of the way that it transforms us and gives us a profound sense of purpose in the world.

  The gospel changes the way we view our existence. It's not about our career, it's not about our accolades. It's not about how many accomplishments we can achieve. It's about making much of the one who has changed our destiny. It's about glorifying the one who has given us everything a Christian, regardless of the circumstances they're facing. They can never honestly say I have no purpose in life. I have no direction. I have no sense of direction. The purpose is always and will always be, bring glory and honor to the Savior, bring glory and honor to God. And what's beautiful about this is no circumstance can alter this purpose. That is the purpose we possess now and forever. And when we fulfill this purpose that we're created for, we experience a profound closeness with God, we enjoy deep communion with God when we're living in the purpose that He has given us and that is honor Him, glorify Him in all that we do. And as we do this, a profound sense of purpose is felt and a profound sense of purpose is achieved.

  You may be here today and you feel lost. You, you might feel like everywhere you turn, there's like there's no sense of direction, you feel hopeless. Oh If that's, you just know Jesus knows exactly where you are. There is, there's a pattern of Jesus showing up in the darkness and every time he shows up, he brings light even way back in the book of Isaiah, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years before Jesus would appear on the scene here. Isaiah 92 says, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwell in a land of deep darkness on them has light shone. Jesus is the light in the darkness. John 8:12, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.

  If you're lost in the darkness, come into the beauty and the warmth of the light. Like Peter, maybe you need to get out of the boat and just swim towards the Savior. He's with you. He's for you. He loves to use those who don't have it all together, those who don't have the best pedigree, those who don't have the best track record. Jesus loves to use those kind of people. All we have to do is come to him and be forgiven, be transformed, be made new and live with profound purpose and through Jesus Christ. Let's pray.

  Father. We thank you for all that we have in Jesus. We thank you that we have been made new. We thank you that we've been forgiven. We thank you that we're able to enjoy a profound sense of closeness with you and then through your son. We thank you that you've given us your Holy Spirit and that we never walk alone in this life. And we pray that you would be with us and help us to honor and glorify you in all that we do. We ask this in Christ's name, Amen.