Bible Passage: John 21:1-14
Pastor: Michael Willitz
Sermon Date: May 1, 2022

Bulletin May 1, 2022

John 21:1–14

¹After this, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. This is how he showed himself: ²Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ³Simon Peter said to them, “I’m going fishing.”

They replied, “We’ll go with you.”

They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. ⁴Early in the morning, Jesus was standing on the shore, but the disciples did not know it was Jesus.

⁵Jesus called to them, “Boys, don’t you have any fish?”

“No!” they answered.

⁶He told them, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” So they cast the net out. Then they were not able to haul it in because of the large number of fish.

⁷The disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard, “It is the Lord!” he tied his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the sea. ⁸But the other disciples came in the little boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about one hundred yards. ⁹When they stepped out on land, they saw some bread and a charcoal fire with fish on it. ¹⁰Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.”

¹¹So Simon Peter climbed aboard and hauled the net to land, full of large fish, 153 of them. Yet even with so many, the net was not torn.

¹²Jesus said to them, “Come, eat breakfast.”

None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord.

¹³Jesus came, took the bread, and gave it to them, and also the fish. ¹⁴This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

The Story Goes On

1. For the disciples
2. For us

Dear fellow redeemed in Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh who made His dwelling among us,

Christ is risen; He is risen indeed! And that means that the story goes on. Our Savior lives. He will never die again, and our life with Him will never end. So the story goes on. The story isn’t over. The story did not end on Good Friday or on Easter Sunday or even on the Sunday one week after Easter; that was only the beginning. The resurrection of Jesus opened an endless horizon in front of us. It was the start of the new creation. It was the dawning of the eternal day.

So we come to John chapter 21 and to an early morning on the Sea of Galilee. And there is something very intriguing going on at this point in the Gospel of John. When you read through John’s Gospel, you might get the impression that everything is getting wrapped up in chapter 20. On Good Friday, Jesus said “It is finished,” and He gave up His Spirit. Then He rose on Sunday morning, and on Sunday evening He appeared to His disciples. He breathed the Holy Spirit on them, and He commissioned them to go in His name with the power to forgive and retain people’s sins. Then one week later, He appeared to them with Thomas present. He showed His hands and His side, and He changed Doubting Thomas into Believing Thomas. It seems like everything is being brought to a very tidy conclusion, and then in the last few verses of chapter 20, it sounds like John is putting a bow on the whole book. I’m going to read just the last two verses of chapter 20, and I want you to see if it sounds like a conclusion to the story: “Jesus, in the presence of his disciples, did many other miraculous signs that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name,” [30,31]. Sounds like a nice conclusion, doesn’t it? Sounds like a proper ending to the story.

But then the story goes on. There’s a chapter 21 with one more resurrection appearance of Jesus and one more miraculous sign. It happens at the Sea of Tiberias, better known as the Sea of Galilee. Apparently Simon Peter has determined that he is going fishing, and six of the other disciples have determined that they are going with him. So they embark on the boat, and they put out from land. They fish through the night, and when the morning light arrives, it reveals a boat holding seven men and zero fish. Now these are professional fishermen, aren’t they? But after a whole night of work, they have nothing to show for it. Their strength and their skill have brought them nothing but disappointment. But their excursion isn’t over yet. The story goes on.

A lone figure appears on the shore and hails them, “Boys, don’t you have any fish?” [5]. When they answer Him, “No!” He responds with a command and a promise: “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some,” [6]. So they do as the figure on the shore commands, and net that was weightless all through the night now bears more weight than the disciples can haul in. From the boat, John now recognizes the figure. “It is the Lord!” he says to Peter, who promptly ties his cloak around him and leaps into the sea. Peter won’t be delayed from reaching his Lord, and can you blame him? On the shore stands the Provider who filled Peter’s net after a fruitless night of fishing. On the shore stands the Redeemer who blotted out Peter’s sins after a shameful night of denial.

How good it was for Peter that the story hadn’t ended in that cold and dark courtyard on Maundy Thursday night, when he insisted that he was no follower of Jesus and that he did not even know the man. The story goes on for Peter, just like the story goes on for us. The story goes on because, despite all the ways we have abandoned our Lord, He has not abandoned us. Instead, as Peter tells us in one of his letters, “[Jesus] himself carried our sins in his body on the tree so that we would be dead to sins and alive to righteousness. By his wounds you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but you are now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls,” [1 Peter 2:24,25]. Whatever sins you have committed, whether you have denied like Peter or doubted like Thomas, your sins are dead, and you are dead to those sins in Jesus. You have a living Shepherd and Overseer, and you are alive to righteousness in Him. The story is not over, it is only beginning.

As Peter comes dripping out of the sea, and as the other disciples arrive in a boat, Jesus already has breakfast cooking on coals. Now that might seem just a little excessive, when the disciples are hauling 153 large fish in the net, but it just goes to show the grace upon grace that this Savior is pleased to lavish on His people. What a glorious day lies ahead for the disciples. They have daily bread, and they have the Bread Giver Himself. Their sins have been forgiven, and they have the Redeemer who rescues from sin. Eternal life is theirs because the Resurrection and the Life incarnate is living and is standing in their midst. They have a net full of fish, and the Son of God who powerfully filled that net, will also powerfully fill His Church when these disciples go out as fishers of men. With a living Jesus, the story goes on.

And the story hasn’t ended, has it? The story still goes on. The Gospel of John concludes with 21 chapters, but the Word made flesh still lives, and He is with us. Even though Jesus’ visible presence was removed when He ascended into heaven, He still remains ever-present with His people. He has not abandoned us, and He never will abandon us. Remember His promise to be with us to the end? He said, “Surely I am with you always until the end of the age,” [Matthew 28:20].

So the story goes on. Your life goes on, and Jesus sustains your life. He feeds your body with daily bread, and He feeds your faith with Word and with Sacrament. When you stumble into sin, His blood prevails over your sin. The same author who wrote this text also wrote in one of his letters, “If anyone does sin, we have an Advocate before the Father: Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the whole world,” [1 John 2:1,2]. Your sin is not more powerful than your Savior, and your Baptism has united you with His death and resurrection. Every day of your life, that connection remains. You are dead to your sins, and you are alive to righteousness in Jesus. You haven’t reached the end. Your life goes on in Jesus.

The life of the Church goes on in Jesus too. Because Jesus lives, His Church also lives. Just like He filled that net with fish by the power of His Word, Jesus still gathers people within His Church by the power of His Word. Sometimes people get the wrong idea and they think that the Church lives and grows by the skills of the pastors or the people. Those skills are gifts from Jesus. We thank Him for them, and we use them to His glory. But we should remember how seven skilled fishermen worked all through the night without bringing in one fish. If the growth of the Church is left to our power, then we can expect the outcome to be similarly empty. Instead, Christ is with us, and His Word has power. We rely on His Word, and we speak His Word, His commands and His promises. He gives the blessing in the measure that He desires.

The story goes on from one generation to another. Pastors go, and pastors come. Buildings fall, and buildings rise. Believers are taken home to heaven, and new lambs are added to the flock. All the while, Christ remains present with His people. The Church lives because He lives. The Church has a future because He will never die again. When the appointed day arrives, we will see Him. He will raise all the dead, and He will take all His own to flourish in His love forever. As we feast with our Lord now, it is like a breakfast on a morning that has only just begun. A glorious eternal day is spread in front of us. The story goes on because Jesus lives. Alleluia!

Amen.

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