John 21:1

After these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias; and on this wise he showed himself... (John 21:1)

When the Lord says "wait," our restless hands reach for the nets—and catch nothing.

Jesus Meets the Disciples in Galilee

Jesus meets with His disciples now a third time in John's account, up in the region of Galilee where much of His ministry took place. Several of His disciples were from this area—Peter and his brother Andrew, James and his brother John, and Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee. Jesus had ministered to the multitudes around this body of water, which we would really call a lake. It isn't huge, but the disciples knew Jesus would meet them there after His resurrection.

He had told them so before His crucifixion. In Matthew 26:32 He said, "But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee." After He rose from the dead, the angels told Mary Magdalene at the tomb, "Go quickly, tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead, and that he goeth before you into Galilee" (Matthew 28:7). And Jesus Himself told her, "Go and tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me" (Matthew 28:10). They had explicit instruction, and a testimony from Mary, to go to Galilee and wait.

"I Go A Fishing"

So Peter, James, John, Nathaniel, and the rest of the disciples are waiting in Galilee, waiting by the sea. As Peter watches the water, this great fisherman gets antsy and says, "I'm going fishing." Have you ever been in that place—just sitting and waiting until you feel you've got to do something? I think a lot of us Christians here in America have a kind of spiritual ADD. The Lord told Peter, "Go to Galilee and wait; I am going to come and meet with you," and Peter just couldn't take it any longer.

The others often followed Peter's lead, so they went with him. And what does it say? They caught nothing. They fished all night and caught nothing. Often we, like Peter, find ourselves in the same position. The Lord has said, "This is what I want you to do," and we're doing it—but then we get antsy and go a step beyond, saying, "I've got to do something else." Their effort yielded no fruit. It was pointless, vain, futile. They expended energy and wasted time on something that was completely of themselves, not of the Lord.

Those Who Wait Upon the Lord

Isaiah 40:31 tells us that those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Looking around the church and the nation, there are a lot of people at the breaking point. They've been going and going, working five days a week and adding the sixth and the seventh, and they're spent. Yet I believe the Lord would say, "I just want you to stop and wait."

Are you without strength today? Are you weak? Perhaps it's because you haven't been waiting upon the Lord. When Jesus sent His disciples out two by two to cast out demons, heal the sick, and preach the gospel, they returned telling Him of all the great things they had done. Jesus said, "Come aside and rest a while." The psalmist says, "Be still, and know that I am God." We have such a hard time with that, because we feel we must manufacture something—anything. Yet the Lord says, "You've got to wait first."

Apart From Me You Can Do Nothing

They expended all that energy and caught nothing. The church in America has in many ways been largely fruitless—why? Because there hasn't been the waiting. In our own effort, this will always be the outcome. Trying to do things in our own strength, by our own ingenuity and methods, will yield no fruit. To this very same group of people, Jesus had said in John 15:5, "Apart from me, you can do nothing." Often we try to prove God wrong—"No, I can do something, watch me!"—and we fall flat on our faces.

In the morning Jesus stood on the shore, and the disciples didn't know it was Him. He called out, "Children, have ye any meat?" They answered, "No." I find it interesting that Peter, the great fisherman, never caught a fish apart from Jesus' help. When Jesus first called him, He said, "Follow me, and I will make you a fisher of men." Here was a man called to be a fisher of men who kept trying to make himself a seeker of fish. He was probably the worst professional fisherman you could find. To admit you caught nothing is the worst thing for a fisherman to confess—I suspect Peter didn't even want to answer, and one of the others, maybe Nathaniel, said it for him.

The Net That Was Not Broken

Jesus said, "Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find." When they did, there was such a great catch they couldn't draw it in for the multitude of fish. Then John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, said to Peter, "It is the Lord." How did John know? Peter doesn't catch fish—the only time Peter catches fish is when Jesus helps him. So when Peter starts hauling in this great catch, John says, "That's the Lord; certainly not you, Peter." Peter girt his fisher's coat about him and cast himself into the sea—a man who had to put his clothes on to jump into the water and swim to Jesus.

They came in the little boat, dragging the net, and found a fire of coals with fish and bread already there. Peter drew the net to land, full of great fish—153 of them—and yet the net was not broken. Apart from Christ they could do nothing, but as Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me," and as Jesus said in Matthew 17:20, nothing shall be impossible.

There are many ideas about why John records the number 153. It signifies there was a big catch of good, great fish. But the more important point of verse 11 is that the net was not broken. As they dragged this enormous catch to shore, the net held. The same is true in our lives. God allows us to go out into the deep and cast the net to the point where we think, "There's no way I can do this"—and yet, with the Lord, the net is not broken. He stretches us and stretches us, and He knows exactly how much. God knew only 153 fish could fit before it would break; He didn't allow 154. He knows precisely what we can bear.

He Does Not Need Our Catch—but Dine Before You Do

When you hear about going forth into the mission field and think, "I don't know if I could do that—God might send me to Africa"—you're right, you can't. But God can, and He wants to use you. Notice the method by which God moves us into His work. He said, "Bring of the fish which ye have now caught," even though He already had fish on the fire and bread ready. The first thing to see is that He did not need their catch. For the last three weeks God has been reminding me of this simple fact: "Miles, I don't need you." The important part of the equation is not me—it's God. Yet He graciously uses you and me in His work.

Then Jesus said, "Come and dine," and none of the disciples dared ask who He was, for they knew it was the Lord. This is the second thing: we've got to dine before we do. Our service to God is the overflow of our devotion with God. If you want to do marvelous things for the Lord, it starts in the context of worship and prayer—gathering as the body of Christ, in a home fellowship, in a small prayer group. We must spend time dining with the Lord before doing anything with Him. Get the cart before the horse and just try to do, and you'll fail; you'll catch nothing. As Jesus told Martha, Mary had chosen the better part, sitting at His feet.

The team that went to China shared how one evening, invited to a long-term missionary's home, they spent about three hours simply worshiping and praising the Lord—waiting on Him and renewing their strength. Jesus desires to dine with us before He ever sends us out. That's why we've set aside Wednesday nights for worship and prayer here at the church. One of the most beneficial things is sitting at the feet of the Lord, for it's there that He moves and gives strength.

"Do You Love Me?"

When they had dined, Jesus asked Peter, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?" There's much discussion about what "these" means. Peter had boasted that even if all the other disciples departed, he never would—so perhaps Jesus asks, "Do you love me more than these other disciples?" Or, after Peter said, "I'm going fishing," perhaps it's, "Do you love me more than these fish, this work?"

In the Greek the line of questioning is rich. The first two times Jesus asks, "Peter, do you agape me?"—the self-sacrificing love of 1 Corinthians 13. Peter answers, "Yes, Lord, you know that I phileo you"—the kind, tenderhearted, brotherly love. "Peter, are you willing to give up everything for me?" "Lord, I kind of like you." Jesus says, "Feed my lambs," then "Tend my sheep." The third time Jesus changes the word: "Simon, do you phileo me?"—questioning whether Peter even has that brotherly affection. Peter was grieved, partly because Jesus' words had changed, and partly because three times on the night of the betrayal he had denied his Lord. Grieved, he said, "Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep."

Notice this: whether your devotion is strong in your eyes or could be a little hotter, God's command is the same. Maybe you confess your love isn't as strong as it once was. God's command is still, "Serve my people, feed my sheep, tend my lambs." It is God's desire that our love be hot, not cold or even lukewarm—a fervent agape love for God and His people. But if you find yourself like Peter, saying, "I kind of like the Lord," His command remains the same. And this call is not only to the pastor or elder—it is to every person in the body of Christ, to take care of one another, bearing one another's burdens and so fulfilling the law of Christ.

Count the Cost and Follow Me

Jesus said, "When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not." This He spoke signifying by what death Peter would glorify God—indicating Peter would one day die by crucifixion. Then He said, "Follow me." Before we can do anything for the Lord, we must dine with Him; then we check our motives, as Jesus did with Peter; and then we count the cost. "Peter, when you were your own man, you did whatever you wanted—'I'm going fishing.' But not anymore. If I am Lord, you follow what I tell you, and on top of that you'll be persecuted. But come and follow me."

"What About This Man?"

Then Peter, turning, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved—John, who had leaned on Jesus' chest at the supper—and said, "Lord, and what shall this man do?" Isn't that always our way? Right now you may be hoping your husband is hearing this, or thinking you should buy a CD for your brother who really needs it. When the Lord convicts us, we start to ask, "Well, what about this guy?" Jesus answered, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me."

Paul tells the Philippians, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." I have enough to worry about walking with the Lord myself. It's easy to look at others—"He really needs to work on that," "She shouldn't talk like that," "They should go on that mission trip." But the Lord looks at you and me and says, "Follow me. Don't worry about John. If I will that he lives a perfect life and never dies, what is that to you? Get your eyes off John and follow Me."

More Than the World Could Contain

A rumor then spread that John would not die. Yet Jesus did not say he would not die, but, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" John wanted to correct that wrong view—he is the very disciple who testifies of these things, and we know his testimony is true. He closes by saying that there are also many other things Jesus did, which, if they should every one be written, even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.

I love how John ends the gospel. He recorded only a few of Jesus' works—seven signs and seven sayings—but all His works could never fill the books of the world. You might say, "They didn't have computers then." Even the computers we have could not contain the works God has done. At this very moment over 6.3 billion people are in this world, and God holds every breath in His hand. He is doing a great deal of good. We cannot begin to imagine the wonderful things He has done, is doing right now, and desires to do today—and He has called you and me to be part of it.

Closing Prayer

Father, thank You for the testimony of our brothers and sisters regarding this China trip. We thank You for the great things You have done, and we look forward to the new things You're going to do next year. Lord, I know there are those here this morning whose hearts You are touching—speaking to them about a trip to China, Belize, or Africa, or even going up the street to the senior care facility to serve. You touch hearts in the place of devotion and worship, and I pray You would separate those men and women unto the work You've called them to, even this day. Help us by Your Holy Spirit to be bold, to stand strong in the proclamation of the gospel. As we see the tide turn in our nation and opposition grow, help us to be bold, for the wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion. Embolden us to stand strong upon the truth of Your word. For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.