An epilog is a literary device in
which an author makes final comments. Today we will see Christ’s epilog to the
leaders of the church, his last lesson, in word and deed. Here it is:
(John 21 NIV)
Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It
happened this way: {2} Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael
from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were
together. {3} "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. {4} Early in the morning,
Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
{5} He called out to them, "Friends, haven't
you any fish?" "No," they answered. {6} 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. {7} 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. {8} The other
disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not
far from shore, about a hundred yards. {9} When they landed, they saw a
fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. {10} Jesus
said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have
just caught." {11} 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. {12} Jesus said to them, "Come
and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who
are you?" They knew it was the Lord. {13} Jesus came, took the
bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. {14} This was
now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the
dead. {15} When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do
you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said,
"you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed
my lambs." {16} Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly
love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love
you." Jesus said, "Take care of my
sheep." {17} The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do
you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third
time, "Do you love me?" He said,
"Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. {18} I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed
yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out
your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want
to go." {19} Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death
by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow
me!" {20} Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus
loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus
at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?")
{21} When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?"
{22} Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain
alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me."
{23} Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this
disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only
said, "If I want him to remain alive until I
return, what is that to you?" {24} This is the disciple who
testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony
is true. {25} Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them
were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for
the books that would be written.
This is the
epilog; the exit (the Ascension) is the last act. Matthew portrays the
grandeur of the exit; John, the intimate friend of Jesus, portrays this last,
ordinary encounter. There is an ordinariness about it which is quite
remarkable. The disciples went fishing; it’s their occupation, their trade.
Indeed, some
scholars hold there is nothing miraculous in the catch. It may be that Jesus
just had a better angle to see where the fish were. Whatever the case, there
is one thing which is clear: Jesus invites them to breakfast. This is no
ghost, no spiritual cloud, but solid flesh. It is as ordinary as a campfire
breakfast.
Triplets
One of the aspects of Scripture
which is often neglected is the artistic. God is creator, the author of the
creative arts. In its supreme moments we see this in the Psalms, but here it
is shown in the exquisite detail of forgiveness and restoration. First note
the name Jesus uses for Peter: “Simon, son of John.” Have you ever yelled at
your kids, using their full names? I sense something of that here. It is
obviously a formal occasion, for on only one other instance does Jesus use this
phrasing.
To understand both the art and
the forgiveness, we must recall the offense. Peter has denied his Lord three
times.
·
“I am not” (one of his disciples)
·
“I am not”
·
But the third time
Mark records that he did it with curses, telling them he didn’t even know what
they were talking about.
This triple denial brings out a
triplet restoration. It has fascinated scholars of the Greek for two
millennia. Consider:
·
Three times Jesus asks him if he loves him. The first time Jesus
asks, he uses the Greek word agape, an intense love. Peter replies
using phileo, which is used of friendship. This is repeated the second
time, but the third time Jesus descends to Peter’s ability and questions him
with phileo. In the first two he sets the standard; in the third,
paralleling Peter’s third denial, he brings it down to what Peter can do.
·
Peter replies with “you know.” The first two times the Greek
word is eido, which can roughly be translated, “know for certain, know
for a fact.” The third time he says, “you know (eido) all things,” and
then “you know (ginosko) that I love you.” Ginosko relates more
to knowing in the sense of feeling or perceiving, as in “I know that she loves
me.”
·
Surprisingly, there is an alternation in the word translated as
“feed.” You’ll note that in the second phrasing, the NIV translates “take care
of.” That’s because the first and third times Jesus uses the word bosko,
which means “feed or pasture.” The second time it’s poimaino, which
means “tend, or supervise.” Combine this with the progression of lambs, sheep
and sheep and you can see again a progression from high to low. First is the
delicate task of feeding the newborn lambs, then supervising the grown sheep,
and finally down to feeding the grown lambs. From the most important down to
the least important tasks of shepherding, Jesus leads Peter from
self-importance to servanthood.
The Son of Man
came to seek and save the lost. In this simple, beautiful example we can see
some of the key points of this:
·
Jesus does not ignore Peter’s denials. He redeems them. So too
we are not privileged to ignore sin, but rather to redeem and restore the
sinner through the grace of Jesus Christ. We too must seek and save.
·
Note that he restores Peter to his position as leader of the
disciples. Indeed, he is instantly seen as their leader in Acts. All of us
are sinners, and it is not sufficient to forgive if we will not allow the
forgiven sinner to participate in the life of the forgiven church.
·
No one, not even a close follower who denies you, is so far gone
in sin that they cannot be redeemed. They may think that what they have done
is unforgivable – but God is in the business of taking sinful failure and
turning it into glorious success.
·
The material with which God works often determines the results.
Great sinners, it is said, make great saints.
Discipleship
This scene
provides us some insight into the life of a disciple. Like other such scenes,
we must infer from what we see.
The heart of a disciple
Note Peter’s
first reaction: John says “It is the Lord,” and Peter immediately grabs his
clothing and jumps in to swim to shore. Do recall that this is in the light of
his three denials! Most of us (to use a C. S. Lewis phrase) would “rather let
sleeping worms lie.” When we sin, we don’t want to see the Lord; we don’t
want to pray, because that would just make things worse. As with a toothache,
we want something to make the pain go away – something other than a dentist.
But Peter is a true disciple, despite his failures. When the chance comes, he
swims toward the Lord. The repentant sinner runs toward the light, for there
he finds the cleanness he desires. The unrepentant sinner runs from the light,
so as to hide the filth he has.
The servant nature of discipleship
Most of us
would love to be missionaries – on Waikiki Beach (I know a man who is one).
But
·
The servant of God is not allowed to choose his living and
dying. Jesus already knows how Peter will die; now Peter knows too. Jesus
knows how we will die; it’s just that he hasn’t shared it with us yet.
·
Nor is the servant of God allowed to choose his place of
service. Paul, before the Macedonian vision,
was prohibited from going what he thought was the right direction. God had other
plans.
·
Nor are we allowed to make comparisons (why did he get Waikiki
and I get Fullerton?) “What is that to you?” A servant stands or falls before
his own master.
The nature
of the servant’s love.
There are two
things that Jesus makes clear to Peter about a servant’s love for his Lord and
Master, Jesus Christ.
·
Such love is expressed in obedience to his commands. The
restoration does not ignore the sin, but puts Peter back on the track of
obedience.
·
Such love from a leader of the church – and so many are leaders,
whether we wish to be or not – is expressed in the phrase, “feed my sheep.”
It’s almost like, “love me, love my kids.” If you are the true servant of
Jesus Christ, you will want to feed his sheep.
Last Instructions to the Leaders
Just as the
night in the room of the Last Supper was a set of last minute instructions, so
too is this episode. What singles it out is that it seems particularly meant
for leaders of the church, and as such it bears some closer examination.
Feed My sheep
·
First, there is the word “feed.” Teach them the word; as it
also says “take care of,” it includes rebuke and restoration. But first and
foremost, teach them the word of God. Have sound doctrine, and convey it
regularly to the flock.
·
Then, remember whose sheep they are! They are not yours; they
are His. It is not given to you to claim them; you are a servant. If your
ministry is built on personality or charisma you are hiding the Christ from the
eyes of your followers.
·
Finally, recall that they are sheep. They will follow. So lead
them carefully; keep yourself pure so that your example will not lead them
astray.
Bear with suffering
·
Why should I bear with suffering? Note the phrasing about
Peter’s death: by what kind of death he should glorify God. You suffer
because you are his servants (it is inevitable); but suffer so that it brings
glory to him. The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church.
·
Whatever that suffering is, follow Him. Nothing else matters.
Restore the sinners
·
It is first necessary to forgive, as Jesus so frequently taught.
It is necessary, but it is not sufficient.
·
You must also restore. We are given the ministry of
reconciliation. It is not sufficient to say, “I forgive,” and then do
nothing. We have a minister in our church, brother W., who has gone through
this experience. I am happy to say that he has been restored to ministry upon
repentance. Not immediately, but as he has shown himself capable.
Do not envy
“What is that to you?” In this
Jesus shows us that we are not to envy one another. For some time I myself had
this problem. I was always worried about the attendance numbers, and dreaming
of the time I would have the largest class in the church. But God showed me
his way in this story:
The story is told about F.E.B.
Meyer, who was a minister in the 19th century. He had a
congregation in the middle of London. A friend stopped by to ask how things
were going. He heard a sad tale; within two miles of his church were three of
the greatest preachers on earth (I recall one being C. H. Spurgeon). The
church was half empty and Meyer was depressed.
Two years later the friend
returned to find the church filled. He asked Meyer what caused the
turnaround. Meyer confessed that God had convicted him of the sin of envy. So
he got down on his knees and began to pray for the other churches. “I asked
God to fill their churches to overflowing – and out of the overflow He has
filled mine.”
We are not here for our glory,
leaders, we are here for the glory of God.