John 20-21: Full Circle

We finish the Gospel of John by walking from the cross and Passover meaning into the empty tomb, the locked room, and the shoreline breakfast where Jesus restores Peter. The resurrection turns grief into recognition, doubt into confession, and failure into a fresh calling to follow Jesus by caring for His people. 
• John as a foundation for knowing who Jesus is and what He has done 
• Jesus as the Passover Lamb who willingly lays down His life 
• Mary Magdalene at the tomb and Jesus calling her by name 
• Jesus bringing peace to fearful disciples and sending them out 
• Thomas moving from demand for proof to “My Lord and my God” 
• The Sea of Tiberius catch and the grace of breakfast on shore 
• Peter’s three denials answered by three chances to declare love 
• “Feed my sheep” as the next step after “I love you” 
• A challenge to stop hiding past failure and follow Jesus forward 

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Transcript

Why John Matters So Much

SPEAKER_00 0:11

This is the Out Loud Bible Project Podcast, and I am Mike, and today we are wrapping up the book of John. I'm pretty sure if someone was threatening to take away like all of the books in the Bible from me, but I could choose to keep one of them, I'd pick John. I think John is just that important of a book. Not more important than other books of the Bible, you know what I mean. It's so foundational to our faith and knowing who Jesus is and what he did and what we're supposed to do about it. It's just a fantastic book. And uh today we get to see the conclusion of the matter here. Uh last time we read about how Jesus was crucified. He was killed, murdered, really. Not because he did anything wrong, but because he wanted to, because he subjected himself, he willingly laid down his life in this way. Because this is what would finally make peace between God and sinful men and women. It's no coincidence that Jesus died on the Passover, the Passover, the killing of the lamb, so that all who used the blood to cover their homes could live and not die. The perfect spotless lamb who died in place of people to survive God's wrath, that Passover was just foreshadowing what God's divine plan was, that Jesus was coming to be the Passover Lamb for once and all. While many celebrated the Passover while Jesus was dead, they didn't realize what exactly was happening in the grand scheme of God's plan for their benefit, for their salvation. But the story doesn't end there. His death, like the Passover Lamb, was sufficient to divert God's wrath away from sinful men, but the lamb does not stay dead. Now, what does that mean for us? That's a whole other thing. Let's check it out here in John chapter 20 and 21, in the New English Translation. Now, very early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been moved away from the entrance. So she went running to Simon Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, They've taken the Lord from the tomb and we don't know where they've put him. Then Peter and the other disciple set out to go to the tomb, and the two were running together, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and reached the tomb first. And he bent down and saw the strips of linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in. Then Simon Peter, who had been following him, arrived and went right into the tomb, and he saw the strips of linen cloth lying there and the face cloth, which had been around Jesus' head, not lying with the strips of linen cloth, but rolled up in a place by itself. And then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first came in and he saw and believed, for they had not yet understood the scripture that Jesus must rise from the dead. So the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept she bent down and looked into the tomb, and she saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus' body had been lying, one at the head and one at the feet, and they said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Mary replied, They've taken my Lord away, and I don't know where they've put him. When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she didn't know that it was Jesus, and Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for? Because she thought he was the gardener, she said to him, Sir, if you've carried him away, please tell me where you've put him, and I'll take him. Jesus said to her, Mary. She turned and said to him in Aramaic, Rabonai, which means teacher, and Jesus replied, Don't touch me, for I've not yet ascended to my father. Go to my brothers and tell them I am ascending to my father and your father, to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene came and informed the disciples, I've seen the Lord, and she told them what Jesus had said to her. On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the disciples had gathered together and locked the doors of the place because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Jesus came and stood among them, and said to them, Peace be with you. When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you. Just as the Father has sent me, I also send you. And after he said this, he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, they're forgiven, and if you retain anyone's sins, they're retained. Now Thomas, called Didymus one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, We've seen the Lord, but he replied, unless I see the wounds from the nails in his hands, and put my fingers into the wounds from the nails, and put my hand into his side, I'll never believe it. Eight days later the disciples were again together in the house, and Thomas was with them. And although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. And then he said to Thomas, put your finger here, examine my hands, extend your hand and put it into my side. Don't continue in your unbelief, but believe. Thomas replied to him, My Lord and my God. Jesus said to him, Have you believed because you've seen me? Blessed are the people who have not seen and yet have believed. Now Jesus performed many other miraculous signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not recorded in this book, but these are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberius, and now this is how he did so. Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathaniel, who was from Cana and Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples of his were together. Okay, if you're one of those disciples, one of those two disciples that John doesn't name, can you imagine reading this back and being like, wait, dude, you you listed Simon Peter, you gave two of his names, you gave Thomas and his nickname, you mentioned Nathaniel and where he's from, you gave the nicknames of James and John the sons of Zebedee, and you just couldn't bother to list our names? Okay. I don't know, maybe John was one of those two anonymous disciples, and there's just one other one that was like, dude, I know you want to be anonymous, that doesn't mean I want to be anonymous. Anyway, funny little details. Simon Peter told them, I'm going fishing. We'll go with you, they replied. And they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already very early morning, Jesus stood on the beach, but the disciples didn't know that it was Jesus, so Jesus said to them, Children, you don't have any fish, do you? They replied, No. He told them, Throw your net on the right side of the boat, and you'll find some. So they threw the net and were not able to pull it in because of the large number of fish. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, It's the Lord. So Simon Peter, when he heard that it was the Lord, tucked in his outer garment, for he had nothing on underneath it, and plunged into the sea. Meanwhile, the other disciples came with the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from land, only about a hundred yards. When they got out on the beach, they saw a charcoal fire ready. Do you remember the last time we saw a charcoal fire? A charcoal fire with a fish placed on it. Jesus already had a fish. He doesn't need their fish. He doesn't need your efforts either, but he's inviting a moment here. And bread. And Jesus said, Bring some of the fish you've just now caught. So Simon Peter went aboard and pulled the net to shore, and it was full of large fish. A hundred and fifty-three. And again, the other anonymous disciples like, John, you listed the number of fish? Come on. But although there were so many, the net was not torn. Come have breakfast, Jesus said. But none of the disciples dared to ask him, Who are you? Because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and he did the same with a fish. This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon? Oh, calling him Simon. Son of John. Do you love me more than these do? He replied, Yes, Lord, I you know I love you. Jesus told him, Feed my lambs. Jesus said a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? He replied, Yes, Lord, you you know that I love you. Jesus told him, Shepherd my sheep. And Jesus said a third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was distressed that Jesus asked him a third time, Do you love me? And said, Yeah, Lord, you you know everything, you know that I love you. Jesus replied, Feed my sheep. I tell you the solemn truth, when you were young, you tied your clothes around you and went wherever you wanted. But when you're old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will tie you up and bring you where you do not want to go. Now Jesus said this to indicate clearly by what kind of death Peter was going to glorify God. And after he said this, Jesus told Peter, Follow me. Peter turned around and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them. This was the disciple who had leaned back against Jesus' chest at the meal and asked, Lord, who is the one who's going to betray you? So when Peter saw him, he asked Jesus, Lord, what about him? Jesus replied, If I wanted him to live until I come back, what concern is that of yours? You follow me? And so the saying circulated among the brothers and sisters that this disciple wasn't going to die. But Jesus didn't say to him that he was not going to die, but rather if I wanted him to live until I come back, what concern is that of yours? But this is the disciple. Again, John trying to clear the air and and bringing it back. Okay. This is the disciple talking about himself, who testifies about these things and has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true. There are many other things that Jesus did. If every one of them were written down, I suppose the whole world wouldn't have room for all the books that would be written. And that, my friend, concludes the book of John. Jesus bringing things full circle here, we see in his interaction with Peter some poignant things. This is on the shore of the lake after a fishing trip. The exact kind of moment where Jesus first called Peter. And man they had had some adventures together, but the most recent was the very tense moment. When, as we read last time, Peter had betrayed Jesus three times as he stood around what? A charcoal fire. And we know from I believe it's Luke's account of the story that when Simon Peter denied Jesus three times, on that third time he was across the courtyard and made direct eye contact with Jesus. So Peter's been avoiding this conversation for a while. He's ashamed of it. He did not look forward to having to confront the you know what moment. But it's around this charcoal fire that Jesus reinstates Peter's following of him. For every denial, there's a declaration of love. But the biggest point is I know you do want to follow me, and then you will, so much so, in fact, that you will follow me even to death. Now, we don't have the story of Peter's death recorded in the Bible, but it's uh very commonly accepted and established among early church history that Peter died crucified, but he did not want to be crucified in the same way that his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was crucified, which is a very believable Peter thing. And so he asked to be crucified upside down, and he died that way, with his arms outstretched and his hands tied up, crucified upside down. So when Jesus says people are going to spread out your arms and take you where you don't want to go, he was referring to this death, and referring to the fact that Peter would indeed follow him all the way to death. And isn't that the greatest calling? Jesus had already said the greatest love is to lay down one's life for one's friends. And Peter did get to demonstrate that love that was reinstated here on the shore with the fish. How about you? Are you trying to avoid that conversation with Jesus? Are you trying to avoid eye contact? Because you know what you did that one time, you know how you failed, you know how you maybe hid or didn't speak up when you should have spoken up, or you feel like you didn't represent him well that one time. Jesus sees, he knows, he knows that you have not lost your chance to follow him. In fact, the greatest following of Jesus is still ahead for you, if you're willing. And the next step isn't necessarily just saying, Jesus, I love you. The next step is feed his sheep, take care of his people, love the ones that he loves. And that is how you will truly follow and demonstrate your love for Jesus. Your best ministry is not behind you, and no faults or shortcomings of the past are big enough to disqualify you from the ministry in the future. Follow him, love him by doing what he says, and love the ones that he loves. That's the thinking out loud thought for the day. Hope you've enjoyed the book of John as you've gotten a a real good look at who Jesus is, and I pray that that sh continues to shape how you continue to live as you continue to move forward. We'll see you next time.