“Hope” is big in Christianity. When we talk about Easter it’s hard to avoid
the message of hope. Of course, we often
connect that message with the hope we have in what seems to be the most
hopeless of situations: Death. I usually tried to acknowledge that even in
my small congregation there were those who had lost someone in the year
following the previous Easter. Easter
can be a time of hope for those people. It
contains a message of comfort for all believers. But hope has other facets as well. There is the hope that tomorrow will be
better than today. And there is the hope
for a better you. There is hope in the
wake of failure.
John
21:1-19
Someone has
said that the Gospel of John begins with Jesus as a guest at a wedding
reception and ends with him hosting a picnic by the lakeshore.
This story
takes us back to the night before the crucifixion. Something happened that night which is
recalled in each of the gospels: the
prediction of Peter’s denial.
It appears
to have taken place following the supper and before Jesus moved on to the
Garden of Gethsemene. On that last
night, Jesus began speaking in veiled terms of the crucifixion. He said he was going where the disciples
could not come:
JN 13:36
Simon Peter asked him, "Lord, where are you going?"
Jesus replied,
"Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later."
JN 13:37
Peter asked, "Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life
for you."
JN 13:38
Then Jesus answered, "Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you
the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!
That was a
bold declaration of commitment. Peter
pledged to stand by Jesus no matter what.
In fact, some might even say that Jesus’ words were a downer in the face
of such a declaration of loyalty. In
fact, Mark tells us that Peter protested what Jesus had to say. “’No,’ Peter insisted, ‘Not even if I have to
die with you! I will never deny
you!’” At this point the other disciples
spoke up and made the same pledge; this after Peter had implied that he would
remain devoted even if all the others—his friends he had been traveling with
for three years—should decide to abandon Jesus.
Surely we
wouldn’t condemn him for having excessive pride, he was just resolute.
Well, what
happened? Was Jesus right or did Peter
surprise him by standing firm?
To know the
answer we have to look ahead a few hours.
Jesus had shared some of his deepest teachings about the Holy Spirit and
about eternity. He had been arrested and
taken off for a quick trial before the religious and political authorities.
Where was
Peter? John tells us because he was
there. With one eye on Jesus and one on
Peter, John watched the drama unfold.
A little
slave girls asked Peter if he was one of Jesus’ disciples. Peter said, “I’m not.” While
Jesus was being interrogated, Peter joined some of the other servants and
soldiers warming themselves next to a fire they had built in the
courtyard. Someone—Luke says it was the
servant girl again—asked, “Are you sure you aren’t one of his disciples?” Again, Peter said, “Nope, I’m not.”
Just then,
another servant looked closer at Peter and said, “Just a minute, I know
you. You were in the garden with him,
weren’t you?” This time, Peter used some
strong language to say, “Get this straight, I am not one of his
disciples.” At this point, John adds, “at
that moment a rooster began to crow.”
Jesus was
right, Peter was wrong.
Now,
there’s something we need remember about Jesus.
Early on in his Gospel John offers an important observation about Jesus
that I think we ought to keep it in mind whenever we see Jesus interacting with
another man or woman. In John 2:24,
we’re told that Jesus “…knew what people were really like. No one needed to tell him about human
nature.”
I don’t
think that means Jesus was merely a good armchair psychologist; I think it
means he had the capacity to size up an individual, to see their potential even
if no one else did, to know their strengths and weaknesses. Jesus, who had once predicted the day would
come when Peter would be known as “The Rock”, knew the fisherman wasn’t quite
ready to have his devotion face the ultimate test.
Before you
and I give way to the temptation to look at Peter, shake our heads, and say,
“That Peter, he should have known,” we need to recall our own experiences.
Some of us
have made bold declarations, full of resolution and determination.
Maybe
you’ve said, “Next time I have an opportunity to witness, I won’t keep quiet,
I’ll speak up for Jesus even if my friends laugh at me.”
“Next time I face that temptation—to gossip,
to look at pornography, to take home a few office supplies—I’ll say, ‘No, I
won’t.’”
“Next time I’ll put my family first, before my
job, before sports; I’ll make time for
my wife and kids.”
“Next time I’m invited to join in the
complaint-fest about what’s going on in the church I won’t do it; I’ll look for
ways to build up my church rather than tear it down.”
Maybe you
made these statements with the same degree of determination as Peter but when
the next time came, you failed. When
that happened maybe you felt like Peter who, as the other gospels tell us, went
outside and wept bitterly over his failure.
Several
years ago Christian balladeer Don Francisco told Peter’s story in song. It struck a responsive chord with many who
heard it. The song begins with Peter and
the other apostles hiding behind locked doors, afraid the soldiers would take
them as they had taken Jesus. Then, on what
would be known as the first Easter morning, a breathless Mary came to say the
tomb was empty. Peter and John go to
investigate. They found the tomb
empty. Listen to Francisco’s description
of Peter’s feelings.
Well, something strange had happened there, but, just
what I didn't know.
John believed a miracle but I just turned to go.
Circumstance and speculation couldn't lift me very
high,
Cause I'd seen them crucify Him, then I saw Him die.
Back inside the house again, the guilt and anguish
came.
Everything I'd promised Him just added to my shame.
When, at last, it came to choices, I denied I knew His
name.
And even if he was alive, it wouldn't be the same.
Like Peter,
we sometimes anticipate so much from ourselves and fail so miserably. Like Peter we wonder if our relationship with
Christ will ever be the same. We know
it’s hard to have hope in the wake of failure.
This brings
us to a picnic by the lake.
Déjà Vu All Over Again
Since the
Risen Jesus had already appeared to them at least once we can guess the topic
of almost every conversation when the disciples got together. Surely if someone you know, love, and admire
defeats death by walking out of his tomb, you’d talk about it.
Maybe the
conversation reminded Peter of his denial, maybe he realized that someone
needed to make some money, maybe the cupboard was bare and they were
hungry. For whatever reason, late one
evening Peter announced to the six other disciples with him, “I’m going
fishing.” And the others said they’d go
with him.
Now,
remember, several of these men were professional fishermen. Still, though they fished all night, they
caught nothing. As they rowed toward the
shore, they saw the faint glow of a campfire and the shadow of a man standing
by the water. The man shouted to them,
“You catch anything, boys?”
No doubt
with all the enthusiasm of anglers everywhere when they have to admit the creel
is empty, they shout back, “No.”
Instead of
saying, “Too bad” or “Better luck next time,” the Man on the shore said, “Throw
your net out on the right hand side of the boat and you’ll get plenty of fish.”
Tired and
hungry the disciples apparently say to themselves, “It couldn’t hurt,” and then
throw out the net. As they begin to draw
it back there’s resistance, the net is full of fish.
For Peter,
James, and John, at least, it was déjà vu
all over again. Years before they had
had a luckless night fishing, years before a man standing on the shore told
them to throw out their nets one more time, years before they had a record
catch of fish. The man whose
instructions had produced that record catch was Jesus, Jesus who told them,
“Follow me. From now on you’ll be
fishing for men.”
John, who
had either a gift for seeing what others didn’t see or a gift for stating the
obvious, said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!”
Peter, who
had stripped to the waist to work, grabbed his tunic and plunged into the
water. He wanted to get to the Lord as
soon as possible. The text says, “they
were only out about three hundred feet”—that seems like quite a swim to me but
maybe Peter was used to it. Anyway, once
Peter and the other disciples were on shore Jesus invited them to
breakfast. My purpose is not focus on
the meal itself but to remind you that the last time Peter had eaten with
Christ the meal ended with Jesus’ accurate prediction of Peter’s denial.
A Private Discussion in Public
John tells
us that this was the third time Jesus had appeared to a group of the
disciples. As John reports these
appearances, the first confirmed the fact of the resurrection to the disciples
as a whole, the second appearance allowed Jesus to deal with the questions
raised by Thomas; now, this third
appearance would allow him to deal with Peter.
Both Luke
and Paul tells us that the Risen Christ appeared to Peter sometime on the first
Easter but the details of that experience are hidden from us. Whatever may have transpired is never
revealed. But, if Peter was to overcome
the power of his past failure and become an effective leader and coworker with
the other disciples, it was necessary for this private discussion to take place
in public.
Restoring
Peter’s hope in the wake of his failure involved three steps.
The Element
of Assessment
To
understand what Jesus was doing in asking his cycle of three questions we have
to understand something about the language he used. Unlike English, Greek has three verbs that
can be translated as love. Jesus used
two of them here. [I should tell you
that some commentators feel there is no significance in this but I think John
is too good a wordsmith for this to be coincidence. Besides, A.T. Robertson, one of the finest
Greek scholars in the 20th century, thought it was significant and
that’s a pretty good testimony.]
First,
Jesus asked, “Peter, do you love me more than these men do?” In this question Jesus used the word agape the word that signifies the
highest, noblest, most selfless love. At
the same time, he invited Peter to compare his love with that of his fellow
disciples.
It’s easy,
especially if we’ve faced few trials and temptations, to think that our love
for Christ is greater than that of a fellow believer who may be struggling with
doubt and with failure.
Peter had
once said he would stand by Christ even if everyone else deserted him. Now he knew better. So, Peter responded using a verb for a
less-intense love, “Yes, Lord, you know I have great affection for you.”
In the
second question, Jesus simply asked, “Peter, do you love me?” Again he used the word for the strongest
love. If Peter wasn’t going to claim a
greater love than that of his fellow disciples, would he at least claim to have
this highest love for Jesus.
No, he
wouldn’t. Again he says, “Lord, you know
I have a great affection for you.”
Once again
Jesus asks, “Peter, do you love me?” At
this point Jesus switches verbs, he used the word which means “to have great
affection.” He and were on the same
page.
Because
Peter so vividly recalled his threefold denial of Christ that third question
caused him to feel deep grief for his cowardice. Still, he answered, “Lord, you know my heart
better than I know it, and you know I have a great affection for you.”
This was a
painful moment for Peter. It hurts to
have our hearts laid bare but it’s sometimes important if we are to ever be
healthy again. At the same time, it was
important for his fellow disciples to know that Peter had come to a realistic
view of himself. They wouldn’t have been
able to work with a man they believed thought himself better than they
were. Now they knew he didn’t.
When we
fail it isn’t always necessary for Jesus to demonstrate before our closest
friends that our pride is in shambles, that we have a new, healthier view of
ourselves. It was necessary in Peter’s
case because his wild claims had been so public and so forceful. Still, when we fail it is important that we
come away with a more realistic view of ourselves. We need to see that it’s dangerous to claim
too much for ourselves. In Paul’s words
we need to have come to a place where we no longer thing more highly of
ourselves than we ought to think.
That lesson
can be learned in the secret, private places where we encounter the Lord
through is Word and the Spirit. We can
demonstrate that lesson by living with a new humility.
As we look
at the work Jesus was doing in bringing Peter back to a place where he could
have hope in the wake of failure, we also need to look at another element in
the process.
The Element
of Acceptance
Jesus
responded to each of Peter’s honest, heartfelt declarations of devotion with a
commission:
à “Feed my
lambs.”
à “Shepherd
my sheep.”
à “Feed my
sheep.”
Those
simple phrases speak volumes. Jesus is
saying to Peter, the man who failed so miserably, “I’m accepting you where you
are and I want you involved in the lives of my people.”
We can be
pretty harsh in our judgment of losers like Peter. We might have said Peter was all washed up;
he can come sit in the pew, sweep the floors but not much else. He’s a failure and we can’t ever forget
that. But as harsh as we are, that loser
is often harsher.
We can all
be thankful that Jesus handles failures differently. He takes the shambles of our lives and
rebuilds.
If you have
a brother, a sister, a child who’s blown it in their pilgrimage, don’t write
them off as hopeless. Chances are Jesus
hasn’t.
If you’ve
blown it, been a class-A failure, don’t give up on yourself. Chances are Jesus hasn’t.
He didn’t
with Peter and he’s had a lot of experience rebuilding wrecked lives since
then. The interview with Peter ends with
a third element.
The Element
of Affirmation
Now, it was
déjà vu all over again—again. Jesus, as he had so long ago, said to Peter,
“Follow me.” It was a powerful
affirmation, it was as if Jesus had said, “Peter, I once told you I wanted you
to follow me, I haven’t changed my mind.”
When Peter
left his fishing business to follow Jesus he probably had big dreams of
becoming a big man. He expected Jesus to
establish a kingdom, to attain power and authority; and he expected to have his
share of that power. No one would say,
“Pete, mend that net” or “Peter, clean those fish.” He would be in charge of his life.
It took
time—a lot of time—and a brutal crucifixion before Peter began to see that the
Kingdom Jesus was building was not one of political or economic might. It would be a spiritual Kingdom. And, despite his failure, Jesus still wanted
him to be one of its builders.
When you
and I fail we desperately need some type of affirmation that says we may still
be of use to Jesus Christ in his Kingdom-building work. He may give it to us through the word of a
fellow Christian, a Scripture passage, or some unexpected turn of events in our
efforts to minister for him, but he his grace he gives it to us.
As it was
with Peter, that word of affirmation may take a unique, individual shape.
Listen to
what Jesus said to him:
I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, when you were
young you girded yourself [put on your own belt or girdle] and you walked about
wherever you pleased to go. But when you grow old you will stretch out your
hands, and someone else will put a girdle around you and carry you where you do
not wish to go.
On the one
hand, what Jesus said to Peter about his future was brutally honest. On the other hand, it implied that when the
eventual test came, Peter would remain true to Christ.
John, who
was writing years after Peter’s execution at the hands of the Romans, adds this
comment on what Jesus had said to Peter, “He
said this to indicate by what kind of death Peter would glorify God.”
Did you
hear that? The man who failed, the man
who talked big but acted small, the man who may have felt shame each time he
heard a rooster crow, brought glory to God by his death.
CONCLUSION
Peter’s
story is encouraging because each of us has failed to live up to our
expectations for ourselves as followers of Christ.
It’s
encouraging to know that even if we fail, even if we lose that sense of closeness
to God, through recognition and repentance, we will hear him welcome us back to
the table.
This was as
story of moral and spiritual failure. We
may fail in other ways as well. We may fail in business, in a relationship, in
school. The principles at work in this
story can help regenerate hope in the wake of that failure.
·
We need to take time for a serious search for the
roots of our failure.
·
We need to rediscover and, perhaps, refine the vision
that motivated us in the first place.
·
We need to surround ourselves with those who will
affirm and encourage us.
The
important lesson in this story is this:
No matter how spectacular our failure Jesus can turn things around. Jesus can transform our lives in such a way
that they bring glory to God.
If you were
for some reason unable to attend a church service this Easter, I hope this sermon
has reminded you of what Easter means.
If you did
attend a service I hope you heard a message rooted in the Bible’s portrait of
Jesus’ victory over the grave.
If your
pastor talked about the significance of Easter for the Christian faith, I hope
he reminded you that each Sunday is a kind of “little Easter.”
If your
pastor marshaled the evidence for the historical reality of Easter, I hope she
took a moment to address the “so-what question” that event raises.
Above all,
I hope your pastor reminded you that Easter is about hope.
