One
week ago we celebrated the anniversary of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It
has been approximately 1,987 years since Jesus was crucified, buried and raised
to life again. Each year we get closer to His second coming and the rapture of
the Church. But why has God waited so long to bring this age to a close and to
begin the millennial reign of Christ as King upon the earth? Consider this:
·
The
Apostles of Jesus imagined that Jesus would set up His earthly Kingdom prior to
the crucifixion. In other words, they never expected Jesus to die.
·
Once
Jesus was buried the Apostles and those who believed He was the Messiah were
disappointed, afraid and confused. Although Jesus had told them, as yet they
did not understand, that Jesus was going to be resurrected from the dead on the
third day after his death.
·
Even
after several credible and trusted witnesses reported that they had seen the
risen Lord, the Apostles still did not believe.
·
All
of their hopes were shattered and they no longer expected to see the Kingdom of
God established on the earth.
·
When
the tomb was discovered to be empty and they could not find the body of Jesus,
those close-knit followers of Christ debated among themselves and questioned
others as to where His body had been moved. They wanted to visit His grave to
pay their respects.
·
After
Jesus appeared alive to 10 of the Apostles that first Sunday evening and then
to the 11 Apostles one week later, on the next Sunday evening, and showed them
His nail scared hands and the piercing wound in His side, they obeyed His
earlier instructions to go to the Galilee where they would see Him again.
·
If
God had chosen to immediately set up the Millennial Kingdom of Christ on the
earth at that time there would have only been perhaps 120 to 500 Believers in
heaven. God wants and has prepared for a large family … 10,000 times 10,000 and
thousands upon thousands from every nation, tribe, kindred and tongue upon the earth.
Immediately
after the Resurrection of Jesus that first few weeks, the Apostles were still
primarily focused on Jesus setting up His earthly Kingdom. They were ready for
Him to be recognized, deliver His people and reign as King on the earth.
Acts 1:6 Therefore, when they
had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore
the kingdom to Israel?”
As
I said earlier, when Jesus died on the cross it shattered the Apostle’s world …
they didn’t know what to do so they just sat dumbfounded in that upper room in
Jerusalem. After Jesus appeared alive to them twice in the first 8 days they
were elated to see Him and talk to Him but they still had no clue as to what
they were supposed to do.
·
Jesus
told them to go to Galilee where they would see Him again. But, so what???
·
Was
this to be the extent of their lives and service? Were they to go from town to
town waiting on Jesus to manifest Himself?
·
What
was next?
It
is at this point we catch up with seven of the Apostles in John chapter 21.
They are sitting and waiting on Jesus to show up in a village on the northern
shore of the Sea of Galilee. They had walked from Jerusalem … the journey took
several days and now they were growing restless and perhaps a little hungry as
well.
·
No
doubt the other villagers, some close friends and family members were as
confused about their future than were they.
·
These
friends had not had the personal experience of seeing Jesus alive.
·
Perhaps
the people around the Galilee thought these Disciples of Jesus were stupid, or
crazy, perhaps liars, or maybe just deceived …
·
Some
of the Apostles had families to feed and take care of – and you might well
imagine that the ministry resources it took to pay bills and buy groceries for
all those followers had dried up a bit.
·
Offerings
now were probably at an all-time low!
·
Yet,
they waited … just how long can a person wait?
John 21 NKJV
1 ¶ After these things Jesus
showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way
He showed Himself:
2 Simon Peter, Thomas called
the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two
others of His disciples were together.
3 Simon Peter said to them,
“I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went
out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing.
4 But when the morning had
now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was
Jesus.
5 Then Jesus said to them,
“Children, have you any food?” They answered Him, “No.”
6 And He said to them, “Cast
the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they
cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of
fish.
7 Therefore that disciple
whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard
that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed
it), and plunged into the sea.
8 But the other disciples
came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred
cubits), dragging the net with fish.
9 Then, as soon as they had
come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread.
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring
some of the fish which you have just caught.”
11 Simon Peter went up and
dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and
although there were so many, the net was not broken.
12 Jesus said to them, “Come and
eat breakfast.” Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?”
— knowing that it was the Lord.
13 Jesus then came and took
the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish.
14 This is now the
third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the
dead.
Some
things to notice about this passage when considering what’s next:
1.
The test of waiting on God
a. What we do while we
wait can determine
i. How long we wait
ii. If we are productive
while we wait
b. Only God can
determine the right time
2.
Our decisions influence others
a. Peter said, “I’m
going fishing.”
b. The six others said,
“We’re going with you.”
c. Our decisions
influence others.
3.
He knows the answer before He asks
a. Have you any food?
b. Then why does He
ask?
c. So that you can know
the answer too.
4.
When we confess our emptiness He opens our hearts
a. No!
b. Nothing opens a
heart like emptying ourselves before Him.
c. There is such
potential in an empty vessel …
5.
Everyone has their part
a. Peter swam to shore
alone while others brought a boat and the net filled with fish
b. Peter was not more
spiritual because he got there first.
c. Someone always must
do the work.
They
were excited to see Jesus … but … What’s Next?
Jesus
begins to admonish Peter with words that have continued to give direction to
Believers in every generation for the past 1,987 years. These words answered
the questions of the Apostles and they continue to point us to what’s next in
our lives as well …
John 21
15 ¶ So when they had eaten
breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love
Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He
said to him, “Feed My lambs.”
16 He said to him again a
second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him,
“Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”
17 He said to him the third
time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because
He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You
know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.
Until
Jesus returns our duty is clear … Feed and take care of those Jesus loves … and
… He loves the whole world!
