John 21: Working for the Lord

The Book of John closes with chapter twenty-one. The Lord appeared to the disciples and imparted the Holy Spirit, and now they are back home where it all began. There were six disciples gathered at the Sea of Galilee, including John and Peter.

Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?”

They answered Him, “No.”

He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. (John 21:3-6 ESV)

This scene is reminiscent of the disciples’ first meeting with the Lord. Jesus taught from Peter’s boat, then commanded him to go into the deep waters. Even though they had worked all night and did not catch anything, after following Jesus' instructions, they caught so many fish that the boat nearly sank. The first time this happened, Jesus followed the miracle with this:

…And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” (Luke 5:10 AMPC)

The Lord called them to be His disciples and to do His work, but after He died, even after He rose again from the grave, they returned to the business of fishing. Without Jesus, once again, they caught nothing. Just as it was that first time, as they followed His instructions, they caught more than enough with one cast of the net. One disciple quickly grasps what was going on:

That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off. (John 21:7-8 ESV)

John recognized the similarity in the situation, undoubtedly through the Holy Spirit. As soon as Peter heard it, he put on his outer garment and headed to shore. Normally, when people go swimming, they remove as many clothes as possible; however, Peter put on his fisherman's coat to swim “about 100 yards!” Why?

In this day and age, people’s garments were specific to what job they performed. If you were blind, you wore a specific garment that allowed you to ask for charity. Peter had denied being a disciple of the Lord three times, so he was no longer considered a disciple of Jesus, for by two or three witnesses a fact shall be established (2 Corinthians 13:1). Peter approached Jesus, wearing his fisherman’s coat, knowing that he no longer had a right to be called a disciple. How did Jesus respond?

When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.”

Now none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. (John 21:9-14 ESV)

This passage reveals that the disciples had fallen away from their calling; they had forgotten they were to be “fishers of men.” Restoring Peter begins with instructing him on how to conduct his secular business: fishing.

Jesus could have multiplied the bread and fish to feed all six disciples, yet instead He asked Peter to provide for their needs through the business. Peter helped the others finish the job by hauling the fish to shore. The disciples had to process the catch to determine exactly how many fish they had caught.

The number of fish is very precise. The Holy Spirit included it in the description for a reason. Other than this episode with the fish, the number 153 is only mentioned once in the Bible in reference the three companies of fifty soldiers plus their captain who were sent to capture Elijah.

Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty men with his fifty. He went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’”

But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. (2 Kings 1:9-10 ESV).

This was the first of three groups of soldiers sent to deliver Elijah to King Ahaziah. With fifty soldiers in each group plus their captain, a sum of three times fifty-one is 153. Just as this was the third appearance of Jesus, the third time the soldiers approached Elijah, that captain had a changed heart:

Ahaziah sent again a captain of a third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up and fell on his knees before Elijah and besought him and said to him,” O man of God, I pray you, let my life and the lives of these fifty, your servants, be precious in your sight. Behold, fire came down from heaven and burned up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties. Therefore let my life now be precious in your sight.”

The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him. So he arose and went with him to the king.” (2 Kings 1:13-15 ESV)

It took 153 soldiers to bring Elijah to the king, so 153 represents unsaved men. A sign that the disciples would be fishers of men. It also represents salvation through a repentant heart, for the final captain knelt before Elijah, confessing that Elijah was indeed a man of God. This was a sign, not only of Peter’s job, but that his heart was ready to repent for his past actions.

The night Jesus was taken, Peter denied Jesus three times, but in two different ways:

• 1st two times: Denied being His disciple

• 3rd time: Denied association with Jesus as a man

Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him three times in two different ways to counteract the prior statements. The order in which Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him correlates to how Peter denied Him. The first two times, Jesus asked Peter this:

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”

He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.”

He (Jesus) said to him (Peter), “Feed my lambs.”

He (Jesus) said to him (Peter) a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.”

He (Jesus) said to him (Peter), “Tend my sheep.” (John 21:15-16 ESV)

Jesus begins by addressing Peter formally, calling him by his lineage name, “son of” as well as Simon, not the name He had given him, Peter. That makes this an official statement. What statement did Peter need to make?

There are many words used for love and each one has a specific meaning. Jesus uses the Greek word agapaō, according to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, “when used of love to a master, God or Christ, the word involves the idea of affectionate reverence, prompt obedience, grateful recognition of benefits received.” This is not the same as agapē love, which is an unconditional, unchanging love. To counteract each time Peter denied being a disciple of Jesus, he had to confess that he loved Jesus with the dutiful type of love as a Lord and would obey Him.

Peter always replies with the same Greek word for love, phileō, which means brotherly love, the type of love connected to emotion. The agapaō is connected to the head and logical love where phileō is connected to the heart. In response to this affirmative answer, Jesus gives Peter three types of instructions:

1. Feed my lambs

2. Tend my sheep

These are two jobs. Peter’s first job is to feed, or provide basic nutrients to, lambs, which are baby sheep. Next, Peter is instructed to “tend” the sheep, which entails caring for fully-grown beings. See the progression? Peter must start by giving basic instructions to baby Christians; at that point, they were all newborn or baby Christians. Then, as they grow, Peter is to help keep them and tend to them as fully-grown, mature Christians. What comes after tending the sheep?

The third time Peter denied Jesus, he was asked:

After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.” Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. (Matthew 26:73-74 ESV)

The third denial of Peter was association with Jesus as a friend, as a man. This is why Jesus asked him if he had a phileō or emotional type of love, the brotherly love of a friend or family. With this type of love, Jesus tells Peter to “feed the sheep.” How is this different from tending the sheep? What kind of food is Peter to give to older, fully-grown sheep? There are two levels of food to give to God’s children:

For even though by this time you ought to be teaching others, you actually need someone to teach you over again the very first principles of God’s Word. You have come to need milk, not solid food. For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action), for he is a mere infant [not able to talk yet]!

But solid food is for full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law. (Hebrews 5:12-14 AMPC)

The lambs, or baby sheep, receive milk. Older, fully-grown sheep get solid food, sometimes referred to as meat. To progress from a lamb to a sheep, you must use your mind to understand the difference between what is good and from God and what is contrary to God or sin. Only by discriminating or choosing to do what pleases God can we grow into fully-grown sheep. We must be willing to do what God wants, even if it isn’t what we want. How do we know this is the right step in the progression Jesus gave Peter? By what comes next:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.” (John 21:18-19 ESV)

When we are young lambs, we have a great amount of freedom to choose what direction to follow, just as Peter chose to wear the fishermen’s coat when he was just a newborn Christian. He had chosen what to do, what to wear, and where to go. As we grow in God, we learn that even though doing things His way may seem hard or less enjoyable at first, it becomes easier as we progress, and the troubles that arise as a result of going in the wrong direction are not there to cause us pain. It is very beneficial to do things God’s way!

When we are fully-grown, some people have a destiny with God that requires their life to be “poured out for God” or as some say, become a martyr for God. When we are fully grown, we will be able to complete this job for God even if it costs us our lives. This earns us a special place in Heaven:

Fear none of those things which you shall suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that you may be tried; and you shall have tribulation ten days: be you faithful to death, and I will give you a crown of life. He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit said to the churches; He that overcomes shall not be hurt of the second death. (Revelation 2:10-11 AKJV)

If you are slain for holding to the Name of Jesus, you will receive a “crown of life.” This crown allows you to escape the “second death,” the final judgment that occurs after the 1000-year reign. At that time, all of creation is judged, and only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will escape the Lake of Fire.

The Lord is fair and will never ambush us. He will never ask more of us than we can give. He will always tell you if your calling will end in death. Both Peter and Paul mentioned that they knew the time of their death was close at hand. A prophet even came to warn Paul that he would be taken captive! You will be rewarded if you give your life for Jesus, despite persecution!

Peter’s time with the Lord gives us one more example of what Jesus expects when we are called to work for Him. After giving Peter the three job descriptions, Jesus said, “Follow Me.” This could have meant, “come let’s go,” because in the next few scriptures, they are walking together; however, I believe it is part of the job description based on what was said as they walked together:

When Peter saw him (John), he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?”

Jesus said to him, “If it is My will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

So the saying spread abroad among the brothers that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is My will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?” (John 21:21-23 ESV)

Jesus had just told Peter that he would be crucified, and what does Peter do? He immediately focuses on another person, asking about their calling! Obviously, Peter did not learn anything from the “walking on water” lesson. Peter could walk on water when Jesus told him to come, but the moment his focus was not on the Lord, he began to sink. It is the same lesson here. Jesus wasn’t saying that John would live until He returned, he simply said, “What does it matter what he is called to do. Keep focused on me, don’t focus on what other people are doing!”

Interestingly, this did come true in the literal way one would expect. John was taken to Heaven and saw what would occur right before Jesus returned, and even witnessed His return as He takes back possession of the Earth. John was physically alive to see it happen, even though he only saw it in the spirit.

All Christians must call Jesus Lord. That word means owner, master. The disciples referred to themselves as bond-servants: one who was a willing servant of a person because they paid a debt the bond servant couldn’t pay. This is who Jesus is. He paid the debt we owed for our sin: we couldn’t pay it. In return, we are expected to work for Him.

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?

Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. (James 2:18-26 ESV)

All those who believe in Jesus should be working for Him in some way. Our faith that Jesus paid our debt should cause us to want to work for Him. If it doesn’t have we truly understood what has occurred? There are two types of works here:

1. Acting on what God tells you to do, like Abraham and Isaac.

2. Assisting those doing God’s work, like Rahab and the messengers of God.

Our faith should motivate us to work for God. Not all are called to be messengers: Apostles, Evangelists, Prophets, Pastors, or Teachers. But we can all contribute to the work being done. If we truly believe that Jesus is the only way to Heaven, we will either be working on spreading the Word of God or we will provide support for those who do the work because we want everyone to know about Jesus and be saved!

If you are not working for God, then ask yourself, do you really believe that Jesus is the only way to God? Do you believe that those who do not know Jesus are headed to a place of eternal suffering? If you believe this, you would be willing to support those who are reaching the world with information about Jesus or teaching others about God’s ways. If you are not willing to work for God, then your faith is dying. This is a process; it takes time for a branch to lose its connection to a vine. It takes time for a branch to wither.

It isn’t too late. You can reconnect to the vine at any time! Begin learning God’s ways and applying them today so that you can go from the milk of the Word to the meat, and begin working for God today!

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John 21: Working for the Lord Online Christian Church

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