Main Text: John 21:1-23
We find ourselves here in the twenty-first chapter of John’s Gospel, what is called the epilogue. John structured his Gospel with great intentionality — he opened with a prologue, that brief but weighty introduction where he sets the stage with the words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” That prologue wasn’t part of the main narrative, but it was essential for understanding everything that followed. And now, having completed the primary narrative of his Gospel in chapter twenty — ending with the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his appearances to his disciples — John gives us this epilogue. Like the prologue, it stands outside the main body of the story, yet it is indispensable for understanding what comes after the book closes.
In this epilogue, there are some primary issues that are resolved, and they center specifically on one man: Peter. We’ve been given extraordinary details about the resurrection of Christ — his appearances, his words, the evidence he provided — but there is one detail that never gets addressed, not in John’s Gospel, and not in any of the other three Gospels either. What happens to Peter? Because we know Peter failed in his time of testing, and he failed in a significant way. Before the crucifixion, when Jesus began to tell his disciples what was going to happen, Peter pushed back hard. “Lord, let it never be,” he said. “We will stand with you. We will fight for you.” And Jesus looked at him and said, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. Peter refused to believe it. He was going to be the most loyal, most faithful disciple to the very end.
Then the hour came. They took Jesus away, and Peter followed at a distance, wanting to watch and see what would become of his Lord. He made his way into the house of Annas, the former high priest, and then the questions began. Weren’t you one of his followers? Your accent gives you away — you’re from the same place he is. And then someone who had been in the Garden of Gethsemane said, “I saw you cut off my cousin’s ear. You must be one of his disciples.” Three times Peter was asked, and three times Peter denied knowing his Lord. He did not hold up for his Master.
This is not merely a personal failure — it is a problem with profound implications, because Peter had a very important role to play in the early church. Jesus had told him plainly: “I am going to use you to build my church. You are going to be the leader of what follows after I ascend into heaven.” For Peter to fulfill that calling, two things had to be established. First, Peter needed to know — and everyone else needed to know — that he would have the resources required not to fall short again. Second, Peter needed to have the forgiveness and the sanction of God to return to the calling that had been placed on his life. Peter was a servant of the Lord, and he had been given a call from Jesus years before, when Jesus walked past the fishermen and said, “Follow me.” And isn’t it striking that Jesus uses those same words here in John twenty-one? He looks at Peter and says, “Follow thou me.”
The Problem We All Share
Peter had a job to do. And as believers, you and I also have parts to play in the kingdom of God. If you are a born-again believer, there ought to be in your heart a desire to do service for the One who has saved you and brought you into his kingdom. All of us want our lives to count for something when we stand before God. We want to hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” We want to know that the life we lived was not wasted, that when we enter into heaven, we have something to present to our Lord — faithfulness, service, obedience, love, and devotion.
But there are a great many things in this life that will quickly distract us, derail us, or stop us altogether from pursuing faithfulness to the Lord. We begin to doubt whether we actually have what it takes to do what we sense God calling us to do. Do I really have the strength? Do I really have the resources? And if we get past those doubts and begin to move forward, we start remembering all the things that make us feel disqualified — the mistakes of the past, the failures, the moments we are not proud of. The devil and his army love to come and whisper in your ear and remind you of everything that makes you feel unworthy to do anything for such a pure and holy God. And then, even if we manage to push through all of that, we begin to ask questions about the future. What problems am I going to face? What sacrifices will this require? What is it going to cost me, and what is it going to cost others?
All of us this morning want to do something for the kingdom of God, but all of us face the exact same questions the disciples faced in their day: Will I have what I need right now? Can I get past what I’ve done in the past? And what am I going to face tomorrow? The epilogue of John’s Gospel serves to answer all of those questions. They are answered for a specific man, namely Peter, and God addresses each one in a different way. But God’s answers to Peter are meant to give you and me confidence and hope and courage to stand up and go do something for the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
One of the great problems facing the American church today is that we have become a comfortable church — more satisfied to sit and talk about all the work that needs to be done for the Lord than to actually get up and go do it. Jesus told his disciples that the fields are ripe and ready for harvest; all that is lacking is laborers. There are pulpits all over this country sitting empty because men will not respond to the call to go and preach the gospel. There are lost people right here in our own city on a collision course with eternal destruction because Christians will not go to them and speak the truth. There is work to be done. And the desire this morning is to dispel every lie of the devil that tells you that you can’t do it, you shouldn’t do it, you won’t do it, and to send you out with the confidence and courage that you have everything you need to do something for the Lord Jesus Christ.
We find that confidence through the Apostle Peter. And so let’s look at this passage together and see three ways that Jesus provides for the needs of Peter so that he can go and fulfill the calling God has placed on his life.
Christ Will Grant Provisions for Our Service (John 21:1–14)
“After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself. There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.” (John 21:1–14)
Here we find Peter back in Galilee, his homeland. It is important to note that many interpreters have read this scene as Peter turning his back on his calling, slipping back into his old life. But a careful reading of Matthew’s Gospel shows us something different: when Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to the disciples in Jerusalem, he sent them back to Galilee to wait for him. He was going to come and meet them there. So Peter and the others are not running away — they are waiting for the Lord in obedience to his instruction. And while they wait, Peter does the practical thing: “While we’re here, why don’t we go fishing? We’ll make some money, get some food, and have something ready when the Lord arrives.” This is not apostasy. This is simple, ordinary waiting.
It was common in that day to fish at night, since a fresh catch could be brought to market in the morning before the summer heat set in. And so they went out on the water and fished through the night — trained fishermen who knew this sea and its patterns, men who had fished these waters their entire lives. They knew where to cast, what techniques to use, how to read the water. And they caught absolutely nothing. I don’t believe they were simply rusty from three years away from the trade. I believe this was the sovereignty of God at work, setting them up for a lesson.
As morning breaks and the dawn rises over the water, they see a man standing on the shore. They can’t tell who he is. He calls out to them and asks, “Children, have ye any meat?” — have you caught anything? You can imagine the frustration in their answer: no. And then the man says, “Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find.” If you know your Gospels, this should sound very familiar. Because this is exactly how Jesus called Peter the first time. Before Peter had ever followed Jesus, he had spent an entire night on this very sea catching nothing. And then Jesus came and told him to cast on the other side, and there was a multitude of fish too heavy to haul in, and Peter fell at Jesus’s feet and said, “Thou art the Lord.” And Jesus told him to rise and follow him.
It is no coincidence that they find themselves back where it all began. Jesus stands on the beach, asks what they’ve caught, and tells them to try the other side. They do — and just like the first time, the net fills with fish. They’re wrestling with the weight of it, straining to pull it in, and then John leans over to Peter and says, “It is the Lord.” Peter cannot wait for the boat to reach shore. He throws on his outer garment and dives into the sea and starts swimming. The other disciples follow in the boat, dragging the net behind them.
Notice what is waiting for them when they reach the shore. Verse nine says: “they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.” Now, weeks earlier in this series, there was a detail worth committing to memory — a small but significant word about the night of Jesus’s arrest. When Peter followed Jesus into the house of Annas, it says he went and warmed himself by a fire of coals. That specific kind of fire is mentioned for a reason: it is next to that fire of coals that Peter denied Jesus three times. And now, as Peter swims ashore soaking wet, having been reminded of how Jesus first called him, he looks up and finds his Lord standing next to a fire of coals.
There would have been no missing that connection. Jesus is deliberately evoking the memory — not to wound Peter, but because what is coming next requires that Peter face it honestly.
But then notice what else is laid out beside that fire. Fish and bread. Where have we seen fish and bread with Jesus before? When he fed the five thousand. When he fed the four thousand. Both times he took a few loaves and a few small fish and provided for thousands of people out of what the disciples considered to be nowhere near enough. And in both of those miracles, Jesus was showing his disciples that when provision is needed, he is capable of supplying it — even when what you have in hand seems completely inadequate.
Jesus is hammering them with reminders. He called Peter with a miraculous catch of fish. He has provided for multitudes with fish and bread. And now he has done it again — both the catch and the meal at once. He is showing Peter, and the other disciples, and you and me today: when you obey his commands and live your life for his service, you will not lack a single thing needed to fulfill the mission. If you are trying to fulfill your own mission, you may well find yourself coming up short at the end of the day. If you are trying to make your own dreams come true, the resources may run dry. But if you set your life to the purpose of doing the will of the Father, Jesus wants you to understand this morning that you will never go without. He will meet the needs of your life. You will not have to abandon the mission because the resources failed to appear — he is going to provide.
How many of us have felt God calling us to something — a greater area of service, a ministry, an act of obedience — only to talk ourselves out of it because we didn’t think we had what it would take? “That’s going to cost more than I can afford. That’s going to take more than I can give.” Maybe it isn’t even something large. Maybe it was a nudge toward one person — a prompting to do something for them, to give something to them — and you reasoned your way out of it because you couldn’t see how it would work. Jesus is saying, in those large moments and those small ones alike, just trust him. Do what he is asking, and he will provide.
Christ Will Grant Pardon for Our Service (John 21:15–17)
“So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.” (John 21:15–17)
After the meal, Jesus turns to Peter, and what follows is one of the most carefully constructed exchanges in all of Scripture. The English translation does not fully capture what is happening here, because the Greek text uses two different words for love. When Jesus asks, “Lovest thou me?” in the first two exchanges, he uses the word agape — that all-encompassing, fully surrendered love. He is asking Peter: do you love me with your whole heart, your whole life, your whole self? Do you have that God-sized love for me? And each time, Peter responds — but he does not say agape. He says phileo, the word for brotherly affection, the love of one friend for another. It is real and genuine love, but it is a smaller thing. Jesus is asking, “Do you love me this much?” and Peter is answering, “Lord, you know that I love you this much.”
The third time, Jesus steps down to Peter’s own word. He asks, “Do you even have a brotherly love for me?” And it says Peter was grieved because Jesus asked him a third time. He was grieved because he knew exactly what Jesus was doing. Three times Peter denied his Lord, and three times Jesus is now pressing him on the love he claimed to have. “Lord, thou knowest all things,” Peter says. “Thou knowest that I love thee.” And each time — every single time — Jesus responds with a command: feed my lambs, feed my sheep, feed my sheep. That is an imperative, not a request. It is a commission, a calling, a sending.
What Jesus is doing here is restoration. He is not pretending the failure never happened. He is not sweeping it under the rug. We need to understand something about forgiveness and repentance that we can too easily domesticate: true restoration is not the same as ignoring what occurred. True repentance requires honestly acknowledging what happened. It requires sitting with it, learning from it, and bringing it before the Lord rather than hoping it fades quietly away. Jesus is not interested in pretending Peter’s denial was nothing. He is interested in dealing with it — naming it, addressing it, and then doing something about it. And what he does about it is extraordinary: “I acknowledge the sin. I forgive the sin. And now I am recommissioning you on the task I originally gave you.”
You can cover up your sins before other people. You cannot cover them up before the Lord. He sees them, he knows about them, and — here is the good news — he wants to deal with them. He wants to forgive them. He wants to get them out of the way so he can cleanse you and use you for the service he intends for you. God has a mission for your life, a purpose that no one else can fulfill. There was not another Peter, and there is not another you. And God wants to address your sin and forgive your sin so that it is no longer standing between you and everything he has called you to do.
The comfort this morning is that the forgiveness is available. He saw your sin before he ever went to the cross. He knew the mistakes you were going to make, the ways you would fall short, the things that keep you awake at night — the guilt you carry, the things you wish you could take back, the moments you would give anything to erase. We don’t have the power to make those things disappear. But we don’t have to. We take them and we cast them into the blood of Jesus Christ. Whatever your sin is, whatever your mistakes are, whatever guilt you have been carrying around — forgiveness is available. There are few sins that compare in treachery to what Peter did on the night of his Master’s crucifixion. And yet Jesus looked at him and said: I love you, I forgive you, and I am sending you back on the same mission I gave you from the beginning. That is good news for all of us this morning. The things I did yesterday and in the days before — they are under the blood of Jesus Christ. I am forgiven, I am free, I am redeemed, and I am prepared and pardoned to do the work God has called me to do. And so are you.
Christ Will Give Priorities in Service (John 21:18–22)
“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me. Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me.” (John 21:18–22)
Jesus has answered the question of provisions. He has answered the question of pardon. Now he turns to the question of tomorrow. He tells Peter plainly what his future holds: when you are old, you will stretch forth your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go. Church tradition tells us that Peter was crucified, and that he refused to die in the same manner as his Lord, asking instead to be crucified upside down. Jesus is telling Peter that his faithfulness will cost him his life. And in that same breath, he says, “Follow me.”
Then Peter looks around and sees John following behind them, and something very human takes over. He says to Jesus, “Lord, and what shall this man do?” What is going to happen to him? If I’m going to die, is he going to die too? What about all the others? Peter can see the potential cost of following Christ, and he starts asking questions about everyone else’s tomorrow. If you have ever lain awake at night worrying about what is coming, you understand exactly where Peter is in this moment. He is not unique in that. We all worry about what we cannot see.
And Jesus’s answer is among the most searching things he ever said: “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me.” What if I let John live until I return? What if I never let him die? He was, in fact, the only one of the twelve who was not martyred, the last to die. But the point Jesus is making is not about John — it is about Peter. He is saying: how does that change what I have told you to do? You follow me. Notice that the first time he says it, it is “Follow me.” The second time it is “Follow thou me.” He is getting specific. He is getting personal. He is saying, don’t look at them. Don’t look at tomorrow. Don’t let what you cannot see stop you from doing what I have called you to do today.
As believers, we live in a world full of uncertainty, full of questions we cannot answer. And if we decide to wait until every question is resolved before we begin following Jesus, we will never get started. There will always be one more doubt to resolve, one more detail that doesn’t have a perfect solution, one more unknown we wish we could see past. Jesus is not asking us to have all the answers. He is asking us to trust him with the answers we don’t have. He has promised provisions. He has given pardon. And he will take care of tomorrow. That only leaves one thing for you and me to do this morning. Trust and obey. For there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.
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