Richard Davenport
May 4, 2025 – 3rd Sunday of Easter
John 21:1-25
That time between Easter and the Ascension must have been a little strange to the disciples. After he had revealed himself to them while they were locked in the upper room, it would certainly have been reassuring. They knew he was alive, after all. That already made a huge difference in their lives. They were beginning to see the magnitude of what Jesus had accomplished. That, all by itself, changed a lot of things. Death wasn’t necessarily the end anymore. Everything Satan had tried to gain by having Jesus put to death only demonstrated God’s power.
That also meant Jesus really was the savior. He was the one who had been promised from the very beginning and now he was here. He had come to free his people and now he had fulfilled that promise. Sin and death no longer had control of God’s people. The price had been paid and God’s wrath had been turned away.
Still, at this point the disciples are kind of spinning their wheels right now. Jesus is back and he visits them from time to time, but mostly they’re sitting around waiting. He hasn’t given them anything to do and they don’t look like they’re really motivated to do anything wild and crazy. It looks a bit like they’re returning to their old habits and ways of life. They go back to what they know. In this case, fishing. A good way as any to kill some time.
It sounds as though they spent most of the night out there. The best time to catch fish out there, I suspect. They catch nothing, and it’s at this point that Jesus appears on the scene. They weren’t accustomed to having Jesus around much after his resurrection, which is perhaps why they didn’t recognize him right away. He calls to see if they had any fish. They say, “No.” Jesus tells them to lower the nets again and they find more fish than they can handle. It’s pretty well certain all of the disciples knew immediately what that meant. Peter was just the first to act on it. The rest of the disciples wrangle the boats to shore and bring some of the fish to cook on the fire Jesus already had ready. They share a meal together and enjoy the companionship. It’s a comforting scene, one you might photograph and put in a photo album to remember, years later.
Following this, we have an interesting conversation between Jesus and Peter. “Peter, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord. You know that I love you.” Three times Jesus asks the question and three times Peter responds, “Yes.” Peter is clearly a little distraught by the questions. It’s almost as if Jesus isn’t really sure about Peter. Maybe he doubts Peter really means what he says. Peter seems to think so. But Jesus has never been in doubt of anything. He’s never been confused or unsure. Jesus always knows precisely what to do, even when everyone else is mystified.
If Jesus does something, it must be for a very clear reason. Of all of the disciples, Peter is the most eager and dedicated. That’s perhaps why his betrayal on the eve of Jesus’ crucifixion hit harder than that of the other disciples. Peter denies Jesus three times. It’s the lowest point of Jesus’ life. He’s about to be executed. The crowds that had welcomed him into Jerusalem are now calling for his death and now, even his closest friends are leaving him and denying they know him at all.
Jesus, of course, knows it’s all part of the plan. He knew what he was signing up for when he was born. But Peter didn’t. Peter thought it was all coming to an end and, more than anything, he was afraid. Peter has a habit of saying things when he doesn’t really understand what’s going on. That’s probably a bit of what’s going on there. He wasn’t denying his faith so much as letting his fear do the talking. Someone as eager and dedicated as Peter could have easily internalized that. He could have come to the conclusion Jesus was going to do to him what he had done to Jesus. Jesus was going to write him off and would never consider him a friend anymore.
Thankfully for Peter, that’s not the case. Jesus isn’t questioning Peter’s loyalty or love. He’s reaffirming it. Peter denies Jesus three times and so Jesus questions him three times. In a sense, Jesus undoes what Peter did. Peter denies three times, so Jesus gives him the opportunity to confess his love for his Lord three times. Peter might have been a little distraught there at the questions, but Jesus confirms his place as a child of God.
It’s an intriguing scene, if you think about it. Jesus obviously knew they would be here. It’s not like Jesus is wandering the countryside looking for his disciples. He knows right where they are and shows up right when he means to. The disciples are pleasantly surprised, but Jesus is not. He is already prepared for this moment. He knows what Peter will need in order to not be plagued by doubt and grief for the rest of his life.
“Big deal,” you might think. “It’s nice, but it’s not as if Jesus had to work all that hard to do it. I’m sure it helped Peter, but it was quick and now it’s over.” All of that would be true, if this had been where it all started. But it didn’t. No, it starts back when Jesus has a conversation with Peter about loyalty and love. Peter is confident he’ll stay by Jesus’ side no matter what happens. Jesus knows better. He knows Peter will succumb to his fear and will deny him. Jesus tells him so. Here already, before it had even happened, Jesus has already planned for this moment, when he’ll appear to Peter and confirm his love, confirm his faith and assure him he is still forgiven. His sin wasn’t so big that Jesus’ blood can’t cover it.
Jesus knew Peter would sin. He knew Peter would sin before he even called him to be a disciple. He told Peter he would sin. So, before Peter sinned, before he even called Peter to be a disciple, Jesus had already planned to meet him here and assure him of his grace and forgiveness. Jesus brings everything full circle. He has never been one to let someone go without knowing their sins are forgiven. Peter is no exception. Even Peter has to be reminded he is still loved and still has a place in God’s kingdom.
That desire Jesus has to bring things back around is incredibly important. Satan works hard to get us to sin. He provides us with so many tasty temptations and dangles them right in front of our nose. He likes it when we sin. Every sin is spitting in God’s eye. But he wants so much more than that. He wants us to give ourselves into it. He wants us to stand before it with all the confidence we can muster, only to crumble before it. He wants us to love the things we thought we were supposed to hate. He wants us to give up the things that matter most, and to lose ourselves in the process.
Jesus isn’t about to let that happen. We don’t know what kind of damage Peter’s denial might have done. Not to Jesus, but to himself. Guilt over sin drives people away from the church every day. Every day people think they have committed a sin that makes them unwelcome in God’s house. Every day people commit sins they think even God won’t forgive. The guilt eats at them. It drives them away from God. They can’t bear the thought of facing God if he’s just going to be angry with them anyway. The curt dismissal they would receive from him would be more than they could bear. Better to just stay away and not have to face him. They give up on forgiveness. They give up on mercy. They give up on knowing peace. They condemn themselves to a life of depression, a life outside of God’s grace.
For those willing to listen to his words, God isn’t willing to let that happen. Jesus planned from the beginning to put away Peter’s guilt. He shows up on the shore here to take care of a problem, to assure Peter his sin and guilt had been wiped away. His presence there is a visible reminder of what God will do to save his people. Christ died, and now he has risen again. The salvation he completed he now brings to them. He does not turn Peter away for his sin. Instead he welcomes him and brings him back. Peter never stopped being a disciples and Jesus makes sure he knows that.
Jesus brings your sin around full circle. Every sin, every single one you’ve ever committed or will ever commit. He comes here today to remind you of the same thing he reminded Peter. He has already taken care of all of them. There is never anything to fear by coming here into God’s presence. This is where you belong. This is where he wants you to be, not to gloat over you or abuse you, but to protect you, to care for you, to share his love with you. Jesus knew your sin before you did it. He knew he would need to tell you, in his own words, “I forgive you.” It goes further than that really, St. Paul reminds us God had planned it all out before the world was even made. Before God created Adam and Eve with his own hands, before he gathered the waters to make dry land, before he separated the light from the darkness, the Father already knew he would have to send his Son to die for your sin. It’s all been there from the beginning, all planned and all carried out, for you. Never doubt his love for you. Never doubt he has wiped your sin away. Never doubt you are his child, now and always.
In response to Peter’s answer, Jesus tells him to “Feed my sheep.” As a forgiven and loved child of God, Peter has something more wonderful than anyone who hasn’t heard could know. He has heard God’s love in person and knows what that means for his whole life. Peter had been sent out with the other disciples before, to tell the surrounding towns the Messiah had come. Now he has an even greater message. The Messiah has come and he has taken away our sins. He has given us new life. The joy that Peter and the other disciples had in meeting the risen Lord and knowing sin and death were at an end is a joy that can and should be shared with the whole world. Like us, there are many in the world weighed down by their sins who would rejoice to hear that salvation is at hand. As Christ, the Good Shepherd, has fed you, go and feed his sheep here and everywhere with his love, sharing the message of sins forgiven, that the whole may rejoice and look forward to the day of his glorious return.