Men As Christ
Where Iron Sharpens Iron / Proverbs 27:17
Jesus Never Lies
John 21:1-19
At that time, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way. Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards, dragging the net with the fish. When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord. Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish. This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He then said to Simon Peter a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” Jesus said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that Jesus had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”
Blog:
Talk is cheap. There is a Proverb about this idiom where it says, “It is easier to say you will do something than to actually do it.” If you want to seal a deal, you can simply overwhelm the situation with an “actual” – an incredible result… You can under-promise and over-deliver. But, Jesus never under-Promises; He never exaggerates; He never lies. His teachings are the Most Wonderful Words in the His-story of mankind! You can take His Word to the Bank as He always over-Delivers. In the Gospel here, He doesn’t just give Peter and the Apostolic Crew with him ten (10) fish. Nope; He gives them an entire month’s worth of “catch”. It’s like Him showing-up and telling us to obey His command while then over-delivering with our annual sales quota(s), 77 homeruns in a game, 7 degrees from Harvard, 100 wins in Le Mans, 6 months’ worth of meals, and on and on. What Jesus did to the Apostles was SO overwhelming that Peter actually jumps out of the ship and swims to shore!? The Best Gift of this Gospel doesn’t “actually” come until after Peter surrenders to Christ – both in the action of casting the nets over the side that Jesus told them to and then in completely-surrendering everything and jumping into the sea. Jesus waits for Peter to obediently come to shore where He then absolves Peter of his three (3) denials of Jesus during His judgement. The slate has been wiped clean by Jesus. Jesus is then quick to remind Peter (and all of us) that following Him won’t be easy and it will even hurt at times. And, that’s OK, too So, let’s be sure to focus on the “Actual’s” when doing our best to follow Jesus. Sure, it hurts at times, but He’s right there with us. He’s hurting right along side of us. The Grace afforded to all of us is not something we deserve or can ever earn, but, by allowing His Mercy to permeate our Souls, we open ourselves up to His Loving Embrace to avoid the punishment(s) and/or consequence(s) that we often do deserve. It won’t be easy, but the Grace that awaits us is worth it for Eternity!
Men As Christ 