Beyond Sunday with Pastor Nic
Join me for a more personal look into the weekend sermons, as well as some thoughts on theology, marriage, parenting, and leadership. I will also explore some of your most asked questions throughout the year.
www.nic-williams.com
Beyond Sunday with Pastor Nic
Finding Restoration on the Shores of Galilee: John 21
As we wrap up our exploration of the Gospel of John, we invite you to embrace the themes of restoration and faithfulness. Discover how simple acts can illuminate your daily existence and reveal divine encounters in every moment. By living and loving like Jesus, we carry forward the lessons of abundance and grace into the ordinariness of life. So, as you continue through your week, let these teachings guide you in every interaction, becoming a light to others and drawing closer to God's presence.
Welcome back to Beyond Sunday. I'm Pastor Nick, and today we come to a significant crossroad in our journey through the Gospel of John, as we delve into its final chapter, john 21,. We're not just ending a series we've been in for 37 weeks. We're stepping into the ongoing story of what it means to follow Jesus after the resurrection. Imagine the early morning mist over the Sea of Galilee this is where this story begins the gentle slap of waves against the boat, the murmur of conversation among tired fishermen. This scene sets our stage today. So let's dive and discover what Jesus has in store for us in these closing moments and beyond. So in this moment, they have a return to the Sea of Galilee. Just picture the disciples. They're weary, they're uncertain. It's been a long couple of weeks. A lot has happened, a lot of emotions, the ups and downs, the death of the Savior, the resurrection. But for this moment they've decided to return to the Sea of Galilee, to return to fishing, their former livelihood, under a starlit sky that blankets them in a familiarity, yet feels empty without Jesus's physical presence. I can imagine the conversations that they had throughout the night as they continued to throw that net in the water. The wooden boat creaks under their weight. The nets cast repeatedly with hope, yet return empty. I can imagine those moments, because I've had them. I've had those moments of being on a fishing boat for hours and catching nothing, the discouragement, even though it's fun to be together and you have that camaraderie. You went out there with a purpose and it's not happening. It's a poignant reflection of their internal emptiness, a physical manifestation of their spiritual state post crucifixion. This return isn't just a retreat to comfort, but a step back to rediscover their path forward with Christ.
Speaker 1:Now, as dawn creeps over the horizon, painting the sky with strokes of pink and orange, the night's frustrations culminate in a miraculous catch. As they're fishing, they hear a man from the shore call out to them and ask if they've caught anything. Yet they answer no in a probably defeated tone, and this man from shore calls out to them and says hey, throw the net on the other side of the boat. Now that's probably one of the most ridiculous statements in scripture, because they've been fishing all night. Fish go under the boat. They could catch them on either side, but in this moment I don't know if they're trying to prove this man wrong. They didn't know who it was yet. I don't know if they were just exhausted and thought we'll try anything at this point. And so they did. They threw the net on the other side of the boat and imagine their nets, previously barren, now bursting with 153 lively flipping fish an oddly specific number. That signifies an overflow of provision.
Speaker 1:Theologians for decades have tried to figure out. What does that number mean, and there's a lot of guesses of what it is. It might symbolize completeness, as some scholars suggest, representing a gospel that encompasses all nations. It might just show the abundance that Christ has. Imagine if they threw the net on the other side and they caught one fish. As exciting as that would have been for them because they hadn't caught anything all night, it wouldn't have seemed miraculous If they had caught 10 fish. I'm sure they had done that before. I'm sure they'd caught 15 fish in their net before, in order to show abundance, in order to show who he was. The number's huge and it's exciting.
Speaker 1:I also had somebody ask, like how did they get to that number? And what they were asking is when they caught the fish, they didn't count them. Then they rode to shore and then, when they got to shore, they met with Jesus and they had breakfast. When did they stop and say you know what, we need to know how many fish that we actually caught. Well, we don't know the answer to that. Maybe Jesus told them how many were in there, or maybe, like most people, you want to know, to be able to tell people what actually happened. And so, at some point, one of the disciples was like you know what? I'm going to count how many fish are in here. I want people to know, amazingly, how much God provided. It's an astonishing reminder of his provision in our lives. I would have counted, I would have wanted to know how many fish were in there. The disciples' astonishment is palpable, a mix of joy and bewilderment, and as they witness firsthand that it was Jesus, even their failures are turned into abundant successes.
Speaker 1:Now, if you know the story, as John looked and realized it was Jesus, he says hey, it's the Lord. Peter got excited, put on his robe and jumped out of the boat and sw. It was Jesus. He says, hey, it's the Lord. Peter got excited, put on his robe and jumped out of the boat and swam to shore. He wasn't even waiting for the boat to get there. He wasn't waiting for Jesus to come to him. He had this desire when he saw Jesus to be close to Jesus, and I honestly love that part of the story because I hope that's my heart, I hope that's your heart. I hope, when we have opportunities to sit near Jesus and you have that opportunity at every moment, that's our desire that we long to be with him, that we'll do whatever it takes to spend time with Christ Now, on the gritty sand of the shore, as the smell of cooked fish fills the air. Jesus is there. He's already lit a fire, he's already cooking his own fish and bread to feed these guys.
Speaker 1:A critical conversation unfolds between Jesus and Peter. Jesus looks at Peter and says do you love me? And each do you love me from Jesus pierces deeper into Peter's heart a tender yet painful reminder of his thrice made denial of Jesus just a few weeks before. With each affirmation, peter's guilt is met with grace. His shame with a commission. He had to feel the weight of Jesus' forgiveness, heavy yet liberating. And as Peter is restored, not just as a disciple but as a shepherd, to Christ's flock.
Speaker 1:This is a moment of profound personal transformation, underscored by the tactile warmth of a shared meal on a cool morning by the sea. Jesus doesn't just say I forgive you. Jesus says you've still got work to do. I need you to take care of my flock, I need you to feed my sheep. I need you to watch my lambs. I need you to do what I've called you to do. And I can imagine this conversation happened because, after Peter's denial he's human, like you and I he probably just had this moment on repeat in his head how he had failed Jesus, how he no longer could be the rock of the church as Jesus had called him to be, and so he's struggling with all that is to come, and so Jesus is saying no, I need you to focus, peter. Get your head back in the game Now. As the meal concludes and the sun rises higher. The ordinary elements of the morning the fish, the bread, the fire. They became sacred symbols of Jesus' presence in daily life.
Speaker 1:Following Jesus, as he implies in this chapter, isn't about constant miracles or public spectacles. It's found in the quiet commitment to his teachings and irregular interactions and choices. Imagine integrating the divine in daily tasks, seeing the sacred of the ordinary and embodying faith in every small act of kindness and decision of integrity. I love part of the story where Peter and Jesus are talking and then Peter realizes John is following him and, as Jesus is telling Peter that your faith is going to lead to your death, that's a heavy weight for him to fill. All of a sudden, he says what about John? What do you have for his story? And I love this because you and I, we get in this comparison trap. If my story is going to be hard, I want his to be hard. And Jesus says what is his story to you? If I wanted him to stay alive forever, that doesn't matter to you. You need to stay focused on me, follow me. And that's the call for you and I that we would keep our eyes focused on Jesus, forget the distractions and live the life that he's called you and I to live Now, before we part.
Speaker 1:Today, I'm thrilled to share some exciting developments with you all. First, my new book Be Free is set to launch in early January. It's a journey into the depths of spiritual freedom, aimed at transforming how you live and breathe your faith. As we look forward into 2025, I invite you to join me in a year dedicated to deep theological exploration, and so I'll send out a link to a pre-order for my book in the next couple weeks, but you can also be a part of this journey that I'm going to be on in 2025 to share some theological insights, to dive deep into why we believe what we believe, to give you the foundations of our faith.
Speaker 1:You can be a part of that enriching experience by signing up for a weekly newsletter that I have. You can find it at nick-williamscom slash newsletter. That's nic-williamscom slash newsletter. Sign up for that there, and I would be glad and thrilled to have you on this journey with me diving into theology. Now, as we close this chapter and our in-depth look at John's gospel, let's carry with us the lessons of restoration, abundance and daily faithfulness. Thank you for sharing this journey with me. As you go about your week, remember that each moment holds the potential for encountering God, for living out the gospel in the simplest acts and for being a light in the ordinaries of life. Until next time, keep living and loving like Jesus. God bless.