John 21:1-8
After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way. Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.
But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. So Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered Him, “No.” And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and cast himself into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about two hundred cubits away, dragging the net full of fish.
Introduction
It is unfortunate that when many people think of Church, what comes to mind is a stodgy old building containing old people who like to gossip and judge. I was talking with a friend of mine who leads a congregation in Florida when he recounted a young family who wanted to join his Church, but were hesitant due to their family still being young. They did not want to disturb services or make anyone upset by bringing a fussy child to Sunday worship. Their expectation of what Church is does not exactly align with how the faithful have behaved when they encountered God in scripture.
Instead, when we gather to worship, we should do so as Psalm 100 instructs: “Serve Yahweh with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.” (Psalm 100:2) It ought to be a celebration of the One who grants life and causes us to come into being. Who wouldn’t want to rejoice at the compassion and kindness of the One who condescended, put on flesh, and rescued us from our hopelessness?
The One who causes fish to fill the net
We worship Him for being totally and completely other. It is easy to think of ourselves as more like God than, say, a dog or an ant or a rock. And in many ways, we are. Mankind, for instance, is the only creature made in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). But thinking about ourselves this way in creation has a tendency to get us into trouble. In fact, the very first lie that was told preyed on our desire to be more like God (Genesis 3:5).
The enemy tapped into our reverence for the creator and turned it into pride and covetousness. Worship of God became worship of self, and on that day we exchanged His glory that never fades for death (Romans 1:22-23). The simple fact is: God alone is worthy of worship and praise be cause God alone is uncreated. He is wholly unique, unlike anything else that exists because everything else was made by Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16). Because He is Lord over all creation, all of creation bends to His will. He causes the sun to rise in the morning (Job 38:12), and it is by His word that the smallest of birds meet the end of their days (Matthew 10:29).
As the One who commands creation into existence and keeps it in motion, Jesus made Himself recognizable to the disciples by demonstrating this command. Reminiscent of His call to make them fishers of men (Matthew 4:19), Jesus cries out for them to cast their net where He has ordained rather than where they had chosen. Obeying Him, the disciples find their nets filled so abundantly that they cannot even haul them onto the boat. As a bit of a foreshadowing of their successful missionary journeys, the Lord demonstrates to them that their obedience is all He requires of them; He will perform the rest.
Be more like David
Recognizing the Lord’s return is one thing. How we respond, though, is something Peter demonstrates for us viscerally. But Peter is not an isolated figure in this.
Prior to Israel’s having a king, they found themselves in a losing position while embattled against the Philistine armies. As a last-ditch effort to turn the tides of war, they brought the ark of the covenant into battle with them, treating it as a sort of magic talisman rather than the holy throne for God when He would dwell with His people in the tabernacle. Israel lost, and the Philistines captured the ark, taking it away to their cities. With the ark’s loss, God withdrew His presence from Israel entirely (1 Samuel 4:21).
Finding themselves under judgment from God for placing His ark in a pagan temple as if He were subservient to their gods, the Philistines became desperate to return it to Israel. Having done so, it was brought to the home of a faithful Israelite for safekeeping. There it sat for 20 years (1 Samuel 7:2) before the anointing of King David. Finally having a faithful servant leading Israel once again, God delivered the Philistines into his hand (2 Samuel 5:17-25).
Finally, the Lord was prepared to return His throne and His presence to the house of Israel and make Himself once again dwell presently with His people. For this, David begins to dance before the ark as it is brought into Jerusalem, singing and shouting all the way (2 Samuel 6:14-15). His celebration was so bombastic that his wife attempted to rebuke him, saying, “How the king of Israel has glorified himself today! He uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants’ maids as one of the worthless ones shamelessly uncovers himself!” (2 Samuel 6:20)
She was upset he was not behaving in a dignified manner. And his response is that he will be even more undignified, making himself lowly in humility before the presence of God who had returned to Israel. Following in David’s footsteps, when Peter recognized the return of the King, he shed his clothing and leapt into the water. Peter, too, was willing to humble himself and become undignified for the sake of celebrating his Lord and Savior’s homecoming.
When we gather to worship this same Lord and Savior, may we be more like David and like Peter: willing to make ourselves lowly in humility before the One who commands all of creation. Let us rejoice when we see and hear the undignified behavior of children as they are taught to worship their creator in goodness and in truth. Let us sing loudly to Him who has saved us and rejoice at His presence.
May the Lord bless you and conform you into the image of His Son.
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