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Well, you can turn with me in your Bibles to John's Gospel, John chapter 21. Just a reminder, the structure of John's gospel, you have a prologue in chapter one, verses one to 18, and then the public ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ has been called the Book of Signs in chapters 119 all the way to chapter 1250, and then the Book of the Passion, which is 13.1 to 20.31, and here the epilogue in verses one to 25.

So I'll read the chapter, and then we'll look specifically at verses one to 14. So beginning in chapter 21 at verse 1, after these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. And in this way he showed himself. Simon Peter, Thomas, called the twin, Nathanael of Cana and Galilee, 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 are going with you also. They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing.

But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore. Yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Then Jesus said to them, Children, have you any food? 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 now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. Therefore, that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, it is the Lord.

Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he had removed it, and plunged into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from land, but about 200 cubits, dragging the net with fish. Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it and bred. Jesus said to them, Bring some of the fish which you have just caught. Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, 153. And although there were so many, the net was not broken.

Jesus said to them, Come and eat breakfast. Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him. Who are you? Knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them and likewise the fish. This is now the third time Jesus showed himself to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these? He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, feed my lambs. He said to him again a second time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, tend my sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, do you love me? And he said to him, Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you. Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep.

Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish. This he spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he said to him, Follow me. Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on his breast at the supper, and said, Lord, who is the one who betrays you? Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, But Lord, what about this man? Jesus said to him, If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow me.

Then this saying went out among the brethren, that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but if I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? This is the disciple who testifies of these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.

Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for the written word of the living and the true God. We know it's given by inspiration of God, literally God breathed. We know it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. And even now, Lord God, we pray that you would give us ears to hear and hearts to receive your truth. Help us as a church to respond well to passages like these which speak specifically concerning the mission of the church. And we pray for other churches in our community, those churches in our association, that you would bless and strengthen each one, and that we, in this particular country, would shine as lights in this crooked and perverse generation, and that we would hold forth your word of truth. Forgive us now for all of our sins and all unrighteousness. Save those dead in their trespasses and sins. And Lord, guide us now by your Holy Spirit. We pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. 

Well, in this first section in the epilogue, there's actually two things going on, so it's going to be kind of like two sermons, and so I want to first look at the interpretation of the passage, and then secondly, the mission of the church, and I hope by the time we get to the mission of the church, you'll know why that I'm calling it that. 

But with reference to the interpretation of the passage, there are two levels that is operating here, or the passage is operating on two levels. First, the ordinariness of the scene, and then secondly, the symbolism of the scene. So we'll look first at the ordinariness of the scene. 

They're fishing. There's a fishing trip recorded for us in verses 1 to 8, and then breakfast with Jesus in verses 9 to 14. Again, a very ordinary scene. Now, after a very extraordinary event, of course, the Lord Jesus had been crucified, the Lord Jesus had been buried, and the Lord Jesus had been raised again the third day. So, upon or after completion of the extraordinary, we have this ordinary. 

So, let's look first at the fishing trip in verses 1 to 8. Notice the setting. Verse 1 connects us to the crucifixion and the resurrection after these things, after the things that have been mentioned, specifically in chapter 20 and chapters prior to that. So, Jesus was crucified. He was brutally mistreated by the Jewish unbelievers and by the Roman state. He's executed. We know that ultimately is for us men and for our salvation. So after these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. This is also known as the Sea of Galilee. We're probably more familiar with that. And of course, the disciples are present in Galilee because the Lord Jesus had commanded them to go to Galilee. That's specific to Matthew's gospel. So the disciples went from Jerusalem to Galilee as they were told by the Lord in Matthew 28. at verse 10, and then again in Matthew 28 at verse 16, and it's there where our Lord ascends on high in the end of Matthew's gospel. 

And then the participants are indicated here, and it's seven of the disciples, seven of the disciple groups. So Simon Peter, Thomas called the twin. Notice that Thomas isn't absent anymore from the gathering together of the disciples. Remember that first time that Jesus manifested or appeared to the disciples, Thomas was not present. The second time Jesus appeared, Thomas was then present. Jesus chides him, but Jesus blesses and encourages him. So Thomas is present. And then Nathanael of Cana and Galilee, not mentioned as one of the 12, but a disciple that hailed from that particular region. They're in Cana of Galilee, chapter 1 indicates this Nathanael. Of course, the sons of Zebedee, James and John, the sons of Thunder, and then two others of his disciples were together, likely Andrew and Philip, who also were from Bethsaida, which was in Galilee. So we've got seven disciples wanting to go fishing, and that's initiated, notice, in verse 3 by Simon Peter. So Peter said to them, I am going fishing. That shouldn't surprise us. We know that Peter is a fisherman. We know that when Jesus calls those early disciples to himself, he uses that convention, come follow me and I will make you fishers of men. So again, I suggest there's two things going on in the passage, the ordinariness, but then the symbolism with reference to the mission of the church subsequent to our Lord's ascension on high. 

Now in terms of the trip, notice in verses three to six, you've got the trip without Jesus, and then you've got the trip with Jesus.

Verse three tells us they got skunked. They fished all night and they caught nothing. Notice, as well, they see Jesus, or a man, standing on the shore, according to verse 4, and at that particular point, they didn't recognize him, probably because it was dark. They fished all night, this is early morning, so they see a man standing there, they don't recognize that it's Jesus.

Notice in verse 5, Jesus asks them, children, have you any food? Now, this is akin to Jesus saying, did you catch anything? Every skunked fisherman loves that question. Every skunked fisherman loves to be asked, did you catch anything? Because that then gives you the opportunity to shine the light of failure upon yourself and say, well, no, actually I didn't.

Well, it is the Sea of Galilee, it's known for fishing. So notice then, as we continue, the trip with Jesus.

Verse six, specifically verse eight, the first part of the verse. And he said to them, cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some. So they cast, and this isn't the first time. In Luke's gospel, we see another time, another instance where Jesus tells Simon Peter where to throw the net. And in that particular account, it's almost, if we're reading diligently, Peter's almost a bit frustrated in the sense of, you know, we're the pros here. We know where to throw nets. We know how to cast lines. This is our job. This is what we do on the regular.

Of course, Jesus says, throw it here. They catch a great multitude of fish. And then Simon Peter falls before him and says, depart from me, because I'm a filthy man.

Well, in this instance, Jesus says, cast to the right side of the boat and you will find some. There's no pushback, there's no resistance. 6b simply says, so they cast and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.

So then notice in verses 7 and 8, Peter, or rather John, recognizes that it's Jesus. Jesus is there, Jesus is appearing to them, John recognizes, and so he says, it is the Lord. And what does Peter do? Peter's a man of ready fire aim, he jumps right into the water. I mean, they're not far from the shore. But for Peter, he wants to jump in and he wants to go see the Lord. The other disciples stay in the boat, they row the short distance, and they then commune with our Lord Jesus Christ.

But I want to observe with reference to the ordinariness of the scene before we proceed. Notice that Jesus doesn't rebuke them for fishing. Jesus doesn't upbraid them for fishing. He had told them to tarry and to wait until they were filled with the Spirit from on high and preach the gospel and make disciples and all of that. Notice that Jesus doesn't say, how dare you, on the eve of my resurrection from the dead, go back to your fishing. Well, Jesus did die, Jesus was raised, but the disciples still have to eat.

God is not at war with the ordinary. God is not contrary to us doing what we need to do. And there is this sort of a strain or a vein of Christianity that it gets recycled every few years. You've got to do more. You've got to be radical. You've got to burn for Jesus. Now, brethren, arguably, we all have to do something for Jesus, but none of us can do everything for Jesus. You just have to accept the fact you're probably not going to be John Kelvin. You're probably not going to be C.H. Spurgeon. Ladies, you're probably not going to be Elizabeth Elliott. Most of us are going to be regular, ordinary, normal Joes and Debbies. I don't know if that was the proper equivalent to Joe there, Jolene. We're gonna be regular and ordinary.

Jesus doesn't upgrade them. Some of the commentators suggest, I can't believe these guys went out fishing. Why can't you believe they went out fishing? And why have any problems with them going out fishing when Jesus doesn't? In fact, Jesus says, throw the net on the other side of the boat and you'll actually catch some fish then. So with reference to this particular narrative, the emphasis isn't so much on why are you fishing? Again, a guy's gotta eat. But the emphasis falls on, how's it going? And I think that's what we need to appreciate.

So we move from the fishing trip itself to the actual breakfast with Jesus in verses 9 to 14. Note the preparation in verse 9. Then as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. Now, spoiler alert, one of the things that's going to happen here in the epilogue is the restoration of Simon Peter. That's going to happen in verses 15 to 19. With reference to Simon Peter, when's the last time he saw a fire of coals? The last time Simon Peter saw a fire of coals was when he was in the process of denying the Lord Jesus Christ three times. Probably why Jesus asks him three times, Simon, do you love me?

This fire of coals that you see in John's gospel, specifically at chapter 18, and reiterated here, again, it's to cook fish, the ordinary, the normal, the regular. It's to heat up the bread, again, the regular, the normal, and the ordinary. But it's reminiscent of Peter's fall. It's reminiscent of Peter's decline. It's reminiscent of Peter's denial. And what we have is restoration of Simon Peter as a first among equals that's going to stand up on the day of Pentecost and address Jerusalem's sinners and call upon them to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. So this charcoal or this fire of coals is reminiscent of all of that.

But then notice as well, Jesus already has fish laid on it and bread. So then Jesus, according to verse 10, says to them, bring some of the fish which you have just caught. So Jesus has fish, Jesus has bread. Interestingly, this has caused commentators to wonder, did Jesus catch the fish or did Jesus create the fish? The thought of Jesus catching the fish pleases me immensely. You just were brutally crucified, you were just miraculously raised from the dead, and you're not on the selfie circuit getting interviewed by everybody in Galilee that has a podcast. You're standing on the shore of the Sea of Galilee catching fish to feed your brothers. It's a beautiful thought. Of course, He's Jesus. He could have just created it. The text doesn't specify. It only simply says that He's got bread and He's got fish there. But it is kind of interesting, the way that Jesus operates here. If the disciples have returned to the ordinary, so has the master. The master's not out on the circuit. He's not doing the podcast. He's not on Rogan tonight. He is a simple man raised from the dead, commissioning his church to go fishing. 

Why? Because the nations are steeped in utter darkness, depravity, wickedness, and rebellion. and without faithful fishermen in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ taking that gospel message of forgiveness to the uttermost parts of the earth, then all those sinners are going to perish in their sin. Christ has a heart for the ordinary in the way that it serves the extraordinary. 

So Jesus has the fish and he has the bread ready for them and then notice he gives them, or they comply in verse 11. It says, Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land. Now we can interpret that one of two ways. Simon Peter was a buffed, strong dude. Or it just mentions him first and the others helped him. Again, Simon Peter could just be jacked. He ran faster than John at the gravesite. We know that. He's a younger man. But yeah, he drags this net with 153 large fish, by the way. And although there were so many, the net was not broken. 

Now, it is likely that the 153 is significant. very likely that it has some symbolic significance because it's not rounded. Typically we round numbers down in that instance, we'd say 150, we might say about, but that 153 is mentioned specifically seems to underscore some significance with that particular number. So I think that's likely. But I also think it's likely that all the commentators that I read on it could be wrong, except for John Gill. 

Here's what John Gill said, what mystery there may be in the number, I know not. I don't think he's wrong, I think he's right. Because some of the other speculations, I mean there's some of them, boy I hope that's true, that sounds really good. But the mention of 153 large fish. You know, we can surmise a whole bunch of conventions and try to, you know, get a number, but I think Gil's right. What mystery there may be in the number, I know not. 

Then notice in terms of breakfast with Jesus, His words, verse 12a, His identity, verse 12b, His provision, verse 13, and then His presence in verse 14. We'll unfold those in just a moment. But what we have here, again, is an ordinary scene on the surface. But I think there's symbolism involved as well. I don't think it's accidental that this is placed in the epilogue here after the giving of the Great Commission in John 20 at verses 20 to 23. 

Remember that Jesus says to his disciples in John 20 at verse 21, He said, Peace to you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained. 

Remember last week we explained that that does not mean that the apostles functioned as prototypical Catholic priests that had the ability to actually forgive sins. No, the emphasis is on their preaching of the forgiveness of sins. their proclamation of the reality that God is in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, that Jesus is the one who always does what pleases the Father, such that every sinner that looks to Him in faith receives forgiveness and receives a righteousness imputed to them and received by faith alone by which they can enter into the presence of God. 

So don't forget that mission. Don't forget the parallel in Matthew 28, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded. And lo, I'm with you always, even to the end of the age. 

Or the commission in Mark's gospel, you know, go and preach the gospel to every creature. Those who believe and are baptized will be saved. Those who do not believe will be condemned. Or in Luke's gospel, Luke chapter 24, the preaching of repentance and forgiveness, starting in Jerusalem and then flowing out from there. And then the actual acts of the apostles in chapter 1. Jesus says, you're going to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and then to the uttermost parts of the earth. 

What Jesus is doing here in the celebration of this breakfast, in the celebration of this sanctioning of their ordinary fishing trip, is giving us a peer into, or a peek into, the mission of the church. Notice specifically, with reference to these men, they were called, as I said in Matthew chapter 4, to be fishers of men. The fact that Simon Peter is going to be restored in verses 15 to 19 indicates that there's something more than just an ordinary fishing trip going on in John 21. As well, we have the commission given by our Lord with reference to the specific function of the church. Go, make disciples, baptize those disciples, and then teach those disciples to observe all that I have commanded you. And when we ask the simple question, where do those things happen? It's a church. The church raises up men. The church sends out men. Those men preach the gospel. Those men make disciples. Those men baptize those disciples in the context of the church. Those persons made disciples, baptized then, are added to the church for what? so they can be taught to observe all that the Lord has commanded. 

Have you noticed the simplicity of biblical religion? Have you noticed the simplicity of the New Covenant? The church is the pillar and the ground of the truth. The church is that primary vehicle by which the gospel comes. That doesn't mean you can't read your Bible and get saved. It doesn't mean that a Philip can't lead you to the Savior. It doesn't mean that Aunt Bessie can't show you Mark and you get saved by God's grace. But when you ask the simple question in the New Covenant era, where is God's saving purposes most vividly displayed? It's through the foolishness of the message preached. It is through the foolish means that God's ordained, the simple means of worship in spirit and truth, the simple means of disciple-making and disciple-shaping in terms of instruction. It is the church that we see here given our mission. 

And it's used in the context, or rather the foil is this context of a fishing trip. You've got the presence of Jesus with His church in verses 9 to 14. So the church is engaged in the fishing trip, but she's never apart from the master. In other words, it's the master who's directing the fishing trip. It's the master who's making sure that the fish are caught. It's the master who sends forth the Holy Spirit to bless the preaching of the word so that fish are caught and added to the church. It is most glorious to see this, his invitation for communion with the church in verse 12a, come and eat breakfast. Revelation 3, Jesus stands at the door and knocks. That's not a personal salvation invitation to a renegade sinner, but it's rather an instruction to a church to enjoy sweet communion with her blessed Lord. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will not cast out, and I will form them in bands called churches, and I will commune with them." It's most blessed. His glorious person in communion with His church. 

Notice in 12b, it says at the end of verse 12, yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, who are You, knowing that it was the Lord. They're in the presence of the divine, glorious Word who became flesh for us men and for our salvation. Notice His gracious provision for the church in verse 13. Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them and likewise the fish. Again, it's ordinary. It's normal. Guys gotta eat. But brethren, there's something else going on here. Jesus is telling his church to go make disciples, to understand that he's always with them, even to the end of the age. And then verse 14, his regular presence with the church. This is now the third time Jesus showed himself to his disciples after he was raised from the dead. Again, a historical, accurate fact. But isn't that paradigmatic for the church today? When you get to Revelation chapter one, where is Jesus? Jesus is in the midst of the lampstands. When we ask the question, what are the lampstands? Well, John interprets that for us. I've never quite understood why Revelation is such a mysterious book. John interprets everything for us as we move on through it. I just think sometimes it's not the way we want him to interpret it. It should read more like a movie or be more sensationalism. Brethren, Jesus is found in the midst of the lampstands. 

Now, you might be thinking to yourself, you know, Butler oftentimes plugs the church. And does he have a diabolical reason for doing that? No, I'm diabolical, I'm not gonna lie to you. I, after almost 30 years as a pastor, do you know what I've come to appreciate more than I did in the first year? The centrality of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ in God's redemptive plan. It's the church Jesus gave himself up for. It's the church that Jesus sends his spirit to. It's the church that's designed to meet your needs. It's the church as that vehicle by which the word of God comes to needy souls. Again, read it on your own. Read it with Aunt Bessie. Do that, but don't miss church. Church is blessed of God. And if you want more plugging of the church, come tonight. We've seen the conversion of the Apostle Paul in Philippians chapter three, specifically at verses six to nine or seven to nine. Guess what we're gonna see tonight? The Christian life of the Apostle Paul in Philippians chapter 3 at verses 12 to 16. You know how he defines, describes, and delineates what the Christian life looks like for him? I press on. One thing I do. I press toward the goal. What do you mean, Paul? I mean in a life of perseverance, knowing that in sanctification, glorification is the end game, I need to be faithful in what God has called me to.

Yeah, faithful is a man. Faithful as a husband, he wasn't at that point, but I'm being more generic here. Faithful as fathers, faithful as mothers, faithful as grandparents, faithful as husbands, faithful as wives. What about faithful as church men and women? I know we pray a lot for ourselves. Do any of us ever pray, God, make me to be a better churchman? A more faithful churchman? If not, why? Why not? Why isn't that higher on the order of priority with reference to Christianity in the 21st century?

You read the old brothers, because we all love Puritans and reform, don't we? We just love that. Guess what they emphasized all the time? The church. Why? Because Jesus emphasized the church. Because Paul emphasized the church. In fact, Paul called it the pillar and the ground of the truth. I've always understood that, I'm a simple guy here, but I've always understood that to mean that truth ought to be the defining characteristic of any place that calls itself a church. It's not the pillar and ground of entertainment. It's not the pillar and ground of therapy. And I'm not saying entertainment and therapy are bad. It's not the pillar and ground of whatever emotional satisfaction you need in your life. Again, not an enemy of emotional satisfaction. You go out and get it.

But when Paul comes to define the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, where does the emphasis fall? Truth. When Jesus stands before Pontius Pilate, he speaks concerning, my kingdom is not of this world. Doesn't mean it doesn't include it, but how does he mention the advancement of his kingdom? It's through truth. Revelation 19, the sword that proceeds from his mouth, that rider on the white horse. Where's the focus? It's truth. I think that's what's happening in our passage. We've got the mission of the church, verses 1 to 8. We've got the presence of Jesus with His church in verses 9 to 14.

So let's then look at the mission of the church in verses 1 to 14. Just a few thoughts, a few observations. But we've got the preaching of the gospel, verses 1 to 8, and then we've got the presence of Christ in verses 9 to 14. But with reference to the preaching of the gospel, there's three things I think that will be edifying or hopefully edifying for us or encouraging. First, commitment. Notice Simon Peter's commitment in verse 3. Simon Peter said to them, I am going fishing. What's the assumption? There's fish to be caught, right?

It's interesting because I fished a lot as a kid. My dear wife has gotten a bee in her bonnet about fishing now. Everything is fishing. It's great. You know, she drags me out and I'm happy to go. And, you know, the grandkids are all getting fishing poles and it's great. It's great family activity. So in some ways this text has resonated with me and I kept telling her, you're going to like Sunday morning sermon. It's going to be your favorite sermon ever. You can hold your fishing pole. You can think about your net. You can fantasize about that kayak that I know is going to end up in my garage. I know it. I don't have enough room. I just don't, but it'll be there.

So years and years ago, fishing. Getting back into it now. Why do you go to a body of water to throw a hook into it? Because you assume there are fish there. That's Simon Peter's operating assumption. I'm going fishing. Why? The question's asked. Well, because there's fish there, and I want to catch them. Brethren, the church needs that assumption. There's sinners out there. Hasn't John's gospel taught us that? In John chapter 4, when the Samaritans start pouring down the mountainside, Jesus says, lift up your eyes. The fields are white unto harvest. Matthew 28, 18, go therefore and make disciples of what? Of all the nations. What's the backdrop? Psalm 2, ask of me, Messiah says to the Father, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession.

The assumption of Simon Peter is that there are fish to be caught. I would suggest as well, Simon Peter obeys the master. He goes to fish. How do we get these fish from the bottom of this body of water into my cooking pot? Well, I do what the master says. How do we get these sinners into our churches? I know it's crazy. I know it's bizarre. We don't have to bribe them. We don't have to pay them. We don't have to promise them things that are temporal in nature. Come to our church and you'll get all the benefits ever. We preach the word to them. We bait the hook and we throw at their direction. We really do overcomplicate things. That's why I love passages like these. What is more simple than fishing? I mean, I know there's videos to watch, and my wife keeps telling me, you gotta watch these videos. Okay, but conceptually, I get this much. I take a hook, I put bait on it, I throw it in the body of water. And then I wait. Right? I wait. 

Simon Peter assumes, Simon Peter obeys, and Simon Peter does as he's supposed to. Brethren, when the Lord Christ gives the commission to the church, the church does not have the authority to change its parameters. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations. Baptize the disciples that you make out of the nations, plant them in churches, and then teach them to observe everything that I've commanded you. 

But Lord, do you realize that in our generation people don't respond to that? Do you realize in our generation entertainment is most essential? Do you realize the way Driscoll just said that podcasters are more listened to than pastors today? Oh, well then let's just scrub the whole mission of the church and turn it all over to the podcasters. It's disgusting. It's vile. We do what God commands. We do what Jesus ordains. we go, we make disciples, we baptize those disciples, and then we teach those disciples. It's the preaching of the gospel. It's the preaching of the forgiveness of sins. 

Notice in verse 23, if you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained. It's not politics in the first order. Can we ever illustrate with politics? You're probably thinking, Butler, you do that a lot. Yeah, probably too much. It's not politics. It's not economics. It's not social reform. You know what the primary emphasis of the gospel is? It's the gospel. The message of Christ crucified, Christ risen, Christ doing that for the forgiveness of sins. 

So Simon Peter has commitment, but notice as well there's a challenge. There's a challenge. Look at verse 3a or 3b. They went out and immediately got into the boat and that night they caught nothing. I gotta say in the 40 to 45 years since I fished, It's the same. We didn't go to the body of water that we did and all the fish jumped out into the net or onto a boat. They don't do that, right? Again, not a rocket scientist with fishing, but I suspect they don't wanna be caught. That's my guess. You know, being hauled out of your climate and thrown into my frying pan? I can't imagine that in the fish mine, that's everything. 

These brothers go out and they catch nothing. Do you know what the church does when she catches nothing? It doesn't work. We need podcasters. We need entertainment. We need to change the parameters as to how we do things. We need a Fortune 500 CEO to come in and regulate the affairs of the church so that we can be successful. That's not what we're supposed to do. 

Dare I say in fishing and in soul winning, in fishing and in the Great Commission, patience is necessary. Patience Yeah, we've got lots going against us in the commission. As I said, fish don't want to be caught. Sinners quite like their sin. They're not out there fornicating themselves to hell because they hate it. They're not out there, you know, robbing from their employers because they hate it. At some level, they love it. They don't wanna be caught. They don't want their lives changed. They don't wanna end up in God's frying pan, to use a bad analogy, but I'm trying to be consistent here. 

And then we've got God's providence. He governs all His creatures and all their actions. You see this. People read revival stories and they read the history of the church and they see all that's gone on and they get frustrated about all that's going on. I get that at a certain level, but at a certain level I don't. It's not success that we're called to. It's faithfulness. It's not our job to fill heaven with fish. It's our job to go fish. Right? Well, you know, unless I catch 10 fish, I can see that coming in the normal and ordinary for me in the not too distant future. 

But when it comes to gospel ministry, we just gotta do what the master calls us to do. There's going to be discouragement. There's going to be seasons where it seems like we're just getting skunked over and over and over again. But we mustn't succumb to the temptation to either A, stop fishing, or B, enact brand new procedures that have no consistency with what the master has commanded. 

So Peter's got commitment, Peter's got challenges, but Peter's got conviction. Notice, the sovereign authority of our blessed Savior. Notice in 6a, he said to them, cast the net on the right side of the boat and you will find some. Are you surprised that in 6b it says they found some? No, of course you're not. Why? Because he's Jesus. Why would we be surprised if we actually obey the master and go therefore to every tribe, tongue, people and nation and believe that we'll only ever be skunked? If in Psalm 2, specifically at verses six to eight, the son says to the father, the father says to the son, ask of me and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. That's a done deal. Jesus has that. 

Jesus has the nations. Jesus has the ends of the earth as his possession. That's why he says what he says in Matthew 28, 18. Go therefore and make disciples of what? Of all the nations. Well, how can you say that, Lord? Because my father gave that to me, predicated on my life, death, and resurrection. So as mediatorial king, as the messianic ruler at the right hand of the father, I'm overseeing this. And when I tell the church to go cast its net, the church just needs to go cast its net. That's it. That's all. Just cast the net. Christ will take care of the results. It's beautiful. It's glorious. 

in terms of the presence of Christ, verses 9 to 14, power in the Great Commission. I've already alluded to it. Jesus starts off in Matthew 28, 18 with an assertion of His omnipotence, His all power. He says, all authority, all power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. He gives us our instructions, go, make disciples, baptize disciples, teach those disciples, but then he ends on a declaration of his omnipresence. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Isn't that beautiful? When we're engaged in this fishing trip, when we're engaged in the mission that Christ has given to the church, we are never devoid of his presence, we are never devoid of his power, we are never devoid of his authority, we are never devoid of his purposes to save a great multitude that no man can number. In fact, there's everything in this fishing trip and this breakfast with Jesus that should serve as an impetus for the church to get serious about this aspect of gospel missions. 

So we've got the power of Christ in the Great Commission. We've got in 10 to 14 the presence of Christ in the church. The presence of Christ. There's invitation to commune. There's his glorious person in communion, his gracious provision to the church. Verse 13, Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them and likewise the fish. Again, commentators ask, did he really eat? The glorified body doesn't seem like it needs proteins, fats, carbs, and other things to be satisfied in the age to come. So did he eat or didn't he? Well Luke 24 indicates that he did. There it's fish and honeycomb. Unless you don't have the new King James tradition, then it was only fish. Jesus only likes the savory. But if you're in the King James tradition, it's sweet and savory. There's fish and honeycomb. That's just referring to a textual variant between the manuscript evidence. And then as well in Acts 10, 41, it seems to indicate that Jesus ate. Well, how is that? I don't know. I just don't. But if we ask the simple question, did Jesus eat? It seems like he did. It says so in Luke 24. It says so in Acts chapter 10. And it seems we can surmise the same thing here. Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them and likewise the fish. 

Now, as well, I just want to end with a quick survey of the pattern in the book of Acts. Just a few texts to consider with reference to all that we see here in terms of the mission of the church and the presence of the Savior with the church. If you ask the question, what's one of the primary emphases in the book of Acts, and you don't answer the preaching of the gospel, you've missed the point. Well, it's kind of a nice study in civil jurisprudence on the part of the Roman state. Okay, yeah, there's books written on that subject. It's not a bad subject to study. But what's the point? You will be my witnesses, Jesus says. Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the outermost parts of the earth, Acts 1.8. Interestingly, that's how the book falls out, or how the book divides, or how the book is outlined. Where's the focus of the ministry in the first seven chapters of the book of Acts? Jerusalem. Persecution comes, what happens? The church scatters. See, we look at persecution, we say, oh, that's only ever bad. Yeah, it's bad, but that was the predicate for them to scatter outside of Jerusalem and now go into Judea and Samaria. And then with the calling of the apostle Paul, guess where the gospel then goes to the outermost parts of the earth. That's exactly how the book of Acts breaks down, based on Jesus' statement in Acts 1.8. 

But his presence, if we see the preaching of the gospel, do we see the presence of Jesus? I would suggest Acts 1.1 tells us about the presence of Jesus. You're probably there, your Bible's open from John 21, you're in Acts 1. Notice, the former account I made, O Theophilus, the writer of Acts is Luke. Luke wrote Luke. I know that's some, you know, cutting edge Acts of Jesus, but Luke wrote Luke. But he also wrote Acts. Notice what he says, the former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began, note this, both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up. So Luke, the gospel of, records all that Jesus began both to do and teach. Acts records all that Jesus continues to do and teach. Enthroned at the right hand of his father, sending forth the spirit, Acts 2.33, upon the apostles of our blessed Lord, as they go from various city, they go from various synagogue, they go from place to place doing what? They're fishing, they're fishing. So Jesus is present in the book of Acts.

Jesus is present in the provision of Matthias, the replacement for Judas Iscariot. Who are they praying to there? They're praying to the Lord, Jesus, the head of the church, to provide a replacement for Judas, who went to his own place.

Power on the day of Pentecost, I've already referred to this in Acts 2.33, the great outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost is ascribed or attributed to Jesus. Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see in here, presence of Jesus, sending forth the Spirit on the day of Pentecost.

What about in the stoning death of Stephen? One of the most miserable things that can happen to the disciple of Christ is to be martyred for Jesus. And as Stephen is being stoned to death, he gazes up into heaven, he sees the glory of God, and he sees Jesus standing at his right hand. And he's himself filled with the Holy Spirit. Note the emphasis on the triune God, present at the death of the martyrs. Stephen is filled with the Spirit, gazes up, sees the glory of God, and Jesus standing at his right hand. Jesus is standing there to receive His blessed martyr. Jesus is standing there as judge over that godless Sanhedrin that is destroying a man of God. Jesus is present with His church.

What about in Acts 18? Paul is in Corinth. And as you might imagine, sometimes when you go to fish, it's not, as I said, I know it's weird, but fish don't just jump out onto your hook. They don't jump into the net. They don't jump into the boat. Sometimes there's resistance. The Fish Federation says, no, no, no, that's not gonna happen. If they could attack you, I suspect they would. Thankfully, they don't. But if they could mount an opposition and destroy you as you're standing there on the side of the lake, I would imagine they would. Man can. What does Paul need? He needs encouragement. Jesus appears to him in a vision and says, Paul, I have many people in this city.

What about Acts 23? Paul has to stand up to one of those most vicious enemies of the church. It's not the Roman Empire. It's the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin that gave the execution orders for our Lord Jesus. That Sanhedrin Paul has to stand up against. Who comes to encourage him when this is done? It's Jesus. You see, fishers or fishermen engaged in this particular mission always have the confident expectation and knowledge that Jesus is with them. Jesus is present. Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Our job is not to twist, distort, shape, create, or otherwise disturb what Christ has given. Our task is to be obedient. So with reference to the ordinary, I think we do need to appreciate that as well. I think the heavy emphasis is on the symbolic, but I think the ordinary is real. I think it's actually genius, personally, the way that John's crafted this. The Lord does not rebuke them for fishing. Rather, he tells them where to fish.

You're going to be radical. I'm a fisherman, a real fisher. I'm a plumber. I'm an electrician. Where you gonna go burn for Jesus? Why can't I just do my job for the glory of Jesus? This radical Christianity. Again, if God has fit and equipped you to be that, more power to you. Most of us don't have it. regular, normal, ordinary.

One of the things that happens when we try to force people into that model, you can't sleep, you can't eat, you gotta give yourself to prayer and fasting all the time. I remember a famous preacher once saying, have you ever stayed up all night praying, hoping the answer would be yes. I haven't. I'm not a disembodied spirit, brethren. I need sleep. Well, Whitefield was up at 4 a.m. with his Greek New Testament for two hours. Good! Great! Maybe in the heavenly Jerusalem to come, you can go saddle up with Whitefield for personal Bible study. The inevitability, at least in my observation, is pride and then burnout. Pride because nobody's as radical as me, and burnout because you're not as radical as you either. Go ahead and try to maintain that life. Again, you might be the unique snowflake. You might be the Whitfield. You might be the Edwards. You've heard the story that Edwards would ride on his horse and he'd have a thought and he'd write it down and he'd post it to his jacket and he'd get home and he'd be peeling off. Good. Fantastic. Does that mean I gotta, you know, pull over every moment in my car? I had a thought. No, brethren.

a bit against these spiritual manuals that tell you how you ought to live. Read your Bible and pray and come to church. However you navigate that, do it. But beyond that, journaling for Jesus, yeah, I mean, if you want to, great. If you don't, great. Fasting for, you know, a week at a time, go right ahead. Good, yeah. Jesus ate fish and honeycomb too. I just don't know why. That's bad. This radical Christianity. Oh, and then the great things. We all like to, you know, cite William Carey. Attempt great things for God, do great things for God. Yes, absolutely. But why isn't a great thing when a man faithfully loves a woman for 40, 50, 60, 70 years, raises a handful of fish, does his job well, breathes his last, and ends up in heaven? You know what, brethren? I call that great. I call that exceedingly great. It's an amazing feat, an amazing fiasco that the church history is littered with, but we never write about that. We don't write about the normal, ordinary guy that eked it out for 60 years and never committed adultery, never cheated on his wife, never left her husband. never flirted, never once engaged in ungodly behavior. Why don't we read about them? Because we have this mindset that great means going out and conquering the world.

Remember, that is oftentimes entertained by people who don't regularly show up at church. I'm just going to bust your bubble. If you don't have the small things in place, Like, showing up? Probably great things are gonna be out of your reach. Actually, I'd be suspicious if somebody's doing great things, but they're not faithful in little. If they're not faithful in the little things. You see, if you're not faithful in little, you're not gonna be faithful in much. So if somebody's faithful in much without the little, I'm suspicious of the much. I may be just a jerk, but hey, I am.

And then the legacy. We gotta have a legacy. Presidents like libraries. Christians like impact. Again, impact your wife and your kids. Be a good woman to your husband. That's the best legacy you can ever provide. Beautiful, it's wonderful. Again, 40, 50, 60, 70 years with the same people. Say, well, I just can't even imagine that. Mrs. Van Shade, they recently, 60 years? Mary, I mean, he's gone now. They had 60, 60 years? It's incredible. How do they do it? I'd say it's an abundance of grace from the Master. It's a great thing. It's a legacy. It is radical Christianity to maintain that level of fidelity at the most basic levels of responsibility.

The ordinary is not frowned on by Jesus. It is not scoffed at by Jesus. It's not how dare you fish in light of my resurrection. It's cast over on the right side and you'll catch something. Jesus is pro-ordinary. Jesus is pro-normal. Jesus is pro-routine. These are all okay with our blessed master. And again, you may be extraordinary. You may be abnormal. You may be that once in a lifetime shot that Jesus gives to the church. Again, history is littered with that. John Calvin, Martin Luther, George Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards, C.H. Spurgeon. But notice, we can name those dudes on two hands. What about all those other schlubs? regular, ordinary, faithful plotters. They just did what they were supposed to do.

Well, brethren, I hope the ordinary encourages you, and I hope the extraordinary encourages you to part of a church where you can pray, where you can actually participate in this fishing. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

May God bless us. With a commitment to that, may God bless us with an inability to be moved from that, to be faithful, to be loyal to the master, and to be those fishermen who patiently persevere, knowing that the sovereign king of all the earth is purposed to save a great multitude that no man can number.

Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for this passage of Holy Scripture, both the ordinary and the extraordinary dimensions of it. I pray for your blessing upon our church, upon all our churches in our association, and all faithful churches in this country. May we hold fast, may we see the emphasis by our Lord on disciple-making and disciple-teaching, and may you guide us and lead us and bless where we cast those nets. And we ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.