What Do We Do Now?

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This is a sermon that was given on April 8, 2018 and it focuses on the actions of the disciples following the resurrection of Jesus. When the disciples decide to go fishing is it a sign that they are going back to their former occupation, or is there another meaning with a lesson for us?

Written excerpts:

John 21:15 ^(NKJV) 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."

Introduction:

Last Sunday we celebrated Easter (or Resurrection Day), but we still gather in joyful celebration today because Jesus is Alive! We will continue to celebrate His resurrection by gathering in His name and praising Him.

In various sermons I’ve preached in the past regarding the resurrection, I have spoken about the ways that Jesus manifested Himself to His disciples in order to verify His identity and His resurrection. So, as we consider the events surrounding the resurrection and the post-resurrection appearances of Christ that are recorded in the Gospels, we understand that the disciples have experienced emotional lows and highs. We understand that they have experienced a lot of things to think about and ponder. 

After the resurrection, there are about 40 days until the ascension of Christ into heaven. We are not given too many details of what took place during those 40 days, but today’s Scripture takes place during that time.

Today, with the help of the Lord, I want to use this passage and this story to share some thoughts that have been going through my mind as I tried to imagine what might have been going through the minds of the disciples in these days after the resurrection.

Let us consider the things we know about the disciples and try to answer a question that could have easily been on their minds following the resurrection: “What do we do now?”

Now that Jesus is alive again, what’s next?

I.     Obey Jesus’ words: Meet me in Galilee

The first point that I notice, and has been noted by some commentaries is the fact that the disciples have obeyed the most recent and direct instruction of Jesus – “Go into Galilee and meet me there.” 

Mark 16:7 ^(NKJV) But go, tell His disciples--and Peter--that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.

Earlier, in chapter 14, Jesus had told the disciples that He would go to Galilee after He was raised from the dead. So here, in the 21^st chapter of John we read that these disciples are by the Sea of Tiberius, which is another name for the Sea of Galilee. They obviously have traveled from Jerusalem up to Galilee because that is what Jesus had instructed. And, I imagine they are expecting Jesus to meet up with them somewhere, but they may not know where or when. (However, it wouldn’t be hard for me to believe that they went to the Seaside purposely to see if they would meet Him there, because so many of His previous meetings had been there.) The important thing is that they have obeyed Him, and now they await the next instruction.

I think the spiritual lesson here is to be reminded we need to make sure we have obeyed what God has already told us, before we seek or expect new instructions.

Go to any section of the Bible and I think you will be able to find verses that emphasize the importance of obedience. From God’s strict requirement of obedience in the OT Law to the examples of faith in Hebrews 11 where obedience is highlighted as proof of faith, the point is inescapable.

Obedience is the major proof of faith.

Obedience is the major prerequisite for God’s blessings.

Obedience to God’s previous assignments will get us to the place where we can discover God’s next assignment for our lives.

For many people:

God says I want you to     (fill in the blank)        . And we respond by our words or by our actions: “I’m not good at that,” “I don’t like that,” “John Doe is better at that than I am,” “What else do you want me to do, Lord?”

What has God commanded you that you haven’t obeyed yet?

What did God tell you a long time ago that you haven’t obeyed yet?

Genuine faith in the resurrection will cause us to obey the Lord’s commands.

II.  Don’t idle time away: Go Fishing

The second lesson for us to learn from this post-resurrection account is this: Get busy doing something. What is really going on in this story that is related in John 21? Why are Peter and the others deciding to go fishing? Isn’t there something else they should be doing? 

Because of previous sermons I’ve heard on this text about Peter, I’ve assumed that Peter was uncertain about the future and had decided he might as well go back to his old occupation of fishing. Is he perhaps disillusioned over the fact that Jesus didn’t set up His earthly kingdom?

Some people have stressed the viewpoint that Peter was disobeying the commission Jesus had just given in the previous chapter: “As the Father has sent Me, so send I you.” Or, perhaps that he was disoriented and confused about what he should do or where he should go.

However, when I began to read the comments of different Bible scholars, I discovered that none of them actually held to that view of Peter’s actions. Instead, they all described his words and actions as just an indication that Peter was not content to simply sit around and do nothing while he waited for further instructions from the Lord. Some examples:

(Colin F. Kruse, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries) – Jesus himself had told them to return to Galilee, and he would see them there. It is natural they would occupy themselves fishing while they waited for him. 

(R.C.H. Lenski New Testament Commentary) – It is entirely like Peter to make the proposition to do a bit of work; he likes activity. Besides, a good catch of fish will not come amiss while they wait for the further directions of their Lord.

(Robert H. Mounce, Expositor's Bible Commentary, Revised) – Peter is sometimes criticized for returning so quickly to his old line of work (Mk 1:16). But was he in fact returning to his former career as a fisherman? Is it not more likely that Peter was simply choosing to use his time profitably rather than to remain idle? 

So what can we learn from this? It is important to be busy. There is a saying that has been around a long time: “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” Have you ever heard it said, “If you want something to get done, find someone that is already busy to do it?” 

There are enough references in Proverbs and other places in the Bible to teach us that wasting time and God-given talents, skills and abilities is not pleasing to God.

Maybe Peter still doesn’t know what God wants him to do, but he’s not going to “just do nothing.” Fishing is not only something he knows how to do, but it will provide livelihood and sustenance until further directions arrive.

There is nothing wrong with rest and recreation, but the danger is to become wasteful of time. (This is an area that I often feel I need to be better at.)

We’ve already mentioned that obedience gets us to the place where Christ can give us our next assignment. And, while we’re waiting on that next assignment from the Lord, stay busy. Do the things we know to do. It is often in the “doing” that we learn the next thing God wants from us. 

III.  Realign your life with purposes of Christ: Feed my sheep

There are other very important lessons to be learned from this conversation between Jesus and Peter, but today I just want to focus on the fact that Peter is finally given his assignment for the future.

We just finished describing Peter as someone who was not content to simply sit around and wait until he received a definite assignment. He likes to be active. He is busy while he’s waiting. 

Now, Jesus appears to the whole group with a prepared breakfast by the lake.

(Ever had breakfast by a lake?)

These men were no doubt very hungry – having toiled all night with the fishing nets.

After the breakfast, Jesus gives Peter his next assignment: “Feed my sheep.”

By all we know, Peter immediately readjusts his life and his priorities to coincide with the Master’s plan. After the resurrection, Peter gets his “marching orders” and he willingly makes the adjustment to obey.

If Jesus is risen, He deserves our worship and adoration.

If Jesus is risen, He deserves the right and authority to call us into His mission and purpose for the world.

If Jesus is risen, and we’re His disciples, then He “calls the shots” for us and we listen; we obey and we engage.

At this point in faith, it is no longer “What do I want to do?” but it is “What does God want me to do?”

Conclusion:

In conclusion, let me refer to the announcement we have put in the bulletin for the past few weeks regarding the upcoming plan to reach out to our neighbors. I don’t know what you’ve been thinking about it, but, just in case you didn’t know, I didn’t place that in the bulletin merely to provide interesting news for you to read. It has been in there for the purpose of sparking interest in your minds and hopefully being open to whatever role God wants you to play in the effort.

I’m pleased to say that there have been a few people who have inquired about the plan, so I know God is speaking to those individuals at least. J Our goal and purpose as Christians is to make an impact for Christ where we live.

A number of months ago I felt convicted over this question: “I wonder how many of the neighbors near this church really know who we are, or have any idea that we even care about them?”

So, in a month or so, we’re going to reach out to all of the households within a mile or two of this church. We’re going to give them a little gift from the church and we’re going to ask them if there is anything we can do to show that we care about them. We’re not going to start out by asking them to come to church. That sounds too self-serving (get more people coming, to get more money in the offering plate, etc.). Isn’t that the way many people think? Well, we’re going to work on trying to show love and concern so they will want to find out more about why we are doing it.

That’s all I’m going to say right now. I’ll be sharing more information as we go from week to week, so you’ll know what kinds of help we need.

The point is this: Let’s get busy Obeying the Lord

Let’s stay busy doing what He presently is leading us to do.

Let’s re-adjust our priorities and our plans and our lives in order to serve the Lord and accomplish His mission.

A really good song that goes along with this theme today is found in the Praise and Worship hymnal: We’ll Work till Jesus Comes