Epilogue: Knowing Jesus and His Word

Lesson 13

Epilogue: Knowing Jesus and His Word

(John 21)

Copr. 2024, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study.

Introduction: Recently, a personal trainer helped me to learn and improve my skills. My primary goal was to avoid doing harm. My trainer’s goal was to teach me to do things correctly and safely. If I had bad habits, he wanted to fix them. After Jesus rose from the dead and was celebrated in Heaven, He returned to earth to give His disciples some final instruction. Getting those teachings right mattered. Peter and John are central figures among the disciples and Peter needs remedial lessons. Let’s return to our last lesson in John and see how Jesus helps those like us who need improvement!

1. Fish Fry
   
   1. Read John 21:1-3. Does this surprise you? After Jesus’ death and resurrection the disciples have gone back to fishing? (Read Mark 16:7. Jesus instructed them to return to Galilee. Tiberias was the capital city of Galilee.)
      1. How do you think the disciples felt in the morning? (Frustrated that they had fished all night for nothing. This was added to their overall uncertainty about their future.)
      2. Is Peter still a leader among the disciples?
   2. Read John 21:4-5. With the disciples’ attitude in mind, how do you think they liked being called “children?” (Robertson’s Word Pictures reports this is like Jesus saying, “My boys.” And Robertson’s says only Jesus used that term with His disciples.)
   3. Read John 21:6. Why would the disciples take fishing advice from some guy standing on the shore? (They did not yet recognize that this was Jesus. But the term by which Jesus addressed them is one used by a superior to an inferior. The disciples might have thought this was some old, wise fellow who knew a lot about fishing. So they obeyed.)
      1. And why would sides of the boat matter? (They didn’t. What mattered was whether the disciples were working under the direction of Jesus or working based on their own talent.)
      2. Why do you think the disciples did not recognize Jesus? (It was dark.)
   4. Read John 1:4-5. Is this a “flashback” to the beginning of John’s gospel?
   5. Read John 21:7. Why do you think it was only John (“the disciple Jesus loved”) who recognized Jesus? Is it because he is the youngest and has the best sight? (John has been given two clues to give him reason to look closely at the stranger. First, he addresses them as Jesus did. Second, they had a miraculous catch based on following the stranger’s advice.)
      1. Why was it only Peter who jumped in the water to swim to shore to greet Jesus?
   6. Read John 21:8. Why did the others prefer to land the fish? (John is writing this account. He recognized Jesus first, but did not jump in the water like Peter. I think John’s comment that “they were not far from land” is his excuse for not acting like Peter. They did not delay very much, and they were able to keep the fish.)
   7. Read John 21:9-10. Jesus is already making breakfast. Why? (He is meeting the physical needs of the disciples.)
   8. Read John 21:11. Why would Peter go back out to the boat to haul in the fish? (This suggests they needed his strength or skill.)
      1. Why are we told the size and number of fish caught? (This is a detail that lends credibility to the account.)
   1. Read John 21:12-13. How do you explain the comment about no one asking about the identity of Jesus? John has already identified Jesus. (Perhaps they are still getting accustomed to Jesus being dead and now alive. Perhaps Jesus has changed in certain ways after returning to heaven.)
      1. Other than the disciples being hungry, can you think of any other reason Jesus had a fish fry for them? Is there any teaching reason to do it? (This goes back to the issue of whether Jesus is resurrected. He is not a ghost. He eats food just like a human.)
   10. Read John 4:48. Is this why Jesus arranged this huge catch - so they would believe it was Him?

2. Peter
   
   1. Read John 21:15. This is what lawyers call a “leading question.” The way the question is phrased suggests an answer. What answer does Jesus suggest? (If Peter just answered, “Yes,” he would claim that he loved Jesus more than the other disciples.)
      1. Peter just jumped out of the boat first to see Jesus. We saw that he was needed to haul in the net of fish. We recall that Peter previously believed that he loved Jesus more than the other disciples. Matthew 26:33. Has Peter’s view of his superior love changed? (Peter wisely restates Jesus’ question to merely say that he loves Jesus.)
   2. Read John 21:16. Is Jesus taunting Peter? Jesus goes from reminding Peter that he used to claim that he loved more, to now suggesting Peter does not love Him at all!
   3. Read John 21:17. How does Peter react to being asked a third time about loving Jesus? Recall that both prior times Peter told Jesus he loved Him. (Peter is “grieved.” He is unhappy that Jesus does not seem to trust his answer.)
      1. Why did Jesus ask Peter three times? Was He punishing Peter for his prior proud opinion that he loved more? (Recall in John 13:38 Jesus correctly predicted that Peter would deny Him three times.)
   4. Notice that starting in John 21:15 Jesus three times asks Peter to feed Jesus’ sheep and lambs. What importance do you attach to this, if any? (Jesus is reinstating Peter as a leader. The work is to feed the sheep and Peter is worthy of the work.)
      1. We started out with Jesus’ post-resurrection instructions. What has Peter been taught? (Humility and forgiveness.)
3. Focus
   
   1. Read John 21:18-19. This sounds like the prediction for a lot of people who grow old. Is Jesus telling Peter that he will grow very old? (No. Jesus is telling Peter that he will be crucified.)
      1. What does Jesus mean by saying, “Follow me?” (Peter will follow Jesus to the cross.)
      2. What is Jesus teaching Peter about his future that is unlike his past? (Peter will remain faithful to Jesus. He will die for Jesus, just as Peter had previously promised.)
   2. Read John 21:20-21. Why did Peter ask this question? (Consider that John was the only disciple who followed Jesus to the cross. Although Peter formerly claimed to love Jesus more than the other disciples, John is still calling himself “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” My guess is that Peter considers John a competitor for Jesus’ love and wants to know how that will turn out for John.)
   3. Read John 21:22. How would you put Jesus’ response into today’s language? (Stay focused on yourself. Stay in your lane. Don’t worry about the future of John.)
      1. Is that still good advice for us? Don’t fret over the success of other Christians? (This is an important lesson for everyone and a hard lesson for me. I’ve always been a competitor. The goal is to do better than others. The Bible teaches personal excellence through the power of the Holy Spirit. Focus on improving your work for God.)
   4. Read John 21:23. Is Jesus suggesting that He might return during the lifetime of John? Why?
4. Conclusion
   
   1. Read John 21:24. Why does John say that we should believe what he has written in his gospel? (He is an honest man.)
      1. What do you think about John based on studying his gospel? (He is a good guy. I have mixed feelings about him calling himself, “the disciple Jesus loved.”)
   2. Read John 21:25. John tells us that the good things Jesus did are too many to record. What does that suggest about what John recorded? (That he recorded the most important things for us to know.)
   3. Friend, we started the Gospel of John with the view that John wanted to convince us that Jesus is God come to earth. Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. Are you convinced? Why not give your allegiance to Jesus right now?
5. Next week: We start a new series on the nature of God’s love. It is entitled, “God’s Love and Justice.”