JOHN 21:1 – 25
Bible Study Notes Rev. Betsy Perkins
Back to Fishing
- Recall someone with whom you had a broken relationship that was then repaired. What made that reconciliation possible?
Joe Boyd, Bible Experiment – Gospel of John (RightNowMedia), 2:02:40 – 2:10:10
The Last Breakfast (21:1-14)
- Why do you think the disciples decided to go fishing again?
- Why do you think Jesus chose to reveal himself to the disciples in this way on the lakeshore (see Luke 5:1-11)?
Jesus, after all, has given his followers a strange and striking commission in ch.20. They are to work for him. They are to be filled with God’s breath, and be sent into the world as Jesus had been. But if they try to do it in their own way, they will fail. They will toil all night and take nothing. The only way is for them to admit defeat, to listen afresh to Jesus’ voice, and to do what he says. Then there is no knowing what they will achieve. Stand in your mind’s eye with the disciples in the boat. What projects have you been laboring over, and getting nowhere? Watch for the dawn. Watch for the figure on the shore. Listen for his voice. And then do whatever he tells you. N.T. Wright
- Which disciple realized it was Jesus standing on the shore? How did the others react?
- Who provides the food for breakfast? (Read N.T. Wright, page 159-160)
- When were Peter and Jesus near a fire last? Do you think the smell of the fire might have triggered their memories of that previous occasion? How do you imagine Peter is feeling?
And it all happens beside a charcoal fire. Think back to the smell of that fire, wafting through the chilly April air. Think of Peter going out in shame, angry with himself, knowing that Jesus knew. Knowing that the ‘beloved disciple’ knew. Knowing that God knew. And hearing the next day what had happened to Jesus. Not even the resurrection itself could wave a magic wand and get rid of that memory. Nothing could, except revisiting it and bathing it in God’s own healing. N.T. Wright
Jesus and Peter (21:15-19):
- How can failure destroy a person? What had it done to Peter?
- How did Jesus choose to restore his relationship with Peter? Why did Jesus ask Peter whether he loved him three times?
- What do we learn about forgiveness from Jesus’ words and actions?
- How did Peter respond to Jesus’ words and actions?
- What is the connection between love and service that Jesus is making?
- Does this only apply to Peter? If not, what does it mean for you?
Here is the secret of all Christian ministry, yours and mine, lay and ordained, full-time or part-time. It’s the secret of everything from being a quiet, back-row member of a prayer group to being a platform speaker at huge rallies and conferences. If you are going to do any single solitary thing as a follower and servant of Jesus, this is what it’s built on. Somewhere, deep down inside, there is a love for Jesus, and though (goodness knows) you’ve let him down enough times, he wants to find that love, to give you a chance to express it, to heal the hurts and failures of the past, and give you new work to do. These are not things you do to ‘earn’ the forgiveness. Nothing can ever do that. It is grace from start to finish. They are things to do out of the joy and relief that you already are forgiven. Thing we are given to do precisely as the sign that we are forgiven. Things that will be costly, because Jesus’ own work was utterly costly. N.T. Wright
- What hope and guidance does this story offer you as you handle your mistakes and failures?
- Is there a failed relationship in which you would like to experience restoration and healing?
Read Max Lucado, Life Lessons from John, page 106-108
The Beloved Disciple (21:20-25):
- Why do you think Peter asked Jesus about John?
- How does Jesus respond? What was it Jesus wanted Peter to understand?
The most important thing, for the future, is for both [Peter and John] to learn that God makes no mistakes in casting. Oh, it may feel like that from time to time, no doubt. There are many times when faithful Christians look with puzzlement, and (alas) envy, at one another, and wish that they could swap places. But part of Christian obedience, part of accepting our commission as the language of our forgiveness, is knowing that we are called to follow Jesus wherever he leads us, not wherever he lead the person next to us. N.T. Wright
- Many biblical scholars believe that John 21 was added sometime after the main part of the book was written – either by John as he approached death or by someone else shortly after his death. How does verse 23 help explain why this chapter was necessary?
- Why would even the whole world not be able to contain all the books it would require to write down everything Jesus did and said?
Even if it might be technically true that every single deed Jesus ever did could be written down, and that the books, though numerous, would ultimately be finite in number, nevertheless the point remains: the world would not be able to contain them. They would be too explosive. It would be like trying to play a wonderful symphony on a broken piano. It would be like try to serve a gourmet meal in a snack bar. It would be like God’s breath inside an ordinary human being. It would be like light shining in the darkness, and the darkness being unable to master it. The world couldn’t take it. But the ultimate point is this. Once the Word has become flesh, all the books in the world can’t do justice to it. Nothing less than flesh can now do justice to the meaning of the Word: your flesh, my flesh. N.T. Wright
In light of this passage and our discussion, what one truth about God and about yourself stand out as something to “take to heart” this week?
Are there steps you will take, by God’s grace, to more fully apply it to your life?
Resources: NIV Zondervan Study Bible, 2015
N.T. Wright, John for Everyone, 2002
Max Lucado, Life Lessons from John, 2018
Joe Boyd, Bible Experiment – Gospel of John (RightNowMedia), 2014
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