Cast and Feed: The Teachings of Jesus (Resurrected Witness – Part IV)

Sermon Title: Cast and Feed: The Teachings of Jesus

Good News Statement: Jesus captures us

Preached: Sunday, May 22, 2022 at Dogwood Prairie UMC & Seed Chapel UMC

Pastor Daniel G. Skelton, M.Div.

 

Scripture (NRSV): John 21:1-19 Today’s scripture reading comes from the Gospel of John chapter twenty-one verses one thru nineteen. Listen to these words spoken by the beloved disciple…

Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples

21 After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he showed himself in this way. ² Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. ³ Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

⁴ Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. ⁵ Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” ⁶ He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. ⁷ That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he had taken it off, and jumped into the sea. ⁸ But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.

⁹ When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. ¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” ¹¹ So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them, and though there were so many, the net was not torn. ¹² Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. ¹³ Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them and did the same with the fish. ¹⁴ This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

 

This is the Word of God for the People of God; And all God’s people said, “Thanks be to God.”

 

Introduction:

A monastery is in financial trouble, so it goes into the fish-and-chips business to raise money. One night a customer knocks on its door. A monk answers. The customer asks, “Are you the fish friar?” “No,” he replies. “I’m the chip monk.”

The Game Warden approaches a little boy and asks, “Didn’t you see the no-fishing sign, son?” And the little boy replies, “I’m not fishing, sir. I’m teaching these worms how to swim!”

“What kind of music should you listen to while fishing?” Something catchy!

We began our journey of travelling with the resurrected Jesus while he was on the road to Emmaus. As we walked with Jesus and the other two men—we realized that Jesus recognize us, before we recognize Him. On the road to Emmaus, Jesus recognizes you. Jesus recognizes you in your defeat, doubt, joy, and excitement. He recognizes you when you approach the altar, feel abandoned, or need healing. Jesus recognizes you when you don’t recognize him.

After walking with Jesus, the stranger, we ate with him and the two men around a shared table after making it to Emmaus. The story of Jesus eating with these two men is our reminder that as Christians our actions, our love for all “strangers”, speaks louder than our words, and that we must not miss our opportunity to notice the important people in our life. Jesus breaking bread with these two men is our reminder that it’s never too late to notice the important people in your life. It’s never too late to recognize Jesus in your life.

Then, we were introduced to Thomas, the twin, who had doubts. We all experience doubt in our life: as a matter of fact, 65-85% of people experience doubt on a daily basis. Doubt is part of life; and it doesn’t remove our faith or take away our salvation. When doubt creeps in our life, we must remember what Jesus told Thomas: “Do not doubt, but believe” (John 20:27). During Jesus’ resurrection, we recognize that with Jesus in our life, the doubt that we experience can be removed by acknowledging our doubt, asking God for help, and then listening to what God offers us in return. We must not doubt but believe.

Today, Jesus appears before us for third time. Today, we recognize that Jesus wants to help us be the disciple he needs us to be. Today, we recognize that the resurrected Jesus needs us to cast our nets and feed the people. And today, we recognize that Jesus wants to be involved in our everyday lives. Today, we recognize that we will forever be doing the work of Jesus Christ.

Opening Prayer:

            Let us pray… Dear Lord Jesus, I pray that you allow this message to encourage all of us to cast our nets, to keep moving forward, and to help us be the disciples you need us to be. May my words fall to the ground as Your words settle in the hearts of all those before me. In your Resurrected name we pray, Amen.

 

Body:

Before receiving the “Great Commission” in Matthew 28:16-20, by which Jesus commands the disciples to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything [he has] commanded [them],” Jesus offers two additional commands: cast your net and feed the people. At this point during his resurrection, Jesus chooses to show himself for the third time to the disciples. And in a typical Jesus fashion, his appearance offers his disciples yet another opportunity to learn how they are to be the disciples Jesus needs them to be. This third appearance is our reminder today that as disciples we must be willing to cast our net and feed the people around us.

The disciples are back in the area of Galilee because that is where Jesus told them to go (Mark 16:7). He told them to go there and wait. And that is what they were doing. They were waiting for further orders and instructions. Jesus had already appeared to a number of people. He had appeared to Mary Magdalene and some other woman along with the two people going towards the city of Emmaus. He had appeared to the disciples twice. The first time on the day of His Resurrection and eight days later to help Thomas understand His Resurrection and to remove his doubt. The third appearance offers us words of work.

The text begins: “After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples.  Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We will go with you.’ They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing” (John 21:1-3).

The Apostle John shares with us what is happening. The disciples have traveled back to the region of the Sea of Galilee. In this passage John refers to it as the Sea of Tiberias which is what the Romans wanted it to be called in honor of Tiberias Cesar (who reigned from 14 AD to 37 AD). And John notes that Peter stated that he was going fishing. It was a normal day for the disciples, and yet, Jesus chose to appear before them.

Right from the beginning, we learn that Jesus doesn’t just show up on Sunday mornings. Jesus just doesn’t show up while we are praying or singing or joining together. Jesus just doesn’t show up on days that we set aside for him. Jesus shows up when Jesus wants to show up. You just never know when Jesus is going to show up or appear in your life. You could be working outside and Jesus might show up. You could be travelling across the country and Jesus might show up. You could be shopping and Jesus might show up. You could be working, completing chores, doing something random and Jesus might show up. You never know when Jesus will show up or appear in your life. Jesus appears on a normal day.

Peter has gone out to fish. We know that early on in Jesus’ ministry, Jesus pulled Peter aside and said, “Follow me, and I will make you fisher of people” (Matthew 4:19). To this command, Peter immediately left his nets and followed him. But now, after three years of following Jesus and fishing for people, Peter has returned to his nets because Jesus is no longer physically leading him. John tells us that he along with his brother and some others decided that they would go with Peter. They wanted to go fishing.

After all, they had been professional fishermen. They had known what it was to cast a net, feel the water on their faces and experience the joy of pulling up a net full of fish. They knew what it felt like to see a great big catch and know that today they would be more than able to feed and take care of their families. They knew how to fish, where to fish and they enjoyed fishing. It was in their DNA.

But the Bible says that this particular trip was not very fulfilling. At least not at first. All night long they had paddled all over the Sea of Galilee. They had tried all their favorite spots. They had waited and looked for any ripples on the water. They had casted their nets tens of times hoping to bring up a net load of fish. However, each time their nets were only filled with droplets of water and perhaps a little algae. “They caught nothing.”

Have you ever felt that way? You’ve worked for hours getting the house clean only to have a couple of children or a spouse be able to mess it up in a matter of minutes. You’ve worked on a project or a paper on the computer only to have it crash and when you finally got it back all your work had been lost. You tried to go shopping but the stores didn’t have what you needed, and the traffic was just horrible. You thought you fixed something only to have it fall apart again. You had one of those days that seems like nothing you did worked out. You had one of those days when instead of feeling like you made some progress you felt like you lost ground. You had one of those days when you caught nothing.

I believe we all have had days or nights like this. We all have been right there with these men in this boat doing our best to be productive only to come up with empty nets. We all have had a time when we feel like we have wasted our energy, wasted our time and perhaps even wasted some of our money. But then …Jesus shows up and changes everything!

The text continues: “Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, ‘Children, you have no fish, have you?’ They answered him, ‘No.’ He said to them, ‘Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he had taken it off, and jumped into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off” (John 21:4-8).

Suddenly, a stranger shows up on the shore line. John tells us that they were so desperate that they were ready to act on his advice. The man on the shore begins by asking them if they have caught any fish. Now, if you have been fishing that question either makes you feel really good or really bad. When asked this question, those who go fishing would love to respond by saying, “Yep, we have caught the mother lode.” or “Yep, see all this string of fish. or “Yep, it has been a great night.” or “Yep, this area has been cleaned out.” But Peter and the other disciples strongly answer the stranger by saying, “NO.”

No explanation. No going into detail about what kind of night it had been. Just a plain and simple “NO”. That pretty much tells me that they were not happy. They didn’t want to talk about it. They were tired, they were hungry, and they were empty. I am sure that their pride was a little hurt, too. Then the stranger simply says, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some” (John 21:6). The fact that they listened to the stranger on the shore tells me that they were desperate. They didn’t know him at the time, but they were willing to try anything. They were willing to take a leap of faith.

In a matter of seconds, the Bible tells us that something amazing happened! They cast the nets to the right of the boat and bam all kinds of fish rush into their nets. After receiving the catch of a lifetime, they looked out and suddenly recognized who that stranger was – it was Jesus. It was the Risen Lord – the Messiah! Peter forgets about the fish and dives in to go and see Jesus. After all, who wants to fish when you can be with the Risen Lord? The rest of the disciples, however, took stock and proceeded to pull in the load of fish and came on shore. As disciples of Christ, we will cast our nets and bring nothing in. We will become discouraged, broken-hearted, and we may even fill like failures. But we must not stop trying. We must not stop fishing. We must not stop casting our nets into the sea of people. The old saying, “If at first you don’t succeed, then try again,” is the mentality that we should have as disciples. We must be willing to follow the commands of Jesus and to trust in him when he calls us to do something in our congregation, in our community, and in our life. Are you listening to Jesus?

As Paul would remind us, “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have laid hold of it, but one thing I have laid hold of: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead…” (Philippians 3:13). Just because something didn’t work in the past doesn’t mean we should give up. The past is the past, but today is now and tomorrow is coming. The resurrected Jesus reminds us to always keep pressing forward and to keep hoping and trying new things when something doesn’t work out. We must not stop trying to catch fish! We must not stop casting our nets!

After casting their nets, they find themselves on the shore with Jesus, who was cooking some fish. John writes, “When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.’ So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them, and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead” (John 21:9-14).

The Bible tells us that one touch of God’s favor, God’s blessing, God’s anointing can change everything. Jesus said one thing and suddenly everything changed. One word from Jesus, one command from Jesus, one insight from Jesus and everything can change. Jesus fed the disciples and more. We can do the same.

Those disciples went from having one of the worst nights of their lives to experiencing an amazing miracle and being able to eat a meal with the Risen Christ. Actually, it was even better than that – because Jesus fixed the meal. God in Flesh – the King of Kings and LORD of LORDS fixed their breakfast. Now, if that doesn’t make you have a great day then nothing will. Jesus’ words and presence made this fishing trip one to put down in the Bible. This event was included in one of John’s Victory Stories: stories that remind us that God is on our side. That more than anything God wants us to enjoy life. That more than anything God wants to bless us. That is the God that we serve. A God who is able to put “fish” into our lives. A God who is able to let us know that nothing is out of reach. A God who loves us and wants us to be successful. A God who is willing to feed us.

However, as you read the Bible you find that God loves nothing more than for us to experience victory and live an abundant life. Peter got to walk on water. Lazarus got to come out of the grave. That little boy got to watch his lunch feed over 5,000 people. Esther got to free her people. Joshua got to see the sun stand still. Moses got to part the Red Sea. Paul and Silas got to see the jail bars come open. Zachariah got to see an angel. Nehemiah got to build a citywide wall in just 52 days. Solomon got to build the House of the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. Daniel got to see visions and interpret dreams. And we get the chance every day to share the good news of Christ. We get the chance every day to feed the people and to tend to their needs. When we cast our nets, we are letting people know that we are here for them, that we care for them, that we want them to experience the same victorious God that we get to experience and embody every single day of the week, every week of the month, every month of the year, and every year of our life. We want people to know that they are welcomed here.

Today, Jesus is ready. He is willing and He is waiting for us to listen to Hi –to follow His words and to experience an abundant life. He is waiting for us to receive a life of goodness, favor and blessing. He is waiting for us to be ready to cast a net at His leading. He is waiting for us to sit down and celebrate life with Him. We just have to be willing to listen to the words of our resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ. Jesus tells us, as we sit around the fire, that He has some work for us to do. It’s time to cast our nets and feed those who we bring in. As a church, it’s time to cast our nets and be the church that God needs us to be. As disciples, it’s time to cast our nets and sit with God’s people.

Conclusion:

Now, this is a great story. It is a miracle story. It is a story that can speak to each and every one of us. It is not a story about a lack of faith or a refusal to do the mission. Jesus did not fuss at the disciples. Jesus does not tell them that they were without faith or devotion. It is important for us to understand this so we can understand the truths of this story. Jesus does not criticize them for going back to what they knew best – fishing. Jesus helps them, instead. Jesus teaches them that there are some things that He can see that they cannot. Jesus teaches them that they need Him to be successful no matter what they are doing and that He is more than willing to help them. From their advantage point they couldn’t see the fish. They were right there within a few feet of them, but they couldn’t see them. However, Jesus could. Jesus can see things that we can’t see. We need Jesus to open our eyes so that we can be the lighthouse in our community.

All night long those disciples had searched and searched for those fish. All night long they had thrown their nets, they had discussed different strategies and they had visited all the good places they had used in the past. Nothing they had done however was successful. We may not understand everything or be able to see everything.  And that’s okay. We are not supposed to have that ability. But Our Risen Savior – Jesus the Messiah does. Jesus has the ability to see everything. Jesus has the ability to lead us in the right direction. Jesus knows where the fish are, who the right person is to be in leadership, and what direction we need to be traveling. Jesus knows everything and Jesus will lead us to Victory and Celebration.

Jesus can see what we can’t. Jesus has victories and successes for us that are more than we can even imagine. We just have to be willing to cast our nets on the right side of the boat. Are you willing to cast your net and feed the people? Are you willing to become the church that Jesus needs us to be? Are you will take risks and to live in the present and not in the past? Are you ready to see what Jesus sees? The choice is yours…

Closing Prayer:

            Let Us Pray…Dear Lord, Jesus, help us to see what you want us to see. Help us to have the strength to listen to your commands. And helps us to not be afraid to cast our nets and to be the church and disciples you need us to be. In your name we pray, Amen.

 

Benediction:

The time has come to cast your net. The time has come to feed the people. And the time has come to realize that the past is the past and today is here and tomorrow is just around the corner. Are you willing to cast your net and build this church? In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, go, transforming lives as you live well and wisely in God’s world. Amen. Amen. Amen.