Gospel for June 18, 2023

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Matthew 9:35-10:8
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Jesus appears to have a very deliberate vision for his ministry.  His movements from the beginning of his ministry reveal careful planning:

• He inaugurates his ministry when he is baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan — and his divine credentials are certified by the descent of the Holy Spirit and the voice of the Father, affirming: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (see Matthew 3:16-17).
• He is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. The description that he is led by the Spirit could easily be a covering description of all of his ministry from this point on.  And his ordeal in the wilderness prepares him for the challenges to come (see Matthew 4:1-11).
• He begins his preaching ministry in Galilee, and calls the first four disciples to leave their fishing nets and fish for people. He then begins a busy campaign throughout the towns and villages of Galilee, beginning in the synagogues — preaching, teaching and healing.  His initial message is simple and direct:
  Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand (see Matthew 4:12-25).
• Drawn by his preaching, and especially the extraordinary reports of his ministry of healing and exorcism of demons, great crowds begin to be drawn to him. This provides the audience and the occasion for his first major teaching narrative in the Gospel of Matthew — The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7).
• In Matthew 8 and 9, we see Jesus engaged in particular miracles —cleansing a leper, healing a Roman centurion’s servant of paralysis (from a distance, no less!), healing Simon Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever.  He also calms a storm while he and the disciples are crossing the Sea of Galilee in a fishing boat.  And he begins to clarify for those who wish to become his followers that there is a cost to discipleship.
• Tensions are also developing — when he casts a multitude of demons out of a hapless Gentile into a herd of pigs in the pagan district in the Gergesenes, the people beg him to leave, presumably because they are terrified (Matthew 8:28-34).  The Pharisees are beginning to question his authority with increasing criticism, and also question the company that he keeps with tax collectors and sinners (Matthew 9:1-13).  Even John the Baptist’s followers question why he doesn’t fast like they do! (Matthew 9:14-17).
• All of these events culminate in several signature healings — the woman who has had an issue of blood for twelve years; Jairus’ twelve-year-old daughter whom he raises from the dead; two blind men receive their sight; and a demon is cast out of a mute man, who then is able to speak. The Pharisees react to all of this with a damning accusation:
  By the prince of the demons, he casts out demons. (Matthew 9:18-34).

All of these events bring Jesus and his disciples to this moment in today’s Gospel lection:

Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.  But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.

Jesus is active and busy with his ministry, and he is driven by his compassion.  He sees that he himself is the shepherd of these multitudes, but they are harassed by sickness, demons, and their sins, and they are scattered like a flock of sheep pursued by wolves or thieves.

It is time for the next phase of his ministry plan. First, he exhorts his own disciples to pray:

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest indeed is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Pray therefore that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into his harvest.”

This is a powerful metaphor.  Jesus sees that there are multitudes who are in need of ministry (the plentiful harvest), but he will need reinforcements in order to reach them (the harvesters).

Second, he begins to answer his own command to pray for laborers:

 He called to himself his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness.

We are introduced by name to the twelve who will form the nucleus of his new “Kingdom Movement.”  And he is giving them authority to do exactly what he has been doing. He is multiplying his ministry exponentially.

At this stage of their ministry, though, the disciples are restricted to working among the Jews.  He expressly says that they are not to go among the Gentiles or even enter their cities.  This is interesting because he himself has ministered to a Roman Gentile, and gone into the district of the Gergesenes.  Clearly, this is an interim step in their “internship.”  At the end, they will be told to go and make disciples of all nations — but not yet.

They are to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel for the time being.  This seems to be consistent with the step-by-step goals of Jesus.  He recognizes that he is the fulfillment of the Hebrew law and prophets (Matthew 5:17-20).  Israel was a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:6) who were originally called to be a light to the Gentiles for the salvation of the earth (Isaiah 49:6).  Therefore, his first mission is to reform and renew Israel by calling them to repentance. Bear in mind that the disciples were all Jews sent to preach to their fellow Jews.

Finally, he tells them how they are to minister — by following his example:

As you go, preach, saying, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons.

All of this is possible because of his grace.  As they have received forgiveness, healing, and hope from him, so they are to give:

Freely you received, so freely give.

APPLY:  

Perhaps the best place to begin with the application of this passage to our lives is with the last sentence of the Gospel lectionary reading:

Freely you received, so freely give.

This sentence is packed with both doctrine and practice.  We have received God’s grace as a free gift.  With that gift come forgiveness, wholeness, spiritual growth, spiritual gifts, the fruits of the Spirit, and — as the saying goes — “all this and heaven too!”

The most natural response when we receive God’s grace is in turn to share what we have received with others.  This is the sign of healthy disciples.

And we also receive in this passage guidance about how we are to follow the model of ministry provided by Jesus:

• First, we are to diagnose the need. Like the people of Jesus’ time, people of our time are also harassed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.
• Second, we are to pray for laborers who will help to bring in the plentiful harvest of people who desperately need hope and healing. And we must be aware that as we pray for those laborers we may become the answer to our own prayers, as God calls us to be laborers!
• Third, those who are called to be in ministry have a clear mandate from Jesus — to preach the Gospel that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Moreover, we are to demonstrate this Gospel through healing the sick, cleansing the lepers (those who are outcasts and pariahs), and casting out demons.

This is the message and the method that spread the Gospel from a provincial city in Roman-occupied Judea throughout the entire Roman Empire, and even beyond.  By 313 A.D. Christianity was recognized as a legal religion in the Roman Empire, and soon became the dominant religion in the Empire!  And adherents to Christianity now comprise one third of the entire global population.

RESPOND: 

I took part in an ongoing ministry colloquium some years ago. One of the requirements of the class was that we all had to write a “ministry plan” according to certain specifications.  I found myself a little unenthusiastic, to be honest.

For one thing, I thought we already had a “ministry plan!”  When I read Matthew 9:35-10:8, and the Great Commission in Matthew 28:16-20, and Acts 1:8, and other passages from Scripture, I see the definite shape of a “ministry plan.”

A few years ago I developed a small group ministry in my church, based in part on the old Methodist Classmeetings. (My groups were called “ABCD Groups” because they were the “ABC’s” of discipleship — Accountability, Bible Study, Caring, Doing.  For more information, please click on this link: ABCD’s of Wesleyan Discipleship).

But in fact, I hoped that my model went back much farther than that, to the small group that we know as the “Twelve Disciples.”  Jesus gathered the twelve, and then spent time discipling them — teaching them by word and example how they were to preach and offer ministry in his name.  And then he sent them out to do just that!

And it is very important to remember that these fishermen and carpenters, and a tax collector, all had names and personalities:

Simon, who is called Peter; Andrew, his brother; James the son of Zebedee; John, his brother; Philip; Bartholomew; Thomas; Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus; Lebbaeus, who was also called Thaddaeus;  Simon the Canaanite; and Judas Iscariot.

Not to neglect the feminine followers of Jesus:

With him were the twelve, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out; and Joanna, the wife of Chuzas, Herod’s steward; Susanna; and many others; who served them from their possessions (Luke 8:1-3).

Jesus had a small group ministry and a preaching and feeding and healing ministry with the multitudes.  That still seems to be a pretty good model of a “ministry plan” to me.

Lord, you call us to follow you as your disciples, and you teach us and form our faith, and then send us out.  May we continue to have your compassion for the sheep who are without a shepherd, and we do pray that you, the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into your harvest. Amen. 

PHOTOS:
"Matthew 9:37" by Baptist Union of Great Britain is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Gospel for May 1, 2022

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
John 21:1-19
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

In John’s Gospel this is the third resurrection appearance of Jesus.

Again, we have a few differences between John and the three “Synoptic Gospels.”  In Mark and Luke, the appearances of Jesus occur in Emmaus and in Jerusalem. And it is from the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem that Jesus ascends into heaven, according to the Gospel of Luke. Matthew describes Jesus meeting with his disciples in Galilee at a designated mountain, where he issues his Great Commission.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus’ initial appearance to Mary is at the garden tomb near Jerusalem, and in the room in Jerusalem where the disciples are gathered. But in today’s passage, seven of the disciples have made their way to the Sea of Galilee, some 70 miles away.  If the average walking speed of a man is approximately 3 miles an hour, this would take about 23 hours — at least a three days journey!

How do we explain this little excursion, when Luke tells us that Jesus ends his post-resurrection appearances with the ascension forty days after he has been raised?

I know that many modern scholars tell us to avoid harmonizing the Gospels, so that each Gospel can maintain its own unique integrity as an account of the life of Jesus.  I agree that each Gospel must be read and studied on its own terms — however, looking at the four Gospels as a whole can help provide hints as to the flow of the life of Jesus. And I believe that for the sake of Biblical theology we need to use all the resources at our disposal.

Concerning the events John describes — a trip of three days to Galilee, a visit there of even a week or more, and a three-day return trip is very conceivable when we consider Luke’s time frame between the resurrection and ascension of Jesus in the book of Acts:

After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3).

Forty days is ample time for the kind of excursion to Galilee that both Matthew and John’s Gospels describe.

We note that not all twelve of the disciples seem to have made the trip.  Or at least, only six of the disciples decided to go along with Simon Peter when he said,

“I am going fishing.”

Another interesting note — those who accompanied Peter in the boat were likely experienced fishermen.  Simon Peter and the two sons of Zebedee (James and John) of course were fishermen.  According to tradition, Thomas was a carpenter.  But others are of the opinion that Thomas and Nathaniel were both fishermen as well. We are not told the identity of the two other disciples.  Was one of them Andrew the brother of Simon Peter? If so, he also was a fisherman.

In all likelihood, these seven were returning, at least temporarily, to an occupation that they knew well.  So this adds a little irony to John’s observation:

They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

I have a theory that might explain why they fished at night, not only here but also in Luke 5:5.  I once observed when visiting in Sicily that fishermen came out at night, and shone bright lights down into the water so they could see where the fish were.  It may explain how the disciples fished — using torchlight to draw the fish to the surface so they could net them and draw them up out of the water.

Except this time it is the Light of the World who will draw the fish out!  Jesus, unrecognizable perhaps because of the 100-yard distance from the shore, calls out to the disciples.  He knows that they have caught nothing, and tells 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.

Again, this passage reminds us of the account in the Gospel of Luke that occurred at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry.  Jesus encounters Simon Peter one morning after a long night’s futile fishing.  Simon is on one of two boats just offshore, and Jesus tells him then to put out into deep water for a catch.  Simon seems almost sarcastic:

“Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets” (Luke 5:5).

Of course, we know what happens.  Their nets pulled in such a haul of fish that the two boats were almost swamped!

Surely, when the disciple whom Jesus loved saw the parallels between these two events, his faith led him to conclude it could be no one else:

That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”

Simon Peter remains true to type. He is as impulsive as ever, prone to grand gestures.  In the earlier account of the miraculous catch of fish, Simon Peter was convicted of his own shortcomings:

…he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8).

Just as when he saw Jesus walking on water in Luke’s Gospel (Luke 9:28-33) and impulsively jumped out of the boat, so he does in this instance:

When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea.

We see a little flash of John’s sense of humor here, I think:

 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.

The scene is one that seems so ordinary, and yet is so extraordinary.  Jesus has made a charcoal fire, and he is grilling fish and bread.  He encourages them to bring some of the fish they have caught and add them to the mess.  The risen Christ is cooking their breakfast!

Some commentators have sought a deeper meaning to the specificity of John:

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.

It may be that there is no deeper, allegorical meaning to this number; it may have simply been John’s habit as a fisherman to account for the catch for business purposes!

One thing was perfectly clear to all seven of them:

 Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord.

Finally in this passage we have one of the most poignant conversations in all of Scripture.  After they have eaten the bread and the fish, Jesus directs the famous question to Simon Peter:

 “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

Simon Peter answers quickly:

“Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”

What makes this exchange so poignant is that Jesus asks this question three times.  Three times Simon Peter says you know that I love you.  And each time Jesus says feed my lambs or feed my sheep.

Simon Peter has a profoundly emotional reaction to this dialogue:

Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”

We cannot help but think of the events in Jerusalem when Jesus was arrested.  Simon Peter had been accosted three times by bystanders and witnesses and accused of following Jesus, and had denied three times that he even knew the man.

The parallels are too close to be coincidental.  Is Jesus allowing Simon Peter to confess his love three times as a kind of therapeutic reversal of his shameful betrayal?  I suspect so.  He is giving Simon Peter the opportunity to renew his commitment and profess his love.

Jesus then makes a prophecy to Simon Peter about what his commitment will mean:

“Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.)

According to tradition, Simon Peter was crucified in Rome as a part of the Emperor Nero’s crackdown on this new Jewish sect called Christianity.

The bottom line for Simon Peter, and for all of the disciples, is this:

 After this he said to him, “Follow me.”

APPLY:  

It seems significant that Jesus doesn’t appear to the disciples in this instance in a glorious manifestation.  He is doing something very ordinary — he is cooking breakfast.

Almost casually, he tells the disciples where they can catch the most fish.  It is then that they recognize him.

Perhaps this is a reminder to us that we won’t necessarily discover the risen Christ in a blaze of light, or a supernatural vision.  We may well discover that he is with us at the breakfast table if we have the kind of faith that the beloved disciple possesses.

And we can hear the same question that Jesus asked Simon Peter if we listen very carefully — Do you love me? If so, feed my sheep.

The true test of our faith in and our love for Jesus isn’t only our feelings or our impulsive acts of worship, but how we serve those whom Jesus loves.  Do we give our time and money to feed the hungry?  Do we share the Gospel and teach those who are hungry for the truth of the Gospel?  Do we serve others according to our gifts and our calling?

RESPOND: 

One of my favorite old movies is My Fair Lady.   It is the story of Eliza Doolittle, a poor girl who sells flowers in London in Edwardian England whose Cockney accent sets her apart as “lower class” in that highly stratified society.  Professor Henry Higgins accepts a challenge from a colleague to teach Eliza “proper” English, and in the process transforms her into a “lady” who dresses and speaks the part at a Ball.

A young man named Freddy falls for her, and in a very memorable scene professes his love for her.  But she is fed up with words:

Don’t talk of stars, burning above
If you’re in love, show me!
Tell me no dreams, filled with desire
If you’re on fire, show me!

If we love Jesus, this is an important challenge.  For me, it is convicting.  I must daily remind myself that my love for Jesus is expressed not only in acts of piety, like prayer, Bible study, fasting, worship, and the like.  I’m pretty good at those. But then, so were the Pharisees.

If I love Jesus, my love must be expressed in acts of mercy.

Lord, how challenging it is to follow you!  It isn’t enough to simply jump out of the boat, or have strong feelings of worship. Give me the power and the opportunity to express my love for you by feeding your sheep.  Amen.

PHOTOS:
"Scena biblica" by Gabriel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Gospel for February 6, 2022

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Luke 5:1-11
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

A NOTE FROM CELESTE LETCHWORTH:

As most of you know, Tom went to be with the Lord in June 2018.

Since the lectionary cycles every 3 years, I am able to copy Tom’s SOAR studies from the archives and post them each week with our current year’s dates.

Tom started this blog in 2014 and he never wrote a Gospel reading SOAR study for Luke 5:1-1, which is the lectionary selection for the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, Year C.

In 2016, the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany was also Transfiguration Sunday, so the lectionary selections for Transfiguration Sunday that year trumped the selections for the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, Year C.

You may want to refer to the following SOARs that I found in the archives:

Click here for The Gospel for April 10, 2016, which is from John 21:1-19. The account of Jesus telling the fishermen how to fish is similar to the account in Luke 5, although it is interesting that the net does not break in John 21. Perhaps because this occurred after the Resurrection? I don’t know. Just the reflections of a layman.

Click here for The Gospel for January 21, 2018, which is from Mark 1:14-20.  Tom writes about the call to be a fisher of people.

Click here for The Gospel for January 22, 2017, which is from Matthew 4:12-23. This is also about fishing for people.

PHOTOS:

“fishers of men” by Leonard J Matthews is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-ND 2.0) license.

Gospel for June 14, 2020

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Matthew 9:35-10:8
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Jesus appears to have a very deliberate vision for his ministry.  His movements from the beginning of his ministry reveal careful planning:

• He inaugurates his ministry when he is baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan — and his divine credentials are certified by the descent of the Holy Spirit and the voice of the Father, affirming:  “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased”(see Matthew 3:16-17).
• He is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. The description that he is led by the Spirit could easily be a covering description of all of his ministry from this point on.  And his ordeal in the wilderness prepares him for the challenges to come (see Matthew 4:1-11).
• He begins his preaching ministry in Galilee, and calls the first four disciples to leave their fishing nets and fish for people. He then begins a busy campaign throughout the towns and villages of Galilee, beginning in the synagogues — preaching, teaching and healing.  His initial message is simple and direct:
  Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand (see Matthew 4:12-25).
• Drawn by his preaching, and especially the extraordinary reports of his ministry of healing and exorcism of demons, great crowds begin to be drawn to him. This provides the audience and the occasion for his first major teaching narrative in the Gospel of Matthew — The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7).
• In Matthew 8 and 9, we see Jesus engaged in particular miracles —cleansing a leper, healing a Roman centurion’s servant of paralysis (from a distance, no less!), healing Simon Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever.  He also calms a storm while he and the disciples are crossing the Sea of Galilee in a fishing boat.  And he begins to clarify for those who wish to become his followers that there is a cost to discipleship.
• Tensions are also developing — when he casts a multitude of demons out of a hapless Gentile into a herd of pigs in the pagan district in the Gergesenes, the people  beg him to leave, presumably because they are terrified (Matthew 8:28-34).  The Pharisees are beginning to question his authority with increasing criticism, and also question the company that he keeps with tax collectors and sinners (Matthew 9:1-13).  Even John the Baptist’s followers question why he doesn’t fast like they do! (Matthew 9:14-17).
• All of these events culminate in several signature healings — the woman who has had an issue of blood for twelve years; Jairus’ twelve year old daughter whom he raises from the dead; two blind men receive their sight; and a demon is cast out of a mute man, who then is able to speak. The Pharisees react to all of this with a damning accusation:
  By the prince of the demons, he casts out demons. (Matthew 9:18-34).

All of these events bring Jesus and his disciples to this moment in today’s Gospel lection:

Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.  But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed  and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.

Jesus is active and busy with his ministry, and he is driven by his compassion.  He sees that he himself is the shepherd of these multitudes, but they are harassed by sickness, demons, and their sins, and they are scattered like a flock of sheep pursued by wolves or thieves.

It is time for the next phase of his ministry plan. First, he exhorts his own disciples to pray:

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest indeed is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Pray therefore that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into his harvest.”

This is a powerful metaphor.  Jesus sees that there are multitudes who are in need of ministry (the plentiful harvest), but he will need reinforcements in order to reach them (the harvesters).

Second,  he begins to answer his own command to pray for laborers:

 He called to himself his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness.

We are introduced by name to the twelve who will form the nucleus of his new “Kingdom Movement.”  And he is giving them authority to do exactly what he has been doing. He is multiplying his ministry exponentially.

At this stage of their ministry, though, the disciples are restricted to working among the Jews.  He expressly says that they are not to go among the Gentiles or even enter their cities.  This is interesting because he himself has ministered to a Roman Gentile, and gone into the district of the Gergesenes.  Clearly, this is an interim step in their “internship.”  At the end, they will be told to go and make disciples of all nations — but not yet.

They are to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel for the time being.  This seems to be consistent with the step-by-step goals of Jesus.  He recognizes that he is the fulfillment of the Hebrew law and prophets (Matthew 5:17-20).  Israel was a  kingdom of priests  (Exodus 19:6) who were originally called to be a light to the Gentiles for the salvation of the earth (Isaiah 49:6).  Therefore, his first mission is to reform and renew Israel by calling them to repentance. Bear in mind that the disciples were all Jews sent to preach to their fellow Jews.

Finally, he tells them how they are to minister — by following his example:

As you go, preach, saying, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons.

All of this is possible because of his  grace.  As they have received forgiveness, healing, and hope from him, so they are to give:

Freely you received, so freely give.

APPLY:  

Perhaps the best place to begin with the application of this passage to our lives is with the last sentence of the Gospel lectionary reading:

Freely you received, so freely give.

This sentence is packed with both doctrine and practice.  We have received God’s grace as a free gift.  With that gift come forgiveness, wholeness, spiritual growth, spiritual gifts, the fruits of the Spirit, and — as the saying goes — “all this and heaven too!”

The most natural response when we receive God’s grace is in turn to share what we have received with others.  This is the sign of healthy disciples.

And we also receive in this passage guidance about how we are to follow the model of ministry provided by Jesus:

• First, we are to diagnose the need. Like the people of Jesus’ time, people of our time are also harassed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.
• Second, we are to pray for laborers who will help to bring in the plentiful harvest of people who desperately need hope and healing. And we must be aware that as we pray for those laborers  we may become the answer to our own prayers, as God calls us to be laborers!
• Third, those who are called to be in ministry have a clear mandate from Jesus — to preach the Gospel that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Moreover, we are to demonstrate this Gospel through healing the sick, cleansing the lepers (those who are outcasts and pariahs), and casting out demons.

This is the message and the method that spread the Gospel from a provincial city in Roman-occupied Judea throughout the entire Roman Empire, and even beyond.  By 313 A.D. Christianity was recognized as a legal religion in the Roman Empire, and soon became the dominant religion in the Empire!  And adherents to Christianity now comprise one third of the entire global population.

RESPOND: 

I took part in an ongoing ministry colloquium some years ago. One of the requirements of the class was that we all had to write a “ministry plan” according to certain specifications.  I found myself a little unenthusiastic, to be honest.

For one thing, I thought we already had a “ministry plan!”  When I read Matthew 9:35 – 10:8, and the Great Commission in Matthew 28:16-20, and Acts 1:8, and other passages from Scripture, I see the definite shape of a “ministry plan.”

A few years ago I developed a small group ministry in my church, based in part on the old Methodist Classmeetings. (My groups were called “ABCD Groups” because they were the “ABC’s” of discipleship —  Accountability, Bible Study, Caring, Doing.  For more information, please click on this link: ABCD’s of Wesleyan Discipleship).

But in fact, I hoped that my model went back much farther than that, to the small group that we know as the “Twelve Disciples.”  Jesus gathered the twelve, and then spent time discipling them — teaching them by word and example how they were to preach and offer ministry in his name.  And then he sent them out to do just that!

And it is very important to remember that these fishermen and carpenters, and a tax collector, all had names and personalities:

Simon, who is called Peter; Andrew, his brother; James the son of Zebedee; John, his brother; Philip; Bartholomew; Thomas; Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus; Lebbaeus, who was also called  Thaddaeus;  Simon the Canaanite; and Judas Iscariot.

Not to neglect the feminine followers of Jesus:

With him were the twelve,  and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out;  and Joanna, the wife of Chuzas, Herod’s steward; Susanna; and many others; who served them from their possessions (Luke 8:1-3).

Jesus had a small group ministry and a preaching and feeding and healing ministry with the multitudes.  That still seems to be a pretty good model of a “ministry plan” to me.

Lord, you call us to follow you as your disciples, and you teach us and form our faith, and then send us out.  May we continue to have your compassion for the sheep who are without a shepherd, and we do  pray that you, the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into your harvest. Amen. 

PHOTOS:
"Matthew 9:37" by Baptist Union of Great Britain is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Gospel for May 5, 2019

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
John 21:1-19
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

In John’s Gospel this is the third resurrection appearance of Jesus.

Again, we have a few differences between John and the three “Synoptic Gospels.”  In Mark and Luke, the appearances of Jesus occur in Emmaus and in Jerusalem. And it is from the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem that Jesus ascends into heaven, according to the Gospel of Luke.  Matthew describes Jesus meeting with his disciples in Galilee at a designated mountain, where he issues his Great Commission.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus’ initial appearance to Mary is at the garden tomb near Jerusalem, and in the room in Jerusalem where the disciples are gathered. But in today’s passage, seven of the disciples have made their way to the Sea of Galilee, some 70 miles away.  If the average walking speed of a man is approximately 3 miles an hour, this would take about 23 hours — at least a three days journey!

How do we explain this little excursion, when Luke tells us that Jesus ends his post-resurrection appearances with the ascension forty days after he has been raised?

I know that many modern scholars tell us to avoid harmonizing the Gospels, so that each Gospel can maintain its own unique integrity as an account of the life of Jesus.  I agree that each Gospel must be read and studied on its own terms — however, looking at the four Gospels as a whole can help provide hints as to the flow of the life of Jesus. And I believe that for the sake of Biblical theology we need to use all the resources at our disposal.

Concerning the events John describes — a trip of three days to Galilee, a visit there of even a week or more, and a three-day return trip is very conceivable when we consider Luke’s time frame between the resurrection and ascension of Jesus in the book of Acts:

After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3).

Forty days is ample time for the kind of excursion to Galilee that both Matthew and John’s Gospels describe.

We note that not all twelve of the disciples seem to have made the trip.  Or at least, only six of the disciples decided to go along with Simon Peter when he said,

“I am going fishing.”

Another interesting note — those who accompanied Peter in the boat were likely experienced fishermen.  Simon Peter and the two sons of Zebedee (James and John) of course were fishermen.  According to tradition, Thomas was a carpenter.  But others are of the opinion that Thomas and Nathaniel were both fishermen as well. We are not told the identity of the two other disciples.  Was one of them Andrew the brother of Simon Peter? If so, he also was a fisherman.

In all likelihood, these seven were returning, at least temporarily, to an occupation that they knew well.  So this adds a little irony to John’s observation:

They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

I have a theory that might explain why they fished at night, not only here but also in Luke 5:5.  I once observed when visiting in Sicily that fishermen came out at night, and shone bright lights down into the water so they could see where the fish were.  It may explain how the disciples fished — using torchlight to draw the fish to the surface so they could net them and draw them up out of the water.

Except this time it is the Light of the World who will draw the fish out!  Jesus, unrecognizable perhaps because of the 100-yard distance from the shore, calls out to the disciples.  He knows that they have caught nothing, and tells 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.

Again, this passage reminds us of the account in the Gospel of Luke that occurred at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry.  Jesus encounters Simon Peter one morning after a long night’s futile fishing.  Simon is on one of two boats just offshore, and Jesus tells him then to put out into deep water for a catch.  Simon seems almost sarcastic:

“Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets” (Luke 5:5).

Of course, we know what happens.  Their nets pulled in such a haul of fish that the two boats were almost swamped!

Surely, when the disciple whom Jesus loved saw the parallels between these two events, his faith led him to conclude it could be no one else:

That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”

Simon Peter remains true to type. He is as impulsive as ever, prone to grand gestures.  In the earlier account of the miraculous catch of fish, Simon Peter was convicted of his own shortcomings:

…he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8).

Just as when he saw Jesus walking on water in Luke’s Gospel (Luke 9:28-33) and impulsively jumped out of the boat, so he does in this instance:

When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea.

We see a little flash of John’s sense of humor here, I think:

 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.

The scene is one that seems so ordinary, and yet is so extraordinary.  Jesus has made a charcoal fire, and he is grilling fish and bread.  He encourages them to bring some of the fish they have caught and add them to the mess.  The risen Christ is cooking their breakfast!

Some commentators have sought a deeper meaning to the specificity of John:

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.

It may be that there is no deeper, allegorical meaning to this number; it may have simply been John’s habit as a fisherman to account for the catch for business purposes!

One thing was perfectly clear to all seven of them:

 Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord.

Finally in this passage we have one of the most poignant conversations in all of Scripture.  After they have eaten the bread and the fish, Jesus directs the famous question to Simon Peter:

 “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

Simon Peter answers quickly:

“Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”

What makes this exchange so poignant is that Jesus asks this question three times.  Three times Simon Peter says you know that I love you.  And each time Jesus says feed my lambs or feed my sheep.

Simon Peter has a profoundly emotional reaction to this dialogue:

Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”

We cannot help but think of the events in Jerusalem when Jesus was arrested.  Simon Peter had been accosted three times by bystanders and witnesses and accused of following Jesus, and had denied three times that he even knew the man.

The parallels are too close to be coincidental.  Is Jesus allowing Simon Peter to confess his love three times as a kind of therapeutic reversal of his shameful betrayal?  I suspect so.  He is giving Simon Peter the opportunity to renew his commitment and profess his love.

Jesus then makes a prophecy to Simon Peter about what his commitment will mean:

“Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.)

According to tradition, Simon Peter was crucified in Rome as a part of the Emperor Nero’s crackdown on this new Jewish sect called Christianity.

The bottom line for Simon Peter, and for all of the disciples, is this:

 After this he said to him, “Follow me.”

APPLY:  

It seems significant that Jesus doesn’t appear to the disciples in this instance in a glorious manifestation.  He is doing something very ordinary — he is cooking breakfast.

Almost casually, he tells the disciples where they can catch the most fish.  It is then that they recognize him.

Perhaps this is a reminder to us that we won’t necessarily discover the risen Christ in a blaze of light, or a supernatural vision.  We may well discover that he is with us at the breakfast table if we have the kind of faith that the beloved disciple possesses.

And we can hear the same question that Jesus asked Simon Peter if we listen very carefully — Do you love me? If so, feed my sheep.

The true test of our faith in and our love for Jesus isn’t only our feelings or our impulsive acts of worship, but how we serve those whom Jesus loves.  Do we give our time and money to feed the hungry?  Do we share the Gospel and teach those who are hungry for the truth of the Gospel?  Do we serve others according to our gifts and our calling?

RESPOND: 

One of my favorite old movies is My Fair Lady.   It is the story of Eliza Doolittle, a poor girl who sells flowers in London in Edwardian England whose Cockney accent sets her apart as “lower class” in that highly stratified society.  Professor Henry Higgins accepts a challenge from a colleague to teach Eliza “proper” English, and in the process transforms her into a “lady” who dresses and speaks the part at a Ball.

A young man named Freddy falls for her, and in a very memorable scene professes his love for her.  But she is fed up with words:

Don’t talk of stars, burning above
If you’re in love, show me!
Tell me no dreams, filled with desire
If you’re on fire, show me!

If we love Jesus, this is an important challenge.  For me, it is convicting.  I must daily remind myself that my love for Jesus is expressed not only in acts of piety, like prayer, Bible study, fasting, worship, and the like.  I’m pretty good at those. But then, so were the Pharisees.

If I love Jesus, my love must be expressed in acts of mercy.

Lord, how challenging it is to follow you!  It isn’t enough to simply jump out of the boat, or have strong feelings of worship. Give me the power and the opportunity to express my love for you by feeding your sheep.  Amen.

PHOTOS:
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Gospel for February 10, 2019

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Luke 5:1-11
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

A NOTE FROM CELESTE LETCHWORTH:

As most of you know, Tom went to be with the Lord 7 months ago.

Since the lectionary cycles every 3 years, I am able to copy Tom’s SOAR studies from the archives and post them each week with our current year’s dates.

However — since February 7, 2016 was Transfiguration Sunday, the lectionary passages for that Sunday don’t match the passages for February 10, 2019.

I am unable to find a SOAR for Luke 5:1-11. It’s not been a lectionary selection since Tom started this blog at the end of 2014.  You may want to refer to the following SOARs that I found in the archives:

Click here for The Gospel for April 10, 2016, which is from John 21:1-19. The account of Jesus telling the fishermen how to fish is similar to the account in Luke 5, although it is interesting that the net does not break in John 21. Perhaps because this occurred after the Resurrection? I don’t know. Just the reflections of a layman.

Click here for The Gospel for January 21, 2018, which is from Mark 1:14-20.  Tom writes about the call to be a fisher of people.

Click here for The Gospel for January 22, 2017, which is from Matthew 4:12-23. This is also about fishing for people.

PHOTOS:

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Gospel for June 18, 2017

START WITH SCRIPTURE:

Matthew 9:35-10:8

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Jesus appears to have a very deliberate vision for his ministry.  His movements from the beginning of his ministry reveal careful planning:

• He inaugurates his ministry when he is baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan — and his divine credentials are certified by the descent of the Holy Spirit and the voice of the Father, affirming:  “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased”(see Matthew 3:16-17).
• He is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. The description that he is led by the Spirit could easily be a covering description of all of his ministry from this point on.  And his ordeal in the wilderness prepares him for the challenges to come (see Matthew 4:1-11).
• He begins his preaching ministry in Galilee, and calls the first four disciples to leave their fishing nets and fish for people. He then begins a busy campaign throughout the towns and villages of Galilee, beginning in the synagogues — preaching, teaching and healing.  His initial message is simple and direct:
  Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand (see Matthew 4:12-25).
• Drawn by his preaching, and especially the extraordinary reports of his ministry of healing and exorcism of demons, great crowds begin to be drawn to him. This provides the audience and the occasion for his first major teaching narrative in the Gospel of Matthew — The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7).
• In Matthew 8 and 9, we see Jesus engaged in particular miracles —cleansing a leper, healing a Roman centurion’s servant of paralysis (from a distance, no less!), healing Simon Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever.  He also calms a storm while he and the disciples are crossing the Sea of Galilee in a fishing boat.  And he begins to clarify for those who wish to become his followers that there is a cost to discipleship.
• Tensions are also developing — when he casts a multitude of demons out a hapless Gentile into a herd of pigs in the pagan district in the Gergesenes, the people  beg him to leave, presumably because they are terrified (Matthew 8:28-34).  The Pharisees are beginning to question his authority with increasing criticism, and also question the company that he keeps with tax collectors and sinners (Matthew 9:1-13).  Even John the Baptist’s followers question why he doesn’t fast like they do! (Matthew 9:14-17).
• All of these events culminate in several signature healings — the woman who has had an issue of blood for twelve years; Jairus’ twelve year old daughter whom he raises from the dead; two blind men receive their sight; and a demon is cast out of a mute man, who then is able to speak. The Pharisees react to all of this with a damning accusation:
  By the prince of the demons, he casts out demons. (Matthew 9:18-34).

All of these events bring Jesus and his disciples to this moment in today’s Gospel lection:

Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.  But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed  and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.

Jesus is active and busy with his ministry, and he is driven by his compassion.  He sees that he himself is the shepherd of these multitudes, but they are harassed by sickness, demons, and their sins, and they are scattered like a flock of sheep pursued by wolves or thieves.

It is time for the next phase of his ministry plan. First, he exhorts his own disciples to pray:

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest indeed is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Pray therefore that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into his harvest.”

This is a powerful metaphor.  Jesus sees that there are multitudes who are in need of ministry (the plentiful harvest), but he will need reinforcements in order to reach them (the harvesters).

Second,  he begins to answer his own command to pray for laborers:

 He called to himself his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness.

We are introduced by name to the twelve who will form the nucleus of his new “Kingdom Movement.”  And he is giving them authority to do exactly what he has been doing. He is multiplying his ministry exponentially.

At this stage of their ministry, though, the disciples are restricted to working among the Jews.  He expressly says that they are not to go among the Gentiles or even enter their cities.  This is interesting because he himself has ministered to a Roman Gentile, and gone into the district of the Gergesenes.  Clearly, this is an interim step in their “internship.”  At the end, they will be told to go and make disciples of all nations — but not yet.

They are to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel for the time being.  This seems to be consistent with the step-by-step goals of Jesus.  He recognizes that he is the fulfillment of the Hebrew law and prophets (Matthew 5:17-20).  Israel was a  kingdom of priests  (Exodus 19:6) who were originally called to be a light to the Gentiles for the salvation of the earth (Isaiah 49:6).  Therefore, his first mission is to reform and renew Israel by calling them to repentance. Bear in mind that the disciples were all Jews sent to preach to their fellow Jews.

Finally, he tells them how they are to minister — by following his example:

As you go, preach, saying, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons.

All of this is possible because of his  grace.  As they have received forgiveness, healing, and hope from him, so they are to give:

Freely you received, so freely give.

APPLY:  

Perhaps the best place to begin with the application of this passage to our lives is with the last sentence of the Gospel lectionary reading:

Freely you received, so freely give.

This sentence is packed with both doctrine and practice.  We have received God’s grace as a free gift.  With that gift come forgiveness, wholeness, spiritual growth, spiritual gifts, the fruits of the Spirit, and — as the saying goes — “all this and heaven too!”

The most natural response when we receive God’s grace is in turn to share what we have received with others.  This is the sign of healthy disciples.

And we also receive in this passage guidance about how we are to follow the model of ministry provided by Jesus:

• First, we are to diagnose the need. Like the people of Jesus’ time, people of our time are also harassed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.
• Second, we are to pray for laborers who will help to bring in the plentiful harvest of people who desperately need hope and healing. And we must be aware that as we pray for those laborers  we may become the answer to our own prayers, as God calls us to be laborers!
• Third, those who are called to be in ministry have a clear mandate from Jesus — to preach the Gospel that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Moreover, we are to demonstrate this Gospel through healing the sick, cleansing the lepers (those who are outcasts and pariahs), and casting out demons.

This is the message and the method that spread the Gospel from a provincial city in Roman-occupied Judea throughout the entire Roman Empire, and even beyond.  By 313 A.D. Christianity was recognized as a legal religion in the Roman Empire, and soon became the dominant religion in the Empire!  And adherents to Christianity now comprise one third of the entire global population.

RESPOND: 

I took part in an ongoing ministry colloquium some years ago. One of the requirements of the class was that we all had to write a “ministry plan” according to certain specifications.  I found myself a little unenthusiastic, to be honest.

For one thing, I thought we already had a “ministry plan!”  When I read Matthew 9:35 – 10:8, and the Great Commission in Matthew 28:16-20, and Acts 1:8, and other passages from Scripture, I see the definite shape of a “ministry plan.”

A few years ago I developed a small group ministry in my church, based in part on the old Methodist Classmeetings. (My groups were called “ABCD Groups” because they were the “ABC’s” of discipleship —  Accountability, Bible Study, Caring, Doing.  For more information, please click on this link: ABCD’s of Wesleyan Discipleship).

But in fact, I hoped that my model went back much farther than that, to the small group that we know as the “Twelve Disciples.”  Jesus gathered the twelve, and then spent time discipling them, teaching them by word and example how they were to preach and offer ministry in his name.  And then he sent them out to do just that!

And it is very important to remember that these fishermen and carpenters, and a tax collector, all had names and personalities:

Simon, who is called Peter; Andrew, his brother; James the son of Zebedee; John, his brother; Philip; Bartholomew; Thomas; Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus; Lebbaeus, who was also called  Thaddaeus;  Simon the Canaanite; and Judas Iscariot.

Not to neglect the feminine followers of Jesus:

With him were the twelve,  and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out;  and Joanna, the wife of Chuzas, Herod’s steward; Susanna; and many others; who served them from their possessions (Luke 8:1-3).

Jesus had a small group ministry and a preaching and feeding and healing ministry with the multitudes.  That still seems to be a pretty good model to me.

Lord, you call us to follow you as your disciples, and you teach us and form our faith, and then send us out.  May we continue to have your compassion for the sheep who are without a shepherd, and we do  pray that you, the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into your harvest. Amen. 

PHOTOS:
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Gospel for April 10, 2016

START WITH SCRIPTURE:

John 21:1-19

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

In John’s Gospel this is the third resurrection appearance of Jesus.

Again, we have a few differences between John and the three “Synoptic Gospels.”  In Mark and Luke, the appearances of Jesus occur in Emmaus and in Jerusalem. And it is from the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem that Jesus ascends into heaven, according to the Gospel of Luke.  Matthew describes Jesus meeting with his disciples in Galilee at a designated mountain, where he issues his Great Commission.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus’ initial appearance to Mary is at the garden tomb near Jerusalem, and in the room in Jerusalem where the disciples are gathered. But in today’s passage, seven of the disciples have made their way to the Sea of Galilee, some 70 miles away.  If the average walking speed of a man is approximately 3 miles an hour, this would take about 23 hours — at least a three days journey!

How do we explain this little excursion, when Luke tells us that Jesus ends his post-resurrection appearances with the ascension forty days after he has been raised?

I know that many modern scholars tell us to avoid harmonizing the Gospels, so that each Gospel can maintain its own unique integrity as an account of the life of Jesus.  I agree that each Gospel must be read and studied on its own terms — however, looking at the four Gospels as a whole can help provide hints as to the flow of the life of Jesus. And I believe that for the sake of Biblical theology we need to use all the resources at our disposal.

Concerning the events John describes — a trip of three days to Galilee, a visit there of even a week or more, and a three-day return trip is very conceivable when we consider Luke’s time frame between the resurrection and ascension of Jesus in the book of Acts:

After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3).

Forty days is ample time for the kind of excursion to Galilee that both Matthew and John’s Gospels describe.

We note that not all twelve of the disciples seem to have made the trip.  Or at least, only six of the disciples decided to go along with Simon Peter when he said,

“I am going fishing.”

Another interesting note — those who accompanied Peter in the boat were likely experienced fishermen.  Simon Peter and the two sons of Zebedee (James and John) of course were fishermen.  According to tradition, Thomas was a carpenter.  But others are of the opinion that Thomas and Nathaniel were both fishermen as well. We are not told the identity of the two other disciples.  Was one of them Andrew the brother of Simon Peter? If so, he also was a fisherman.

In all likelihood, these seven were returning, at least temporarily, to an occupation that they knew well.  So this adds a little irony to John’s observation:

They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

I have a theory that might explain why they fished at night, not only here but also in Luke 5:5.  I once observed when visiting in Sicily that fishermen came out at night, and shone bright lights down into the water so they could see where the fish were.  It may explain how the disciples fished — using torchlight to draw the fish to the surface so they could net them and draw them up out of the water.

Except this time it is the Light of the World who will draw the fish out!  Jesus, unrecognizable perhaps because of the 100-yard distance from the shore, calls out to the disciples.  He knows that they have caught nothing, and tells 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.

Again, this passage reminds us of the account in the Gospel of Luke that occurred at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry.  Jesus encounters Simon Peter one morning after a long night’s futile fishing.  Simon is on one of two boats just offshore, and Jesus tells him then to put out into deep water for a catch.  Simon seems almost sarcastic:

“Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets” (Luke 5:5).

Of course, we know what happens.  Their nets pulled in such a haul of fish that the two boats were almost swamped!

Surely, when the  disciple whom Jesus loved saw the parallels between these two events, his faith led him to conclude it could be no one else:

That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”

Simon Peter remains true to type. He is as impulsive as ever, prone to grand gestures.  In the earlier account of the miraculous catch of fish, Simon Peter was convicted of his own shortcomings:

…he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8).

Just as when he saw Jesus walking on water in Luke’s Gospel (Luke 9:28-33) and impulsively jumped out of the boat, so he does in this instance:

When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea.

We see a little flash of John’s sense of humor here, I think:

 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.

The scene is one that seems so ordinary, and yet is so extraordinary.  Jesus has made a charcoal fire, and he is grilling fish and bread.  He encourages them to bring some of the fish they have caught and add them to the mess.  The risen Christ is cooking their breakfast!

Some commentators have sought a deeper meaning to the specificity of John:

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.

It may be that there is no deeper, allegorical meaning to this number; it may have simply been John’s habit as a fisherman to account for the catch for business purposes!

One thing was perfectly clear to all seven of them:

 Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord.

Finally in this passage we have one of the most poignant conversations in all of Scripture.  After they have eaten the bread and the fish, Jesus directs the famous question to Simon Peter:

 “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

Simon Peter answers quickly:

“Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”

What makes this exchange so poignant is that Jesus asks this question three times.  Three times Simon Peter says you know that I love you.  And each time Jesus says feed my lambs or feed my sheep.

Simon Peter has a profoundly emotional reaction to this dialogue:

Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”

We cannot help but think of the events in Jerusalem when Jesus was arrested.  Simon Peter had been accosted three times by bystanders and witnesses and accused of following Jesus, and had denied three times that he even knew the man.

The parallels are too close to be coincidental.  Is Jesus allowing Simon Peter to confess his love three times as a kind of therapeutic reversal of his shameful betrayal?  I suspect so.  He is giving Simon Peter the opportunity to renew his commitment and profess his love.

Jesus then makes a prophecy to Simon Peter about what his commitment will mean:

“Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.)

According to tradition, Simon Peter was crucified in Rome as a part of the Emperor Nero’s crackdown on this new Jewish sect called Christianity.

The bottom line for Simon Peter, and for all of the disciples, is this:

 After this he said to him, “Follow me.”

APPLY:  

It seems significant that Jesus doesn’t appear to the disciples in this instance in a glorious manifestation.  He is doing something very ordinary — he is cooking breakfast.

Almost casually, he tells the disciples where they can catch the most fish.  It is then that they recognize him.

Perhaps this is a reminder to us that we won’t necessarily discover the risen Christ in a blaze of light, or a supernatural vision.  We may well discover that he is with us at the breakfast table if we have the kind of faith that the beloved disciple possesses.

And we can hear the same question that Jesus asked Simon Peter if we listen very carefully:  “Do you love me? If so, feed my sheep.”

The true test of our faith in and our love for Jesus isn’t only our feelings or our impulsive acts of worship, but how we serve those whom Jesus loves.  Do we give our time and money to feed the hungry?  Do we share the Gospel and teach those who are hungry for the truth of the Gospel?  Do we serve others according to our gifts and our calling?

RESPOND: 

One of my favorite old movies is My Fair Lady.   It is the story of Eliza Doolittle, a poor girl who sells flowers in London in Edwardian England whose Cockney accent sets her apart as “lower class” in that highly stratified society.  Professor Henry Higgins accepts a challenge from a colleague to teach Eliza “proper” English, and in the process transforms her into a “lady” who dresses and speaks the part at a Ball.

A young man named Freddy falls for her, and in a very memorable scene professes his love for her.  But she is fed up with words:

Don’t talk of stars, burning above
If you’re in love, show me!
Tell me no dreams, filled with desire
If you’re on fire, show me!

If we love Jesus, this is an important challenge.  For me, it is convicting.  I must daily remind myself that my love for Jesus is expressed not only in acts of piety, like prayer, Bible study, fasting, worship, and the like.  I’m pretty good at those. But then, so were the Pharisees.

If I love Jesus, my love must be expressed in acts of mercy.

Lord, how challenging it is to follow you!  It isn’t enough to simply jump out of the boat, or have strong feelings of worship. Give me the power and the opportunity to express my love for you by feeding your sheep.  Amen.

PHOTOS:
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