"It is the Lord!"

John 21:1-14

November 9, 1997

 

Some of the best insights into the Christian faith come through the vehicle of narrative passages.  Such is the case of our text which helps us to understand the issue of divine revelation.  Our text mentions three times Jesus "manifesting Himself" to the disciples.  The word is common in John's writings and conveys the idea of 'making visible,' or 'making known'.  Our context helps us to understand John's usage in this passage.  For he addresses the appearances of Jesus Christ after the resurrection.  John records Christ's manifestations on resurrection day, then the manifestation to Thomas with the disciples a week later.  Now he records a "third time," that is, a third day in which Christ manifest Himself during the period between His resurrection and ascension.  The manifestation was a divine self-disclosure made to the disciples, but as far as we know, not made to any others.

 

We must see the significance of this in terms of our own relationship to Christ.  These disciples could not see Christ unless He made Himself known to them.  For instance, Luke records that on Resurrection day, Jesus came alongside two disciples on the road to Emmaus, discussing all of the things that were happening in regard to Him.  They did not know who He was even though they were His disciples, until their eyes were opened.  

 

We can think of our own lives in which perhaps for years we read the Word of God and heard it preached and taught, yet did not have a clear comprehension of Jesus Christ in His saving offices.  Then it seemed as if the lights were turned on!  What had been merely an academic understanding of Christ became a living, dynamic relationship.  What happened to bring this about?  Through the Word of God coming alive to us by the Holy Spirit, Christ revealed Himself to us so that we responded in saving faith to this revelation.  

 

Some would suggest that by the solitary means of human reason, they can know the living God.  We do have reasoning powers, which Dr. James Petigru Boyce describes as, "that power in man, which enables him to have mental perceptions, to exercise thought, and reflection, to know facts, to inquire into their mutual relations, and to deduce, logically, the conclusions which may be drawn from them" [Abstract of Systematic Theology, 46].  The problem is that apart from revelation, the human reasoning powers are limited to the natural realm.  In other words, the human ability to reason can contemplate all sorts of matters in this world, but does not have the capacity to understand the saving work of God through Christ--a supernatural work in its origin and effect.  Reasoning powers are important.  But for the salvation of a sinner it is necessary to have more than mere reason.  A man who is dead in his trespasses and sins, separated from God, and a stranger to the promises of God cannot understand the great mystery of the gospel without God's gracious revelation through the Word by the Holy Spirit.

 

Revelation is actually God's gift to us in a special, significant way so that we might trust Jesus Christ for our eternal salvation.  Again I quote Dr. Boyce who states, "By revelation, we mean the knowledge which God conveys by direct supernatural instruction, pre-eminently that given in the book known as the Bible" [47].  Revelation involves the Bible and God Himself.  The Bible is the Word of God, the written record of the revelation of God to man.  But a man can read this written revelation with no effect until the Holy Spirit illumines him to see its truth and to understand its divine Author.

 

This is where we come back to our text.  Though the disciples saw Jesus and heard His voice, they did not know it was Him except through revelation [Luke 24 and John 20 both give good examples of this].  It is God making Himself known through His own self-disclosure; in the case of our text through a visible manifestation, while in our cases, through the Word of God.

 

The revelation of Christ is necessary for faith and perseverance.  When He reveals Himself we cannot remain neutral or passive about the demands of the gospel and the reality of the Christian faith.

 

Why is revelation important?

 

I.  The necessity of revelation

 

We have already seen some of the need for revelation, but I believe it is important to underscore this further.  If we are left to depend simply upon our ability to reason, then with the downward bent of our natures and the constant influence of the world, we can be sure that we will not reason our way to God.  If this was possible, then Paul would never have made such a strong statement as that of Romans 10:17:  "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ."  Faith depends upon divine revelation winging its way through the truth of God's Word to the mind.  Yes, our reasoning powers do engage themselves at this point, but now the basis for response is not in the light of nature or the light of the human mind, but in the revelation of God.

 

In terms of our salvation, I believe this is vital for two reasons.

 

1.  To understand ourselves

 

First, to understand ourselves and our need for the gospel of Christ, we must have revelation from God.  Man will live in self-sufficiency until he is confronted by his own insufficiency before a holy God.

 

We see this illustrated in the simplicity of the story offered in our text.  Seven of the disciples decided to go fishing, all following Peter's lead.  These men were for the most part professional fishermen.  They understood the right places in the Sea of Galilee to catch fish, as well as the right time to find the fish.  John comments, "They went out, and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing."  Commercial fishermen, like these men, were not accustomed to catching nothing.  Now I would not be surprised by this comment if it was made of me!...but certainly not of men who had spent their lives on this body of water catching fish.

 

Then the question comes to them by the Lord Jesus.  "Children, you do not have any fish, do you?"  This was phrased in such a way as to expect a "no" answer.  They gave an honest reply, which seems to be an unusual thing for fishermen.  "They answered Him, "No"."  They had to admit that with all of their skills and experience, they had caught nothing.  They had gone at the best time to catch fish in that area, night time, and they knew how to do it being professionals.  Now they had to admit their lack of sufficiency in doing the job.  No exaggerations, no stretching the truth, no excuses, just honesty in their failure was found in their answer.  

 

I wonder if you have been so honest before the Lord?  How many people labor earnestly in trying to bring about their own salvation, thinking that they will surely accomplish it?  They go through all sorts of ordeals to justify themselves.  When confronted with the question, "Are you saved yet?," they make excuses or ignore the question or convince themselves instead of coming to terms with their own personal insufficiency.  Before the disciples could know that the Lord stood on the shore awaiting them, they had to admit their own deficiency in their labors.  

 

As the Word of God is proclaimed, particularly those passages that have reference to the Law of God or some aspect of God's character, we discover the truth about our own spiritual condition.  We find that we are bankrupt, helpless, and desperate before God as sinners.  It is only at this point that we desire to flee to Christ and find an eternal refuge for our souls.

 

2.  To understand the Lord

 

When you have been with someone day and night for over three years, it seems that you would know the outline of their form and recognize the tone of their voice.  Yet for the disciples, though they had been with Christ, until He manifested Himself to them, they did not know that the Lord stood on the beach.  The same was true of Mary in the garden of the tomb on Resurrection day, as well as true of the two disciples on the Emmaus Road.  

 

John brings this out in his first epistle.  "What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life--and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us" (I John 1:1-2).  You will notice how John speaks of such personal terms as seeing, beholding, and handling, but with the emphasis on the divine self-disclosure:  "and the life was manifested...and was manifested to us."  Others saw Christ but did not know Him.  Others touched Him but received no saving grace from His hand.  John understood that Jesus "was manifested" to him, that is, by God's grace, Jesus Christ was made known to John for who He is and for what He has done for sinners.  

 

Do you really know who Jesus Christ is?  Do you understand that He is very God of very God, the Creator of the universe, the Savior of sinners, the Redeemer of God's elect, the Sovereign over all creation, the Judge of humanity?  Do you understand that Jesus Christ became a man, lived a sinless life, died a bloody, atoning death in vicarious fashion so that He alone is the only way to God and eternal life?  If we can hear these things yet be passive about them, then Jesus has never been truly manifested to us.  If we can repeat them but they have not gripped our heart with a consciousness that God Himself has come to us to save us from our sins, then Jesus has never been truly manifested to us.

 

II.  The process of revelation

 

While seeing the necessity of revelation, we must also give consideration to the process by which Jesus Christ reveals Himself to us.  Again we find it illustrated for us in this simple narrative.

 

1.  Seeing yet not seeing

 

The whole idea of revelation implies that there is something which you do not see or do not know.  We sometimes hear this word used in reference to issues related to legal matters.  Some aspect of evidence that had been unknown or some testimony affecting a court case that had not been heard is considered to be "a revelation" which affects the outcome of legal decisions.  

 

Our text shows the case of the disciples seeing Jesus yet not seeing Him.  They saw with their eyes as Jesus called to them from the beach, but "the disciples did not know that it was Jesus."  We find this to be the case with multitudes across our nation.  So many see the testimony of Christians, hear the preaching of God's Word, witness the wonderful mercies of God, but they really do not see Jesus Christ.  Nothing is wrong with their physical sight or their hearing, but something is desperately wrong with the eyes of their hearts.  They are, as Paul expressed it, "being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart" (Eph. 4:18).  In a companion passage, Paul explains both the condition of seeing yet not seeing and the revelation that comes to us in the gospel of Jesus Christ:

For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.  But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:3-7).


The term I would focus upon is found in the third verse, where he states that God's kindness and love "appeared."  This word is akin to the same term which John uses to describe the manifestation of Christ to the disciples (cf. John 21:1,14).  Paul's testimony is not that God's kindness and love for mankind appeared to all men in a general fashion, rather it is something that was significant, special, personal to him.  He became conscious of the greatness of God's love and mercy to sinners through Jesus Christ.  The condition of the heart is one of being foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to lusts, etc., then at a point in time this revelation of God and His saving mercies through Christ came to him.  He saw yet he did not see until the revelation of the grace of God to him.

 

2.  Hearing and obeying

 

We find the Lord speaking to the disciples, giving instruction on their fishing.  "Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you will find a catch."  We do not find them recoiling at the suggestion of this Stranger who tells them where to cast their nets.  They heard and responded.  Pride did not affect them as you might expect from men who had been fishing all night and had only empty fish baskets to show for it.  They heard and obeyed.  "They cast therefore, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.  That disciple therefore whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord"."  They heard, they obeyed, and then they knew it was the Lord.

 

I do want to be careful in the use of a narrative passage in trying to read more into it than is implied.  But I do believe that given John's emphasis on Jesus manifesting Himself to the disciples in this text, we cannot simply slide over this as though it was another nice story.  It is revelation taking place, showing us the very way that we too receive revelation.

 

Revelation does not come from our initiative but from the Lord's sovereign prerogatives. C.H. Spurgeon stated in one of his sermons on this passage, 

There is absolute sovereignty about the work of Christ in the kingdom of his grace....We have to fall back upon the sovereignty of God, and say, "God wills it, and therefore it is."  He will have us know that sovereignty is his divine prerogative....He exercises his power, not according to our will, but according to his own will; we must never forget that [MTP, vol. 55, 257].


Do we not find ourselves cast upon the mercy of our great God in this whole matter of salvation?  If we are about the business of simply trying to talk someone into a decision for Christ, then we do not need God's revealing work.  But if salvation is truly a work of God, not merely a decision, then we must have God's gracious revelation of Himself to sinners in the work of our evangelism.  God must reveal truth to the heart or we can see nothing of eternal value take place.

 

This should be a warning to those of you who are careless in hearing the proclamation of God's Word.  If God indeed uses His Word to reveal Himself to us, then you dare not ignore what is being proclaimed in the pulpit, taught in the classroom, or presented to you in private settings!  Your whole eternity rests in your response to God's revelation in the gospel.  Have you truly heard the gospel of Christ?  Has it struck fire in your heart, bringing you to conviction of your sin, and convincing you of the merits of Christ alone for your salvation?  If you have so heard, then surely you must obey.  As the disciples heard the simple word to cast their nets on the right side of the boat and they obeyed, how much more should you who have heard the only word that is able to save your souls--the gospel of Christ--obey with a glad heart?  See Jesus Christ as He is revealed in the gospel, then turn from your sin and cast yourself upon Him alone in faith.

 

3.  Receiving and experiencing

 

John adds that something wonderful took place when the disciples heard and obeyed.  They cast their net "and they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish."  Jesus told them where to cast--and they did.  He also assured them of a catch--and they found that His word was sure.  They heard, obeyed, and received His sure promise in abundance.  They had no idea that when they cast their net on the right side of the boat that they would receive such a large amount of fish.  Later John recounts that the fish were large and numbered 153, yet the net was not torn.

 

We have for us such a beautiful picture here of the believer hearing the word of Christ, responding to that word, and then receiving more than he imagined.  You have heard the gospel over and over.  Perhaps you think that it is nothing more than joining some type of movement or deciding to become a religious person.  My friend, I want you to see that when you receive Jesus Christ in all of His saving work you receive more than you can imagine!  You experience the reality of a relationship with the living God through Christ.  The Holy Spirit indwells you.  Your standing with God is now made sure, so that you have access to the throne of God through the righteousness of Christ.  You have the strength and grace necessary to live out the demands of the gospel.  You have the glad assurance of an eternity in the glorious presence of the Triune God!

 

Has Jesus Christ been revealed to you as the only Savior of sinners and the Lord of life?  Do you know Him as your own Prophet, Priest, and King?  Having received Him by faith, do you know the wondrous fullness of life in Christ?

 

III.  The fruit of revelation

 

There is no neutrality with divine revelation.  When the supernatural power of the gospel of Christ operates in you there will be the certainty of fruit being borne.

 

1.  Perceiving divine reality

 

We find that when Christ was revealed to John and Peter, there are two different responses, both expressing their personalities and the wonderful reality of knowing the living Christ.  I think that this is a good example to us of how all of us are different and sometime we express our devotion to Christ in different ways, yet it is still devotion from the heart.  George Hutcheson, the 17th century Scottish pastor, said of this truth:  "In the church of Christ, and even among disciples and apostles, there is great variety of tempers, and dispositions, and endowments; every one hath not alike perfection in the same degree, nor is it to be expected that all will be alike, though all may be sincere and approved; for here John is most eminent in discerning Christ, Peter is most forward in zeal, and yet all do willingly come to Christ" [John, Geneva Commentary Series, 430].

 

We find John confessing Christ.  "That disciple therefore whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord"."  The confession is simple and brief, but one that is full of assurance.  John may not have been able to identify Jesus with his eyes, but he saw the abundance of fish in the net and knew that this had to come about by the Lord.  Sometime we see God's face, other times we see God's hands, but we see Him just the same.  When we do, our response should be to confess Him for Who He is:  "It is the Lord!"  Have you confessed Him as your Lord?

 

We find Peter demonstrating his affection for Christ.  None of the disciples could match Peter for his zeal.  Here was the one who had been so disappointed by his behavior in denying Christ, but now his love burned fresh.  "And so when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea."  Peter's desire was to get to Christ as quickly as possible, to be near the Lord, to enjoy His presence.  A true love for Christ always leads to Christ.  When Peter perceived the revelation of Christ, he immediately sought after him.  We would have thought this a strange thing to do, casting himself into the sea to swim to Christ when the little boat was not that far from shore.  But great love for Christ produces great zeal for Him.  I wonder, do you have that kind of heart that longs for the Lord, that delights to be in His presence, that even casts care to the wind to express your deepest love for Jesus Christ?

 

2.  Divine provision

 

When the disciples came to shore they found that Jesus had already prepared breakfast for them.  "And so when they got out upon the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid, and fish placed on it, and bread.  Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish which you have now caught"....Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast"."  We see the wonderful truth of Christ's provisions for us in this simple story.  They had fished all night and it was now daylight, time for breakfast.  They had nothing with them on the boat.  They had nothing prepared on the shore.  They had the need; Christ had the supply.

 

This is true for us in our salvation.  We have the need and He alone has the supply through His own righteousness on our behalf.   Why do you continue starving in your sin?  Come to Jesus Christ and be filled!

 

This truth also has continuing application in our daily needs.  We who have come to Christ belong to Him.  As we have entrusted our souls to Him for all eternity, then He has taken on the responsibility of supplying our needs.  Sometime living in a land of plenty, as we do and having so many things, as we do, can dull our senses from the reality that all of our needs are supplied in Jesus Christ.  We often fill ourselves on that which does not satisfy so that we fail to understand that all who are in Christ must find their deepest satisfactions for daily life in Him.  The strength to live for Him is found by realizing we are a branch abiding in the Vine.  The solace for our anxious moments is found in knowing that He works all things together for good to those who love Him and those called according to His purpose.  In times of fear and persecution, we find joy in knowing that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

 

Even in our labors, we discover that because we are in Him, our Lord provides for us.  "Bring some of the fish which you have now caught," our Lord told the disciples.  They had nothing, until He told them where to cast.  All they had caught was dependent upon Jesus Christ.  Yet, they had actually caught the fish.  He provided; they labored.  Their satisfaction was in knowing that their service and labor was accomplished due to the provision of Jesus Christ.  Some find themselves getting despondent or overwhelmed by the labors they face.  See that Christ Jesus is your provider, even in the midst of your service.  All that you do in terms of service, you do through His provision.  He allows you the privilege of entering into a work by His good hand.

 

3.  Assurance

 

The disciples did not wonder if this scene was a dream or a vision.  "None of the disciples ventured to question Him, "Who are You?" knowing that it was the Lord."  With His revelation comes the assurance of His presence and work.  Perhaps this is the same idea that Paul had in mind when speaking of the witness of the Holy Spirit.  "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God" (Rom. 8:16).  The revealing work of the Spirit gives us the assurance that we truly belong to the Lord.  When He reveals Himself there is no question that it is the Lord.  

 

The surest way to deal with doubts in our salvation is to know that clear revelation of Christ to us in the gospel.  The more we grasp that in the gospel Christ Himself has come to us, the more confident we will be in our salvation.  Let us flee to the Word of God when assailed with doubts.  Let us plead for Christ to show Himself to us through His Word so that we might know that we are His and He is ours.

 

Conclusion

 

Has Jesus Christ revealed Himself to you in the gospel?  My friend, I appeal to you to hear the word of the Lord.  Then do as John did and confess, "It is the Lord!"  Or as Peter, flee to Him for the sheer delight of being accepted in His wonderful presence.

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