Back To Fishing

Focus Scripture: John 21:1-6

Land: Heat & High Pressure

• Jesus was arrested - Disciples run away

• Jesus on trial - Peter denies knowing Him

• Jesus crucified - Deserted by almost everyone ( only John & the women stay with Him)

• Jesus dead - Disciples hiding in fear

• Jesus is risen - Leads to unsteady footing

Beach: Messy Sand (based on the events in Luke 24)

• Women, including Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Jesus’s mother, find the stone rolled away, the tomb empty, and two angels direct their eyes toward Jesus as He really is

  • “Why do you look for the living among then dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day b raised again.’” (Luke 14:5-7)

  • The women tell the disciples, but they don’t believe them because their words seem like nonsense (Luke 24:11)

• Peter and John run to the tomb and find it empty but with the burial linens still in place

  • Disciples return to where they were staying

  • They seem to have no clue what is going on, even though Jesus told them all of this ahead of time

• Two disciples meet Jesus on the road to Emmaus

  • “Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27)

    • They ask Jesus to stay with them for the night.

  • “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.” (Luke 24:30-31)

    • They return to Jerusalem and tell the other disciples.

• Jesus appears among the disciples in a locked room

  • They think Jesus is a ghost, but Jesus lets them touch Him and He eats some fish

  • “Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:45-49)

Beach: Unsteady Footing (based on the events in John 21)

• Disciples decide to go back to Galilee to fish at some point

• A few observations

  • Disciples are separated (only 7 of 11 are present)

  • They still have access to a fishing boat and gear

  • Before His death, Jesus told them He would go ahead of them to Galilee (Mark 14:28)

    • Disciples are focused on fishing

    • Don’t appear to be expecting to meet Jesus there

    • Yet, they have (unwittingly) been drawn closer to Him and Jesus leans the rest of the way

• Possible emotional state of the disciples:

  • Looking at self - Ashamed, comparing self to others, not up to the task, directionless

  • Looking at others - Afraid & intimidated

  • They need to be looking only to one place: Jesus

• Possible explanations

  • Perhaps they were falling back on their comfortable past, something they feel competent and safe doing

  • Perhaps they feel the need to stay busy and distracted, so they don’t have to deal with the difficult emotions

  • Perhaps they feel the need to provide for themselves again

• Jesus recaptures their gaze

  • Gets their attention by repeating the miraculous catch from earlier

  • Leads them toward stable footing & healing

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