BECAUSE HE LIVES
We Can See Things Clearly
CLEARLY RISEN, CLEARLY WITH YOU
1. The Risen Lord wants ____ ____ ____ ______ _______ ______.
2. Don’t miss the _______ and _______ of Jesus.
3. _______ ______ with the _______ Lord.
Welcome to worship today at Morrison Zion Lutheran Church. We exist to glorify God. We have set out to do this by gathering around the Gospel so that we may grow in the Gospel and go to others with this Gospel.
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from Jesus Christ, our Lord:
As we meet our disciples today, it may be easy to forget how traumatic things have been for them. We don’t know exactly when this event takes place, but it’s before the 40 days of the Ascension and it’s after the first appearance and then that second appearance a week later, so it’s maybe two or three weeks later. But think about all the trauma of seeing their teacher arrested, betrayed, put on trial and then killed. And think about as Jesus appeared to them, how much were they really understanding? Jesus spoke words of forgiveness and peace to them and then Thomas was gone and He spoke those same words of peace.
Why we talk about this is to think a little bit about our lives and the traumas that we sometimes experience. Right after that experience, you’re still not thinking straight maybe that first week or those first few days. If you’ve experienced the loss of a loved one or some other traumatic event, there is some time where you just really don’t know what is going on, but then a few weeks later, things start getting back to normal, but they’re not normal. I think this is where the disciples are in our reading, where there was this traumatic thing, but then this joyful thing has happened and they are starting to get back to the rest of their lives. Yet, they are still trying to comprehend what was going on. Maybe you’ve found yourself in that place.
I think this is really what our message today is about. What does the resurrection mean for you in your life and through the struggles of your life and not just after that thing happens but weeks and months and years later?
For our disciples and for us today as we see that Jesus lives, we are going to see that it means something for us. We can see that He has clearly risen and is clearly with you, with you and me. This Risen Lord means something very special. Think about it not just as Jesus, but that He has risen; He has risen indeed, and what that means for us.
We find the disciples here and we see John, the writer, listing out many of the disciples that were there. He names some of them, but he doesn’t name others. He says two other disciples were there. But I think he names some of them for a purpose. Simon Peter, Thomas—these are people who had doubted or denied Jesus and still might be struggling with those words, with what they had said, what they had believed, and even Jesus’ words to them, so we know that these people are here. Why are they in Galilee? Jesus had said “Go up into Galilee and I’ll meet you there.” They are doing what Jesus had told them to do. We don’t see a lot of dialogue between the disciples about doing things usually in the Bible, but here we see Peter said, “I’m going to go fish.” So the rest of them go along and do that.
There is always some debate if Peter was struggling here, knowing that he has been sent to do this mission but then he is returning to fishing. I don’t think there is a big question on this or that we have to doubt if Peter is wondering all these things. I think they are hungry and they are fishermen, so they are going to do the things they know how to do. They are doing their daily life.
Then Jesus approaches them. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. I think what we see here is in the work and in the lives of the disciples, what happens is Jesus again approaches them in their daily life. It’s how He met them and how He meets them again after His resurrection.
What I would say for you is the Risen Lord wants to be in your daily life. Think about all the things that you do, all the time you spend—how much time do you spend in church? How much time do you spend in devotion? That doesn’t mean that Jesus and your faith and your life can’t be a part of everything else. Bring Him with you. Jesus wants to be a part that. It’s not wrong to go do work. It’s not wrong to do all these other things.
I think this is one of the most important things about this—does Jesus come and rebuke them? “Why are you fishing? You should just be sitting here waiting for me.” No! In fact, what does Jesus do? He kind of blesses their fishing. This is a very similar thing as when Jesus called them to be disciples. They were fishing and didn’t catch any fish so Jesus tells them to throw the net on the other side and they catch this abundant amount of fish. It’s the same thing that happens here.
So consider all the things that you do in life and ask yourself, “How does Jesus want to be a part of this? How can I bring Him in? How can I pray more or just consider the Commandments? How can I glorify God in all of my vocations when I’m serving Him, when I’m doing things to His glory and following His will, not seeking to be selfish but seeking to give Him glory? It doesn’t mean I have to preach Jesus in all these places but to serve Him and be a light so that maybe people ask why I do the things that I do.” So I think Jesus wants to be a part of your daily life.
Here He enters into what the disciples were doing. They were fishing. This should have struck a lightbulb in their minds and reminded them, but we see one of them kind of gets it. John writes this Gospel and he refers to himself as “the one that Jesus loved.” He says: Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. Why didn’t Peter recognize Him? Why didn’t the rest of the disciples immediately say “Hey, this seems familiar. Weren’t we fishing another time all night, we didn’t catch anything and some random guy walked up and said ‘Hey, throw your net on the other side,’ caught a bunch of fish, and that was Jesus?” Do you think maybe it was still the shock or just being overwhelmed about this big catch of fish again or not thinking? They had been waiting for Jesus and maybe they were thinking “He’s not going to do the same thing.”
Maybe an encouragement for us in this is to not miss the works and words of Jesus. When you are in God’s Word, you can recognize His Word. For the disciples, they had been around Jesus. John recognized it. It took a little bit, but he said “It is the Lord!” This is what Jesus does. Can you do that in your life? Can you recognize the words and works of Jesus? Or are the words kind of getting mixed up with what the culture says is good and right, like “Follow your heart”? “Just put in your best effort,” and all those different sayings that the world says? “Try your best.” “If you have strong enough faith, no challenges will come your way.” That’s not God’s Word. Sometimes recognizing the work of Jesus is by understanding that there is going to be suffering and hardship. We saw that in the first reading. What does He say about Saul? “I am going to make him my instrument to the Gentiles.” And “He is going to learn how much he must suffer for me.”
Do we sometimes get distracted because we’re not looking at what God says in His Word, that God works through suffering and hardship? So we question and we wonder, “What is God doing here?” Instead of digging into the Word, I start to struggle, but I need to recognize Jesus’ words. How can I understand and see Jesus’ words if I’m not in the Word of God? That’s the encouragement why weeks and months before tragedy happens we want to be in the Word; to grow up in that Word and be filled in it so that when it happens, your heart can be filled with the words and works of Jesus, knowing what Jesus has done for you. He has defeated sin and death and the devil. And when your sins confront you or you doubt, you will know that God’s work is greater and He overcomes that. Then those words and works can be with you weeks and months later, when people aren’t visiting as much anymore and life has gone back to “normal” and you are still struggling. But who is with you? Jesus.
That’s really the encouragement that we see at the end of our text. What happens when they see the Lord? Peter puts on his outer robe and jumps into the water. He doesn’t want to wait another second. He can’t wait for this boat that is dragging this huge net of fish to get there and he can’t be any longer away from the Lord. He wants to spend time with the Risen Lord.
Why is it important to understand the “Risen Lord,” and why do we want to spend time with Him? I think Peter is the perfect example. We know that Thomas was listed. He was the one who doubted. Here he is, being welcomed again to eat and to just spend time with this Risen Lord, who is eating with them. He’s not a ghost, but He has truly risen. He’s not a myth but a fact. God sent His Son to live and to die and to really save us from our sins. And for Peter, he was supposed to be this leader but what did he do before Jesus died? Around another set of coals, a fire, he denied Jesus three times.
Go back now to when Jesus performed a miracle, calling the disciples and having them catch this large catch of fish. Peter recognizes that it’s the Lord, but what does he say to the Lord? “Get away from me! I am unworthy! I don’t belong with you.” This is before Jesus’ death and resurrection. This is before Peter learned everything about who Jesus is and the forgiveness of sins. He sees the miracle and he says “I don’t deserve to be near you, Jesus.” But now the Resurrected Lord and Peter still knows that he has denied Him. He has heard some forgiveness from him. But instead of saying “I don’t deserve to be with you,” he sprints, he runs, he swims to the Lord, to be with the Risen Lord that has taken away his sins. I’m sure Peter is struggling to understand his place. He is struggling to know what it means that he denied, because right after this is where Jesus reinstates him to “Feed my lambs. Do you love me, Peter?” But even before that, he runs to His Lord.
This is my encouragement for each and every one of us, that in the midst of hardship, in the midst of struggles and confusion, you spend time with the Risen Lord. Don’t run away. Don’t fear for what you’ve done. Don’t worry about the situation. As hard as it is, as many questions as you might have and say “Why did this happen? How could this happen? God, why do you give this to me,” there is no better place than to be with the Risen Lord, who shows that through suffering, His death and resurrection, He works life and He gives you a peace that surpasses all understanding.
If you haven’t experienced the difficulties of this life, you will. But there is no truth better than the truth that Jesus gives us. There is no peace better than that forgiveness and hope that we have of a Lord, who has died for your sins, and has risen and has promised to forgive every one of your sins and bring you to be with Him eternally, conquering our fears and worries and giving us a hope eternal.
The problem is, we don’t see it clearly now. Our faith is mixed with doubt. Our faith is mixed with worry. But the Risen Lord wants to help us to see clearly. And finally, when we are raised with Him eternally, we will truly see clearly.
So run to your Lord. Spend time with that Risen Lord. And grow deeper with the works and words of Him, seeing clearly what it means that you truly have a Risen Lord. Amen.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7) Amen.
