John 21
Well, it's Easter 2009
and
I've reached the end of the Gospel!
What should have been week 20
in my 1-year New Testament plan
is now about five years late!
Is that pathetic?
It might be interesting to predict the date
when I finish The Revelation at this pace,
but I would probably over-estimate my progress!
ha.
(I should have called it "The Ten Year Plan")
This chapter starts with an unsuccessful night of fishing,
followed by some direction by Jesus,
followed by a huge catch.
Joh 21:3
Simon Peter said to them, I am going out to fish.
They said to him, We will go with you also.
They went out and entered into a boat immediately.
And that night they caught nothing.
Joh 21:5
Then Jesus said to them,
Children, do you have anything to eat?
They answered Him, No.
Joh 21:6
And He said to them,
Cast the net on the right side of the boat and you will find.
Therefore they cast,
and now they no longer had the strength to draw,
from the multitude of fish.
Is this just a history?
Or
is the miracle of good fishing directions significant to us?
Or
is it the analogy to fishing that we should pay attention to?
If so, it seems to imply that
"we are bad fishermen without his direction"
Is that too much assumption?
More than the text warrants?
maybe so.
Maybe we are meant to fish,
Maybe it is HE who does the fishing
Maybe its just the story of The Last Breakfast
I'm fuzzy on how to interpret this.
During breakfast he gives Simon four instructions
1) Feed My Lambs
2) Feed My Sheep
3) Feed My Sheep
4) Follow Me
Hmmm, that seem rather weighted towards sheparding,
wouldn't you agree?
Are we to take this as instructions to all of us?
Or is it particular to Peter?
I'm fuzzy on how to interpret this, too.
When I read in a previous chapter (John 4:37)
"one sows and another reaps",
I applied it to sowing the good news,
and reaping people into the body of christ.
In other words,
I took it as more than a lesson about crops.
Why do I care about the true meaning of this chapter
involving
fishing
and
sheep?
Because, now that he is gone,
I'm not sure what is expected of me .
Am I supposed to fish?
Does he need MY sheparding skills?
I almost hope the answer is a definitive
NO.
but...
I suspect it may not be.
This reminds me of a recent evening with friends.
During dinner one of them exclaimed,
"Well, I just don't believe in ANYTHING".
Is that an opening for an interesting discussion, or what?
Well, I TOOK IT as an open invitation,
but it didn't go so well.
From my experience,
people don't make such bold statements
without something behind it,
some history that has driven them to
reject rather than embrace.
anyway,
I flat-out didn't believe her
and attempted to call her on it.
I took it as a challenge.
I set out to prove to her that, surely,
she must believe in SOMETHING.
So I began a long drawn-out lecture
leading up to my goal
of convincing her that even without faith,
she still couldn't deny that there was both
GOOD
and
EVIL
in the world
right?
Can anyone honestly say they don't see both
real good and real bad in the world?
So I started to prove to her
that she really believed in good and evil
As I was blabbing on and on
leading up to the point,
I became very self-conscious.
I realized that she had made a simple statement
about herself,
and not invited my response at all.
Was it a plea for help?
no. (I really don't think so)
Was she hoping someone would change her mind?
no. (I really don't think so)
So why did I feel so compelled to challenge it?
Why can't I let someone reside in their own beliefs
even if they differ from mine?
Are we SUPPOSED to try to sway each other
into seeing our own view?
Some of these fishing attempts are disastrous.
Some of the fishing kept me away for a LONG TIME.
Should we leave the fishing to Him?
I just don't know.
but I do know this;
my own attempts have made me very nervous.
I think this chapter implies more than just
fishing and sheparding,
but I'm not sure how.
I do think it is a fitting end to the gospels, though!
A wonderful ending!
He knows he cannot remain with them,
He stresses that the sheep need feeding,
and his final message is
"Follow Me"
The meaning of that
seems indisputable and universal.
If He were here with me this moment,
wouldn't He give me the same message?
-=-=-=-
And finally, the very last thought of the gospel,
Joh 21:25
And there are also many other things which Jesus did,
which if they should be written every one,
I suppose that even the world itself
would not contain the books that should be written.
wow.
What an awesome bridge from then to now.
Millions and millions of people
have their own stories about what Jesus has done.
thank God.
.
and
I've reached the end of the Gospel!
What should have been week 20
in my 1-year New Testament plan
is now about five years late!
Is that pathetic?
It might be interesting to predict the date
when I finish The Revelation at this pace,
but I would probably over-estimate my progress!
ha.
(I should have called it "The Ten Year Plan")
This chapter starts with an unsuccessful night of fishing,
followed by some direction by Jesus,
followed by a huge catch.
Joh 21:3
Simon Peter said to them, I am going out to fish.
They said to him, We will go with you also.
They went out and entered into a boat immediately.
And that night they caught nothing.
Joh 21:5
Then Jesus said to them,
Children, do you have anything to eat?
They answered Him, No.
Joh 21:6
And He said to them,
Cast the net on the right side of the boat and you will find.
Therefore they cast,
and now they no longer had the strength to draw,
from the multitude of fish.
Is this just a history?
Or
is the miracle of good fishing directions significant to us?
Or
is it the analogy to fishing that we should pay attention to?
If so, it seems to imply that
"we are bad fishermen without his direction"
Is that too much assumption?
More than the text warrants?
maybe so.
Maybe we are meant to fish,
Maybe it is HE who does the fishing
Maybe its just the story of The Last Breakfast
I'm fuzzy on how to interpret this.
During breakfast he gives Simon four instructions
1) Feed My Lambs
2) Feed My Sheep
3) Feed My Sheep
4) Follow Me
Hmmm, that seem rather weighted towards sheparding,
wouldn't you agree?
Are we to take this as instructions to all of us?
Or is it particular to Peter?
I'm fuzzy on how to interpret this, too.
When I read in a previous chapter (John 4:37)
"one sows and another reaps",
I applied it to sowing the good news,
and reaping people into the body of christ.
In other words,
I took it as more than a lesson about crops.
Why do I care about the true meaning of this chapter
involving
fishing
and
sheep?
Because, now that he is gone,
I'm not sure what is expected of me .
Am I supposed to fish?
Does he need MY sheparding skills?
I almost hope the answer is a definitive
NO.
but...
I suspect it may not be.
This reminds me of a recent evening with friends.
During dinner one of them exclaimed,
"Well, I just don't believe in ANYTHING".
Is that an opening for an interesting discussion, or what?
Well, I TOOK IT as an open invitation,
but it didn't go so well.
From my experience,
people don't make such bold statements
without something behind it,
some history that has driven them to
reject rather than embrace.
anyway,
I flat-out didn't believe her
and attempted to call her on it.
I took it as a challenge.
I set out to prove to her that, surely,
she must believe in SOMETHING.
So I began a long drawn-out lecture
leading up to my goal
of convincing her that even without faith,
she still couldn't deny that there was both
GOOD
and
EVIL
in the world
right?
Can anyone honestly say they don't see both
real good and real bad in the world?
So I started to prove to her
that she really believed in good and evil
As I was blabbing on and on
leading up to the point,
I became very self-conscious.
I realized that she had made a simple statement
about herself,
and not invited my response at all.
Was it a plea for help?
no. (I really don't think so)
Was she hoping someone would change her mind?
no. (I really don't think so)
So why did I feel so compelled to challenge it?
Why can't I let someone reside in their own beliefs
even if they differ from mine?
Are we SUPPOSED to try to sway each other
into seeing our own view?
Some of these fishing attempts are disastrous.
Some of the fishing kept me away for a LONG TIME.
Should we leave the fishing to Him?
I just don't know.
but I do know this;
my own attempts have made me very nervous.
I think this chapter implies more than just
fishing and sheparding,
but I'm not sure how.
I do think it is a fitting end to the gospels, though!
A wonderful ending!
He knows he cannot remain with them,
He stresses that the sheep need feeding,
and his final message is
"Follow Me"
The meaning of that
seems indisputable and universal.
If He were here with me this moment,
wouldn't He give me the same message?
-=-=-=-
And finally, the very last thought of the gospel,
Joh 21:25
And there are also many other things which Jesus did,
which if they should be written every one,
I suppose that even the world itself
would not contain the books that should be written.
wow.
What an awesome bridge from then to now.
Millions and millions of people
have their own stories about what Jesus has done.
thank God.
.