Seven dedicated disciples

 

The epilogue  21    The inscrutable Deity of Christ

Preparing for the future; learning to trust Him

1-14       Fishing……Evangelising the world……..global

14-18     Feeding…..Tending the flock……………pastoral           

19-24     Following…Learning to accept His will…personal

These three activities represent three of the practical exercises of Christianity.  In each of them, the maintenance of close intimacy with the Lord is deemed essential.  In the catching of fish, His presence and guidance is indispensable, without Him they would have caught no fish-v1-14.  In feeding and tending to the needs of the flock of God, love to Christ is paramount-v15-18.  In following His will for my life, absolute devotion to Him is required, even if it means martyrdom-v19-24.  On resurrection ground, which is where we are today, these are the functions of the Christian life

1-14)   Catching fish     Behind the narrative there are principles which apply to the work of evangelism, which is illustrated by the catching of fish.    Jesus said that He would make them fishers of men-Matthew 4v19.  We can learn from the principles established here.

1-2)  “After these things, Jesus shewed himself again to His disciples at the Sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed He Himself. There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of the disciples

Manifest means “to make visible”, to reveal, and it means more than just physical appearance. Three things stand out in these cameos: first His indispensability in the salvation of souls-as figured in catching fish; the necessity of love in the service of His people; and the overriding principle of His will in the pathway of life.  He promised to manifest Himself to them on obedience-John 14v21.  It was in this manner He appeared to these His chosen apostles.  Note he met them at the sea of Tiberias-in fact it was the sea of Galilee, but John was writing at least 60 years after the resurrection, and Rome had imposed itself on the nation in a more public way.  This is the reason John used Roman terminology and added the Hebrew equivalent throughout.  The message was clear to all the disciples, they were to go to Galilee and await Him there; there are three separate records where they were told to meet Him in Galilee after His resurrection-Matthew 26v32; 28v7v10; Mark 14v28; 16v7.  Jesus chose the venue which was the centre of the fishing industry, and the area where He had done most of His miracles.  It was also the home ground of the eleven disciples, situated some 60 miles north of Jerusalem, away from the bustle of the city, a well-chosen meeting place.  There are lessons we can learn from this gathering:

Firstly note the eleven were not all present, there were four of them missing.  The message was the same to all of them to meet in Galilee.  There were only seven out of the eleven there.  There will always be some who do not gather as they should.  Thomas was missing on resurrection day, four of them were missing here.  However we also note the gracious demeanour of the Holy Spirit in recording the incident.  He covered their absence by not naming two of them present, so we are not aware exactly of who was absent.  “Love covers a multitude of sins”, and their absence was not highlighted!  If the Holy Spirit covers the failures of the saints, so should we.  There were none missing in the upper room after the ascension-Acts 1v13.    

Secondly we note they were together; they were all different characters, but they were united on resurrection ground.  Their togetherness overcame any differences they might have had.  This became an outstanding feature of the early church and it is one which should mark us-Acts 1v14; 2v1; 2v44; 2v46; 4v32; 5v12; 9v31.  They were there at the command of the Lord, with one heart and one purpose to hear Him and to serve Him.

In those who are named we see many differing features, people bonded together in the power of the resurrection of Christ.

Simon Peter the impetuous    He is always first in the lists of apostles, he was the leader, the most forward, the most active of all the apostles.  He had many faults, he made many mistakes, one was his boast that he would remain loyal even if others did not.  He was optimistic, saw the best in everything, wanted the best in everything, but he overestimated his own ability.  He had to learn his own weaknesses, and so His old name, the name he had before Chris called him is used here.  Jesus addressed him as “Simon son of Jonas” more than once in this chapter.  He had to learn, as we all have to learn, that the old man will remain with us to humble us, and there was no one more humbled than Peter.  The Lord will graciously restore him to full prominence, but he must humbly accept it is only in His strength it is possible.  Supremely gifted, and greatly dedicated, he had to subject himself to the reality of his own frailty.  

Thomas the cautious        He was the opposite of Peter, cautious, sceptical, pessimistic, always looking for problems, would not believe until he saw with his own eyes!  There are always people like that amongst the gatherings of the Lord’s people, but these found a way of serving together.  Having missed the meeting on resurrection morning, he was broken in worship as he realised his mistake, and he was ever present after that.  Thomas was an honest doubter, who came good; he had personal grief in his life, for he was a twin (the meaning of Thomas in Greek; and of Didymus in Hebrew).  There is no mention of his twin, who had either passed away, or who had rejected the Lord, both of which would be a source of depression.  People are moulded by their circumstances, and perhaps Thomas was how he was because of personal tragedy.  

Nathaniel the guileless     He was accorded the greatest compliment by the Lord at his calling “Behold an Israelite indeed in who there is no guile”-or as some have put it “an Israelite in whom is no Jacob”.  He was a pure soul, not marked by deceit, or double standards, sincere, a man of integrity, who lived an honest life.  A man whose word you could depend on, who said what he meant, who meant what he said.  He was most like his Lord of whom Peter wrote “…who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth.”  Nathaniel did not deal in lies, even petty ones, not given to exaggeration, possessed that rare gift of transparency, and must have found difficulty with those who were prone to flatter.

The sons of Zebedee  James was a retiring, shy type who kept in the background, who would be martyred for his faith.  John was more forward, and of an intimate, mystic nature, he was “the disciple whom Jesus loved”-possibly because he was the youngest.  In any group there is always something lovable about the youngest.  It is thought John may have been only 18 years old at this time.  They were fiercely patriotic and openly sectarian for they wanted to call down fire from heaven on the Samaritans.  They irritated the other apostles for they had their mother ask Jesus to grant them the highest place in the kingdom, and this upset them greatly.  Only in the power of resurrection could such a diverse group be merged together in such an intimate way.  Some are too forward, others too backward; some sincere and honest by nature, others scheming for themselves; some positive, others negative.  We are all different, yet we can work together.