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LUKE’S GOSPEL…FOLLOW ME – 9

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“When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭5‬:‭4‬-‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

When we read this account of Jesus’ call to the fishermen brothers to follow Him, it sounds quite ordinary on the surface. An itinerant preacher watches some guys fishing fruitlessly, pulling in their boat, dejected, because, after a night’s work, they came back empty handed. This meant another day without income, with families to feed, no bread on the table. 

However…then, the tale takes a twist.  A rabbi, of all people, who knew nothing about fishing, tells them to go back and try again! Why should they listen to Him? There was something about Him, something in His voice that commanded attention. So they turned tail and moved back into deep water. What was empty space a few minutes ago became a boiling sea of fish…such a huge catch that the nets began to tear. They yelled for help from others fishing in a boat nearby.  They were soon back on shore with their magnificent catch, both boats groaning under the load and dangerously close to sinking. 

Peter was deeply moved. Something much deeper than a record haul of fish had touched him. Never had anything so outrageously miraculous ever happened to him. He was a seasoned fisherman who knew the Galilean lake like the back of his hand. He had no idea that there were schools of fish that big and…to crown it all, it had happened when a rabbi had issued instructions. How did He know they were there? 

Grabbing his cloak, Peter tumbled out of the boat, scrambled to the shore, and fell down at Jesus’ feet. “Master,” he panted, “please move away from me. I am so tainted that I can’t even be near to you.”

Jesus looked into Peter’s face, His eyes engaging the expression of agony on the face of the man kneeling before Him. “Don’t be afraid, Peter,” He said. “Follow me and I’ll teach you how to fish for people!” 

Miraculous catch of fish or not, these young Jewish men instantly turned their backs on their boats, their fish, and their rugged life of fishing and, without a backward glance, they walked away from the lake in the company of Jesus. 

How did this happen, all in the space of a short time?

To be continued…

PRAYING GOD’S WAY – 18

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JESUS IN THE MIDST

‭John 21:20-22, 25 NLT‬

‭John 21:3-6 NLT‬
[3] Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.” “We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night. [4] At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. [5] He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?” “No,” they replied. [6] Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it….

[20] Peter turned around and saw behind them the disciple Jesus loved—the one who had leaned over to Jesus during supper and asked, “Lord, who will betray you?” [21] Peter asked Jesus, “What about him, Lord?” [22] Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me.”…
[25] Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.”

What a strange way for John to end his gospel record! His story trails away to almost an apologetic anticlimax…or does it? It depends on the way we interpret what he intended.

I’ve heard it taught that Peter disobeyed Jesus’ instruction by going fishing instead of meeting Him on the mountain after His resurrection. On reflection, perhaps… it wasn’t so much his disobedience as his terrible failure that made him run from Jesus. Did Peter feel like he’d blown it with Jesus forever? Perhaps… he would simply go back to his old life and forget about being a disciple of this rabbi he had grown to know and love despite his cowardly denial. Perhaps that’s the way he thought and acted.

Perhaps…for Jesus, this meeting on the beach was a divine appointment. After all, Jesus knew where Peter was, on the lake in Galilee, fishing. He knew how Peter felt. He had seen the hot tears rolling down Peter’s cheeks as the cock crowed. He understood human nature. Peter had been humiliated by his own mouth. He couldn’t turn the clock back. Jesus was finished with him, so he would just go away, back to his old life, with the interim years a beautiful but fading memory.

The scene on the beach was strangely familiar. Tired men, empty nets, no fish… reminiscent of a similar occasion years back when Jesus appeared in the shore of the lake. Same situation now – tired men, empty nets, no fish. An unusual instruction from a stranger and then… enough fish to sink their boat! It happened twice, then and now!

Did the divine Master arrange it this way for a reason?

Perhaps… Jesus was purposely triggering Peter’s memory to serve His own gracious purpose. After reassuring and recommissioning Peter, Jesus issued the same instruction, “Follow me!”, twice, now and then! It was impossible for Peter to miss the impact of the beach scene and its outcome.

First time, rookie disciple, “Follow me!” and Peter sets off running, all enthusiasm and big mouth.

Second time, fallen disciple, “Follow me,” and Peter walks slowly, thoughtfully, sobered and brought down with a crash by his own big mouth. Forgiven and restored, a second chance, same commission, a new Peter!

And so, perhaps… John’s conclusion begins to make sense. Not so much ‘books written’ but ‘stories told’, just like Peter’s story, of failure and forgiveness, of relapse and restoration, over and over again, down the centuries, enough to fill the whole world with the records of God’s mercy and goodness, flowing in an unending river of grace from the cross which made it all possible.

When we read Peter’s story from a different perspective, we see Jesus’s determined purpose to set him back on his feet and back on the path of His purposes. Using Peter’s fall, not as a club to beat him but as a stepping stone to greater fruitfulness through the pruning, He met Peter where he
was, picked him up and carried him on to completion.

How do our prayers make such an amazing difference in the administration of God’s kingdom?

The book of Hebrews introduces us to a factor in our prayer lives that we must never forget. Yes, Jesus gives us power of attorney to use His name and nature as the guarantee that God will answer but…

Jesus has an even more intimate role in our praying. He is IN the Most Holy Place, AT our side as we approach the Father. When we come to the Father in His name, He is there. He vouches for us, presenting His blood as our right to approach.

‭Hebrews 7:24-25 NLT‬
[24] “But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. [25] Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.”

He is our Advocate, presenting the merits of His sacrifice to the Father that forgives all sin for all time.

‭1 John 2:1-2 NLT‬
[1]”My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. [2] He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.”

He is the eternal High Priest who qualifies to represent us because He became one of us. He suffered as we do. He experienced all the temptations humans face… without sin. He is perfectly suited to represent us to the Father.

‭Hebrews 4:14-16 NLT‬
[14] “So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. [15] This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. [16] So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”

Our safety and security, too, in the Father’s presence, in the Most Holy Place, all depend on Jesus being there with us. He was there with Peter, doing everything to set the record straight. So He is there with us. The Father, who set it all up in the first place, now receives the Son’s intercession on our behalf and graciously hears us for Jesus’ sake.

Can you see, then, that Peter’s story is our story, and the story of the millions who have come after him? These stories are too many for all the libraries of the world to contain… stories of mercy, forgiveness, and restoration that echo the story of Simon who became Peter.

We can participate with the Father in prayer because we, too, have been forgiven and restored and are represented by the one who did it all for us.

BREAKFAST ON THE BEACH

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BREAKFAST ON THE BEACH

“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. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.”  John 21:7b-8.

How predictable of Peter! He was the first to respond. Unlike Judas, who had slunk away in his remorse and committed suicide, Peter yearned for another chance. Another chance to do what? To prove to Jesus that he was no coward, after all? That he could and would make good on his promise to stick with Him through thick and thin?

But now, everything had changed. They were no longer trudging all over Israel with an itinerant rabbi. He was alive, yes, but He was different. He came and went in a flash. It was impossible to follow Him as they did before He died. The only thing Peter knew at that moment was that Jesus was on the beach and he wanted to get to Him as quickly as he could.

Why did Peter grab his cloak? The others could have given it to him when they reached the shore. To be uncovered above the ankles was regarded as nakedness. He couldn’t work with the encumbrance of his cloak so he took it off in the company of his fellow disciples, but in the presence of his Master he needed to be appropriately dressed, wet or not! 

Was this Peter’s first encounter with Jesus after His resurrection? No, it wasn’t. He had been with the other disciples in the upper room when Jesus appeared to them the first time. Why was this occasion so special? I think Jesus planned a leisurely breakfast on the beach around a fire to trigger something in Peter he would never forget.

“When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish you have just caught.’ So, Simon climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many, the net was not torn.” John 21:9-11,

Can you picture the scene? Fish cooking slowly over a fire of hot coals. Jesus waiting for a few more fish from their catch. The other disciples sitting around the fire, warming their cold hands. Why was Jesus here?  He never did anything without a reason. Every detail of this little scene had meaning.

For Peter, everything was happening at a maddeningly slow pace. Had Jesus showed up on the beach just to have a picnic breakfast with them? Why the beach? Why bread and fish? As he stood watching the fish cooking over the fire, many thoughts flooded his mind. The beach reminded him of that first moment when he met Jesus and heard Him call his name. His life would never be the same again. Bread and fish triggered the memory of crowds of people sitting on the grass while he and the other disciples distributed pieces that miraculously multiplied in their hands. Who was this man who could do that?

He could hardly bear to look at the coals. The memory of his failure almost suffocated him. He would never forget the look in the eyes of his Master as He turned His gaze on him; not “I told you so,” or “Why did you do it?” but “Oh Peter, my heart breaks for you.” Perhaps this was the meaning of the scene he could not escape. Did the Master want him to feel the terrible pain of his denial so that he would never step across that boundary again?

I have a sense that Jesus took him back to that moment — He could not be with Peter when it happened — so that He could walk with him through it again, not to condemn but to reinterpret it with him so that Peter could feel His forgiveness and never again be overwhelmed by guilt and shame. Peter had a job to do, and there was no sense in living in the past.

From Jesus’ perspective, Peter’s past had ceased to exist, washed clean by the blood He had shed on the cross. Only the His words could erase the guilt from Peter’s soul and set him free to live for his future and not from his past. The message he was to proclaim was one he had to experience so that he could preach it with passion.

Never again would the sound of a cock crowing or the sight of a coal fire bring back the feelings of guilt and shame that had imprisoned him until that moment. Yes, Jesus had a reason for every detail of his little breakfast on the beach. He had a beloved brother who needed the reassurance that he was free from his emotional prison and recommissioned to do what he had been called to do. Peter’s failure had not disqualified him, only redefined him so that he would know himself and his Master a little better.

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

WE CAN TRUST HIM!

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WE CAN TRUST HIM!

“When evening came, His disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. But He said to them, ‘It is I; don’t be afraid.’ Then they were willing to take Him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.” John 6:16-21 (NIV).

“With Jesus in the boat…!” How often have you heard that message preached?

Why did John include this incident in his story? Remember that he was giving evidence that Jesus is the Son of God so that his readers would believe in Him. Every incident was a sign that His claims were true because His miracles authenticated who He claimed to be. Every sign pointed to some aspect of His person and work as the Messiah that gave clarity to what He came to do.

Mark added a detail to his account of this incident that makes it spring to life. “He was about to pass by them, but when they saw Him walking on the lake, they thought He was a ghost…” Mark 6:48c. If Jesus was walking on the water to go to them, why would He want to pass by them? It makes no sense unless there is something more to His intention than meets the eye.

We have to look for the use of this phrase somewhere else in Scripture to capture its meaning.

In Exodus 34, in response to Moses’ request, God was about to reveal His name to him. He had instructed him to bring another two stone tablets up the mountain with him because Moses had smashed the first two tablets in his anger against his people. While he had been up the mountain with God, they had persuaded Aaron to make them a calf-god out of gold which they were worshipping with undignified frenzy when he returned.

God promised to hide Moses in a crevice in a rock and reveal His name to him. “Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed His name, the Lord.

“And He passed by in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness…’ ” Exodus 34:5, 6.

Would His disciples have got the message? If they understood their Scriptures, they would surely have realized what Jesus was doing. He was making a very bold move to reproduce what He had done on Mount Sinai many centuries before, to reassure them that it was okay to trust Him because He was no phoney. A sign like that would have added to the weight of evidence they already had to convince them of His identity.

The outcome was equally startling. The moment Jesus stepped into the boat, they arrived at their destination. We could, of course, argue that they were so taken up with watching Him walk on the rough water that they did not notice how near they were to the shore. That could be true but John made a point of reporting that His presence in the boat contributed to their speedy and safe arrival back at Capernaum.

“Passing by” seems to be a euphemism for revealing Himself to His people; God to Moses on the mountain and Jesus to His disciples on the lake. He was not abandoning them but alerting them to the deep truth He wanted them to be sure of. Just as it was God on the mountain reassuring Moses that, in spite of His people’s rebellion and failure to believe in Him, He was still the gracious and compassionate God who would forgive them and reinstate them as His covenant people, so also Jesus, on the lake, was reassuring His disciples that He was God; that He was with them and would graciously forgive and receive His people if they would put their trust in Him.

Their fear turned to relief when they realized who He was and they gladly assisted Him into the boat. The stormy lake lost its terror for them and, before they knew it, the boat scraped the shore and they were safely home after a very eventful day.

Jesus was slowly building a case for who He was. The disciples still wavered and doubted until the resurrection. From that moment on, nothing could shake their confidence in Him as their Lord and God.  With the same power of the Holy Spirit in them that had energized Him, they set out to turn the world upside down, but it took them a long time to get there.

We are also on a faith journey. Every incident in which Jesus is “passing by” strengthens and reassures us that He is who He said He is and we can trust Him.

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – SOLITUDE…AT LAST!

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SOLITUDE…AT LAST!

45 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. Mark 6:45-46

A day that was meant to be quiet and restful turned out to be quite eventful! A crowd of more than 5,000 people saw to that! Jesus had accepted their intrusion without irritation. He recognised their desperate spiritual need and ministered to them all day, topping it all with a miraculous meal that was a perfect, practical demonstration of the Father’s compassion for them.

But He had to break up the party and send them home. They could not stay with Him there forever. He sent them home by foot and He sent His disciples back to civilization by boat. At last He could enjoy a time of solitude with His Father in a quiet, remote place. It would have been no use insisting that His disciples pray at that point. They were not yet ready to be quiet in God’s presence and open their souls to Him.

How Jesus must have revelled in these hours of fellowship with the Father, under a starry sky with the wind blowing in His face and the fragrant earth beneath Him. What did He say? What was the heart of His fellowship with God? Do we know Him well enough to speculate about His prayer?

He would have affirmed His ECHAD with the Father. Perhaps He would have gone over the day’s events, reviewing the way He had handled everything that had happened in the light of His submission to the Father, His compassion for the people and His purpose to reveal the Father to them. He would have listened to the Spirit whispering His Father’s approval and affirmation.

Perhaps He was aware of the temptations surrounding another successful day; the pull towards self-satisfaction, independence, pride, self-awareness, and prayed to be kept from the sins that dragged Adam and Eve into rebellion against God. Perhaps He would have humbled Himself before God and reaffirmed His purpose to give Himself up as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. perhaps He simply enjoyed the peace of the Father’s presence and the warmth of His love.