We turn to 1 Kings 17 and then John 21. Let's stand to read the word. Here's a few verses from 1 Kings 17. It's one of the many places in the scriptures where we have the theme, you can think of it, of the Israelites in the wilderness as God gives them manna from heaven. how God always feeds, provides for his people. You can think of it as the feeding of the 5,000 in a moment. You can think of it, Jesus on the shores of the Sea of Galilee with his disciples. 1 Kings 17, Elijah the Tishbite of the inhabitants of Gilead said to Ahab, as the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years except at my word. And the word of the Lord came to him saying, get down from here and turn eastward and hide by the brook Carith which flows into the Jordan. And it will be that you shall drink from the brook and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there. So he went and did according to the word of the Lord for he went and stayed by the brook Carith which flows into the Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, bread and meat in the evening and he drank from the brook. And it happened after a while that the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Here again, the Lord of creation shows himself, John chapter 21. After these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way he showed himself. Simon Peter, Thomas called the twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, I am going fishing. They said to him, we are going with you also. They went out immediately and got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore, yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. And Jesus said to them, children, have you any food? They answered him, no. You said to them, cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some. So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, it is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, He put on his outer garment for he had removed it and plunged into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from land, about 200 cubits, dragging the net with fish. Then as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there and fish laid on it and bread. Jesus said to them, bring some of the fish which you have just caught. Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land full of large fish, 153, although there were so many, The net was not broken. Jesus said to them, come and eat breakfast. Yet none of the disciples dared ask him, who are you? Knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them and likewise the fish. This is now the third time Jesus showed himself to his disciples after he was raised from the dead. Grass withers, the flower fades away, but the word of God endures forever. Coming nearer to the end of the Gospel of John today, we've just read from John chapter 21, verses 1 through 14, and that is the narrative, historical narrative that we will study this morning. Even if you've followed Christ for many years, something can quickly and easily happen. More quickly than you realize, sometimes you find yourself in this place. That you know you need Jesus Christ, you would confess that you need Him because you know the categories of sin and salvation. You've forgotten that you need Him for everything. That there is not one thing or blessing that you need or that you have that does not come to you through Jesus Christ. Everything. And there's a sense in which this is true both for the believer and the unbeliever. Because Jesus is the agent of the Father. He's the living word. He's the one through whom the worlds were made and who upholds the universe. All reality. All reality, Paul writes to the Colossians, in him all things consist, in him all things hold together. The fact that you are sitting in an ordered universe on a pew that's not collapsing, a world that's spinning, and then moving around the sun in a solar system that's being guided through the Milky Way, and the Milky Way in the universe in relation to billions of other galaxies. All of that comes through Jesus Christ. Now there are those who confess Him, and bow to Him, and believe in Him. Not only for the great works of creation and providence, but because He's the only Savior of sinners because of the blood of His cross. And there are those who reject Him, His cross, and everything else about Him. But what I want you to think about this morning is how much You need Jesus Christ for everything. We're gonna look at the narrative of Jesus who made breakfast by the sea for his disciples. And we're gonna look at a number of things in this narrative. Together as we study the Gospel of John, we're gonna look at really three scenes in the narrative and we're gonna unpack those scenes to understand what's happening here. First, we're gonna be introduced again to the disciples who again appear to be somewhat aimless. We're going to see that as they undertake this night of fishing that they come secondly to a moment of profound recognition of Jesus. And then thirdly, we're going to see how Jesus invites them after that moment of recognition close to himself and provides for them everything they were looking for and everything they need. So begin with these disciples on the shores of what the text here calls the Sea of Tiberias. This is where they were familiar with as fishermen. And they're there and they are back to their old ways of fishing. And there is a sense in John chapter 21 that we are faced with a little bit of what we see with Thomas and his doubts, a little bit about the fears that we read about earlier in chapter 20, that there's still something of the aimlessness, confusion, and fear that existed in the disciples, the followers of Christ, immediately after his crucifixion. But then even it continues after the resurrection to some significant degree. Even after they've seen him, they're still very much wondering. They know he's alive, but the question is, what is next? And you can imagine that they have gone through an emotional roller coaster. Jesus has just been subjected a few days earlier to bloody crucifixion. He's had a spear thrust into his side. He's had the whole weight of the Roman Empire to crush him together with his countrymen who sent him to the Roman overlords for crucifixion, and even that more close to the disciples, it all came at that critical moment by the betrayal of Jesus by one of their own number, Judas. In other words, their entire world blew apart when Jesus was crucified. Then, he was buried by his disciples. And they knew that he was dead. And then on the third day, he appeared alive. Somehow, wondrously. having overcome these crushing mutilations and the grave. And the stone rolled over the grave and the seal and the Roman guard and all these things. And now he's suddenly again alive and walking with them. But in a different sort of way than he was before. He's appearing to them now and then. Not that close walking that perhaps they knew before. What do we know about them? We know that even after they saw him one time, John chapter 20 and verse 19, they were still terrified and they were hiding in upper rooms behind locked doors. We also know that whenever Jesus came, they were filled with joy and gladness, but there's a sense here in chapter 21 that there's still this aimlessness, this confusion. Simon Peter, Thomas called the twin, Nathanael of Canaan and Galilee, the sons of Zebedee. Two of the other disciples were together and Simon Peter said to them, I am going fishing. This doesn't seem like the kind of turn you would expect from three men who had prepared for three years. Jesus said, you will be my witnesses. I'm gonna give you the spirit and I'm preparing you for a mission. Instead, They're going back to the nets that they were called from with the words of Jesus when he said, I will make you fishers of men. In other words, you're going to have a new calling. They're here and the scene is the Sea of Galilee. They're on their home turf. There's seven of them. This narrative is full of details. Seven of them. There's an action here. Peter, of course, again, is leading. I'm going fishing. Notice the details. We're fishing at night. Again, this whole narrative is just filled with John's careful recording of every moment in action. Fishing at night, if you've ever gone fishing, fishing at night is a very good time to fish. Matter of fact, the ancients, Aristotle mentions that the best time to fish, the fishermen were busy at night. They were busy at night on the Sea of Galilee. If you've ever watched Deadliest Catch, I think it is, they're always fishing at night. I guess it's crab fishing different than fish, but the point is, it's not unusual to fish at night, and it's often a very fruitful time to fish. These men knew what they were doing, and that's what they were setting out to do again. The result of this, verse three, So they went out immediately and got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing, which is also a fairly significant, at least, aspect of my own fishing career. They caught nothing. Nothing happened. More than that, this was in the providence of God. This was also in the hand of the one who was walking the shores of the Sea of Galilee. They caught nothing. They're back to their old life, and it's not working well. Now, a number of observations to make at this point in the text, they have returned to that old life, and they have gone back. They seem to be receding, not advancing. Again, in chapter 15 in verse 27, Jesus has said to them that they're going to be witnesses. He said these exact words. He said, I'll send you the helper from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, and he will testify of me, and you also will bear witness because you have been with me from the beginning. Jesus has been preparing them to be witnesses. He has been, he already told them in an earlier appearance in this gospel, as the Father has sent me, I send you. He's gonna send them out into the world. He says, receive the Holy Spirit, and then he talked about the keys of the kingdom, and there's all this preparatory language for them being sent out to witness to the death and resurrection, the victories and glories of Jesus Christ. And they're fishing. You will be my witnesses, he would say later to them, before Pentecost, Acts chapter one, to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. He has a plan for them to be sent out, and they're back at their boats. Second observation. Perhaps here they're short-sighted and aimless, but for what reason? There's a sense here that they've lost what was the constant presence and companionship of Jesus. And the general impression here is that there are men who've lost purpose. And this can be true for any Christian. that we can wander quickly from the aims to which God has called us and the callings to which God has called us. And there's, again, a distinct sense here in the text that these men are in danger of doing that. This also highlights to us in the flow of the New Testament the profound, from, I guess, a negative contrast, this profound truth. The Christians need for the Holy Spirit's leading. Again, John 15 and 26 and 27, Jesus there in the context of the giving of the spirit, when the helper comes, whom I send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify of me, and you also bear witness. And Jesus here closely connects for them this gift of the Spirit and their witness bearing and here this moment of aimlessness and returning back to the nets should elevate in your mind the remarkable gift of the Spirit at Pentecost and the transforming power and work of the Holy Spirit in the life of these men as they were there at that moment turned Peter who here says let's go fishing There stands up and says, repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ with a sermon of boldness and power in the same city where Jesus was crucified. The ministry of the Holy Spirit transforms believers, sharpens our sense of mission, and we should not forget even from this period of waiting between the resurrection of Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit as one that reminds us of the profound blessing we have to live in what the Apostle calls the Age of the Spirit. Again, the Apostle Paul says these words in Galatians chapter 6. He reminds us. rather to Galatians chapter five and verse 16. He says this, for every believer, I say then, walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. And then later, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering. And again, later, if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. And here, it's an illustration here, these men had not received yet at Pentecost the fullness of the Spirit, and this is one of the reasons we find them in the condition that they are in. While they're fishing, nothing happens for the whole night. And at that low point, when their new calling doesn't appear to be clear, and their old calling appears to be fruitless, someone appears to them. The morning had come, Jesus stood on the shore. Now, you have to read this carefully. Look back at verse one. After these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way he showed himself. And here, John is narrating it. after the things have happened. But if you're getting into the head of one of the disciples who's on the boat, they've seen Jesus a few times, they know he's risen from the dead, they're not sure what to do with themselves, and they don't know, the text is explicit, that they don't know that it was Jesus, yet the disciples did not know. So you know, as the reader, they do not, as the fishermen. John's reflecting, the disciples don't know. We know that the boat now is about 100 yards from shore. John is very clear about that. Verse 8, the disciples came in the little boat. They were not far from land, about 200 cubits, so it's about 100 yards. About 100 yards from shore. They're not fishing way, way off into the sea. And there, as the sun is rising, and who knows, maybe the fog is lifting off the water, maybe the light is not that clear, or maybe, as in other resurrection appearances, Jesus has not yet fully revealed himself to them, a man on the shore gives his fishing advice. Now, again, if you've ever fished, and again, I told you already that my success rate is fairly low, so this also often happens to me, sometimes with my children, whose success rate seems to be quite a bit higher, from the same boat, by the way. Someone will say, well, dad, why don't you just cast over there? Maybe you should try this. Have you tried this different? In other words, people who are fishing always give each other advice. If you're at the dock, if you go to Lake Robinson, this will happen. Someone will say, try this, try that. And if you haven't had anything work all night, you are in a position where you're ready to receive advice. And this is where the disciples were. So the man on the shore, the voice comes out, voice from the shore, children, have you any food? They answered him, no. Interestingly, Jesus asks if they have food. Jesus said to them, cast the net on the right side of the boat and you will find some. And again, this reminds me of another occasion. Actually, just this past summer with our family, we go to the coast and in the salt marsh, we use cast nets. If you ever use a cast net, you throw it one place, you get nothing. You throw it another place, you may get much. Matter of fact, I believe this past summer we had the record. One of my children threw it, it was Emma, I think, and got 27 fish, fairly large fish in one throw. Now that's gonna be important later. It's a big net full of fish, and what did we do right away? We counted it, which is what the disciples will do at the same time, the same thing in the narrative here. There's a moment of recognition here, for they do what Jesus says, they cast the net on the other side of the boat, so they cast, and immediately, That net sinks, and they begin to pull it in, and they can't lift it up into the boat because it is so full of fish, because of the multitude of the fish. The net is too heavy. And at that moment, a second thing happens. As John hears the voice, sees the net hit the water, and then his hands start tugging on a weight he can't lift back in, the disciple whom Jesus loves turns to Peter and says, that's Jesus. It is the Lord. I know, I know what just happened. The Lord stands there on the shore. The man on the shore controls the fish of the sea. The man walking there is the Lord. Well, Peter, I mean, and this is profound. Have you ever, again, you ever been at the beach? Children, you've been at the beach and you see a couple minnows. You ever try and catch them? What happens? You can't catch them, can you? I mean, unless you get a net or something. You gotta work at it. You can't control these creatures. They're lightning fast. John knows this. He's a fisherman, and he knows something profound has happened. He sees stunning, absolute control over the creation. Now John 21, how do you understand John 21 in the light of the whole of the scriptures? It's like the epilogue to the Gospel of John. There's a prologue in chapter one. There's an epilogue, chapter 21. The prologue and the epilogue are here connected. They're connected together. In the prologue, John said that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory. That the Word, who was in the beginning, who was with God and who was God, that this Word dwelt with us. We lived with Him, He tabernacled among us. And we saw His glory. And in the prologue, John tells us then that Jesus is the ultimate, the answer to all of the ultimate questions that humanity can ask. He is the Logos. And he says that all things were made through him. And without him, nothing was made that was made. John's saying that the whole of creation is pulsing with the reality that the living word, the word that became flesh and dwelt among us, that he, his fingerprints are on it all. In Psalm 8, the psalmist sees the same thing when he looks at the heavens. And here we're gonna draw some connections together concerning the Old Testament prophecies of Christ and the New Testament reality of the ministry of Christ. And you have to understand that these prophecies and realities are thousands Years apart, about a thousand years apart. Lord, our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth. You've set your glory above the heavens. And then he says in verse three, when I consider the heavens the work of your fingers. So David says, when I look up in the sky, I see the handiwork, the fingerprints of God. John says, when I grab the net and I see the fish, it is the Lord and I see the fingerprints of God. After three years, John knows that the man in the mists there is Jesus. That in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. That it's His God who later, apostolic writer in Hebrews would write, God who spoke by His Son, through whom He also made the world. Colossians 1, I already quoted it. By Him, all things were created, and He is before all things. In Him, all things hold together. Nehemiah, when he prays in Nehemiah chapter 9, he prays to the Lord who made the heaven, the earth, the seas, and all that is in them. In Psalm 69, we have the same prayer. In Jonah, the Lord sends a fish to swallow him. And these are all intimations of his absolute sovereignty, windows, glimpses into the absolute sovereignty of God over all things. And when the Christian looks at John chapter 21, we say, it is the Lord. Or to borrow Thomas's confession, we say, my Lord and my God. The second thing you need to see here is a great contrast. A contrast between the disciples and Jesus. And the disciples, what do you see? You see weakness, you see failure, you see the disciples living, as it were, in a parable in the darkness, unable to comprehend, see, or provide for themselves. They're weak. They're stumbling around, paddling around the Sea of Galilee, throwing their net in all night long, returning to their former calling. But here, without the blessing of God, nothing happens. And then on the shore, there is a man who knows what is happening, not only with them, but under the surface of the sea. He knows everything. At the beginning of their calling in Luke chapter five, the same Jesus had told them to do the same thing, and they had thrown the nets in, and the nets were brave, full of fish. And Jesus here repeats the same at the end of his ministry and walk with them just before his ascension. There is a man here. There's a man here. who knows what's under the surface of the sea. And again, we're gonna go back to Psalm 8, because if you keep reading Psalm 8, there's an interesting set of phrases at the end of the psalm, which the New Testament writers used to describe the glory of the victorious, exalted Jesus Christ, who is both God and man. Psalm 8, you have made him to have dominion over the works of your hands. And then this little phrase, you have put all things under his feet. Paul quotes that in 1 Corinthians 15. Paul quotes it again in Ephesians 1.22 when he says you put all things under his feet for the purpose of him growing, leading, and building the church. It's the theme in Ephesians 1 there. And then again, it's in Hebrews chapter 2. that there's a prophecy here in Psalm 8 of the exaltation of the man, the second Adam, to have dominion over all things. All things are under his feet. And then read this, all sheep and oxen, even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas. This text teaches you very plainly the resplendent, glorious sovereignty of the resurrected Jesus Christ. That there is a man, the second Adam, under whose feet have been placed all things, who has dominion. At this point, he has not finally ascended. But yet he is the victorious, resurrected, glorious, finished work, mediator Jesus Christ. He knows what's under the surface of the sea. He knows what's under the surface of your life. And there is not one thing that is outside of his control. And if you placed your trust in him this morning, He cares for you the same way, with the same knowledge, sovereignty, power, provision, and goodness as He did with the disciples on the Sea of Galilee long ago. Now if you haven't placed your trust in Him, this is a problem. It's a problem with eternal consequences. But I often wonder why you wouldn't, if you haven't. What possibly, possibly could be a reason not to worship love and trust? The One who has dominion over all things, who is the Word, but the Word who became flesh, who reveals the glory of God, who laid His life down for sinners, who rose again in glory and splendor, and who has the power to provide the goodness, the provision, the riches, to provide everything you would ever need. Who, if you think you are missing something now, here, today, in a moment, He could provide it with the abundance that He provided the fishes for the disciples. Who does this for every need that we have for those who are in Him, the forgiveness of sins, for God did not spare His own Son, but freely gave Him up for us all, and then with Him freely gives us all things, so that our nets are full and overflowing. Third thing, Jesus gently turns them back to the mission he gave them. That's what he's doing here. There's a call here for everyone who sees this scene to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. There's a particular reminder here for those who follow Jesus Christ that he is interested in always turning us back to himself and reminding us of who he is and who we are in our total, utter dependence on him for everything. so that we would worship, bow down, and serve him, and always remember his words. Without me, you can do nothing. But with God, all things are possible. Now the scene moves to the shore. This is remarkable. Peter leaps out of the ship. He doesn't have time to wait. He leaves everyone behind, plunges into the sea. The other disciples came in the little boat, they were not far from land, about 200 cubits or 100 yards, dragging the net with the fish. When they do that, what do they find? Look at verse nine. Then as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there and fish laid on it and bred. It takes a little while to make a fire, doesn't it? and it takes a while to cook some fish, and then there's bread. So Jesus didn't only think of them at their moment of need. Matter of fact, he had prepared for them before they ever got there. And here this scene is really staggering. Peter's response is the right response. Leap out of the boat and run for this one, Jesus. The rest of the disciples, Perhaps more conscientious that it would be good to help each other and get there together. Bring the boat in and the net is pulled behind them. They still haven't lifted it in. And then they come to the shore. And again, if you're tracking with this, he already has breakfast ready for the hungry. And he says to them in verse 10, bring some of the fish and then hear this gracious word, which you have just caught. which I just gave you, but take some of those too. They'll fill out the feast. And then in verse 11, they count the cash. Peter went up and he dragged the net to land full of large fish, 153. And although there were so many, the net was not broken. And then Jesus said to them, come and eat breakfast. come and eat breakfast. And if you keep reading, the disciples are just, they cannot, their minds cannot fully contain what is happening because they believe it's Jesus, but at the same time, they're wondering, who is this? They knew who he was, but at the same time, they wanted to say, Jesus, this is you. This is you? And then on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus, verse 13, came, he took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish. And the disciples on the shore are served after their long, hungry, fruitless night, breakfast by the King of kings, the Lord of glory, the God-man who made them and all things. Why is this all recorded? Verse 14. Verse 1 and verse 14. Verse 1, after these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way he showed himself. This is now the third time Jesus showed himself to his disciples after he was raised from the dead. John's saying, he's alive. Read. Look. This is our witness and testimony. This is what happened. He's like a historian here. He is a historian, an inspired historian, like Luke, like Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, which we keep going back to for these resurrection appearances. And he tells us that at the shores of the Sea of Tiberias, there were seven of us. We spent the whole night fishing. We saw a man on the shore. He told us to throw the net in. The man was Jesus. The net was full. We went to the shore. We had fish and bread with him. He cooked the breakfast. He served the meal. We ate with him, Peter would preach in Acts chapter 10 and verse 23. We ate with him after he rose from the dead. That was part of the preaching of the gospel of the apostles. Jesus is alive. But then, this last scene. Next week, you'll come here for the Lord's Supper. Keep this in mind as you meditate. John's saying, if you bring the prologue to the epilogue, we ate with the word. With remarkable familiarity, we sat on the beach with the resurrected Jesus, and he served us everything we need. Here is the imminence, the closeness of the Savior, and at the same time, the transcendence of the glory of God in one man, Jesus Christ. The call of the gospel is to put your trust always and forever in Him. Let's pray. Lord our God, we praise you that the gospel is so clear and so plain. and that we have so great a savior, the one who has power over the waves of the sea, the fish of the sea, and who uses his power constantly, gently, and before we even know or comprehend fully that you, Lord Jesus, are caring for us, to give us everything we need to take up our callings and to follow after you. We pray that you would give us a new sense of our total dependence on our Savior Jesus Christ for everything. On his ability to abundantly provide to do so exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think for everything we need. And then Lord we pray that if there would yet be even one person here this morning who stubbornly in rebellion would not bow the knee to the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us, that you would grant the grace of true repentance and quiet trust in Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.