In John 21:1-191After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise showed he himself. 2There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. 3Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. 4But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. 5Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. 6And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. 7Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. 8And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. 9As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. 10Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. 11Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. 12Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. 13Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. 14This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead. 15So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 17He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 18Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. 19This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me. (John 21:1‑19), we have three distinct kinds of restoration — namely, restoration of conscience, restoration of heart, and restoration of position.
Conscience
Restoration of conscience is of paramount importance, and it is impossible to overestimate the value of a clear conscience. The believer must walk before God with a pure conscience.
At the sea of Tiberias, it is evident that Peter possessed a good conscience. He had fallen in a shameful, grievous way and denied his Lord with oaths and curses. Yet he was restored. One look from Jesus had broken his heart and drawn forth tears. Yet it was not his tears, but the love that drew them forth, that was the ground of his thorough restoration of conscience. The everlasting love of Jesus, the efficacy of His precious blood, and the prevailing power of His advocacy gave Peter boldness and liberty on this occasion in John 21.
The Lord Jesus knew all about their fruitless efforts during the night, the toil, and the empty net, and He was there on the shore to kindle a fire and prepare dinner for them. The same Jesus who had died on the cross was now there to minister to their needs and to restore them from their wanderings.
When Peter heard that it was the Lord, he could not wait for the ship or for his fellow-disciples — he was so eager to get to His blessed Lord. He flings himself boldly into the sea, in order to be the first to get to the risen Saviour. Here, indeed, is a perfectly restored conscience — a conscience basking in the sunshine of unchanging love. It is evident from 1 Corinthians 15:5 that Peter had had a personal visit with the Lord after His resurrection, and as a result, his conscience is clear. Peter’s confidence in the Lord was unclouded, and He can approach Him with joy and boldness.
Heart
However, the heart must be restored as well as the conscience. Our conscience may be clear as to certain acts that we have done, but the roots from which those acts have sprung may not have been reached. The acts appear on the surface of daily life, but the roots are hidden down deep in the heart — perhaps unknown to others and even to ourselves, yet thoroughly exposed to the eye of Him with whom we have to do. These roots must be reached, exposed and judged before the heart is in a right condition before God.
Let us mark the delicate way in which the Lord reaches these roots in Peter. Not until “they had dined” is the subject raised. Nothing was presented to cloud the joy of the meal and the love that had prepared it. But after all this had been enjoyed, the Lord takes up Peter’s case and the root of his failure. That root was self-confidence, which had led him to place himself above all the other disciples. This root had to be exposed. Three times Peter had denied his Lord, and three times the Lord now challenges his heart with the question, “Lovest thou Me?” The question goes right to the bottom of Peter’s heart, for the root must be reached if any permanent good is to be done. If this is not attended to, the root will spring up again and again, with its sorrowful fruit. All this could be avoided if the roots were judged and kept under.
It is hard to know our roots, for they are often very deep. Pride, vanity, covetousness, irritability, ambition — these are some of the things over which we must continually exercise self-judgment. We may have to lament over the occasional failure, but we must maintain the fight and through Christ gain the victory.
Position
When the conscience is thoroughly purged and the heart with its roots judged, there is moral preparedness for our proper path. The Lord’s perfect love had restored Peter’s conscience, and His threefold questioning of him had opened up the root in his heart. He now gives Peter the sweetest pledges of His love and confidence, for He entrusts to him the care of all that was dear to His loving heart in this world — the lambs and sheep of His flock. Then, in one brief but comprehensive word, He opens up to him his proper path. We have here, in two words, the path of the servant of Christ: “Follow Me.” If we want to follow Jesus, we must keep the eye continually upon Him. We may be tempted, like Peter, to turn about to see what this one or that one may be doing, but then we hear the correcting words, “What is that to thee? Follow thou Me.” This should be our all-absorbing business, although a thousand things may come to distract and hinder.
There is great danger today of following in the wake of others and of doing certain things because others do them. All this must be carefully judged, for it will come to nothing. What we really need is a broken will — the true spirit of the servant that waits on the Master to know His mind. Service does not consist of doing this or that, or going here or there; rather, it is simply doing the Master’s will, whatever that may be. Let us only be sure of what He has told us to do, and do it. His words ring in our ears, “Follow thou Me.”
C. H. Mackintosh, adapted from
Things New and Old, Vol. 7:61-68