Episode 137 - Jesus revealed himself again - John 21:1-8

1 After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. 7 That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. 8 The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

According to John, Jesus appeared to the disciples on the evening after his resurrection and then again eight days later when Thomas was with them. On both occasions, he simply appeared in the locked room with them. There was no knock on the door and wait for someone to let him in. That seems a little freaky when you first think about it. That Jesus is just there at his will. But, if you stop and consider the implications, it reveals that nothing can prevent or impede God’s presence with his people. I find that comforting.

In the first verse of this chapter John says twice that Jesus “revealed himself.” There were times during his earthly ministry when Jesus “hid himself.” (See John 8:59, John 12:36) Now it would appear that he is often hidden but revealed himself at times deemed important by the Father. In this case, the disciples have emerged from their seclusion and are ready to get on with life it would seem. Peter announced that he was going fishing and others quickly joined him. They were fishing on the “Sea of Tiberias,” another name for the Sea of Galilee.

Did you notice the little detail John added about when they were fishing? It was at night when it was dark. Sound familiar? Unbelieving Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. After the miraculous feeding of the multitude, the disciples got into a boat to cross over to the other side and a storm came up when they were halfway across the Sea of Galilee. John mentions, “It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.” (John 6:17) Now, once again the disciples are in a boat on the Sea of Galilee when it’s dark and Jesus is not with them. John had said in his introduction, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:4-5) I mentioned early in this study that the Greek word translated as “overcome” could also mean “understood.” It would seem that the literal darkness they were experiencing also testified metaphorically of their lack of understanding concerning Jesus. Peter and the others returned to the place where they had been when Jesus first called them. But, that’s not where they were to remain and Jesus appeared to them in order to bring some light to their understanding.

By themselves and in the dark, “they caught nothing.” They were completely unsuccessful on their own. That is a good lesson for us. We can do nothing apart from God’s presence and will with us. 

It seems to me that just four verses into this story, we have enough to challenge us for this week. Let me summarize what I see.

1. Nothing prevents God’s presence with us. We can trust that he is accessible and aware of our needs even though we can’t see him or even sense him.

2. When we trust that the Lord is good and cares about us and is present with us we are exercising faith without seeing and we are not in darkness.

3. We will not be truly successful in our endeavors if we are not listening to the Lord and seeking His will.

We’ll continue with this story in our next episode.

Episode 124 - "I find no guilt in him" - John 19:1-5

John 19:1   Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. 2 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. 3 They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. 4 Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” 5 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!”

At the beginning of this section where Jesus is ultimately condemned to death by crucifixion, Pilate’s internal conflict of him being convinced of Jesus’ innocence and the manipulating demands of the crowd are only increased. Additionally, the irony increases as well. 

From John’s prologue to this gospel, John records, “He came unto his own, but his own did not receive him.” (John 1:11) The question “Who or What is his own?” is a reasonable question to ask. Jesus certainly came to “his own” people the Jews. Our immediate context of John 19 makes it very plain that the Jews are rejecting him as their Messiah-King. So, we can see how that interpretation of John 1:11 is accurate. However, as the Word who through all things were created (John 1:3), everything and everyone are technically his own. He is not just the Messianic King of the Jews, he is the Creator of the world and all things and all people are his own. With the Roman soldiers flogging him, mocking him, and beating him, there are representatives of “the world” who are rejecting him as well. Yet, in their rejection, their mocking words ring truthfully regarding Jesus’ identity. 

Why does Pilate have Jesus flogged and have him beaten if he believes that Jesus is not guilty of any offense? It seems to me that his words to the crowd give us an indication of what is going on in his mind. After Jesus has been flogged and beaten up, he presents Jesus to the crowd and says, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” (John 19:4) I believe the only answer to this is that by having Jesus beaten up, flogged, and humiliated in such a way, Pilate believed the crowd would be moved by Jesus’ appearance and be satisfied to leave him alone and not demand his execution. He was wrong.

As I have worked through this study, I’ve called your attention at least a few times to the repetition of keywords or themes throughout the book. Repetition helps us understand what is important. In these few verses, a Greek word that is found numerous times in John occurs twice. The word means “Behold! Look! Pay attention!” In this translation, its first occurrence is in verse four and is translated “See.” This is the same word expressed by John the Baptist and pointing his own followers to Jesus he says, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) The point to the hearers is to get their attention and to say, “Don’t miss this!” Here in verse four the point by Pilate is “Don’t miss this! I believe Jesus is innocent.”

The second occurrence is in verse five as the bloodied and bruised Jesus comes out to the crowd and Pilate says, “Behold the man!” I think Pilate’s intent is simply for the people to look at Jesus’ condition and reconsider their motives toward him. However, I cannot help but think that John records these words of Pilate to remind us “the Word (who was with God and was God) became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14) 

It is important for us to “behold Jesus.” As we read about his life and ministry, we need to pay careful attention to the fact that he is truly God, yet he is truly man, but without any sin(guilt). That is how he can be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He did this for us knowing that many would reject him, mock him, abuse him, and kill him. This is the love of God spoken of in John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, He gave His only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”