Jonesboro Heights Baptist Church

Sanford, North Carolina

Dr. Mark E. Gaskins
Senior Pastor
The Lord’s Day
May 1, 2011
www.jhbc.org © 2011

The Lord of New Beginnings

John 21:1-22

He was back now doing what he knew and did best— fishing! In times past, Simon Peter
had made a pretty decent living as a fisherman, even owning his own boat with his brother
Andrew at one point. But that was before he met Jesus of Nazareth and left his boat and nets
behind to follow Him.
The last three years had been a strange but exciting time. Simon Peter, his brother Andrew,
and ten other men had left everything they had to follow Jesus. They had seen Him do all kinds
of signs and mighty works, and had heard Him preach and teach about the kingdom of God.
Jesus had boldly challenged the religious leaders, calling for a new perspective as He declared
that God was doing His greatest act of deliverance ever. But He was doing it differently than
they had expected. All this had cost Jesus His life just a few weeks earlier. But now, as all His
disciples knew, He had risen from the dead on the third day after His death on the cross. They
knew because they had seen Him and talked with Him!

A failing record
Jesus’ disciples had all failed Him miserably. Not only did Judas Iscariot betray Him for
thirty pieces of silver; everyone else had deserted Him. Only the beloved disciple (apparently
John) had not completely forsaken Him; he had followed Him at a distance from His trial to His
crucifixion. Even Simon Peter, “the Rock” as Jesus had nicknamed him, had denied Him
outright—not just once, or even twice, but three times! Only hours before, Peter had boldly
declared that he would lay down his life for Jesus if necessary. He had almost done it, too!
When the soldiers came to take Jesus, Peter drew a sword and cut off the right ear of the high
priest’s slave Malchus!
Yet an hour later, he cowered before a servant girl, denying that he even knew Jesus!
Jesus was crucified the next day. Only the beloved disciple was there at the cross, along with
Jesus’ mother and some of the women who’d been following Him.
But now He was alive again, risen from the dead! He had shown Himself to Mary
Magdalene, and at least twice to the disciples. Even the skeptical Thomas, who wasn’t with the
disciples the first time Jesus showed Himself to them, was convinced after Jesus appeared to
them all again and invited him to put his finger in the marks of the nails and his hand in the spear
wound in His side. When Thomas saw Jesus alive, he didn’t have to do all this. Instead, he
exclaimed, “My Lord and my God!”
Continuing uncertainty
Things were still a bit uncertain for Simon Peter. Up until he denied Jesus, he’d been the
leader of and spokesman for the Twelve.
But what about now? Where did he stand? When Jesus had needed him most, he had failed
Him worst. What could his future possibly be now as a disciple of Jesus, much less as a leader
of His people?
It’s not difficult to see why Peter returned to his fishing. He was in limbo. He was a good
fisherman. He had to eat. And when he went fishing, the others who were with him decided to
go too.
Amid all this uncertainty, something wonderful happened that morning. Jesus was
determined that Peter would learn something about Him as the risen Lord. For Peter, it would be
a painful, grieving, gut-wrenching experience. But it would be an experience that would restore
him fully as a disciple and servant of Jesus Christ.

Reminders, repentance, restoration

They’d been fishing all night long, but had caught nothing. Even though Peter was an
excellent fisherman, the nets kept coming up empty.
Now someone on shore was telling them to cast their net on the right side of the boat. They
did, and the catch was so big they couldn’t even get it into the boat. At this, the beloved disciple
perceived that it was, as he put it, “the Lord.” When he told Peter this, Peter put his outer
garment back on (he had taken it off to free up his movement as he worked), jumped overboard,
and began swimming as hard as he could to get to Jesus on the shore. The others brought the
boat to shore, dragging the net full of fish behind them.
When they got there, they saw some fish cooking over a fire. But it wasn’t just any fire; it
was a charcoal fire. The odor of that charcoal must have stunned Peter.
You see, Jesus was cooking breakfast for him over the same kind of fire that Peter was
warming himself by when he denied Jesus (John 18:15-27). Eager now to try to make up for all
that, when Jesus said, “Bring some of the fish which you have now caught,” 1 Peter hauled in all
by himself the net that they couldn’t even get into the boat! Then Jesus invited them all to
breakfast.
After they ate, Jesus began a conversation with Simon Peter—a conversation that cut deep
into Peter’s heart and reminded him of his threefold denial of his Lord.
Maybe even more grieving to Peter was the way Jesus was addressing him—rather than
calling him by the name He had given him, Peter or Rock, Jesus addressed him very formally by
the name he’d been know by before: Simon, son of John.
“Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?”
After all, Peter had pledged with greater enthusiasm than all the others to lay down his life
for Jesus, to stick with Him even if everyone else deserted Him.
Peter answered, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
Jesus said, “Tend My lambs.”
Then Jesus asked him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?”
Again Peter answered, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love You.”
Jesus said, “Shepherd My sheep.”

1
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible, updated
edition.

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 On that fateful night a few weeks before, Peter had been asked three times if he were a
follower of Jesus. And three times he had denied Jesus. Now Jesus was about to ask Peter to
affirm his loyalty to Him just as emphatically as he had denied it that night.
So for the third time, Jesus said, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?”
Now all the pain and shame and guilt Peter had felt over that night was flooding his heart
more than ever. Almost in desperation he said, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I
love You.”
And again Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.”
What a comfort it must have been for Peter that Jesus knows everything! Despite his failure,
despite his disloyalty, despite his desertion to save his own neck, Jesus knew that Peter loved
Him!

Through this very painful conversation, Jesus fully restored Peter as His follower and as a
leader among His people. To this one who had so vehemently denied Him three times, Jesus
three times gave the responsibility of caring for His sheep, even the tender little lambs.
Jesus went on to tell Peter that one day he would indeed lay down his life for his Lord. Then
He told him very simply, very clearly, “Follow Me.” Tradition tells us that it happened just as
Jesus said, about thirty years later, as Peter was crucified as a follower of Jesus.
But Peter was a lot like I sometimes find myself. After Jesus had restored him and called
him to follow Him to his destiny as a martyr, Peter turned and saw the beloved disciple standing
there, and asked Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?”
Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”
Peter was responsible for being faithful to his own calling, not someone else’s! And so are we!

New beginnings
What a beautiful story of how the Lord of new beginnings fully restored the one who had
denied Him! Jesus gave Simon Peter a new beginning, freely forgiving him and restoring him as
His disciple. It was a painful confrontation for Peter, yet it brought him restoration.
But this story really doesn’t end there, does it? Doesn’t it speak to us too? Haven’t we all
denied Him in some way? Haven’t we all bailed out on Jesus to save our own necks at some
point? Don’t we all need forgiveness and restoration—not just once, not just twice, but time and
time again? When we disobey Jesus, when we refuse to follow Him in faith, when we neglect to
care for people—aren’t these all really denials of our Lord? Don’t we all need restoration
constantly and continually? Don’t we all need new beginnings?
The good news this morning is that Jesus is the Lord of new beginnings, who forgives us and
restores us when we fail Him.
Now don’t underestimate the significance of our failures here. Sin is a very serious matter.
Jesus doesn’t ignore it or sweep it under the rug. He lovingly confronts it and deals with it. He
gave His life to save us and deliver us from it! To experience this forgiveness and restoration
that Jesus brings, we must face up to our sin and honestly confess it without excuse. We may
have to live with the consequences, but He removes the guilt. If we don’t deal with it, it
becomes a festering sore on our spirit. But when we’re honest with God about it, He forgives us
and restores us.
And understand that our commitment to Christ is not to be determined by, based on, or
judged by the commitment of others. Jesus says to us just as He did to Peter: “You follow Me!”
We’re responsible to follow Him in what He calls us to do, regardless of the response of others.

3
It’s not a matter of “I will if they do,” but simply, “Yes, Lord, I will follow You.”

Do you need a new beginning today? Have you messed up? Have your actions denied
Jesus? Has your way of life been out of sync with what you say with your lips when you confess
Jesus as your Lord?
Maybe you’ve never put your faith in Jesus and followed Him as your Lord and Savior, but
you realize today that you need a new beginning.
He’s the Lord of new beginnings! And the promise of His word is that

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous

to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

You see, through His resurrection Jesus gives us the opportunity for new beginnings,
especially in our relationship with Him. But the reality of resurrection offers the hope of new
beginnings in other areas, too.
A lot of people in our area, and now throughout a large part of the southeast, are faced with
new beginnings today because of all the horrible tornadoes. Many are starting over without a
house they long called home. Some are having to start over with nothing because they lost all
their possessions. Some are having to start over without a loved one who died in the storms.
These are hard, unpleasant, almost unbearable new beginnings.
In 2 Corinthians 1:8-9 (NIV), Paul told the Corinthians about being under such unbearable
pressure that he “despaired even of life,” feeling as though he was under the death sentence.
Then he says, “But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves, but on God who raises the
dead.” When it seems like there is no hope, we can trust in the one who raised our Lord Jesus
from the dead, and who has promised to raise at the last day all those who trust in Him as well!
Or as my friend Ron Cava, pastor of the First Baptist of Clinton, told his congregation last
Sunday, “The resurrection of Jesus makes the good new beginnings better and the bad new
beginnings bearable.”
So whether it’s a new beginning after we’ve failed the Lord or a new beginning after some
tragedy, the key is whether our trust is in the Lord of new beginnings, Jesus Christ, whom God
raised from the dead.
Turn to Him and trust Him today!

MEG