Saturday, November 5, 2011
John 21:25
Saturday, November 05, 2011 |
And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
To me this is an exciting passage of scripture for a number of reasons. The time is after the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the location is the shores of the Sea of Galilee, which is one of the most beautiful landscapes in all of Israel.
The disciples had been out fishing, verses 3-11, while the risen Saviour, Jesus Christ was on the shore actually cooking, preparing a meal for His disciples. I love His invitation to the disciples, "Come and dine", verse 12.
The opportunity to sit and have a meal with Jesus, the Messiah, would be such a blessing. One day we will join Him at the "Marriage Supper of the Lamb"", what a day that will be for all of us who love Him.
There is a very interesting conversation that goes on between Jesus and Peter that gives us instructions for our own lives, if we appropriate this exhortation found in verses 15-17.
As we eavesdrop on the conversation we hear Jesus ask Peter three times if he, as a disciple of Christ, really loved Him. Each time Peter responded with, "Thou knowest I love thee".
The Lord's response to Peter was then for Him to "feed, My lambs", the ones that Jesus had given salvation. The exhortation from Jesus is, "If you love me, go work with those I have given eternal life". And as was the case with Peter, we will help them grow in their relationship with the Lord.
Another very interesting passage is the next part of the Lord's conversation with Peter, verses 18-24. In essence, Jesus says to Peter, that His trusted disciple, verse 18, would get old before he died.
Maybe at first glance you don't notice anything about this statement; however, as I thought about the fact that Jesus told Peter he would get old before he died meant that the Rapture could not have happened until after Peter's death.
A study of Acts reveals that Peter, along with the other disciples, believed that Jesus might come back to earth, after His ascension, at any moment. The truth be known, Jesus could not Rapture Peter out of this world, he was to die in old age.
What's exciting is that Peter worked as if the Lord could come at any moment and He went out with the other disciples and turned the world "upside down", Acts 17:6.
The personal application for us is that today, Jesus could call us at "any moment" to join Him in the air at the Rapture of the Church. We must follow Peter's example and go out and turn the world "right side up", it's already "upside down".
One more thought before we leave this passage, look at verse 25. All that Jesus did was not recorded for us to read in this book or any other book, only what He knew we needed to know.
The reason it was not written was that there is not a library, or even the world, that could contain all the books that should have been written about Jesus Christ. What a life Jesus lived.
PRAYER THOT: Help me Lord to be faithful to read Your Word so I can "feed Your lambs" as I also feed myself and await Your shout to join You in the air.
For further study - John 21:12-25
To me this is an exciting passage of scripture for a number of reasons. The time is after the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the location is the shores of the Sea of Galilee, which is one of the most beautiful landscapes in all of Israel.
The disciples had been out fishing, verses 3-11, while the risen Saviour, Jesus Christ was on the shore actually cooking, preparing a meal for His disciples. I love His invitation to the disciples, "Come and dine", verse 12.
The opportunity to sit and have a meal with Jesus, the Messiah, would be such a blessing. One day we will join Him at the "Marriage Supper of the Lamb"", what a day that will be for all of us who love Him.
There is a very interesting conversation that goes on between Jesus and Peter that gives us instructions for our own lives, if we appropriate this exhortation found in verses 15-17.
As we eavesdrop on the conversation we hear Jesus ask Peter three times if he, as a disciple of Christ, really loved Him. Each time Peter responded with, "Thou knowest I love thee".
The Lord's response to Peter was then for Him to "feed, My lambs", the ones that Jesus had given salvation. The exhortation from Jesus is, "If you love me, go work with those I have given eternal life". And as was the case with Peter, we will help them grow in their relationship with the Lord.
Another very interesting passage is the next part of the Lord's conversation with Peter, verses 18-24. In essence, Jesus says to Peter, that His trusted disciple, verse 18, would get old before he died.
Maybe at first glance you don't notice anything about this statement; however, as I thought about the fact that Jesus told Peter he would get old before he died meant that the Rapture could not have happened until after Peter's death.
A study of Acts reveals that Peter, along with the other disciples, believed that Jesus might come back to earth, after His ascension, at any moment. The truth be known, Jesus could not Rapture Peter out of this world, he was to die in old age.
What's exciting is that Peter worked as if the Lord could come at any moment and He went out with the other disciples and turned the world "upside down", Acts 17:6.
The personal application for us is that today, Jesus could call us at "any moment" to join Him in the air at the Rapture of the Church. We must follow Peter's example and go out and turn the world "right side up", it's already "upside down".
One more thought before we leave this passage, look at verse 25. All that Jesus did was not recorded for us to read in this book or any other book, only what He knew we needed to know.
The reason it was not written was that there is not a library, or even the world, that could contain all the books that should have been written about Jesus Christ. What a life Jesus lived.
PRAYER THOT: Help me Lord to be faithful to read Your Word so I can "feed Your lambs" as I also feed myself and await Your shout to join You in the air.