Getting Past the Past

 

COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH

SERMON NOTES SUNDAY 28 JUNE 2026 

JOHN 21 VERSES 1 TO 22 – GETTING PAST THE PAST

An encounter in some respects we would never think would have happened after what did happen to Peter in the judgment hall. Here the Lord meets with Peter.

Once again after the name of the Lord himself the 4 gospels are full of Peter. No name comes up so often as him. No disciples speaks so often and so much as Peter. Our Lord speaks more often to Peter than to any other. Sometimes he spoke in blame, sometimes in praise. No disciples ever boldly confessed or outspokenly confessed Christ as Peter. Repeatedly he blessed his master. Yet as the pendulum swings the other way no other was tempted as Peter was. The Lord spoke blessings to Peter. He spoke to no other man as Peter. At the same time he said harder things to Peter than any of the other disciples except Judas. No disciple ever spoke as much as Peter.

“Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Luke 5 verse 8

“Lo we have left all and have followed thee.” Mark 10 verse 28

“Lord if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.” Matthew 14 verse 28

“Lord save me.”

“Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16 verse 16

“To whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.” John 6 verse 68

“Though all men shall be offended because off thee, yet will I never be offended.” Matthew 26 verses 33

“Thou shalt never wash my feet ... Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.” John 13 verse 9

“I do not know the man.” Matthew 26 verse 72

Peter turned back to his master again like a little child. Does it sound familiar to us? Not in the context of Peter but in the context of you as a believer? On Sundays we walk into church, smile and shake hands and usually make polite conversation. We look very respectable but life isn’t just that neat and tidy. Just beneath the veneer some are really struggling and yet others do not know. We are not as altogether on the inside as we are on the outside. There could be ongoing struggles, besetting sin, maybe someone who is a thorn in your flesh, perhaps a marriage failure or a failure in your life in the past that you cannot get over, depression, something that is locked in to your life. The life we preach on Sundays is not the life experienced through the week. Whatever it is, it makes us anxious and we cannot get past it. Even now it is in your mind. The last encounter Jesus and Peter have together in the gospels is here in John 21. It gives us great encouragement as believers when we read this account. The key to the story is understanding what was going on in the inside of Peter. Recently he had denied the Lord thrice. Failure burned in his mind. His worse crushing moment was the third time he denied the Lord and the rooster crowed. At that moment his eyes locked on the Lord and the Lord gazed on him. In that moment Peter went out and wept bitterly. No amount of tears could wash away that image from his mind. The sense of failure was all consuming. Peter was now crushed, crumbled, carrying around a black mark on his name always yet in our passage we find that the Lord comes and meets him. In verse 4 we see the start of a new day and a new start for Peter. Here the Lord comes to meet him. It some sense it was spontaneous. Not in the sense of the Lord’s approach to the disciples but in the actions they were fishing all night and had caught nothing. Then the Lord tells them to cast their net on the right side of the boat. The net is overflowing but it did not break. John whispers to Peter “it is the Lord” and Peter rushes to the shore. He loves the Lord. The Lord has prepared breakfast for them and they sit down to eat together. When the breakfast is over and there is no more small talk Jesus turns and addresses Peter. The bible does not tell us what is going on in the inside – his heart is racing, stomach is churning and there is a lump in his throat. As the Saviour spoke directly to him …

There is a reminder in verses 1 to 14. Jesus comes and finds Peter. He actively seeks out the disciples and Peter. A great spiritual truth is found here. Christ pursues us. Why? The disciples went fishing. They went back to the old labours. They needed to feed their families. Different people have different views on why they returned to fishing. The fact is – Christ pursued them and met them there. No matter what you or I have done in the past that is under the blood. Christ has paid the debt for that. The great God of the universe pursues you this morning. This thread runs through all the scriptures. Christ pursues his people. We think of the Garden of Eden, after the fall of man, God pursued them in the cool of the day. After 40 years God takes the initiative to bring Moses in and through the burning bush. He had thought it was all over. For 40 years he was in the desert far from God. Forgotten about. After 40 years God comes to him and recommissions him. Jonah ran from God’s call to Nineveh but God ran after him. He sent a great fish. What a lesson to learn. Peter after denying the Lord thrice went back to his old job of fishing. Jesus comes in spite of his failure. A reminder to us – Jesus will never leave us. God seeks out the believer. The one who has stumbled and fallen. He restores them. The one who is wracked in their mind and body in regards to pain and suffering. God cares for his children. We are reminded of that here.

There is restoration – verses 15 to 17. Jesus has already had breakfast with Peter. There was fellowship, communion. There was small talk but there was no word of rebuke. Jesus certainly could have taken him back to another fire. I wonder did Peter think back to another fire? The fire at which he warmed himself. Consumed in regret. The time when he began to curse and blaspheme, to deny he knew the Lord 3 times. Jesus could have taken him back to that fire but he didn’t. We are reminded here of this restoration. We see the Lord comes graciously to Peter and he communes with him. He dines with him and then he commissions him. He restores him in regard to bringing him to himself. Jesus is all of grace. Some one said ‘Jesus is in the grace business not in the guilt business.” He approaches Peter in grace and restores him. He is in the healing business not the humiliation business. Here Peter is restored and we know that it was a difficult time for Peter because we find he was grieved – verse 17. 3 times he had denied the Lord and 3 times the Lord asked him to search his heart. He looked into his soul and said “Peter do you love me?” We are reminded of Romans 8 verse 1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.” Christ restores Peter.

In verses 18 to 22 we have Peter’s recommission. We are reminded that Christ does not forget his people. He seeks after us even after failure. We see Peter’s restoration and now we find him being recommissioned. The Lord recommissions and sends him back into the harvest field. 3 times the Lord says to Peter “feed my lambs” or “take care of my sheep”. We read in scripture “a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4 verse 12). The Lord brings it to Peter 3 times. The Lord knew he would soon ascend back into heaven. The most precious thing to him is his people. He wanted a under shepherd to look after his people, to care for his people. Here he commissions Peter to do so. “Peter look after my sheep, the little lambs, the ones that are in danger.” The lion will come and rip and tear. The wolves will ravish. Look after them. Tend to them. Maybe encourage and bless those older ones through the word of God. He is being recommissioned. The Lord is asking Peter to take care of them that are most important to him. He puts his most valued possession, the church, the people of God in the care of Peter. If that had been you or I seeking someone to look after the sheep and lambs who would have we sought out of the 11 disciples? Probably it would not have been Peter. Yet this is the moment that Peter was recommissioned. What a beautiful thought. The Lord was simply saying to Peter “I am not through with you.” The Lord was seeking to build his church and he wanted Peter involved. The Lord is continuing to build his church. That church is being built here. You are involved. Think of just a few chapters in front – Acts 2. Peter stands boldly and preaches to over 3000 people. In one day alone 3000 converts are brought into the church of Christ. The Lord was not through with Peter. The Lord is not through with you today. The Lord will not forget you.

What lessons do we have here?

In Luke 22 verse 31 the Lord warned Peter “Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.” The “I” is emphatic and the “you” is singular. It was referring to Peter alone. “I have prayed for you as an individual Peter” and that means in a season there will not be complete denial and turning from the Lord because Christ prayed for him and all the disciples. The lesson is that the Lord prays for us. He sits at the right hand of his Father praying for you as an individual. The creator of the universe prays for you. You are on his mind. You have not been forgotten about. In Luke 22 verses 33 and 34 Peter was bold in saying “Lord I am ready to go with thee, both into prison and to death” yet a little maid recognised him and Peter denied the Lord. We have to be careful just what we say. At times this little member can get us into trouble. Some times we can use it too quickly. It is sometimes too sharp. Let us learn from Peter. There are 3 points of application to note.

First we have to remember we will be tempted. Satan as a roaring lion walks about seeking whom he may devour. If he wanted to thrash the disciples how much more us? If Satan attacked our Lord he will attack us.

Secondly let us pray that the Lord will give us the grace not to fall. That when I hear the lion roaring and the wolves ravishing I will not capitalise and deny the Lord. The place of employment can be a viscous place. As we seek to stand up for our testimony and say “I am a believer, born again” there will be those who will respect us but others will not let us. Remember Peter in that moment the cock crowed. 2 eyes met him at that exact moment. It should be borne into our hearts that it doesn’t happen to us. Peter wept bitterly. Let us learn from that.

Thirdly let us offer grace to others that have fallen. Others that have denied the Lord. May we have grace as we deal with them. The Lord had grace  when he dealt with Peter. If you had made that breakfast you might have made the fire bigger, like a bonfire. You might have made sure that Peter stood right beside it. Maybe you would have dropped hints alluding to the courtyard experience. We would have let Peter know how we felt. May we instead offer grace because that is the Lord’s example here. The key is being like the Lord and staying close to him. To be in constant touch with him means we will have grace to deal with others. The wolves and lions may wear us down but we need to get past our past. The Lord did not forget Peter and he will not forget us. In his restoration there was grace. He was recommissioned to look after the sheep and lambs. The most important thing to God is his people, his children. They were given to Peter. Let us learn from this. If there is someone stumbling over the past can you leave it with the Lord today. The Lord has forgiven you from your sin. That does not mean he has forgiven 99.999999% but all your sin. That sin of yours was dealt with on the tree of Calvary. When Christ died he shed his blood for the sins of his people. That sin was covered. Christ took off his cloak of righteousness and put it on our shoulders. He took the cloak of sin and depravity and put it on himself. He wore our cloak of sin and depravity and punishment on the cross of Calvary. The Lord has paid the debt for your sin so let us get past our past. Let us embrace the restoration and be recommissioned to do what he wants us to do.