John 21

It’s fun to read John 21 and ponder the relational dynamics between Jesus and his disciples. My imagination fills up the gaps of the sparse text with my own experiences of course, but that is true of reading any text, and what can make it so powerful.

A Make-up Talk

Marriage counselors will say that successful relationships aren’t the ones that don’t fight, but the ones that are able to make up afterwards. If there is no reparative conversation after the blow-up or blowout, then the relationship is done.

Peter, despite all of his verbal allegiance to Jesus grossly miscalculates in the garden-arrest scene and gets gets publicly humiliated by Jesus healing the work he had done with his sword. After this Peter, together with the others flees. Peter then follows to the house where Jesus is “tried” and denies him three times. It’s a catastrophe that is retold by ALL the gospel accounts.

Peter sees the empty tomb. Peter sees Jesus in the locked room. Implied by the conversation that will take place in John 21 I wonder what it was like for Peter to see Jesus and not know what he was thinking. Jesus knew. Peter knew their relationship was strained and he knew he had failed. He had failed Jesus and he had failed himself and all knew it. How to face Jesus. Would the get time to talk? Would Peter avoid? What would happen?

Daily Life

On the basis of some of what Skye Jethani said about Anne Rice’s “The Road to Cana”  I picked it up. On listening to a bit of it (she talks a bit about who informs her in this CT interview) she is clearly a fiction writer who is trying to paint a picture of the daily life of Jesus before his public ministry. Unlike our affluent, segregated, privacy obsessed living in North American I imagine Jesus and his disciples lived VERY close together. Sleeping together, eating together, working together, etc. This kind of familiar, close association is something that Americans are often quite out of touch with and don’t want to have outside of romantic relationships.

What were the contours of their relationship in that kind of close communion? They would have known his looks, his facial expressions, his idiosyncrasies, etc.

Who Shapes Us

We are deeply shaped by the people whose attention and affection we wish to possess. For a master/disciple relationship this would have been especially strong. We see a glimpse of this in John 21 where Jesus’ strong word to Peter lands heavily on him, heavy enough for him to wish to have “the disciples Jesus loved” share in the pain. Peter tries to deflect but Jesus won’t have it. Peter is his focus. We do know, however, as with much Peter stuff in the gospels, it is not Peter alone, but the church as well.

So they have the difficult conversation, the room is filled with anxiety and fear on the part of the disciples. They want to be with him, but they fear the conversation that they all know must take place. Jesus doesn’t do it in private, because it really isn’t a private conversation. It is about Peter, but also all of them. And they have it.

Feed My Lambs

They will be fishers of men and shepherds of people too.

One of the stark things about the post-resurrection accounts is how life is NOT back to normal after the resurrection. Jesus appears to no longer be available to them 24/7 like he was before. Death has separated them and Jesus’ new post-resurrection mission has separated them as well. His mission drew them together and now brings them apart.

This leaves a longing for final restoration that is not tasted in the now-but-not-yet middle period we inhabit today. The mission continues with its cost not just for Peter but also for the risen Lord.