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Scripture Reading: John 20:1, 11, 14-17, 19-23, 26; 21:1, 3-6, 9-19, 22
Among the four Gospels there are two which indicate how greatly Christ is versus religion — Matthew and John. Why do Matthew and John record so much concerning this matter? It is because Matthew declares that Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. He was not only a man but also God. As such He was absolutely other than religion; as such He had nothing to do with religion. As a man He might have religious associations and relationships, but as God with us He is absolutely outside of religion. This is Matthew. John then tells us that Jesus was the Word in the beginning, God Himself, incarnated to be a man. He was not just a man but a God-man. Thus, because of His essential being, He had nothing to do with religion.
Another matter peculiar to Matthew and John is that neither mention anything regarding the ascension of the Lord Jesus. The Gospels of Mark and Luke, on the other hand, both mention it. The ascension of the Lord means that He has departed from us. But Matthew tells us that He is Emmanuel, God with us. As such, He could never depart. Therefore, He said, “Behold, I am with you all the days until the consummation of the age” (Matt. 28:20). The Bible tells us that Jesus ascended, but Matthew and John do not say so. There is no closing to the Gospel of Matthew; neither is there a conclusion to the Gospel of John. The record of John concerning the Lord Jesus meeting on this earth with His disciples has not ended. The Gospel of John in the heavens may already be of two thousand and twenty-two chapters. Now, perhaps, we are in the two thousand and twenty-third chapter. Such a Jesus certainly could not be in any religion. He must be outside of religion.
The Gospel of John, undoubtedly, is the most wonderful book in the Bible concerning life. When I was young, I appreciated the first chapter of this Gospel very much. It has a glorious start: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (vv. 1, 4). It is exceedingly high and profound. But when I came to the last chapter of John, chapter 21, I was amazed and confounded. That did not sound like a chapter of John. It says, “Peter said to them, I am going fishing. They said to him, We also are coming with you.” Then they all went fishing, and through the whole night they caught nothing. Suddenly Jesus was there and spoke with them concerning the matter of eating. What kind of a chapter is this? John 14 about the Comforter and the Spirit of reality, John 15 concerning the vine and the branches, and John 17, the Lord’s high priestly prayer, are all marvelous, wonderful, and profound. Could you believe that such a book as John would contain a chapter like chapter 21? When I was young, I thought that something must be wrong. In my opinion this chapter simply did not fit.
Let us look at the last two verses of chapter 20, verses 30 and 31: “Many other signs also Jesus did before His disciples, which are not written in this book. But these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you may have life in His name.” These verses are truly wonderful. They are an appropriate conclusion to the book. We may say that at this point the book is really closed. But after this, there is still another chapter. We might call it an appendix, a “PS.”
If you were Jesus and realized that you were going to die and be raised from the dead, surely you would have made many arrangements with your disciples. You would have said, “Peter, John, James, and the rest of you, come here and let me give you a schedule. First, I am going to die; second, I will be raised from the dead on the third day; third, you must all meet me at a certain place, where I will do certain things among you; fourth, you must all go to other places, where certain other things will happen; fifth, sixth, and so on, to number twenty-four.” If you were Jesus, you would probably outline it in detail to the disciples. This is our natural concept; this is our religious mind. But read the last two chapters of John — there is no such thing; the Lord Jesus never made any arrangements or left any schedule. From our natural viewpoint, what was done was a mess. Everything occurred as a kind of accident. But, praise the Lord, though they had no schedule, no arrangements, and no appointments, they had the resurrected Christ, the living Lord Jesus. This Christ, according to the record of these two chapters, came to His disciples at any time and in any place. He just came. He came in a way which was absolutely different from today’s religion. He never came to a formal meeting — there never was one. If Peter should call an urgent meeting and gather all the disciples to discuss their problems with Jesus, that would fit our concept. But Jesus never met with His disciples in that way.
Following Jesus’ resurrection, His first appearance was to a group of foolish sisters. In a sense, the sisters in the church life are always the foolish ones. Mentally, they are not so clear. The brothers, on the other hand, are always clear — so Peter, James, and John stayed home to sleep. They would have said to Mary, “It’s foolish to go so early to the grave. Why don’t you stay home and sleep?” In the church life the sisters are always, in a sense, doing things foolishly. But I tell you, we need many foolish sisters in the church life. It was through these foolish sisters that the resurrection of Christ was discovered. The Lord’s first appearance was not to the clear brothers but to the foolish sisters. What can we say? I do not think the Lord would appear to the clear Christians, but many, many times He does appear to the foolish ones. It is indisputable. The sisters were undoubtedly foolish, but they saw the Lord. They sought the Lord in a foolish way, but we can thank the Lord that they were so foolish. Whenever we become so clear, we are through as far as the Lord is concerned.
The Lord has made me a brother, and I must be satisfied with His creation; but sometimes I say, “Lord, why did You make me a man? I would like to be a sister. As a man it is so easy to miss You, but as a foolish sister, I would see You, I would meet You. I wish that I could be a sister.” The first meeting the Lord Jesus held after His resurrection was with a few sisters — there were no brothers. That was the first meeting of the New Testament with the resurrected Christ.
Now notice what the Lord said to Mary. “Go to My brothers and say to them, I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God” (20:17). The Lord did not speak much with her; He gave her no long message. There was absolutely nothing religious in that contact. Suppose we were Jesus: We would probably say, “Mary, let us bow our heads and pray. Then let us sing a hymn and open to Psalm 16, where I will show you how I should rise from the dead.” Then surely we would say, “Now Mary, since you have learned everything, go and tell My disciples. I will stand with you. I will pray for you. God be with you.” But Jesus never did anything like this. He said one or two sentences — that is all. No prayer, no singing, no Bible reading, no message, no promises of standing with you. This was what happened early in the morning.
Then in the evening of the same day, the disciples were in an extremely unsettled condition. Some like Mary had seen the Lord after His resurrection and had brought the news to the others. Some had seen the Lord during the day on the road to Emmaus. They came together not knowing where to turn or what to expect next. Suddenly, the Lord Jesus was there. All the doors were shut, but Jesus suddenly appeared. There was nothing formal, nothing religious, nothing arranged, and nothing scheduled. It simply says that Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them, “Peace be to you.” Again there was no prayer, no singing, no Bible reading, no “God bless you,” no “I’m standing with you” — no such thing. Just “Peace be to you.” After saying this, He did a very foolish thing to our natural mind. He breathed into them. Jesus breathed into His disciples and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit [or we may say, as in Greek, the Holy Breath]” (v. 22). Then, after breathing into them, He said that they would be authorized either to forgive people or hold them sinful. That was all — that was absolutely all! What is this? It is certainly nothing religious, and there is no record that Jesus left. The record only says that Jesus came in when the doors were shut; it does not mention His leaving.
Then we read that after eight days, the disciples were together again, and Jesus was in the midst (v. 26). Jesus came in again and again. The Bible records His coming in but not His leaving. It is marvelous! What does all this mean? There was a meeting, in a sense, but never a dismissal. There was no one who said, “Let us be dismissed.” We just read of the coming of the Lord Jesus, not His leaving. I believe the Lord is revealing something to us which is absolutely different from today’s Christianity.
Do you not believe that what is recorded of those two evenings in John 20 were meetings, real meetings? They were undoubtedly meetings of the disciples with the resurrected Jesus. But according to our present realization there was no prayer there, no singing of hymns, no Bible reading, no message, and no dismissal. There was the coming in of Jesus but not the going out. There was the start but not the ending. Hallelujah!
Following chapter 20, we have a “PS,” an appendix, showing us that those disciples were more or less like us. It may have been easy for them to go on in such a seemingly unsettled condition for a couple of days, but for them to continue longer than that was beyond their capacity. The time came, I do believe, when they had nothing more to eat. The leading brother, Peter, could stand it no longer. He said in effect, “Brothers, I’m going fishing; I’m going to get something to eat.” All the others said, “Okay, if you go, we’re going too.” So they all went fishing and toiled drearily through the night. The right time for fishing is not during the day but at night. So they fished at the right time. Furthermore, some of them were professional fishers, and not only that, but professional fishers on that very lake. Peter, James, and John grew up there. They knew the lake from end to end, from side to side. Yet through the whole night they caught nothing. This was the greatest miracle! Could you believe that professional fishers fishing all night in a sea which they knew so well could catch nothing? Do you not think this is a miracle? The Lord Jesus must have told the fish, “Get away fish! All kinds of fish, take My order, stay away from My disciples till I tell you to come back.” That was indeed a miracle. It was absolutely contrary to natural law.
Then the morning came. They should have been more than disappointed. If they could catch nothing in the night, how could they catch anything in the day? But in the midst of their despair the Lord Jesus came. He knew their problem — it was a matter of eating. So He asked, “Little children, you do not have any fish to eat, do you?” (21:5). They answered, “No.” Then the Lord replied, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some” (v. 6). He said in effect, “Do it My way; do it according to My word,” and they did. The daytime was not the right time to fish, but this time they fished according to the Lord’s word. They got a net full of fish, one hundred and fifty-three. This was another miracle! Then when Peter came to land, he saw that the Lord had some fish there already. The Lord’s implication to Peter was, “There is no need for you to go to sea to fish; even on land I can prepare fish for you. Peter and John, do you need fish? Why don’t you ask Me? I am much better than the sea. Even if you go to the sea, without My permission you can get nothing. If you only ask Me, though you stay at home, you will have all the fish you need.”
Miracle number one was that they caught nothing for the whole night. Miracle number two was that in the morning, during the day, they caught so many fish. Miracle number three was that without catching anything from the sea, there was fish already on the land, and it was already cooked, and not only fish but bread. It is marvelous! Everything is ready. Come and dine!
If we put all these points together, we will see that what the Lord said and did to the disciples, including Peter, gives a clear view of the church life today. The church life must be absolutely outside of religion. With religion, there is always a schedule, an organization, a system, an arrangement. But here there is none. There is only one thing, one living person. This One is always with us. In the open air or under a roof, indoors or outdoors, at home or at the seashore, He is always there. You simply cannot get rid of Him. Whether you are conscious or unconscious of His presence, He is always with you, and whatever you need, He knows. If you need to eat, He will care for you. Do not go fishing — He has the fish. Just enjoy it. When problems arise, religion, as we have seen, uses the power of money. But the Lord Jesus exercises His universal authority. Whenever a work is started for the Lord, the natural, religious concept is always to consider the funds on hand. That was why Peter went fishing — it was the way to make money for eating. He felt that he at least needed something to buy groceries.
I do believe that many young ones are burning to serve the Lord with their full time. Some have been hindered from doing so by the thought of the difficulty they will have in obtaining a living. But let me tell you that whenever we think anything about the matter of making a living, we are religious. With the living Jesus, with the resurrected Christ, there is no problem of making a living. Even without the sea, even on the land, if we need fish, the fish will be there. It all depends upon whether or not the Lord Jesus is with us. If we have the resurrected Christ with us, we may forget about all religious schedules and also about our living. The living Jesus not only cares for our spiritual need but also for our physical need. He is not a dead religion; He is not a dead mission board. He is the living Christ. All the fish are under His command.
According to the record of the four Gospels, Peter learned three lessons throughout his life from fishing. The first is recorded in Luke 5:1-11, where Peter was called by the Lord. At that time he caught a multitude of fish at Jesus’ word. The second instance is recorded in Matthew 17:24-27, where Peter was told by the Lord to go fishing and find the poll tax money in the fish’s mouth. Now in John 21 we have the third instance. I am so thankful that we never read of Peter going back to fishing again.
Typically speaking, the day in which we are living is in the night. All night we must be kept from any religious attempt, any religious way of carrying on the Lord’s work. Do not count your dollars. Do not look into your bank account. Do not estimate how many fish you will need.
Last summer we had a large conference here in Los Angeles. The responsible ones knew nothing about schedules or budgets and did not calculate what they were going to spend beforehand. After it was over, I asked them concerning the conference account. I knew that we had spent much. Eventually, we discovered that every need was fully met with a surplus remaining. Praise the Lord for that lesson. You see, this is the living Jesus, not a dead religion. This is Christ, not anything scheduled in a religious way.
Everything recorded in John 21 is undoubtedly with a purpose. Chapter 21 cannot compare, in a sense, with chapters 14 through 17 of John. But in another sense it is such a worthy and meaningful chapter. I am so grateful to the Lord for it now. I cannot tell you how much I love John 21. It is so practical and unreligious.
After the disciples dined on the meal Jesus prepared, the Lord said to Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” (v. 15). In effect, the Lord was saying to Peter, “A few days ago you said that though all others should deny Me, you would not. But you did, and you did it three times; so I must ask you three times also, ‘Do you love Me more than all the others?’” Peter replied, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” What he may have meant was this: “Lord, I really don’t know whether I love You or not. You know. Even if I did know, I would not dare to say it. Just a few days ago I said that I would never deny You, but immediately afterward I did. Whatever I say doesn’t count, but whatever You know really counts. Lord, You know that I love You.” Peter was not sure exactly how to answer. But this is not the point. Listen. The Lord said to Peter, “Feed My lambs.” Then the second time the Lord told him, “Shepherd My sheep.” Then the third time, “Feed My sheep.” The Lord did not tell him to teach or instruct, or even to edify, but just to feed. Our love for the Lord must issue in our feeding of His lambs. Finally, the Lord Jesus gave Peter one additional word, “Follow Me” (vv. 19, 22).
I say this especially to the young brothers and sisters — love the Lord Jesus, feed His lambs, and follow Him. That is good enough. Nothing else is required. True service to the Lord consists of loving Him, feeding His lambs, and following Him. And where is He? He is in our spirit. We must follow Him in our spirit. We must exercise our heart to love Him — to love is a heart matter (Mark 12:30). But to follow the Lord is a matter of the spirit, for the Lord today is in our spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). We must simply love Him with our heart and follow Him by exercising our spirit; then we will be nourished by Him. With the nourishment by which we are nourished, we may then feed His lambs. This is absolutely nothing of religion. Do not think that you need to know the Bible, go to a seminary or Bible college, and receive a religious education. You do not need that. You need the first, best, and genuine love for the Lord Jesus. The Lord asked Peter, “Do you love Me more than these?” We must answer, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” The service of the Lord in this New Testament dispensation is not a matter of knowledge or education but absolutely a matter of loving the Lord. The degradation of the church began with the loss of this — “I have one thing against you, that you have left your first love” (Rev. 2:4). As long as we have the first, best, and genuine love for the Lord, we are safe. Then we must follow Him who is in our spirit. We love Him with all our heart, and we follow Him by our spirit; then whatever we do is just to feed His lambs. Praise the Lord!
Now you may realize where we should stand and where we must stand. We have the Lord Jesus, the resurrected, living One, meeting with us all the time — anywhere, everywhere, any time, every time, without any schedule, plan, or arrangement. He is everything to us. All we need to do is simply to love Him with all our heart and follow Him by our spirit, thus obtaining the nourishment to feed others.
At the end of both Matthew and John we see a further matter which is quite significant. At the end of Matthew, Jesus met with His disciples in a place appointed by Him, a mountaintop. Mountains in the Bible always signify something higher with authority for God’s kingdom. This is why the Lord Jesus, on the mountain appointed by Him, told His disciples that all authority both in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. In so saying, He passed on this authority to His disciples and said unto them, “Go therefore.” The word therefore means that the authority which has been given to Him has now been given to us, and with this authority we are told to go and disciple the nations. This is not merely the preaching of the gospel but an exercise and execution of the authority given to the Lord Jesus both in heaven and on earth. It is not the propagating of a low-standard gospel, delivering people from hell and bringing them to heaven, but a discipling of the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Triune God. Many times while referring to certain people, we say, “They have the name, but they do not have the reality.” In our human concept we separate the name from the reality. But in the Bible the name is the reality. To baptize people into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit means to baptize them into the reality of the Triune God. That is our commission. We must disciple the heathen (the word nations can be translated “heathen”) and put them into the reality of the all-inclusive God. The issue then will eventually be the kingdom of the heavens; and in the kingdom, as priests, we must teach them to observe all that He has commanded us — this is to teach them how to be citizens of the heavenly kingdom. Then the Lord Jesus says in effect that since the kingdom of the heavens is among us, He will be with us all the days until the consummation of the age.
The risen Christ today is on this earth in a way to commission us with His authority, that we may bear the responsibility to disciple the heathen and put them into the reality of the Triune God. Thus, the kingdom of the heavens is established on this earth. Then we have the assurance that this Jesus, this God-man, this Redeemer, this risen One, this all-inclusive Christ, is with us.
You see how far removed this is from religion. Do you really believe that such a Christ is with you today? If so, you will be more than excited and burdened with His commission. We all need to be beside ourselves with this — so much so that we can go into the streets and lay hold of people, telling them, “Friends, you must realize that Jesus is with me, the resurrected Christ is with me, the Christ who holds all authority both in heaven and on earth.” Have you ever been so crazy? I am afraid that you are too religious and dumb. If you have Christ with you, how can you be so silent?
In Matthew 28 it was the disciples who preceded the Lord Jesus to the mountain. “The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus directed them” (v. 16). They went to the mountain where the Lord Jesus had directed them, and eventually the Lord came. It was not the Lord who was waiting for them, but they who were waiting for the Lord. They were really high at that time.
But after Matthew 28, we come to John 21. Their high did not last very long; they came down from the mountain. I must confess that I like John 21 much better than Matthew 28, because according to my experience I am not always so high. Many times I am not in Matthew 28, but John 21. In Matthew 28 we have a mountain, while in John 21 we have the seashore. Where are you in your experience now — on the mountain or on the seashore? If you are honest, most of you will admit that you are presently on the seashore. The seashore in John 21 was not so good; it was not the place directed by the Lord. The Lord directed them to a mountain, not the seashore. The sea was a place to which the disciples backslid. Peter took the lead, and they all went to the sea — it was their choice.
The fishing in John 21 does not have positive significance, but negative. If you have come to this country just to make a living, if you are in any place merely for your living, that is the fishing mentioned in John 21. You do not care for the Lord’s commission; you only care for your living. The Lord commissioned you in Matthew 28, but you could not stand the test; you gave up His commission to care for your living. You said like Peter, “I am going fishing.”
For people to make a living is according to the natural law. God created man, and man must live; so God has prepared the things for man’s living. To make a living is all right; but as a child of God, a disciple of Jesus commissioned with His authority, we should not be here for our living. Are you? We must be here for the Lord’s commission in Matthew 28. We must not be here for fishing, but for “churching.”
We have already seen how the disciples fished through the entire night and caught nothing. Then when morning came, the Lord Jesus was there. It is quite interesting. In Matthew on the mountaintop, the disciples were waiting for the Lord, but here on the seashore the Lord Jesus was waiting for them. I do believe that when Peter and the others went to the sea, the Lord was there already. He was always with them. Whether they were in a building or in the open air, whether they were on the mountaintop or at the seashore, wherever they were, He was there. When they were casting the net, He was there also. In fact, He was managing the situation so that they caught nothing. It was not under their hand, but Jesus’. Then He manifested Himself to them and showed that He had the food prepared and already cooked.
If we mean business that we are here for the Lord’s commission, the Lord will take care of our living. Everyone may be jobless, but we will still have bread. People today are so greatly concerned about the unemployment problem, but we may forget it. That has nothing to do with us; we are not here for making a living. Whether fish can be caught or not, we do not depend on the sea. We depend on the living Christ; He has all the fish in His hand. The worldly people do not have Christ; they must depend on the sea. But not us. If you are one who is for the world, you must be concerned for your living; you must put your trust in your employment. But if you are one of the disciples commissioned by the Lord Jesus, forget about your living. Just be honest and faithful to His commission. You will even save your cooking. The Lord said, “Come and have breakfast.” Do not worry about eating — He will take care of that.
We have seen how the Lord selected Peter and questioned him three times concerning his love. The Lord said in effect, “You go fishing more than all the rest — do you love Me more than all the rest?” Then He spoke to him with this implication: “Just as I have fed you here with fish and bread, so you must feed My lambs and My sheep. You are not on this earth for fishing — you are commissioned on this earth for shepherding.” Matthew precedes, and John follows. The sequence is absolutely right. We need Matthew 28, and we also need John 21. John 21 is a supplementary portion, giving us the completion of the Lord’s commission. The Lord has commissioned us not only to disciple the heathen, baptizing them into the reality of the Triune God and setting up the kingdom of the heavens on this earth, but also to shepherd His flock. We must feed the little lambs and even the sheep. The Lord is speaking to us, “You take care of My flock; I will take care of your living. You leave the matter of living to Me. I need you to shepherd My flock.”
My burden is to share that the Lord Jesus today has a real commission for us, not a religion. Today, even in the United States, how many heathen there are! What they need is not a religion but a group of people who will realize and execute the Lord’s commission. Please do not read Matthew 28 as a historical record. It is not a history; it is a commission. We all must be burdened by the Lord to disciple the heathen and put them into the Triune God, setting up the kingdom of the heavens even here on this earth. But there is also the need of John 21. Without John 21, Matthew 28 will not work so well. After you disciple the heathen, after you baptize them into the reality of the Triune God, after the kingdom is set up, the flock still needs to be fed and shepherded. I have a heavy burden for so many young ones and new ones. Who is going to feed them? Shall we hire graduates from the seminary? Are the leading brothers in the churches going to tend to this? No. The whole church must do it. We are all commissioned. On one hand, we must disciple the heathen and make them citizens of the kingdom of the heavens on this earth. Then, on the other hand, we must consider them the lambs, the little ones, the weaker ones in the kingdom, who need feeding. We must feed them. This is not just the responsibility of the leading ones, but of every member in the local churches. We all must bear the burden. I am so happy for the increase in the churches, but I am also very much concerned for the increase. If this matter of feeding is not accomplished in a full way, the increase will be a heavy burden to the church life. Instead of going up, the church life will go down. There is an urgent need that we be charged not only with Matthew 28 but also with John 21, not only to disciple the heathen but also to feed the lambs.
To disciple the heathen we need the authority, but to feed the lambs we need the love toward the Lord. In Matthew 28 the Lord’s tone was one of authority, and with that He charged the disciples. But in John 21 His tone changed. “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” If so, “Feed My lambs.” We should not exercise our authority over the lambs. If we do that, we will frighten them away. We must love them, not with our love but with the love with which we love the Lord Jesus. Why should we feed the younger ones and care for the weaker ones? We do so simply because we love the Lord Jesus. If we really love Him, there is no other way but to feed others. And by doing this, we follow Him. We must follow Him not in the way of religion, but in the way of feeding His lambs till He comes back.
Matthew says, “Be charged, be commissioned to disciple the nations until the consummation of this age.” John says, “Love the Lord, feed His lambs, and follow Him till He returns.” It is really good. In what way may we prove our love for the Lord Jesus? Feed His lambs. Feed His sheep. This is the proper way for us to follow Him.
We remember how Peter turned and saw John and said to the Lord, “What about this man?” The Lord Jesus answered him, “Forget about him. That’s My business, not yours. You just follow Me.” We should not care what others will do; we must make a personal and direct deal with the Lord ourselves.
The Lord Jesus met with His disciples on the mountaintop and at the seashore, in the place where He directed and at the place to which they backslid. Regardless, He met with them to fulfill His purpose, and in both places they enjoyed His presence in a full way. On the mountaintop He committed to them His all-inclusive authority beyond their understanding. On the seashore He cared for all their needs beyond their expectation. On the mountaintop He commissioned them to disciple the nations, baptizing them into the Triune God. On the seashore He challenged Peter to love Him, charged him to feed His lambs and sheep, and bade him follow Him to the end of his life. In all these dealings of the resurrected Christ, we can see nothing in the nature of any kind of religion. All the Lord in resurrection would do is to commission us with His authority to bring people into God and demand that we love Him so that we may be burdened to feed His flock, thus following Him to the end of our life journey. This is all we need today in His recovery — to share His authority, to disciple the heathen by baptizing them into God, to love Him more than others, to feed His lambs and sheep, and to follow Him at any cost, even at the cost of our life, regardless of what others will do. This is to experience the resurrected Christ, to minister Him to others, and to share Him with others. It is altogether a matter of Christ and Christ alone, nothing at all of religion.
