John chapter 21, and we'll try
to look at verse 1, down to verse 14. a few fourteen verses but it's
one complete story of the disciples seemingly walking away from what
they were called to do back to the trade that they had previously
had before. I'm entitling the message from
the words that the Lord declares unto these wayward fishermen
In verse 12, where he says unto them, come and dine. And then the Lord served them
a meal. Come and dine. Come and dine
for all things are abundantly and freely supplied. He didn't say go and dine, he
said come. Come unto me all you that labor
and are heavy laden. I will give you rest. Come and
dine for all things are abundantly and freely supplied. He already had the fish frying
and the bread ready to eat. Hot and ready. And in the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ, we see all things freely, sovereignly,
fully, abundantly, and eternally provided for us, all things. He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us most things no all things all things Now in
way of introduction I risen Lord risen and victorious Lord made
several appearances over this 40-day period between his resurrection
His glorious ascension to occupy the throne remember from reading
Acts chapter 1 Verse 3 to where it says to whom also he showed
himself alive after his passion after his death by many infallible
proofs being seen of them 40 days speaking of the things pertaining
to the kingdom of God and He was seen by many one time, it
says, a 500 brethren at one time. At least on 12 different occasions. The Lord of Glory sovereignly
chose to appear and manifest His glory, not unto all men everywhere
without exception, but to chosen individuals, His elect, His sheep. At least on twelve different
occasions recorded in the Word, after His resurrection, He appeared
unto many. The resurrected and enthroned
Sovereign Lord is still operating the same today, for He is the
same yesterday, today, and forever. He is not revealing Himself unto
all men everywhere with that exception, but He is revealing
Himself unto His chosen elect. He reveals Himself to sinners
in His own determined pleasure and purpose when it pleases God. When will a sinner be saved?
When will a sinner be saved? When it pleases God. I can make
good on that. Turn to Galatians chapter 1.
Galatians chapter 1, Paul was a in his previous religious life,
Saul of Tarsus. He was very zealous of the traditions
of the fathers. Galatians chapter 1 verse 14,
he said, I profited in the Jews religion above many my equals,
my own nation, being more exceeding zealous of the tradition of my
father. But when it pleased God, you see that? When it pleased
God, who separated me from my mother's womb, called me by His
grace to reveal His Son in me at the revelation of Christ to
your heart. Immediately, I conferred not
with flesh and blood. I didn't go up to the religious
Jews in Jerusalem. When will a sinner be saved when
it pleases God? God has hid these things from
the wise and prudent and revealed them undebathed, even so, Father,
for so it seemed good in his sight. Now you remember the scripture
from Roman chapter 9 where the Lord said, I'll have mercy on
whom I will have mercy. I will have compassion on whom
I will have compassion. So then, it's not, salvation
is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but it's
God that would show mercy. He will have mercy on whom he
will have mercy. What do we call that? Sovereign
grace. Sovereign mercy. Now, let's take a look at verse
1 of John 21. After these things, after His
glorious successful atonement, after His glorious resurrection,
the Lord showed Himself again to His disciples in this manner.
Look again at verse 14, for this now is the third time that the
Lord Jesus Himself showed Himself, revealed Himself to His disciples
after that He was raised from the dead. Delivered for our offenses,
raised again for our justification. Now these appearances unto the
disciples were more than just to prove that He was indeed risen
from the dead, but rather to manifest to them His divine glory,
His divine majesty, His love for them, and most importantly,
to show His victorious atonement for them. For when He comes among
them, you remember what He does? Turn back to John chapter 20.
John chapter 20, when he first appeared to them, verse 19, the
same day at evening, being the first day of the week when the
doors were shut, where the disciples assembled for the fear of the
Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst of them and said, Peace
be unto you. Now look what he says. And look
what he does, and when he had so said, he showed unto them
his hands and his side, then were the disciples glad when
they saw the Lord. He showed them the reason that
their sin was put away, his blood, his death, and they did rejoice
in his victorious atonement. And indeed, when the Lord reveals
Himself unto us, it is because of His everlasting love for us,
and He also shows us His victory over death, sin, hell, and the
grave for us. Doesn't He? Sure. This verse
I quote all the time in 1 Corinthians 15. Thanks be unto God, who has
given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. we are
victorious because he is victorious he remember he said because I
live you shall live also so he shows himself to whom he will
manifest his glory to whom he will now look at verse 2 John
21 there were together the seven men Simon who we know the Lord
called Peter Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael, Canaan,
Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, we know to be James and John,
and two other disciples. Here's these seven men, sinners
chosen by God, saved by God's grace, called and put into the
ministry, made the apostles of the Lord. Simon Peter said to
them, I'm going fishing. Some think that he's saying,
I'm quitting the ministry, I'm going back to my trade. Now what a sad thing. Here's
seven sinners on the Sea of Galilee. Peter, John, James, Nathanael,
Thomas, Philip Andrew, who was Peter's brother, who lived in
Galilee. We know why they were in Galilee,
for the Lord instructed them to go there and wait for Him
upon the mountain. He didn't tell them to go to
Galilee and go fishing. Not at all. Turn to Matthew 28,
and here we see the Lord gave, the risen Lord gave them instruction
where to go, and they were to wait for Him. In Matthew 28,
Matthew 28, Verse nine, and as they went
to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them saying, all hail,
and they came and hailed him by the feet and worshiped him.
Then said Jesus unto them, be not afraid, go tell my brethren
that they go into Galilee and there they shall see me. Now
look again in the same chapter, verse 16, Matthew 28, 16, then
the 11 disciples went away in the Galilee into a mountain.
where Jesus had appointed them, go to this mountain and you wait
and I'll meet you there. And when they saw him they worshipped
him but some doubted and the Lord came and spake unto them
all powers given unto me in heaven and earth. So, they were told
to go to the mountain, they were told to wait on him and eventually
he did come and meet them So that's why they're in this area
of Galilee. Now look at verse three. Simon
Peter says unto them, unto his six friends, I'm going fishing. Now he's not saying that I'm
just gonna go out and see what I can catch today. He's not saying
I'm gonna be a sportsman and go out and see what I can bring
in. He's saying that I'm going back to my trade. And these other
six friends, they're saying to him, we're gonna go with you.
You remember James and John, they were fishermen as well.
And they went forth and entered into a ship immediately, and
that night they caught nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing. Now,
Peter, rather than waiting for the Lord's final instruction,
said to the others, I think I'm going back to the boats, back
to the nets. Some think that Peter was abandoning the ministry
and going back to his former profession, for he was a fisher
by trade. I want you to turn back to Matthew
chapter four, Matthew chapter four. Matthew chapter 4, look at verse
18. Matthew 4, 18. And Jesus, walking by the sea
of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, Andrew his
brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
And he said unto them, Follow me, I'll make you fishers of
men. And they straightway left the nets, followed him, and going
on from thence he saw two other brethren, James the son of Zebedee,
and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending
their nets. And he called them, and immediately
they left the ship and their father, and they followed him."
The sheep will hear his voice and follow them. But notice Peter's
actions back in our text affected some of the other disciples.
They said, Peter, you can count on us. We'll go back fishing
with you. And it seemed like that these
seven men just sort of walk away from declaring the gospel. They immediately went into a
ship, but had absolutely no success. These hardened, professional
fishermen had toiled all night and brought home zero. Nothing. They pulled in net after net
and they fished all night. and they were absolutely failures. Do you reckon why the Lord didn't
allow them to catch anything? You see, without Him, without
the Lord, we can do nothing. The sovereign Lord prevented
them from being successful. He had instructed them to wait
for Him upon the mountain, not return to your trade. The Lord
had called them to be, remember we read, fishers of men. And
they thought, well, we're just tired of waiting. We're gonna
go on back. How frail we are. How fickle
we are. Even Peter, we're just like him. Simon, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest
thou me? Look at verse four. But when
morning was come, they fished all night, caught nothing, but
when morning was come, When the light of the day dawn arose up,
when the morning would now come, the Lord Jesus Christ stood on
the shore, but the disciples knew not it was the Lord Jesus
Christ. Verse 5, and the Lord said to
them, children, do you have any meat? It's a common question
among fishermen, isn't it? When you go out to the fishing
bank and there's somebody already fishing, what do you usually
say? Have you caught anything? Or what kind of bait are you
using? So it's a common question. Have
you caught anything? Children, do you have any meat?
When the Lord, verse 4, but when, you see that? Verse 4, but when. They were out fishing all night
in the dark, but when the light was now come. The Lord is not
going to leave His disciples alone in their boat, is He? Remember
what we studied this morning? He said, I'll never leave you,
I'll never forsake you. The Lord intervenes and stops
them because He has a most important work for them to do, doesn't
He? At first they did not recognize the Lord. They were so occupied
trying to be something they were not. The Lord stood on firm ground. While they were tossed upon the
sea, the Lord Jesus Christ is that solid rock on which the
believer stands. All other ground indeed is shaky,
uncertain ground. But they knew not it was the
Lord Jesus Christ. Now whether it was too dark in
the morning light to see, or whether their eyes were prevented
from seeing who was there, asking them had they caught anything,
they didn't know the Lord was standing just a hundred yards
away from them. My point being, oftentimes and
many times, the Lord is so near unto us, for He said, lo, I'm
with you always, and yet we perceive not that it is the Lord, our
Savior, who is with us at all times, in every way, for He never
does leave us. And the Lord, in verse 5, asked
them this question, Have you caught anything? And they answered
correctly. Well, I don't think they hesitated. I think they answered honestly.
No, we haven't caught a thing. We've absolutely struck out.
Or as most fishermen would say, we've had no luck today. Now,
I don't use that word in conversation, but as I say, as most fishermen
would say, we had no luck today. Haven't caught anything. But
they answered him no. Now the Lord is not asking a
question to get information, is he? He knows exactly why they
didn't catch anything. But to make them know and openly
confess that they have failed, that they're in the wrong place
doing the wrong thing at the wrong time. Have you got anything? Well, no. Before the Lord is
pleased to supply our every need, He makes us to know that we are
failures. Sinners in need of Christ our
Righteousness. Jehovah Sid Canu. He makes us
to know that we're sinners in need of redemption, doesn't He?
For He has obtained eternal redemption for us. He makes us to know that
we're sinners in need of His precious redeeming blood. He
makes us to know that in salvation the Lord Jesus Christ is not
something, He's everything. Have you any righteousness of
your own? No. Can you redeem yourself by your
good works and obedience? No. You see, He shuts us up to
the Lord Jesus Christ alone, doesn't He? He makes us to know
that in salvation, in Christ was all the fullness of a Godhead
bodily, and in Him we are complete, in Him. We are saved by grace,
and you know what? We're kept by grace. Now, some
would tell you, oh, we're saved by grace, but we maintain our
salvation by what we do. That's a lie. That's a lie. We're kept by the power of God.
We're saved by grace, we're kept by grace, and we're ultimately
glorified in God's presence by His grace, sovereign grace alone. Now notice what happens in verse
six in our story. He said unto them, now, the Lord's
gonna teach them a great lesson and us too. Cast the net on the
right side of the ship and you shall find. He gives them direct
command. The Lord commands them where
to go fishing, where to cast their net, and where they'll
find a large catch of fish. They obeyed his command, and
were blessed. It says in verse 11, Simon Peter
went up and drew the net to the land full of great fishes, great. And this is a picture of the
gospel net bringing in great sinners by the command of the
great Savior, 153 fish. For all that were so many yet
was not the net Now similar to what the Lord had commanded them
before, remember Simon Peter said, Lord we've toiled all night
and we've caught nothing, nevertheless at thy word we'll cast forth
the net. Master, and that's the essence of faith,
obeying the word of the Lord Jesus Christ. And again we see
the absolute sovereignty and control of the Lord over all
things. At first they caught nothing.
The Lord sovereignly directed every one of those fish to swim
away from their net. Now at the command of the Lord,
they cast their net, and the same Lord, who is Lord of heaven
and earth, over the seas and all deep places, commands the
fish to swim into the net. You see, He's the absolute sovereign
over all things, in creation, in providence, and in salvation. He will have mercy on whom He
will have mercy. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto
thine aim. Give glory and power and honor. Remember, He prayed in John 17,
Father, you've given me power over all flesh that I should
give eternal life to as many as the Father hath given to me.
At first He hinders them and now at His command He blesses
them. Good lesson for us, isn't it?
The success of all our labors in the ministry, the success
of all of our labors in the ministry does not depend upon our fishing
ability. upon our fleshly abilities and
the gifts or talents we may have, but the success of all of our
labors in the ministry depend upon His grace, His command. You remember we read in 1 Corinthians,
Paul said, I have planted, Apollos has watered. Planted the gospel
seed. Watered the gospel seed. But
God gives the increase. God must give the increase. Upon
the command of the Lord, Peter and the others cast a net, and
upon the command of the Lord, we go and preach the gospel,
and he will use the preached word to draw his people and his
sheep to himself with the gospel net. That's the power of God
unto salvation. Go into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature. He that believeth, what? The
gospel, and is baptized, shall be saved. look back to the text
again John 21 verse 7 therefore that disciple now watch this
doesn't say that disciple that loved the Lord Jesus Christ so
much and John is the one who's writing
here therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved whom the Savior
loved saith to Peter Peter it's the Lord it's the Lord upon the
miracle of this great catch of fish, upon hearing the command
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And by the sovereign revelation
of God, John says to Peter, his friend, it's the Lord Jesus Christ. Now when Simon Peter heard that,
it was the Lord. What did he do? He girt his fisher's
coat, unto him, for he was bare naked." He was naked. He was out there in the fish
with these other men, evidently he was hot, they were toiling
hard, and he didn't have anything on, says he was naked, not partially
naked, not somewhat naked, he was stripped down bare naked. But when John said, it's the
Lord, look what he does. He girds on some sort of clothing. That's not a heavy big coat,
it's hot. It's some kind of thin garment
that he puts on. He dives in and he swims this
100 yards to get to the Lord. I must get to crying. He cast
himself into the sea. Now upon this miracle of the
Lord's power, John knows that it's the Lord. But when John
writes by inspiration of Holy Spirit, and he writes about this
fish story, he does not use his name. You know Matthew does the
same thing in the gospel recorded by Matthew. He never refers to
himself as Matthew. John never refers to himself
as John. It's always, and we've seen this
in two other places, it's that disciple whom the Lord loved. John doesn't say that disciple
that loved the Lord, and we know that he did, but listen to this.
John's hope rested upon the fact that the Lord loved him. You
see the difference? His hope of salvation didn't
rest upon His love, for how puny is our love unto the Lord. But
rather, it rested upon the Lord's magnificent, everlasting, sovereign
love to Him. There's a big difference, isn't
there? Big difference. For He loved His own with an
everlasting love. We love Him only because He first
loved us. Now look at the last part of
verse 7. When Peter heard that, That declaration, John said,
it's the Lord. Peter heard that. He just didn't
hear it, not only audibly, but he heard it in his heart, in
his soul. It's the Lord. And he took on this fisher's
coat, this garment, and dressed himself, for he was naked, and
he did cast himself into the sea to get to the Lord. He quickly
leaves behind the boat, the fish, his friends, to be with his Lord. He must come to Christ. This
is true of saving faith. I must have the Lord Jesus Christ,
whatever it cost. I leave behind the fish, forsaking
those things which are behind, you remember Paul said, Philippians,
reaching forth unto those things which are before. Peter forsakes
all, At all costs, he said, I must get to Him. That's the essence
of saving faith, coming to Christ. Oh, John Gill said, Peter showing
his great love and eagerness to be with the Lord, fearless
of danger, risk all to be with Christ, his love being such that
many waters could not quench or flood, his zeal to be with
the Lord. Now watch this. Here's an important
lesson for us. He was out there fishing naked.
And he knows as he comes and approaches unto the Lord, he
must have a covering. He must have a garment. You see
the picture, the gospel picture? He girds himself in a garment,
in a fisher's coat, and then he comes to the Lord. And here's
the gospel message. We must have a suitable covering
to come to Christ. Like Peter, we are naked, guilty
before God. Thanks be to God that He's given
us a covering for ourselves that we might approach God in His
righteousness. Now, let me show you something
here. Stay with me. Turn to Genesis
chapter 3. You see, I cannot approach the thrice holy God
in my fig leaf garment, can I? You remember where God found
Adam after he sinned against God? Just like Peter, naked. Just like us before God, naked
and guilty. What must a naked, guilty sinner
have? A covering, suitable covering. Genesis chapter 3, verse 7. The eyes of them both, Adam and
Eve, were opened. They knew that they were naked.
They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves apron. to
try to cover their nakedness. Now will it work? Will God accept
it? No. They heard the voice of the
Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of day, and Adam
and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord amongst
the trees of the garden. Why did they hide? Guilty. Naked. And the Lord God called
unto Adam and said, Where are you? He said I heard your voice. I was afraid because I was naked
and I held my I hid myself now What's going to happen in Genesis
chapter 3 stay right here in Genesis chapter 3? We see the
Lord God Sacrificing an animal a substitute and providing for
them a covering Look at verse 21 unto Adam also, and to his
wife did the Lord God make coats of skin, and he clothed them."
You see, that's the gospel. That's the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. I must have a suitable righteousness
one that he has provided that I might approach him who is holy
listen to scripture I will greatly rejoice Isaiah 61 10 I will greatly
rejoice in the Lord My soul shall be joyful in my God, for He hath
clothed me with the garments of salvation." Now, who provided
it? God did. He hath covered me with the robe
of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments,
as a bride that adorneth herself with jewels. Do you have a suitable
righteousness? Do you have the garments of salvation?
Well, you know, I have some fig leaves. Won't do. Work won't do. You must have
the covering and righteousness that's provided of God. Let me
show you. Turn to Roman chapter 4. Here
it is, Roman chapter 4. Blessed is that man. Remember
Romans 4. Blessed is that man to whom the
Lord... Roman chapter 4, look at verse
6. Here's the righteousness we need. Here's the garment we need. Romans 4 verse 6, Even as David
also described the blessedness of the man unto whom the Lord
imputes righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they
whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed
is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Christ is our
Righteousness Christ is the robe of righteousness Christ is the
garment of salvation now back to the story John 21 verse 8
John 21 verse 8, And the other disciples came in a little ship,
for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,
one hundred yards, dragging the net with fishes. Verse 9, As
soon as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there,
and the fishes laid thereon and bred. And the Lord said unto
them, Bring the fish which you have now caught. Now, While Peter
immediately jumps in when he knows it's the Lord and swims
to shore to be with the Lord, John and the other disciples
stayed in the boat and made sure the large catch of fish was secured
in the boat. Again, we see the impulsive zeal
of Peter and the caution and carefulness of John, don't we?
I mean, these two men, they were both disciples, they were both
lovers of the Lord, but they're different in character, aren't
they? Remember at the tomb, how John stooped as they ran and
Peter outran? Or rather, John came to the tomb
first and stooped down and peered in, and Peter just boldly rushes
in. We see that caution of John and
that zeal of Peter. Both loved the Lord, both were
devoted to the Lord, but this did express it in a different
manner, didn't they? Both were lovers of Christ. But
they expressed it in a different way. All believers have different
ways of expressing their commitment unto the Lord Jesus Christ, but
they're all committed. They're all committed. Are believers
committed unto the Lord? Absolutely. Absolutely. We can say with Paul, I know
whom I have believed and are persuaded and persuaded that
he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against
that day. Now, each of us may show and demonstrate that commitment
in a different way, as John and Peter did, but believers are
all committed unto the Lord. Look at verse 9. As soon as they
were come to land, they saw the fire of coals there. That means
this fire just wasn't started just a few minutes ago. It was
started a while ago and burned down to coals. The Lord was sitting
there waiting on them. They saw the fire of coals there. Not only that, the Lord had already
had fish prepared. They didn't bring anything to
the meal. The fish were already laid thereon,
and the Lord had fish and bread already prepared for them. And
then he says, Come, come and dine. When the disciples came
to the shore, they found that the Lord Jesus had kindled a
fire cooked a meal, provided for them, all things were ready,
and then he says in verse 12, come and dine. He didn't ask
them to contribute anything. He said simply come and dine.
What a great lesson for us in salvation. The Lord does not
ask us to contribute. Does he? God has done his part,
now you have to do your part. That's what they say. What is
his part? Well, you know, his part is this.
What is your part? Well, our part, no, he's everything in
salvation. We are not asked to contribute
to our salvation. Come as you are, poor and needy,
hungry and thirsty. All we bring to the table of
grace is our sin. All we bring to the table of
grace is our emptiness. All we bring to the table of
grace is our need. And the Lord Jehovah Jireh will
provide for us. He always has, He always will. My God shall supply all your
need according to His riches in glory. And in the Lord Jesus
Christ, we don't lack anything, do we? He's made unto us all
that we need, all that God demands, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. Now look at verse 10. He does
say unto them, Bring the fish which you have now caught. Verse
11, Simon Peter went up and drew the net, to the land full of
great fishes, 153. And for all there were so many,
yet the net did not break." Now, stay with me, almost through.
Casting the net here is a picture of the gospel minister preaching
the gospel of Christ. Remember that he said, I'll make
you fishers of men. bring the fish which you have
now caught." They caught them how? By His direction, by His
command and His power. As proof that we labor at His
command, we bring all redeemed souls caught by the gospel net
and we point them to the Lord Jesus Christ. We continually
bring them to the Lord, pointing them to Christ. They belong to
Him. They are bought with His blood.
They are His fish. They are His sheep. He bought
them, and He must have them. You bring them here, the Lord
says. Point them to Me." And that's what we do. We're bought
with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and in your
spirit, which are God's. Now, what about this 153 fish
caught in the net, safely brought to the shore, the net did not
break, the fish were kept safe and secure. Now here's another
gospel picture. All of God's people will be safely
brought to the heavenly shore. Not one fish will escape. Not one sheep will perish. He says, I give them eternal
life and they shall never perish. The net did not break. It can't. Because we're kept
by the power of God. All 153 fish. Now the number is a mystery.
Just like the 144,000, it's a definite number for an indefinite people.
For He redeemed a people out of every tribe, kindred, nation,
tongue under heaven. 153, He knows each fish by name. They're mine. I bought them.
I chose them. I redeemed them. He's going to have every one
of them. That 144,000 is a number, a definite
number for an indefinite host of people, 10,000 times 10,000
and thousands as He redeemed with His blood. And He knows
His sheep by name. He calls every one of them by
name. And the Lord said, Verse 12, come and dine. And none of
them asked the Lord, who are you? For knowing that it was
the Lord. And the Lord cometh, and he taketh
bread, and giveth to them fish likewise. And this is the third
time that the Lord revealed himself unto them. Come and dine. Notice
he does not say, go somewhere and dine. He said, come to me. Come and dine. Come and dine.
not only prepared the meal for them, but he served them. You see that in verse 13? The
Lord cometh, he taketh, and he giveth. The Lord cometh, in saving
mercy, the Lord cometh, the Lord taketh bread, and he gives every
one of his people. Plenty, plenty, plenty. He taketh
and he giveth. I thought of this song while
I was doing this message. The Banquet of Mercy is served
up by one host, the Lord of Glory. The Banquet of Mercy is served
up by one host, the Lord of Glory. And I was looking for the rest
of that song and could not remember where to find it. And I was talking
to someone earlier in the service and looking at the front of my
Bible and I had pasted it in there. And I forgot that I had
pasted it. But here's the rest of that song.
or that saying, the royal bath of mercy, wherein black souls
are washed white as snow, was filled from the veins of our
Lord Jesus Christ. No blood of martyrs mingled with
that stream, no blood of noble confessors and heroes of the
cross entered into the river atonement. The banquet of mercy
is served up by one host, the Lord of glory, the Lord Jesus
Christ, who prepared the feast invites the guests, makes them
willing to come, gives them their robe of spotless righteousness,
the wedding garment of salvation. The banquet of mercy is served
up by one host, the Lord Jesus Christ. And he says, Sinner,
are you thirsty? Come to me. Sinner, are you hungry? Come to me. I'll give you rest. I like this part here, and I'll
close. The last part of verse 12. None
of the disciples questioned, Lord, who are you? What are you
doing? Knowing that it was the Lord. None were in doubt, knowing it
was the resurrected Lord among them, ministering to them. And
this is the assurance of faith. We can say with the Apostle John,
we know that he has given us an understanding, and we know
him that is true, and that he is the true God, and this is
eternal life. And he's given us this understanding. Who art thou? They didn't ask. Knowing, knowing by his revelation,
knowing by the understanding that he has given unto us, that
it is the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, come and dine. Anybody
hungry? Come and dine. Come to Christ. Come to Christ. Rest in Him.