Sermon #130 John Sermons

Title: “On this wise

shewed He Himself.”

Text: John 21:1-14

Subject: Christ’s Bountiful Provision for His Own

Reading: Song of Solomon 1:1-17

Tape # John 130

Introduction:

How does the Lord Jesus show Himself? How does our blessed Savior make Himself known to His people. When does He come to His own? When does He make Himself known? How does He show Himself? We come to the house of God desiring to see our blessed Savior and hear His voice. — “He standeth behind our wall, He looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice” (Song of Solomon 2:9). We come here hoping that our Lord Jesus will be pleased to look forth at the window of His Word and show Himself through the lattice of His ordinances…

· Prayer!

· Praise!

· Preaching!

Did He not promise, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20)? Did He not tell us, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him” (John 14:21)? Yet, how often we are compelled to ask, “Lord, how is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world?” (John 14:22).

How does the Lord Jesus show Himself? We might find some answers to that question in John 21.

(John 21:1) “After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he [himself].”

“On this wise shewed He Himself.” That is my subject. After our Lord arose from the dead, He appeared to Mary and twice to His disciples, and showed Himself to seven of the disciples who had gone to Galilee according to His instructions (Matthew 28:10, 16). These appearances were more than just physical appearances in order that they could see Him and know that He lives. They were more than mere proofs of His resurrection. In these post-resurrection appearances our blessed Savior manifested Himself in His Divine majesty, His resurrected glory, His love and compassion for His people, and His finished redemptive work, showing forth His glory as our risen, triumphant Savior.

Recorded Appearances

There are the twelve recorded appearances of our Lord Jesus Christ after his resurrection in the New Testament. There may have been many more; we do not know (Acts 1:3).

1. To Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18).

2. To the women (Matthew 28:9-10).

3. To Cleopas and his companion (Luke 24:13-35).

4. To Simon (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5).

5. To the disciples, Thomas being absent (John 20:19-23).

6. To the disciples, Thomas being present (John 20:24-29).

7. To the seven at the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-14).

8. To the disciples on the mountain in Galilee (Matthew 28:16-20).

9. To the five hundred (1 Corinthians 15:6).

10. To James, the Lord's brother (1 Corinthians 15:7).

11. To the eleven disciples on Olivet, near Jerusalem (Acts 1:4-11; Luke 24:50-51).

12. To Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3-7).

Special Revelation

But after His resurrection our Lord Jesus never showed Himself to anyone except His disciples. And they saw Him only as He made Himself known to them. Though He stood before them and spoke to them, though they saw Him physically, none could see Him and know who He was except by special revelation, except Christ reveal Himself to them. So it is now. This fact is important. By it we see that…

· The resurrection was never intended to be a proof of anything to unbelievers.

· Any profitable sight of Christ, any sight of Him that is beneficial to our souls, any saving, sight and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ is spiritual. — Not Carnal — Not Academic — Not Visionary — But Spiritual!

· We cannot see the Lord Jesus, at any time, or know His presence, or Hear His voice, except as He is pleased to make Himself known to us.

You who are yet without Christ, without life, without faith, without God, and without hope, must forever remain as you are unless the Lord Jesus makes Himself known to you by the mighty operations of His grace (2 Corinthians 4:6; Genesis 1:1-3).

(2 Corinthians 4:6) “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

(Genesis 1:1-3) “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 ¶ And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”

The same thing is true of you we are the Lord’s. Though you are born gain, though we live by faith in Christ, though we live in the Spirit, walk in the Spirit, and are filled with the Holy Spirit, as all heaven-born souls are, we cannot (at any time, in any circumstances, or under any conditions) see and know our blessed Savior, except He make Himself known to us by the wonderful, mighty operations of His grace on our behalf.

· Though the Lord Jesus stood before Mary and talked to her, she did not see Him and did not know Him until He made Himself known to her.

· Though the risen Savior walked with and taught those disciples on the road to Emmaus, they did not see Him and did not know Him until He made Himself known to them.

· Though the blessed Savior miraculously stepped into their midst on that first day, that first Sunday evening after He was risen, they did not see Him and did not know Him until He made Himself known to them.

· The same is true of us today!

Let’s go back to John 21 and read the rest of my text, and see how the Lord Jesus shows Himself to His own.

(John 21:1-14) “After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he [himself]. 2 There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the [sons] of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. 3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. 4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. 5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. 6 And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. 7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt [his] fisher’s coat [unto him], (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. 8 And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. 9 As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. 10 Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. 11 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. 12 Jesus saith unto them, Come [and] dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. 13 Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. 14 This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.”

Proposition: The only way we can see the Lord Jesus Christ, the only way we can behold the glory of God in the Person and work of His dear Son is by faith in Christ; and that faith by which we behold Him is His own gift of grace.

Don Fortner

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