April 26, 2026
• Rev. Dr. Rob Fuquay
“When the Story is Not Over”
Last week the pastors met with the confirmation students for the annual Quiz the Pastors gathering. They asked questions about faith, the Bible, the church, and a question that came up in a number of ways was, “Is there a sin too far? Can a person do something so bad that there’s no hope for that person?” They named some of the most notorious criminals in history wondering if those people get into heaven even if they say they have repented and accepted forgiveness.
This made for some lively conversation which eventually led to recognizing that the answer is above our pay grade. God determines such things and God knows what’s in our hearts. This also led to considering what we really believe about grace. If grace is grace, can it be limited?
Such questions are always entertaining when we are talking about other people and their sins, but I was cautious in my answers, because I wondered if there might be a day when they ask that of themselves. Have I committed a sin too far? Have I done something for which God will not forgive me?
This is when the question of forgiveness becomes significant, not when we are debating whether other people should be forgiven, but when the debate is deeply personal and internal and we become judge and jury of ourselves weighing a verdict of whether to be forgiven. That is when the conversation matters most.
And that is what makes the prologue of the Gospel of John very important.
John chapter 20 tells the Easter story then John’s version of Pentecost when Jesus imparted the Holy Spirit upon the disciples, and finally the account of Thomas coming to faith which we talked about last week. The chapter reads like a conclusion to the earthly ministry of Jesus. Just listen to the last sentences: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”
Cue the music. Roll the closing credits. The End.
But turn the page and it says, “After these things Jesus showed himself again…” This begins what is called The Prologue, John 21. This chapter reads like an addition to the Gospel. Some wonder if it came from a later time, perhaps even from a different hand. But that doesn’t lessen its value.
The disciple Peter is the center of attention and frankly he needs to be. He was left unfinished. He denied knowing Jesus during his trial and wept because Jesus predicted it would happen. On Easter morning he walked away from the empty tomb with no endorsement of faith. When Jesus appeared to the disciples on Easter evening there was no record of Peter saying anything. This seems to be an incomplete way to leave the person who would become the leader of the Church.
The following story has many symbolic layers. It starts with Peter and several other disciples returning to Galilee and going fishing. That, of course is where they came from, where Jesus called them to be fishers of men. Now, they fished all night and caught nothing. As they neared the shore Jesus called to them from the beach, but because of the distance or dimness of light, they don’t recognize him. He told them to throw their nets out again. They obey and this time they catch so many fish they can’t haul in the net.
In Luke’s Gospel this was exactly what happened the first time Peter met Jesus. A failed all night fishing trip. A command by Jesus to throw their nets out again. A great catch of fish. After which, Peter said to Jesus, “Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man.” Is that what this story is about in John 21? Peter’s sin? His brokenness?
We are told there were 153 fish in the net. One scholar points out that this was the number of species of fish that were known at the time. Could that be a symbol for how the disciples were called to be fishers of men, drawing in all the people of the world? That they had a global, inclusive mission to fulfill?
When they reached shore they saw a charcoal fire Jesus had started. Why does it mention that it was a charcoal fire? Could it be because it was a charcoal fire that was burning in the courtyard of the High Priest’s house where Peter denied Jesus?
After they cook some of their fish and eat breakfast, Jesus took Peter aside. He asked him three times, “Do you love me?” Each time Peter replied, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” And Jesus said, “Feed my lambs…tend my sheep…feed my sheep”
Peter is hurt by this. Why would Jesus do this? Is it because Peter had denied Jesus three times? Is that why Jesus asks if he loves him three times?
Is Jesus taking Peter back to his worst moment so that he will quit letting be his last moment, as a disciple anyway?
This story is clearly about Peter which means it is about the church because Peter symbolizes the mission of the church. So this story is also about us, and our own unfinished business.
Remember, Jesus had already given them the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room Easter night. That meant they were empowered now to carry on his work. Jesus once told the disciples they would do greater things than he had done. Now they are ready to do that. Only they’re not. They’re back fishing in Galilee…and Peter led them there.
It’s hard to live a great story when you don’t see much great about your story.
It is a healthy life that can look at itself and say, “I have failings.” But a life that says about itself, “I am a failure,” is another story.
And thinking of stories, there’s an old story about a blacksmith who bragged that he had created a chain that couldn’t be broken. Later in his life he ran afoul of the law and was arrested. As he sat in a jail cell in chains, he immediately began searching the chain with his hands looking for some flaw, some defect he could use to break free. As he searched, he began to recognize the quality of the chain. It was his own! Now was it actually unbreakable. Who knows? He had convinced himself long ago that it was.
Many times the chains that restrict our lives are of our own making, especially when it comes to our failures. We can put a permanence on what those failures mean. And it doesn’t matter whether that is true. What matters is what we tell ourselves.
And that’s what makes breaking out of such chains feel impossible, because of just that, our feelings. If our being forgiven depends on our feeling forgiven, then those chains will be hard to break.
Many times I have heard people in church say, “I believe God forgives me. I just don’t feel forgiven,” and such feelings can cause us to live as if we are still in chains, at least mentally, because we believe we are disqualified from doing anything great.
That may be the reason Peter led some of the others to go back fishing.
But notice how Jesus doesn’t deal with Peter in the realm of his emotions. He doesn’t try to make Peter feel better. If anything Jesus did the opposite. He took Peter back to his failure. He kept asking, “Do you love me?” And with each answer from Peter, Jesus reminded him of his charge to be shepherd. In other words Jesus takes Peter back to the midst of his failure to say to him, “And I still choose you!”
You know when we make forgiveness dependent on our feeling forgiven we become our own saviors. Our salvation is based on how we feel. And that is never a dependable standard. So Jesus doesn’t talk about feelings. He, in fact, doesn’t even say, “You are forgiven.” Instead, Jesus gives Peter a job to do.
Forgiveness is not based on our feeling forgiven, but it is meant to be realized by living a redemptive life. So sometimes we have to live what we know not what we feel.
Three times Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?” The New Testament was first written in Greek. There are several words for love in Greek which in English is always just translated love. Its easy to miss some nuances…such as in Jesus’ questions.
The first two times Jesus questions Peter, the word agape is used for love. It’s considered to be the most noble form of love. It is godly love, love that cares completely about the need of the other. Sacrificial love. Self-giving love.
Jesus asks Peter, “Do you agape me?” Do you love me in this highest manner?
But then the third time, the word for love changes to phile. This describes a friendly love. It is where Philadelphia gets its name, the city of brotherly or sisterly love.
Why the change of types of love? Why does Jesus for the third time switch to phile? I believe it’s because he wants Peter to understand more than just the fact that he has work to do. What he’s asking is more than, “Will you keep serving God?” I think Jesus now asks something deeply personal. “Do you phile me? Will you be my friend?”
I think Jesus wants Peter to know, not just that He values what Peter can do, He values Peter. He still considers Peter His friend.
Again, this is a story about us. Peter represents the church. He is our stand-in. He is a stand in for all who have loved and served God but who have fallen and regret it and want desperately to know that God still loves them and wants to use them.
So the next time, you struggle with your own forgiveness I invite you to read this passage of scripture, John 20:15-17, but exchange Peter’s name for your own. In fact, read it as if Jesus is talking to you, so that it might go something like this. Where you see NAME, just quietly to yourself, say your own name.
“When we had finished breakfast, Jesus said to me, “(NAME), do you love me more than these?” I said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to me, “Feed my lambs.” A second time he said to me, “(NAME), do you love me?” I said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to me, “Tend my sheep.” He said to me the third time, “(NAME), do you love me?” I felt hurt because he said to me the third time, “Will you still be my friend?” And I said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to me, “Feed my sheep.
I believe there is something more important to Jesus than whether we feel forgiven. It is will we let Him love, bless, heal, and serve others through us today, everyday? He meets us right now and asks, “Do you love me?”