Live to Love Scripture Encouragement

John 21:15 So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Tend My lambs." Names are noteworthy. When Jesus called Simon Peter by his old name, Simon, He was addressing what Simon used to be in the flesh. For instance, Mark 14:37-38 “And He came and found th...

John 21:14 This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead. Although this was the fifth appearance of Jesus since His resurrection, it was the third to the disciples as a group. This settled the question, “Who is Jesus?” These three times testify to this great truth or reality. Jesus lives. Jesus, is the Son of God. He is the way, the truth,...

John 21:13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise. My understanding of middle-eastern culture is that hospitality is an incredibly high value. If a guest came, food and drink were offered. It was expected as a display of honor. To not do so was to shame the guests and would be considered shameful of the host. The earth is the Lord’s. It’s His house, and that morni...

John 21:12 Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples ventured to question Him, "Who are You?" knowing that it was the Lord. John wanted his readers to know for certain that this was an encounter with the resurrected Jesus. Therefore he stated uncategorically that they knew that it was the Lord. The Holy Spirit inspired John, so we can know this comment about this encount...

John 21:11 Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn. It seems that Peter was still in the water and hadn’t yet come on the land because John said that he “went up and drew the net to the land.” Had he been on the beach he would have “gone down.” John thought it was important to note that there...

John 21:10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish which you have now caught." Why did Jesus ask them to bring some of the fish they had caught when He already had fish and bread prepared? I’m not sure, but it does seem like the Lord to bless our labors and then use the fruit of what He provided for His glory. We are in this together, and in a way, Jesus asking them to add their fish to His di...

John 21:8 But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net full of fish. I imagine us at the end of our lives dragging our nets to Jesus. Each one’s net is full of the people God put into our paths throughout our lives. People whom Jesus loved through us and to whom He ministered. We present them to Him because...

John 21:7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord." So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea. How exciting it must’ve been for the disciples to see the Lord on the beach. It’s hard to imagine what was going on in their minds, but you know they had to be thrilled. It’s a...

John 21:5-6 So Jesus said to them, "Children, you do not have any fish, do you?" They answered Him, "No." And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch." So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. It surely must have been a deja-vu moment. Here’s Luke’s account of a similar event. Luke 5:4 When He h...

John 21:4 But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Remember how Mary and the two on the road to Emmaus were prevented from recognizing Jesus? This may be another time like those. In each case, we understand that God has a purpose for the temporary blindness. It makes the revelation of Christ a miraculous expression of love. You...

1 John 3:18-20 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. 19 We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him 20 in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Love in action John encouraged his readers, his little children, to put love into action. The gnostics, who believed that...

John 21:3 Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will also come with you." They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing. Sometimes we go back to what we did before we met Jesus. Maybe it’s because we don’t know what to do perhaps that’s where Peter was. He didn’t know what to do, so he went back to the thing that he knew – fishing. James an...

John 21:2 Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. God moves people as He wishes to accomplish His purposes. On this day, on the sea of Tiberius, God put Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, James, and John, and two other disciples together in a boat. As we’ll see in the next verse, God gave Peter a...

John 21:1 After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way. This is now the 5th appearance after Jesus’ resurrection and the 3rd to the disciples. He had told Mary to tell them He would meet them at the Sea of Galilee which is also called the Sea of Tiberias. The fact that Jesus manifested Himself, informs us that He w...

John 20:31 “but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” There are limits to what John had time and space to relate concerning Jesus, but it is adequate for any to believe and have life in His name. Our problem isn’t what we don’t know about Jesus, which is infinite. Our dilemma is rightly respondin...

John 20:30 “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;” I’ve heard it said recently that we only have a few weeks worth of the life of Jesus recorded in the gospels. John indicated as much in this verse. What is recorded is incredible, but there is so much more to which the disciples were eye witnesses. However great and wo...

John 20:29 “Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.’" Have you believed that Jesus is Lord and God without seeing Him in bodily form? Have you believed after hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ? If so, you are blessed, according to Jesus Himself. Thomas and the rest of the disciples were blessed also to see the resurrected...

John 20:28 “Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’" John didn’t tell us if Thomas actually touched Jesus’ hands and side. He had seen enough to be convinced that standing in front of him, was the resurrected Christ. He declared what everyone who believes declares. Jesus is Lord of all, and Jesus is God. That is what we proclaim as we witness to the resurrection. Some say Jesus is a...

John 20:27 Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing." Jesus knew what Thomas had said about his hands and side. They were the wounds that killed Jesus and perhaps that’s why Thomas didn’t say he wanted to see and touch his head and back. He had to know those wounds were healed....

John 20:26 “After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, ‘Peace be with you.’" Just like Jesus appeared the first time to the disciples, He materialized in a closed room and stood in their midst. Again He said, “Peace be with you.” It was important to Jesus and to John that Thomas was present. He...

John 20:24-25 “But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were saying to him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.’” Before we judge Thomas too quickly or harshly, let’s consider...

John 20:23 “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained." Notice that the Holy Spirit’s ministry is a ministry of discernment. “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained." They will have the ability to discern what God has and hasn’t done....

John 20:21-22 “So Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.’ and when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” Being sent by Jesus as the Father sent His Son is to produce peace. The next verse tells us what He meant. The Father sent Jesus in the power of the Spirit, and He sent His disciples and all believe...

John 20:20 “And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.” And so will we! There is a day and a time when we who believe and trust in Jesus will see the Lord in His body. What a day that will be! The author of Hebrews wrote of this moment. Hebrews 9:28 “so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, wi...

John 20:19 “So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’" I wonder if the disciples remembered the last words Jesus had said to them as a group in His last discourse? He had said, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me...