Faulty Thinking #4
The disciples desperately longed for new, but they assumed these new things Jesus talked about would fit into their same old existence.
They were comfortable, thank you very much, and didn’t really want to stir things up any more than necessary. So they expected this new thing would fit into their old lifestyle. Jesus called it pouring new wine into old bottles.
And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. Luke 5:37-38
The results of new wine in old wineskins aren’t good. For example, it wasn’t long after Jesus died and rose again that Peter went back to his old way of life. He went fishing and his fellow disciples went with him (John 21:3). They fished all night and didn’t catch a thing. They assumed that once they met Jesus, they could go back to the way things were and everything would be normal again. They assumed wrong.
Even my vast imagination cannot fathom the depth and diversity of emotion that must have gripped Christ’s followers after His crucifixion and resurrection. Remember, in one week’s time, his followers went from being in the top ten of most influential groups, to being the most wanted by their own religious leaders, to being the most disbelieved by everyone. Under those circumstances, I think any one of us would fall back to what was safe and comfortable, just like these men.
But Jesus wouldn’t let them stay there nor does He let us. To an outsider, and sometimes even to us, it may seem cruel when Jesus takes our hand and leads us back to the scary new thing. After all, isn’t safe and comfortable the crux of the American dream? Life isn’t supposed to be complicated.
Now, if it is tumultuous because of our own disobedience and sin that is something quite different. Even then…maybe even especially then, Jesus longs to pull us back to the new thing. But He won’t until we confess sin and want to go back to the new thing. The Master Teacher never forces us to do anything. He will apply a great deal of pressure, and He will never leave us or forsake us, but He never forces us. He could, but He doesn’t. Amazing!
Anyway, here at the Sea of Galilee, Jesus wasn’t being cruel and insensitive to allow His followers to fish all night and catch nothing. He was showing them, through life experience, that if they went back to the safe and comfortable, it would be empty. He could have told them this. Oh wait! He did tell them over and over (Matthew 6:25-34), but we humans learn best with experience.
He also knows we need encouragement and strengthening as He leads us out of the safe and comfortable back to the new thing. Jesus did just that on the beach. His students came up empty, zero fish. They were ready to give up. They thought they were alone. Their faulty thinking was taking over. You see, their net didn’t have to be empty. They didn’t need to give up. They didn’t need to be alone.
It took them a moment to figure out it was Jesus on the beach. How did they figure it out? He told them to cast the net one more time on the other side, which they did, and they couldn’t haul the net in because there were so many fish (John 21:6-8).
Jesus is so practical. He had a deep challenge for Peter (and the others listening in), but He knew they needed to rest a while and eat first, “Come and have breakfast” (John 21:9). He treated them in a familiar way: “Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise” (John 21:13). And He waited for them to finish breakfast. Isn’t that just like Him! He knows our physical, mental, and emotional frailties. He doesn’t just brush them off and tell us to suck it up. He cares for us. He meets our needs. He strengthens us. Then He reminds us of the new thing and His role for us in it.
John 21:15-17 is the famous love debate between Jesus and Peter. We will go into this in more detail in a future chapter. For now, I just want to point out that Jesus is trying to get His student, Peter, to understand just how hard this new thing is going to be. Peter is flippant about it at first, but Jesus won’t let him continue with that attitude. He wants Peter to know, in no uncertain terms, that he can never go back to the safe and comfortable. Jesus also wants him to know this new thing will be worth it all. Amen!
Faulty Thinking #5
The disciples assumed life was going to get better if they just kept following Jesus. This wasn’t completely faulty thinking; it was more like incomplete thinking (Matthew 21:8-11). Being with Jesus was amazing and certainly eventful. The movement was growing! They were finally in Jerusalem and had unprecedented support
Grant it, they were getting a little antsy about the timing of Rome being overthrown and Jesus being the earthly king. And it was a bit disconcerting to hear all Jesus’ talk about going away and they can’t follow. But in their wildest thoughts and contemplations of the future, the disciples could not have even come close to what unfolded that night after they left the Upper Room and the days following.
They assumed life was going to get better. They were sort of right this time, but they had no clue the price that would be paid for the better to come and how much they would need one another. They didn’t do it perfectly, but they did it. They had to!
I wonder what it will take for us to “have to” love one another?
Discussion
Let’s think of a brand new way (I mean totally new way) to bless an old one another relationship. This time let’s think outside our families and think of our one another friends. Maybe it will be someone we haven’t seen for a while or someone we’ve just drifted apart from for no real reason. Or maybe it’s just someone we are so comfortable with, we’ve kind of taken them for granted. Whomever God brings to your mind, bless away! Again, don’t be boxed in with monetary means of blessing; think beyond that.
One Another Living 