Broken and Healed
In Dec of 2009 David Garret was leaving London's Barbican Hall when he slipped walking down a set of stairs and fell backward. Lucky for him the slip did not injure him. However, he was a renowned classical violinist, and the 200-year-old Italian Guadagnini violin, made in 1772 and valued at over 1 million dollars, and which he happened to be carrying on his back, was crushed. Neither the case nor the violin could sustain his weight. The million dollar violin cracked and many spoke up, shaking their heads and questioning if it could ever be fixed.
I have broken enough things to feel a lot of sympathy for Mr. Garret. I would have laughed at him in my youth, but now I feel his pain. Have you ever broken something and wondered if it could ever be made right?
Even if you get it back together will it ever have the same sound? Will it play the same? And forget about the violin, how could you be so dumb and so careless? Will you ever be fixed?
We are celebrating the resurrection today. As we look at a broken world that death has cracked, the resurrection gives great hope that what is broken can be healed. But as great as the resurrection sounds, it may cause you to wonder, as you feel the brokenness of your life, have you done enough to merit a part in the resurrection? It is one thing to say the world is broken and needs healing, but it is quite another thing to say I am broken and need healing. But even more, in this passage we are looking at how God heals the brokenness that is not just in the world, but is in our own hearts and lives.
We are looking at an account of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and this account is not so much a theological treatise of what was accomplished in the resurrection, but a pattern of broken people experiencing healing and restoration. I believe this is a theme that is vitally needed today.
The Darkness of Brokenness
These disciples have gone back to their old trade. Here seven of the disciples are together, and they decided to go fishing for the night. Had nothing else to do. Their teaching career with the Jesus academy has taken a hit.
Their great teacher and leader is betrayed and crucified, suffering one of the most despicable and humiliating deaths a person could endure. And these disciples, his fearless followers, abandoned him in his time of need. They let him down. They failed him, providing no help or assistance. That in itself would bring great remorse, and now rumors of his being alive swirl, and might bring great fear of What will Jesus say or do to me if he sees me?
These seasoned fishermen were out all night and caught nothing. It’s uncertain why the futility in fishing. Was it a night that everyone knew they wouldn’t catch anything, but they went anyway? It was about the catching of fish, but also the distraction from their failure they wanted. Messed up and can’t fix this! Let’s get away. It’s an escape—a way to keep from having to talk to people, rehearse one more time, “What happened?” Or perhaps the night was due to the black cloud of God’s judgment.
Was the fishing trip an escape, similar to what happens with substance abuse, addictions, workaholism?
Peter is one of the disciples and is at the center of this account. He was the one who showed so much promise. He saw Jesus’ transfiguration. He was the one Jesus called the rock.
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matt 16:18)
Bold Peter, who said he would never abandon Jesus. And yet in the Garden of Gethsemane he fell asleep rather than stand guard. When a crowd of temple police and Roman soldiers came to arrest Jesus he fled. He goes to Jesus’ trial, and while there, sitting and warming himself by a charcoal fire (John 18:18), he would deny having anything to do with Jesus.
The worst part of his denial is that right when he denies Jesus, a gap in the crowd appears and Jesus looks right at him.
And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly. (Luke 22:61–62)
Have you ever made a mistake and been caught right in that moment? Sometimes the worst part of being in trouble is when you know you are busted, and you just don’t know what is coming next. In 5th grade I was cutting up with friends and a teacher asked me to do something. I replied back with a highly inappropriate response, one that I heard used all the time, and partly in jest. I can still remember the look in her eyes, and I can remember the sinking feeling of how bad I messed up. As I was ushered to the principal's office a nauseating feeling welled up in me. What was I to do??
It’s one thing to make mistakes. It’s another to make mistakes that leave people out to dry. Peter abandoned Jeus in his moment of need. Mention of people seeing Jesus may cause great fear, wondering what is Jesus going to say or do to him!
What brokenness would these disciples feel? Shame, guilt, dysphoria, embarrassment. Repeatedly asking, “Why was I so afraid? Why didn’t we have a better plan, more disciplined, more strategic.”
Lost. Longing. Regret. Shame. Hopeless. Aimless. Directionless. Condemned. Confused. Depressed.
It’s not uncommon for God’s people and God’s followers to walk through things like this. We follow a crucified Savior. He suffered. We can expect to walk through dark nights as well.
Every rose has its thorn. And every night has its dawn.
We see this clearly in the resurrection.
The Dawn of Hope
Jesus appears to these disciples at the break of dawn. Just as the sun was rising Jesus called to them from the shore.
There’s nothing like fishing all night and some random guy asks you in the morning if you have any fish. And when you say no, he says throw out on the other side of the boat. What kind of advice is that? Go out a little deeper. Use a different bait. Those are substantive critiques. Cast on the other side of the boat means very little. Not go out into deep water. The rocky bank. Oh, you just want me to go this way and not that way.
When they haul in this miraculous catch of fish they know this is no ordinary guy. One of the disciples says it is Jesus. He is 100 yards away and it is early morning, and it would have been hard to determine immediately.
Peter jumps into the water. He doesn’t want to wait to get the fish in. Peter shows up to Jesus sitting by a charcoal campfire cooking some fish. The resurrected Jesus returns to his disciples and he prepares a campground brunch.
Jesus’ mere presence would give them much hope, and it should give you hope too.
Jesus’ actions tell you a lot about the resurrection and the future. Look, if I just overcame death, I am not cooking lunch at a campsite. That’s not even mid. That is below mid. What greater accomplishment is there? If this is me then I am rolling up in a sports car, possibly a drone letting me down, and I’ll have on a pair of shades, bands playing and smoking a cigar. I’m going to be looking like John Daly on the golf course.
I’m the guy that scores a point in tennis and all of a sudden I’m Roger Federer. Make 3 out of 15 shots and I am Steph Curry. If I overcame death, I’m at least going to have a shirt that says, “Who’s your daddy?” I m also probably going to look for some more significant people to hang out with than a few fishermen.
Jesus has come to them, and it is business as normal. He is doing exactly what he did before. He is leading and caring for his disciples and the mission he has given to them.
Make no mistake. There will be a day that Jesus comes on the clouds, he will be clothed in white, and all the nations will gather around to worship him and enter into his feast. This is not that time. For now, Jesus is reclaiming and healing the broken, broken and confused disciples.
They don’t understand why these things have happened, and he is showing them what he did for them on the cross.
Jesus was very clear he came to atone for sin. A sin is anything that goes against God in thought, word, or deed. It is turning away from God to go your own way. It is the wrong things we do that bring shame, embarrassment, darkness.
The problem with sin is that God said if you sin you will die. The wages of sin is death. We sinned therefore we earned death. Sin deserves punishment. And the sinless one, Jesus Christ, died for us. If he was sinless he deserved to live. It is unjust to die, so God in his justice raised Jesus from the dead. He took our punishment so we could be set free.
Parking ticket. Drive however you want and park wherever you want. If you do this you are going to get a ticket. You have a fine to pay. And it will get to a point where you owe so much that you are not able to pay your ticket. The gospel is that Jesus paid what we could not. Our sins deserve the punishment of death. Jesus paid it for us, so that we could be forgiven. Our debts are paid.
He has come to restore his disciples. He came to save sinners. Save from sin, save from death, save from themselves. Heal the broken.
Redemption was Transactional.
The exchange of items for another. God gave the money needed for our parking ticket. He paid the price for our sins.
He paid this transaction in a way that would draw back those who ran from him. When you get a ticket, even justly, you are probably a little mad at the authorities. I’ve never heard anyone praise an officer for pulling them over for any reason. Even more, people often get tickets because they care more about themselves than they care for others and about obeying the laws of the land. So one of the things that has to happen is not just the balance being paid, but the restoration of love and devotion.
Jesus didn't come just to balance the checkbook. He came to set people on fire. Grown men don’t jump out of boats for no reason. There is a love and passion Peter has for Jesus.
Transformational Redemption.
Means the redemption changes the person from one thing to another. This means the transaction changes a person. That is what we see here. It is one thing to know Jesus died for my sins. It is another to be changed by knowing it. To recognize that all my brokenness, all my mistakes can be forgiven, and I have a place in what God is doing in the world. He is taking me in all my fear and trembling, short-sighted ideas, and he does not excuse them. He shed his blood for those, but he looks at me and loves me and says I have a purpose for you. Come follow me!
Transformation to New Life
Have you ever heard the term in business or leadership of a transformational leader? They don’t just lead an organization and keep plates spinning, they change it into something else. Jesus is a transformational leader. Steve Jobs took over a mediocre company and changed it, saying he wanted to put a ding in the universe.
Jesus pays for our sins, satisfying God’s judgment, and does it in a way that changes our hearts, what it means to serve God. He transforms us, changes us.
The focus is on Peter and his failures. He questions him before a charcoal fire. Do you love me? That is the question. This isn’t passive aggressive. This isn’t vindictive. It isn’t rubbing salt in the wound. This is direct and to the point.
Jesus is a spiritual surgeon operating on hearts with incisive words. Making cuts that bring healing. Peter has to look deep in himself and he will have to rely on Jesus’ work.
Jesus doesn’t make it any harder than it needs to be for Peter. Do you love me? You think you are not good enough. You never were. It's not about what you can do but what I can do. Do you love me?
**Get your eyes off your mistakes and on to me. Take your eyes off what you hate and focus on what you love.**
Do you love Jesus? Do you see what he has done and offers to do? The healing he can bring? He changes how we think about serving God.
Country singer Jelly Roll, not to be confused with the early church father Jelly Roll, said in his song Need a Favor:
I only talk to God when I need a favor
And I only pray when I ain't got a prayer
So who the hell am I, who the hell am I to expect a savior, oh
If I only talk to God when I need a favor?
But, God, I need a favor
This sums up how many view their relationship with God, I believe. I don’t follow. Even demons believe in God and shudder with fear. They don’t serve God and they don’t love God. That is not jumping into the water to follow Jesus.
A change in our motive. A change in our lifestyle.
Three times Jesus asks Peter if he loves him. Three times after Peter affirms his love, Jesus tells him to care or feed his sheep. Jesus’ sheep are his people. And so it is clear Jesus is connecting a love for him to feeding his sheep. If we love Jesus we love his people, we care for his sheep.
If you start a new life there are new rhythms to what you do. An old brown and gray, dried up branch falls off, and a new green and lush branch begins. Jesus offers something to his disciples. A new way, but part of experiencing Jesus is following him.
It's not prestigious. It's not glamorous. It gets a little stinky. But it is one of the most basic acts of service to God. But the amazing thing is that Peter experiences the transformational work of God. He understands he is forgiven. His brokenness is healed by Jesus, his relationship restored. He is still loved. He has encountered grace. And now he is being called to share that grace with others so they can experience healing.
“Jesus's resurrection is the beginning of God's new project not to snatch people away from earth to heaven, but to colonize earth with the life of heaven.” NT Wright
Are you feeding his sheep? This is what his people are called to do. Does that mean go to church? Yes. But you can be in church and not feeding anyone. We are to care for and nurture his sheep.
Share his light, his love, his word with others so that they can experience the same restoration we have experienced. Go into your workplace, your family, your neighborhood as an ambassador of Jesus.
Many people criticize the church today. Church is too this or that. Let me ask you this: If you are a Christian, what do people say about your ministry? Is it effective, powerful, transformational, does it exist at all or is it at 0? It’s easy to criticize what others are doing when you are not doing it.
Jesus died so that broken people could be healed and restored to God. He calls us to play a part in that. But will we do it? Do we love him?
Martin Luther said “Every Christian is someone else’s priest, and we are all priests to one another.”
This is the heart of our church. We don’t just want to see people in here. We don’t want money. We want to see people come to know and understand the Christian faith, especially the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It changes you. He changes you. You heard it in a testimony today. Elizabeth’s life changed because of an encounter with God. People were sharing with her, encouraging her, praying for her and they got to see God work. If Elizabeth were near you in that time would your time with her have taken her closer to God, or just numb her more to have no hope. We want to sharpen and equip people spiritually to be followers of Jesus who are helping others follow Jesus.
I want to see Christians living the life Jesus calls them to live. Taking the good news to others and seeing lives transformed.
The resurrection, forgiveness, and purpose were not theoretical ideas for Peter. It was experiential for him to once again look into the eyes of Jesus and know that all he did wrong was atoned for and he was being commissioned once again … not as a law enforcer but as a dispenser/sharer of grace.
The resurrection transformed him from a condemned self righteous preacher to shepherd of grace. He now knew a healing and a healer he could share with others. God's grace mended his brokenness and made him into a beautiful instrument of grace.
Follow me. This was the initial calling to the disciples. Come follow me. After your failures, your disappointments in who you thought Jesus would be and who he is, after your times of trying to escape from him, will you come back to him? Will you follow? Will you take the time to discern his intent for your life as his follower? You can't follow him if you don't look where he wants you to go.
He could have had a faithless pity in which he sees Jesus on the boat but doesn’t think the work of Christ is really that great. Just keep on sailing boys. Wave to our old friend. This is what most people do in America. It’s what happens on Easter for most people. It's another day to show up and wave to Jesus as we continue on with our lives.
Follow him. Trust him for the surgery he will do in your life and in your heart. Trust him and his plan. Don’t be angry. Trust him. Don’t be resentful of your hurts. He just might show you his scars and how much he suffered. Trust him to mend and transform. But you have to leave everything behind. You have to jump out of the boat. Stop trying to fix yourself so that you don’t need grace.
David Garrett paid $80,000 to have his violin repaired. Our forgiveness cost Jesus his life. And his redemption is sufficient to heal all our breaks, overcome death and promise us new life. But we have to come before him. Check ourselves in to be fixed.
Discussion Questions
- What were the mistakes Peter made and what would he feel like after the death of Jesus?
- What hope does Jesus’ appearance bring to Peter? What hope does it bring to you?
- What does it mean to follow Jesus and feed his sheep? How are you currently doing this?
