Mi Historia Favorita, Junio 21, 2026

Well, happy Father's Day again to all of you fathers out there. It's good to be back with you at our Fellowship Espanol campus this morning. If we haven't had a chance to meet yet, my name is Jay McQuirk, and I am the Pastor of Discipleship for all of our Fellowship campuses. I also get to serve as an elder alongside Alfredo and Dave Kella, and I get to work with Jose on helping our church to live out our mission. That mission is to make disciples who live by God's grace and for His glory at home and across the world. If you've been here with us the past two weeks, you know that we are in a sermon series this summer called My Favorite Story. Our pastors are spending the summer preaching through our own personal favorite stories from the Bible. Today I'm going to be sharing with you one of my favorite stories from John chapter 21. You can turn there and your Bibles are open to that passage if you have a Bible app. We also have some notes for you there in the bulletin that you got on your way in if you'd like to follow along. This passage is one of my favorite stories because it shows a very unique and specific situation. But for those of us who follow Christ, it's something that we have all experienced. This is a situation that all of us will likely find ourselves in at some point in our lives, and some of us may be experiencing it right now. Here's the situation that the Gospel of John shows us in this story. What do we do when we know that Jesus is the Lord and Savior of our lives? And we know that He's called us according to His purposes to follow Him. But what happens when we are living with an uncertainty about what He wants us to do next? What do we do when we are uncertain about our future? What do we do when we know that we are following Jesus, but we are not sure what our next step in life might look like? What if I'm uncertain about my future? How do we live and what do we do when we want to do something, but we don't know what that

something is? How do we faithfully follow Jesus when there is uncertainty in our lives? Let me tell you what's happening leading up to the events of John 21, the last chapter in John's Gospel. Jesus has already been crucified and has been resurrected from the dead. He has already appeared to His followers several times and they know that He has risen. But Jesus has not really given them clear instructions on what happens next. They are living in a period of uncertainty because Jesus is alive. They know this and they believe this. They just don't know what to do next or how they should live. These men are living in a time of one of the greatest transitions in the history of the world. The time between Jesus's resurrection and then his ascension into heaven 40 days later. And it comforts me to know that these men who had followed Jesus for more than three years, they behaved like normal people in this time of great uncertainty. But it comforts me even more to see how Jesus treated them, how he loves them, how he gives them hope even when we don't know what to do next. That's where my favorite story begins. John chapter 21 verse 1. After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the sea of Tiberias and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas called the twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and the two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, I am going fishing. They said to him, we will go with you. And then they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. They are still together. But again, they're not really sure what to do. And so Peter, who consistently acts and speaks before he thinks, he says, I'm going fishing.

Something for us to understand about ourselves in time of uncertainty and transition, the first thing is this, we have a tendency to go back to what is familiar and comfortable. When Jesus calls us to follow him, that path moves us forward in growth, forward in hope, forward in love, and forward in life. But when we don't know what to do, all of us have a natural tendency to fall back into something that we know, something that is familiar and comfortable. At least seven of Jesus' twelve disciples were fishermen. And so when they were not sure what to do, Peter speaks up. And he says, I'm going to do what I know how to do. I'm going fishing. He goes back to what is familiar and comfortable to him in his life. When we don't know what to do, it's easy for us to return to things that are comfortable and familiar. But the kingdom of God is always advancing. It's always expanding. And Jesus is always calling us forward. And many times he calls us to do uncomfortable things in order to grow us. He does this in order to teach us and to cause us to depend on him for our strength. So when you are living in a time of uncertainty, recognize your tendency to want to slide back into what is comfortable and familiar. But just as this is what the disciples are doing, Jesus appears. And just as usual, when Jesus appears, everything changes. Let's look at verse four. As his day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore. Yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. And Jesus said to them, Children, do you have any fish? They answered him, No. He said to them, Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some. So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because of the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, It is the Lord.

And when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off. Cuando ya amanecía, Jesús estaba en la playa, pero los discípulos no sabían que era Jesús. Entonces Jesús les dijo, Hijos, ¿acaso tenéis algún pescado? Le respondieron, No. Y él les dijo, Echad la red al lado derecho de la barca y hallaréis pesca. Entonces la echaron, y no podían sacarla por la gran cantidad de peces. Entonces aquel discípulo a quien Jesús amaba dijo a Pedro, Es el Señor. Oyendo pues, Simon Pedro, que era el Señor, se ciñó la ropa, porque se la había quitado para poder trabajar, y se echó al mar. Pero los otros discípulos vinieron en la barca, porque no estaban lejos de tierra, sino a unos cien metros, arrastrando la red llena de peces. So the disciples had fished all night, and they had caught nothing, but Jesus appears and He calls out to them. And when He does, He calls out to them as friends. The word children is a term for like saying, Hey, my friends, or Hey, guys. And when they listened to Him and they obeyed Him, they caught more fish than they could handle. And that's the second thing that we can see from this story. When life is uncertain, Jesus is still with us. John the disciple that Jesus loved, and probably was closest with, recognized Jesus first and then told Peter. And Peter, true to his personality, he acts before he thinks. John tells us that Peter, for some reason, puts on his clothes, and then he jumps out of the boat, and he starts swimming towards the shore to see Jesus. And then John says something very funny. He says the other disciples came in the boat. You know, like normal people would do in that situation.

Not like Peter who decided to put on his clothes and then go swimming. But because of Jesus's presence, Peter got so excited that he just had to swim to go see Him. If you remember, this story is just like the first time the disciples were out fishing and could not catch anything. And Jesus showed up and told them to try again on the other side of the boat. That was from the first time that Jesus called these men to follow Him back in Luke chapter 5. The first time that Jesus caused the disciples to catch more fish than they could handle, do you remember what Peter said to Jesus? This was before Peter began to follow Jesus as his disciple. The first time, when they got to the shore, Peter fell down at Jesus' feet and said, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man. The first time Peter experienced Jesus' presence and power, he was a fool. The first time that Peter experienced the presence and power of Jesus, he was afraid. But this time, Jesus does the exact same thing. And Peter's response is that he can't get to Jesus fast enough. Peter has been transformed by the three years that he spent following Jesus. And now he's no longer afraid. Jesus is here. He is risen. He's alive. And he will know what to do in this time of uncertainty. When our lives are uncertain, Jesus is still with us. And we can run to him with joy because we know what he is able to do. Let's keep reading in verse 9. When they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire in place with a fish laid out on it and bread. And Jesus said to them, bring some of the fish that you've just caught. So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore full of large fish, 153 of them.

And although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, come and have breakfast. Now none of the disciples dared ask him, who are you? For they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. Here's the third thing for us to see. When life is uncertain, Jesus still cares for us. The first time in Luke chapter 5, Jesus told them to try again. The Bible says that there were so many fish that the net tore. In some ways, that symbolized that these men would no longer have lives that were about being fishermen or catching fish, but their lives would be about following Jesus. But the second time Jesus tells them to catch the fish on the other side of the boat, the nets do not tear. This shows that Jesus is taking care of them and will provide everything he needs them to have. Once they get to the shore, Jesus already has a fire burning and waiting on them. Even in the uncertainty, Jesus has gone ahead of them to get things ready for them, which shows how much he loves them and cares for them. He took some of the fish that they caught and he cooked them breakfast. Surely they were hungry after having fished all night, and so he cared for them enough to meet their needs. A fish for breakfast sounds a little disgusting to me, but I'm sure they enjoyed it. What a beautiful scene this was, showing Jesus' care for his followers and the community that he had created for them. They're sitting on the shore of the lake at sunrise, men from several different backgrounds, different personalities, different economic situations, but their willingness to follow Jesus had transformed them. It created a brotherhood of men who now did everything together.

From ministry and preaching the gospel together, to fishing together, to now sitting together and being cared for by Jesus. This is what the gospel does when we believe it, and when we are under the care of Jesus. He brings people together across class divisions, across gender divisions, across racial divisions, across personality differences, across every sort of difference that we can have with each other. And before he commissions them to take his gospel to the world, he just sits and cooks breakfast for them and cares for them. He doesn't immediately tell them what to do in the uncertainty. He just shows them that he cares for them. In the 40 days that Jesus appeared on the earth between his resurrection and ascension, he spent most of that time with his disciples. What brought these men together was their love for Jesus and the mission that he gave them. And here Jesus doesn't give them the mission just yet, but he provides for them and he cares for them. When things are uncertain in our lives, Jesus still cares for us. And when we don't know what to do, we can still spend time with him in his presence and in his word. And we can spend time with his people, with his followers, together enjoying the community we have as we live on his mission together. That's the community Jesus has created for us as we follow him together. Let's keep reading in verse 15. When they had finish breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon son of John, do you love me more than these? And he said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, feed my lambs. He said to him a second time, Simon son of John, do you love me? And he said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, tend my sheep.

And he said to him the third time, Simon son of John, do you love me? And Peter was grieved because he had said to him a third time, do you love me? And he said to him, Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you. And Jesus said to him, feed my sheep. If you go back to the last few days before Jesus' death, remember what Jesus said to Peter. He said, Peter, you are going to deny me three times. Peter did just that. While the disciples are sitting at breakfast with Jesus, everyone has to remember that that happened. They have to remember that Peter did deny ever knowing or having been with Jesus. Even when Peter promised that he would never do that. So after breakfast, Jesus speaks directly to Peter. In this time of uncertainty, Jesus addresses the broken relationship that Peter has caused by his actions. He takes Peter's failure that was very loud in public and that was seen by all the other disciples and Jesus restores him. It was important for the disciples to see that even though Peter had sinned, Jesus in his grace was forgiving him and continuing their relationship. This is something else for us to see. That when life is uncertain, we can reflect on our past mistakes and trust the grace of Christ to forgive and restore us. Jesus takes our failures and he doesn't seek to embarrass us. Jesus took Peter aside, just the two of them, and he didn't try to embarrass him or make an example out of him in front of the other disciples. He just asks him a simple question, Peter, do you love me? And just as Jesus asks him three times, it was the same number of times that Peter had denied Jesus. So when things are uncertain, it's easy for us to start looking at ourselves and seeing

all of the ways that we feel like a failure. All of the ways that our sin impacts our lives and the lives of others. But Jesus steps in and reminds us of his forgiveness and his grace. He shows us that he's not finished with us yet and that he is still working on our hearts and transforming us more and more into his image and character. This is the same question that Jesus is asking us. When things are uncertain, do you love me? Not just do you trust me. Or are you listening to me? Or are you seeking me? But do you love me? Peter to the point of being sad and upset that Jesus has to ask so many times. Peter says in shame and desperation, of course I love you Jesus, you know I love you. And in Jesus' response to Peter, we see the fifth thing that we need to know today. When life is uncertain, Jesus still has a mission for us. Jesus doesn't just ask Peter, do you love me? Jesus gives Peter a mission. He tells him to feed my sheep, to tend my sheep. This is one way of saying, Peter I want you to be a pastor. I want you to take care of my people. Teach them my word, love them, encourage them, counsel them, comfort them. Care for them like I have cared for you. Jesus is asking Peter to lead the disciples and to help establish the early church. The church which would carry on Jesus' mission. The mission of reconciling anyone who repents and believes into a relationship with him. In the uncertainty, Jesus is showing Peter that he still has a purpose. And an even greater purpose that was to come. But that purpose is not always an easy path. Let's keep reading. Verse 18.

Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go. This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God. And after saying this, he said to him, follow me. Earlier in the passage, we saw Peter lead the other disciples to return to fishing. Something comfortable and familiar. Here Jesus is painting a very different picture for what the future of Peter's mission would be. He says, Peter, if you're going to love me and follow me, it's going to cost you. It's going to be uncomfortable. And Jesus not only tells Peter that he will die, he tells Peter how he's going to die. You know how it feels when your life is uncertain, and you hope that Jesus will jump in and rescue you and bless you. We say to ourselves, Jesus, if I join your mission, are you going to make me happy? Are you going to make me rich? Are you going to make me healthy? Are you going to make me comfortable? And Jesus looks at Peter and says, Peter, you are going to die for me. And given Jesus' words and the historical accounts that we have, it looks like Peter was likely crucified just as Jesus was. Jesus says that Peter's mission and purpose will result in his death. In the uncertainty, Jesus will eventually make clear to us what his plan is for us if we continue to follow him. And for some of us, it may be a life of blessing. But for some of us, it may be a life that is hard, and uncomfortable, and dangerous. But it will still be incredibly fulfilling. Because of the joy that Jesus brings when he gives us his mission, and he gives us his presence, Peter lived for thirty more years, and he had this knowledge of how he would die hanging over his head.

Yet he still served the Lord faithfully, and he lived out the mission of spreading the gospel and making disciples the mission that Jesus had given him. And when you hear the choice between those two things, blessing or suffering, and your life is uncertain, it's not hard to imagine which one you would choose. And if your life is uncertain, and if your life is difficult, it's easy to look at the lives of others who look better than yours, and to compare your life to theirs. It's easy for us to do that. And Peter did the exact same thing. In this conversation with Jesus, even as Peter is getting his mission, even as he's being restored to a good relationship with Jesus, as he's being told that his life is uncomfortable, Peter does the same thing that you and I would probably do. He compares his life to someone else, and he's worried about someone else's life and path. Look at verse 20. Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had also who leaned back against him during the supper and said, Lord, who is it that's going to betray you? And when Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, Lord, what about this man? And Jesus said to him, if it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me. Pedro volviendose, vio que le seguía el discípulo a quien Jesús amaba, el que en la cena se había recostado sobre el pecho de Jesús, y había dicho, Señor, quién es el que te va a entregar? Entonces, Pedro, al verlo, dijo a Jesús, Señor, ¿y este, qué?

Jesús le dijo, si yo quiero que él se quede hasta que yo venga, ¿a ti qué? Tú sígueme. Here's the last thing I want us to see. Esto es lo último que quiero que veamos. When life is uncertain, resist the temptation to compare your life to others. Cuando la vida es incierta, resistamos la tentación de comparar tu vida con la de los demás. As Peter and Jesus are talking, porque a la que están hablando Pedro y Jesús, John is following them. Juan las está siguiendo. And Peter, again, true to his personality, Pedro, de nuevo, conforme a su personalidad, says something that you and I would probably say after we've been told that our lives are going to be difficult. Dice algo que seguro que tú y yo diríamos cuando se nos dice que la vida va a ser incómoda. Peter's first response is not, thank you, Jesus, for the hard things you just told me. La primera respuesta de Pedro no es, ah, gracias, Jesús, por todo lo difícil que me acabas de decir. I joyfully accept the mission that you have given me to die. Con mucho gozo,

yo acepto la misión que me acabas de dar de morir. That is not what he says. Eso no es lo que él dice. He says, what about John? Él dice, ¿y qué de Juan? What about John? Does he die too? ¿Y qué de Juan? ¿A él le toca morir también? Is he going to be crucified? ¿A él le van a crucificar? Are you going to make his life hard too? ¿Vas a hacer su vida también difícil? And Jesus has a great response to that. Y Jesús tiene una buena respuesta a eso. He says, what is it to you, Peter, what my mission is for him? Él le dice, ¿a ti qué te importa, Pedro, cuál sea mi misión para él? In other words, Peter is told by Jesus, it's none of your business. En otras palabras, Jesús le dice a Pedro, ¿no son tus asuntos? You just focus on following me. Tú enfócate en seguirme a mí. Jesus says, if I want John to live forever, Jesús dice, si yo quiero que Juan viva para siempre, that's my business and my plan. Son mis asuntos y mi plan. You just focus on living out the mission

that I'm giving you. Tú solo enfócate en vivir la misión que yo te he dado a ti. When our lives are uncertain, it is so easy for us to want to look at other people and focus on their lives. Cuando nuestras vidas son inciertas, es muy fácil que miremos la vida de los demás y comparemos nuestras vidas. We see their blessings. Vemos sus bendiciones. We see what they have that we don't have. Vemos lo que ellos tienen que igual nosotros no. And sometimes we see God giving them a clear path and we see them being used by him in ways that make us jealous. Y hay veces que vemos que Dios les está dando un camino claro a los demás y nosotros nos sentimos celosos. But Jesus says don't look at those things. Pero Jesús dice no mireis esas cosas. Don't compare your life to others. No compares tu vida con los otros. Even if their life looks easy and your life is hard. Aunque su vida se vea fácil y la tuya difícil. You focus on the mission I'm giving you. Tú enfócate en la misión que yo te he dado a ti. And you live in confidence and certainty in me. Y tú vive en confianza y en certidumbre sobre mí. Even when your life is uncertain.

Aun cuando tu vida está incierta. Some of us will have long lives that are easy compared to others where we serve the Lord and experience his blessings through a lot of happy times. Algunos de nosotros vamos a tener vidas fáciles, en especial comparadas con otros donde vamos a poder servir al Señor y experimentar sus bendiciones a través de muchos tiempos felices. And some of us will struggle and suffer. Y otros vamos a batallar y vamos a sufrir. And find our joy only in the grace and mercy and sustaining power of the Lord. Y vamos a encontrar nuestro gozo solo en la gracia y la misericordia que es el poder que nos sustenta en el Señor. But the process of being transformed in Christ means that I am willing to hold a mirror up to my life. Pero el proceso de ser transformado en Cristo significa que estoy dispuesto a levantar un espejo ante mí. To examine my attitudes. Para examinar mis actitudes. My behavior. Mis comportamientos. The way I treat others. La manera en la cual yo trato a los demás. The way I love others. La manera en la cual yo amo a los demás. And when we are confronted with hard things,

cuando se nos confronta con las cosas difíciles, we cannot turn that mirror towards other people. No podemos voltearle el espejo a los demás. Even when Jesus gives us a hard mission or allows us to go through a difficult time in life, aun cuando Jesús nos da una misión difícil o nos permite pasar un tiempo difícil en la vida, His goal is to transform us into His image and into His character. Su objetivo es transformarnos a su imagen y a su carácter. Peter says, what about John? Jesus says, you focus on me. Jesus says, you focus on me. Jesus says, no, tú enfócate en mí. Focus on my mission for you. Enfócate en mi misión para ti. And then the last verse in John's Gospel says this, verse 25. Y luego, el último versículo del Evangelio de Juan dice esto, versículo 25. Now, there are also many other things that Jesus did where every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. John says there are a lot of stories I could have told you about Jesus, but this is the story I wanted to tell you, because this is something important. I do not know what your life looks like right now, but I bet there are some of us who are not very sure what the days ahead of us will hold for us. We may not know the future, and we may be living in uncertainty right now, but we can trust that Jesus is at work, that He has given us His presence, that He does have a mission for us, and we can trust that His plan for us is not only for our good, but it's also for His glory.

He's asking us the same question that He asked Peter, do you love Me? Not do you love your comfort, not do you love your plans, but do you love Me? And are we willing to follow Him wherever He leads us? Because whether His plan for us when things are uncertain leads us to a difficult life, or to an easy life, we know that His plan will always bring us eternal blessings, and it will bring us the joy of the Lord. When things are uncertain, we can trust that Jesus is with us, and He will take care of us. So let's live with confidence in the uncertainty, confidence in who Jesus is, and what He will do for us in the future. Let's pray together. Lord, that's the question you are asking us today. Do we love You? Lord, I pray in our hearts the answer is astoundingly yes. Lord, for anyone who is living with uncertainty in their life right now, I pray that You give them Your presence. You remind them that You are with them. You remind all of us that You are with us, and that You are caring for us and going before us in ways that we could never imagine. So Lord, help us to love You with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Not in our own power, but in the power of the Holy Spirit. And as we celebrate this time of communion, we are reminded of the price You paid, so that we can live with You, and walk with You, and trust in You, and love You. So in the name of Jesus we pray, amen.