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looked a little cruel, what Jesus did. He begins to bring up
things that Peter didn’t want to think about. I already told you
that the whole miracle with the fish was a refresher course. The
first time is in Luke 5:8, “But when Simon Peter saw that, he
fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a
sinful man, O Lord!’” The first time God did that miracle, Peter
said, “Depart; I’m a sinful man.”
Listen to John 21:9, “And so when they got out upon the
land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid, and fish placed on it,
and bread.” When Peter got to shore, the first thing he saw was
a charcoal fire. I can’t prove it but I think his heart sunk when
he saw a charcoal fire. John 18:18, “Now the slaves and the
officers were standing there, having made a charcoal fire, for it
was cold and they were warming themselves; and Peter also
was with them, standing and warming himself.”
There’s only two times in your New Testament that you
read about a charcoal fire. The last time Peter saw a charcoal
fire he was denying the Lord. Now he swims to shore and that
memory comes back of the charcoal fire. Jesus did that on
purpose. I say, “Lord, why are you doing that to that poor
man?”

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.’” Don’t read that “la,
la, la”. Peter was already suffering when he saw the charcoal
fire and now Jesus speaks to him for the first time and he calls
him, “Simon”. That was his name before he got saved. Jesus
isn’t calling him “Peter”. He’s calling him “Simon”. I think
that was painful.
Remember the verse that we began with, John 1:42, “He
brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, ‘You are
Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas. (Which
translated means Peter).” Jesus is stirring up Peter’s heart; the
memory of the miracle of the fish and the memory of the
charcoal fire. Peter thought, “I don’t want to see that. Jesus