John 21:7
The disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” 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.
Peter needed some time back on a boat, doing what he loved to do: Fishing. He and six other disciples were out all night but caught nothing. Just as the new day was dawning, a man called to them from the shore, inquiring as to the success of their overnight excursion. After they shared their defeat, the man suggested they cast their net off the right side of the boat where he assured them of success. It must have seemed a strange request, but they did it anyway…and the catch was so large, they could not even pull the net back onto the boat! John was the first to recognize that the man on the shore was Jesus…but Peter was the first to act.
Man Overboard!
Peter wasn’t thinking about his failure in the courtyard on the night of Jesus’ arrest…nor his short walk on the water that started well but ended in defeat…nor the time he pushed back on Jesus’ teaching and was rebuked by him as if he were in league with Satan himself (he was, unknowingly). No, Peter was simply overwhelmed with joy at the sight of his Master and responded accordingly. He did not get bogged down in past defeats, but rather, chose to leap forward in faith.
“…he put on his outer garment…”
Peter was excited to see his Lord, to say the least, but he was also aware of the fact that he could not approach him with no concern for what was an appropriate way to do so. Most likely, he was working in nothing but a loincloth, and no self-respecting Jew would approach his superior in such a state of undress. So even though he knew he would get his outer garments soaked, he put them on before jumping into the water. I think this is an important reminder for all of us. Christ does not judge us by outward appearances, but sometimes our outward appearance is an accurate reflection of an inward state of mind. I’m not saying that you always need to have on your “Sunday Best” for church, bur perhaps we have gotten a little too casual in our approach to the Throne during times of corporate worship.
On the other hand, we can have on all the “right” garments, but our hearts are far from God and we worship him in vain (Mt 15:8-9). Can you imagine a Sunday when our corporate worship is just a big, ugly noise in God’s ears? “Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen” (Amos 5:23). It’s certainly possible. So, like Peter, we should be eager to throw ourselves into the presence of the Lord…yet aware that we need to come to him “dressed” in the right state of mind.
