Sermon Tone Analysis

Life After Resurrection

The power of a call back

What is a callback?

Stand up comics use the term call back to describe using a punchline or a joke that was used earlier in their set, at a later point in their set.

This has the effect of making the entire audience part of an inside joke.

Inside jokes give you a feeling of belonging.

“We’re a part of something, together.”

It builds camaraderie to have this shared knowledge and reference.

It’s fascinating when you think about it.

A person can go on stage, in front of a room fool of strangers, talk for 30 min.

to an hour, and by the end of their set have people feeling like their part of a shared experience complete with inside jokes.

Stand-up comics are the only ones to use the callback.

It’s become a trope in television and movie writing.

Avengers Endgame has 21 movies to call back to, and it probably does call back to all 21! From “on your left” to “cheeseburgers” each callback gives the story deeper meaning and draws the audience further into the story to make them feel the depth of what is happening in the story.

One of the most famous “call back” lines in all cinema is from Casablanca.

“Here’s looking at you, kid.” is used 4 times throughout the movie.

Each time it has deeper meaning for the character and the viewers because time it’s said, we have more knowledge and understanding about who these characters are.

It’s not just words are quotes that are used as callbacks, sometimes it’s entire scenes or settings in Harry Potter, the real adventure begins on platform 9 3/4 in Kings Cross station, and the series concludes with an epilogue that takes place on platform 9 3/4.

We’re at the end of the book of John.

We jumped into John on Easter Sunday with John’s resurrection account, and we decided to stay here and finish out the Gospel of John.

These are the events that happened in the weeks following the resurrection.

Weeks!

I mentioned last week that we tend to condense history and jump from one major event to the next, not paying attention or giving consideration for the time in between those events.

Weeks still contained 7 days, days still contain 24 hours, and the disciples (after the Resurrection, the earth shaking, history changing event that forever transforms the nature of mankind’s existence and relationship with our creator) still had to live their lives one day at a time.

Hour by hour minute, by minute.

It’s how we all live.

These are the events that happened to the disciples in the in between.

This final chapter of the book of Jon is one giant call back.

Not a literary callback where the author is trying to contrive some deeper meaning than what actually took place.

But These are events that actually happened after the resurrection.

So before authors, and Hollywood writers started utilizing the power of the callback, our creator God who knows us more intimately and intricately than we could understand, gives 7 of his disciples one of the most profound callbacks that would deepen their understanding, appreciation, and relationship with Jesus.

Pray

I said this was a bookend, a call back.

But what is this a call back to?

There’s another widely known, widely circulated story in Matthew, Mark, and Luke about Jesus’ telling his would be disciples how to fish.

Matthew and Mark make reference to these fishermen having to mend their nets after a huge catch, but John’s gospel does not give an account of the 1st time Jesus tells some fisher men to go out cast their nets after a long night of unsuccessful fishing.

I don’t think John felt he had to re-tell this story.

the other 3 gospel accounts were written before his (70 AD).

These 3 gospel accounts were in circulation and widely known, so this story was probably widely known as well.

I’m assuming maybe that’s why John did not include the first account in his gospel.

We’ll look at that story in Luke, but for now let’s focus on what’s happening here.

Story through the text.

Read:

JOhn 21:

Jesus has taught the disciples all he needed to teach them.

He’s given them all the tools they need.

He’s even sent them out 2x2 in the past… but for some reasons the disciples have stopped doing the ministry they had when Jesus with them.

Reasons for this

They were sheep without a shepherd

In the absence of purpose and leadership the disciples simply drifted back into what they always did.

If we become complacent in our walk with God.

We’ll simply return to doing the same things we’ve always done

as a church

as individuals

Read:

The power of a call back

Let’s look at Luke’s version:

Luke 5:

The first even took place before these men were official disciples.

It was the beginning of an incredible journey.

Jesus is reminding these men of what it was like at the very beginning

since that time these men had

tasted wine that miraculously transformed from water

They saw lame people recieve the power to walk

witnessed blind men seeing.

Witnessed Jesus’ power of the wind and the waves

walked on water

See a dead man come to live (lazarus)

talked to Jesus after he had been crucified and laid to rest for 3 days.

They’ve also:

Been called “satan” by Jesus himself

cut off a mans ear

doubt the ressurection

scattered and abandoned Jesus when he was arrested

denied that him 3 times

This is the power of a call back.

This is t

-Luke: Occurred in front of many.

John: Just before the 7 disciples

Luke: Occurred in front of many.

Jesus telling his disciples to throw their nets on the other side of the boat is a reminder of when they were first called to be disciples.

John: Just before the 7 disciples

Luke: Jesus is a Rabbi w/o disciples / John: The 7 men are Disciples w/o a rabbi

John: The 7 men are Disciples w/o a rabbi

Jesus called them back then, and he’s calling out to them now

Occupation:

He hasn’t changed his mind about them.

- Luke: Jesus is a Rabbi w/o disciples / John: The 7 men are Disciples w/o a rabbi

Jesus knew what he was getting into when he called these Men from the very beginning and if he had to do it all over again he would choose them all again!!!

Luke: Jesus is a Rabbi w/o disciples.

Peter, Andrew, James, and John are fishermen

Scriptures that come to mind

philippians

Lamentations

What does this mean for us?:

John: The 7 men are now Disciples w/o a rabbi.

Jesus is a Lord

I want you to recall when you first recieved the good news of the gospel:

was it as a child?

at vbs? with a parent or grand parent?