Youth Group Devotionals

Today, just take some time to read these verses and think about all the people we’ve been talking about in the last ten devotionals. After Jesus rose from the dead, He didn’t just appear to one or two people, He showed up and talked with hundreds over 40 days.As you go through life, you’re going to hear people say the resurrection is crazy or not real. But you’ve seen for yourself in Scripture that a lot of people hung out with Jesus after He came back to life. At some point, it gets hard to believe all of them were making it up, especially when many of them were willing to die for what they saw and experienced with Him.Some notes on today:Cephas: This is Peter the disciple of Jesus, it means “rock” in Aramaic which is the nickname Jesus gave him (Matthew 16:18).“some have fallen asleep”: These are people who first believed but seem to have fallen away from the faith.“one born at the wrong time”: This is Saul who became the Apostle Paul, Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9).

To be commissioned means that you are given a specific role or task and the authority to carry it out. Artists are commissioned to create specific works of art. Military officers are commissioned to lead, care for others, and take responsibility for what’s been entrusted to them.In the same way, Jesus commissions the eleven disciples at the end of the Gospels of Mark and Matthew. Before He sends them out, He tells them that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. Then He gives them what we now call the Great Commission: to go into all the world, make disciples of all nations, baptize them, and teach them to follow everything He has commanded.An interesting note in Mark’s account, this happens right after Jesus calls them out for their doubt. So, they weren’t perfect, confident, or completely prepared, but Jesus still chose them and sent them anyway.And He doesn’t just send them out on their own. He promises that He will be with them always.We see the impact of this throughout the rest of the New Testament as the disciples spread out in every direction, telling people about Jesus and building the foundation of the church that we participate in today. That same mission didn’t stop with them; it’s something we’re invited into today. Remember Matthew 6:10, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

At Grace, we often talk about each of us taking the next step in our walk with Christ, whatever that may be. Recently, at the Tuesday morning Bible study I attend, we discussed how easy it is to compare ourselves to others in life and career, and how we often carry that same mindset into our relationship with Christ. Today’s passage speaks directly to that. In John 21:18, Jesus tells Peter that he will ultimately be killed because of his faith and the work he will do for Him. Peter then asks what will happen to John, and Jesus responds, “That’s none of your business.” in John 21:22, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!” In other words, Jesus redirects Peter’s focus away from comparison and back to obedience. Peter had just been told something incredibly heavy about his own future, and his instinct was to compare himself with someone else.That hits close to home. It’s so easy for us to measure our faith, our growth, or even our calling against someone else’s. We look at how others are doing spiritually, what they’re accomplishing, or how God seems to be working in their lives, and we start to question where we stand. But Jesus makes it clear that our walk with Him is personal. The call is simple, but not always easy: “You follow me.”Our “next step” won’t look the same as another’s, and it’s not supposed to. What matters isn’t how we compare, but whether we’re being faithful with what God has put in front of us right now.

In Matthew 26 Jesus tells Peter that he will fall away from Jesus and deny Him three times before the morning. Peter responds by saying, “Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away.” Later in that chapter we read that after Jesus is arrested, Peter does in fact deny that he knows Jesus “before a rooster crows”.That background leads us to today’s passage, after Jesus feeds the disciples when they return from fishing, Jesus asks Peter, also called Simon or Simon Peter, if he loves Him three times. This restores Peter after his failure on the night of Jesus’ arrest. As you read today’s scripture, understand that we all fail Christ daily, but realize that Christ is always there waiting to restore our relationship with him when we repent and ask.

After Jesus’ resurrection, His appearances to the disciples weren’t random, they were intentional. As we’ve seen, they helped the disciples put the pieces together of who Jesus is and what He came to earth to do. One of the clearest examples of this is in John 21:1–14, where Jesus shows up by the Sea of Galilee.What’s interesting is that the disciples have gone back to fishing. That was their old life before Jesus called them. It seems like they’re unsure of what to do next, so they return to something familiar.They fish all night and catch nothing. Then Jesus appears on the shore, but they don’t recognize Him at first. He tells them to throw their nets out again, and suddenly they catch a huge number of fish.This is almost the exact same thing that happened in Luke 5:4–11, when Jesus first called them. Back then, the miracle led them to leave everything and follow Him.So, this moment in John feels like a reset. The same kind of miracle that started their journey with Jesus is now happening again after everything has fallen apart. It’s like Jesus is reconnecting them to their original calling.They don’t recognize Him right away, but once the miracle happens, John realizes, “It’s the Lord!” That’s important, because it shows they recognize Jesus more by what He does than what He looks like.Peter’s reaction also stands out. The first time (in Luke), he pulls away from Jesus because he feels unworthy. This time, he jumps into the water and heads straight toward Him. Even after failing Jesus, he’s not running away anymore, he’s running to Him.When they get to shore, Jesus already has food ready. Even though they just caught all those fish, He didn’t need them to provide anything. It’s a reminder that while they still have a role to play, everything ultimately comes from Him.Overall, this moment isn’t just about proving Jesus is alive. It’s about helping the disciples move forward. He meets them in their confusion, reminds them of where they started, and shows them that their calling isn’t over, it’s continuing, just with a deeper understanding now.