<p>21:7- see on Acts 11:17.</p><p><em>That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter: It is the Lord- </em>The presentation of John and Peter together by John always seems in the end to Peter's glory. Here again, John is the first to realize, but Peter the first to act.</p><p><em>So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he wrapped his coat about him (for he was naked) and threw himself into the sea</em>- Peter's casting of himself into the sea uses the same word as just used for the casting of the nets in :6. Perhaps Peter perceived that the nets represented them, and they should be out preaching, gathering in men rather than fish; and with characteristic zeal and repentance, he cast himself into the sea as he had just cast the net into the sea. He thereby recognized that he was part of that net that should be catching men, in obedience to the great commission. Peter's wrapping of himself in his outer coat before swimming was at best clumsy. Again we get the impression of someone rather uncoordinated or not thinking through implications. And yet such was the man chosen to lead the early church.</p><p>Peter knew the Lord Jesus had risen, and he had met Him and been &ldquo;glad&rdquo; when he saw the Lord, and in some form had joyfully proclaimed the news to the others.&nbsp; The whole flavour of this record would make it seem that this was the first time Peter had met the risen Lord. But it clearly wasn&rsquo;t. Surely the point is that like us, we can know theoretically that Christ rose; we can be sure of it. But the personal implications in terms of confession of sin and service to that risen Lord can be lost on us, to the point that we <em>don&rsquo;t really accept</em> that Christ is risen, even if in theory we do know and confess it.</p><p>When Peter realized that it was Jesus standing on the shore, this was at least the third time he had met the risen Lord. But when John says &ldquo;It is the Lord&rdquo;, Peter throws himself into the water to rush to Him as if it&rsquo;s the first time they have met after the denials. Surely it was a higher appreciation of what Christ&rsquo;s Lordship entailed that suddenly struck him at that moment, and he now rushed eagerly to Him, believing surely in His gracious forgiveness. No wonder in a month or so&rsquo;s time he was appealing for men to repent and accept forgiveness on the basis that really, Jesus is Lord. The Lordship of Christ convicted Peter (and all men) of both their sinfulness (as they see themselves in the peerless light of His moral majesty) and also of the reality of His forgiveness. &ldquo;I am a sinful man, <em>O Lord</em>&rdquo; (Lk. 5:8) is a case in point. A case could be made to argue that Peter&rsquo;s use of &lsquo;Master&rsquo; tends to be at times when he is weak or doubting (Lk. 5:5; 8:45; Mk. 11:21); whilst he saw Jesus as a master who simply gives directives to His slaves, there was not such great inspiration to faith. But the utter and surpassing Lordship of Jesus had quite a different message. Peter&rsquo;s perception of Jesus as &lsquo;Lord&rsquo; climaxed when he perceived that &ldquo;It is the Lord&rdquo; whilst fishing on Galilee after the resurrection. His sense of the greatness of this more-than-man led him to do something counter instinctive and even absurd- he adds clothes before jumping into the water to swim to Him, in order to be attired as best he could be before Him. It would seem that He was imitating the body language of the Lord when He washed Peter&rsquo;s feet- he tied a towel around Him s.w. as Peter wrapping his outer garment around him, Jn. 13:4,5 cp. 21:7.&nbsp;</p>