Jesus spent over three years teaching in order to make disciples. And when He was finally ready to call them to action, it was not to a private retreat into the peaceful, nearby hills. He never intended that they set themselves apart like that. What He intended is that they learn to love as He had loved them. John Chapter 21 records one of the most poignant, loving and deeply interesting exchanges between Jesus and the disciples. It’s a passage that sets the stage for the Great Commission of the Church and it came at perhaps the exact same spot where He had called the disciples three years earlier.
The Chapter begins with the miracle of catching fish and you have to wonder if Jesus wanted the disciples to be evangelists, why did He prosper them in a secular business? Was it part of His lesson on love? After they pull in those 153 miraculous fish, they find that Jesus had prepared breakfast for them on the beach: a campfire burning -- fish already frying. Jesus simply invited them, “Come and dine.” Again, is Jesus simply showing love by providing physical nourishment for their bodies?
And why does Jesus single out Peter at this meal? Peter’s got the most erratic personality of the bunch? He yanks out his sword first. He bursts into the empty tomb. He jumps into the water. (I love him!) Peter had to be thinking, “Well, I guess this is it. I denied Him three times. Now He’s going to let me know that John is taking over.” The expectation of this inevitable confrontation had to have been lying heavily on Peter’s mind for days. So when Jesus merely asks, “Do you love Me?” Peter was pretty much spiritually naked - he had nothing to offer apart from an “of course I do” response. But Jesus asks him again. And again! “Do you love Me?” Note: Jesus did not ask Peter if he had a four-year degree in Bible. He did not ask him if had the financial resources and backing to enter the ministry, or if he felt emotionally ready to serve. He asked, “Do you love me?” Of course we know that Jesus responded each time with specific commands: “Feed my lambs…. Take care of my sheep…. Feed my sheep.”
Jesus’ final words to Peter are the same words He first spoke to him three years earlier: “Follow Me.” But what a difference! What depths of meaning they have acquired over three years! Same voice. Same words. Same ears. But Peter’s heart had been transformed.
The Chapter begins with the miracle of catching fish and you have to wonder if Jesus wanted the disciples to be evangelists, why did He prosper them in a secular business? Was it part of His lesson on love? After they pull in those 153 miraculous fish, they find that Jesus had prepared breakfast for them on the beach: a campfire burning -- fish already frying. Jesus simply invited them, “Come and dine.” Again, is Jesus simply showing love by providing physical nourishment for their bodies?
And why does Jesus single out Peter at this meal? Peter’s got the most erratic personality of the bunch? He yanks out his sword first. He bursts into the empty tomb. He jumps into the water. (I love him!) Peter had to be thinking, “Well, I guess this is it. I denied Him three times. Now He’s going to let me know that John is taking over.” The expectation of this inevitable confrontation had to have been lying heavily on Peter’s mind for days. So when Jesus merely asks, “Do you love Me?” Peter was pretty much spiritually naked - he had nothing to offer apart from an “of course I do” response. But Jesus asks him again. And again! “Do you love Me?” Note: Jesus did not ask Peter if he had a four-year degree in Bible. He did not ask him if had the financial resources and backing to enter the ministry, or if he felt emotionally ready to serve. He asked, “Do you love me?” Of course we know that Jesus responded each time with specific commands: “Feed my lambs…. Take care of my sheep…. Feed my sheep.”
Jesus’ final words to Peter are the same words He first spoke to him three years earlier: “Follow Me.” But what a difference! What depths of meaning they have acquired over three years! Same voice. Same words. Same ears. But Peter’s heart had been transformed.
“Do you love Me? It’s our answer to that question that determines how we live our lives and how we interact with the world. We end our study of John with one crucial underlying message: Jesus calls us to LOVE and feed and care for His followers – the “sheep” and the “lambs.” This really needs to sink down into our minds. Will you accept this responsibility? Will you determine that your life and your influence will build up the Church in LOVE and not tear it down?
--Pastor Mark
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