Do You Love Me More Than These? [John 21]

15So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You " He said to him, "Tend My lambs."16He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Shepherd My sheep." 17He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You " Jesus said to him, "Tend My sheep.

  18"Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go."19Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God And when He had spoken this, He said to him, "Follow Me!"20Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, "Lord, who is the one who betrays You?"21So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, "Lord, and what about this man?" 22Jesus said to him, "If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!" 23Therefore this saying went out among the brethren that that disciple would not die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but only, "If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?"

My heart goes out to this man, Peter,  maybe because he reminds me of me.  He really wanted to do the right thing.  He had such good intentions but as soon as the going got rough his intentions fell flat. (Wasn't he sure he could follow Jesus even to death? But in the heat of the battle, he denied even knowing Jesus three times.)  What emotions he must have experienced as he watched Jesus being crucified and buried.  How timid he must have felt waiting to see Jesus after he knew that He was indeed alive.  

If it were me I would have replayed everything in my mind wondering why I was so stupid to deny Him.  Why couldn't I have stayed awake in the garden to pray with Him?  Would He ever forgive me for failing Him so many times?  What now? Was the last three years a total waste? I would have been deep in my regrets.

In the midst of his sadness Peter must have remembered how tenderly Jesus had understood him and loved him. Did he remember that Jesus had seen his willing spirit but had known how weak his flesh would be in those final hours?  Jesus gently yet firmly invited Peter to a restored relationship after the resurrection:

In John 21  We see that Peter got tired of waiting around (It had been eight days and Jesus had only appeared twice to them.)  So Peter he decided to go fishing.  The others joined him and they went fishing and caught nothing.  Jesus was on the shore and told them to try casting their net on the other side. So they did and caught a large number of fish.  They realized it was the Lord and Peter plunged into the sea.  It was Peter who hauled the net to shore when Jesus asked them to bring some of the fish to cook.

After they had eaten breakfast Jesus directs his questions to Peter, “Peter (full name), do you love (agape) me more than these? Each time Peter answered that he did love (phileo - brotherly love) Him. Jesus responded, “Tend My lambs, shepherd My sheep, tend My sheep.” Peter was grieved that the Lord asked him the third time, using his own word,
"Simon, son of John, do you love (phileo) Me?"

I have been pondering this morning why Jesus didn't just tell Peter how much He loved him but instead asked him did he love Jesus? He gave Peter the opportunity to see what was in his own heart; how he had not received the love Jesus was offering him. But even as Peter was not receiving that love, Jesus showed him that nothing had changed.  He was still inviting Peter to follow Him.  He was also giving him purpose - "Shepherd My sheep." Jesus graciously moved him from the past he was pondering (with all its regrets) and pointed him to the future. 

How sweetly the Lord met Peter in his hour of need.  Now, we see a man who is ready to wait for the coming Holy Spirit.  A man who is ready to walk by the Spirit instead of by his flesh.  We will see that transformation when we read the book of Acts. It is no wonder that Peter later writes a letter to the scattered believers about  the gospel in the midst of suffering (1 Peter)!  What growth in confidence in God's forgiveness, mercy and love.  His second letter spells out very clearly that forgetting you are forgiven leaves you feeling uselsss and unfruitful. (2 Peter 1:6-8)

Lord, I praise you for asking me the question that really gets down to the heart of the matter, "Do you love Me more than these things?" (Everything I put my hope in.)  I praise You for Your forgiveness and love that points me forward instead of backward. May you we follow Him. love Him and shepherd His sheep as we celebrate our Lord's resurrection this month.

 

To read more about Peter, click here.

Verna McCrillis, 12/24/2010
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