Text: John 21:15-19
True Life bpc Church Camp morning devotion
Introduction
John reveals the purpose of writing the Gospel of John in the last verse of John 20.(John 20:31) The Gospel of John should be ended in chapter 20. However, it has the extra chapter. Chapter 21 is like an appendix of the book. In the chapter 21, John records in detail how Jesus restored Peter and encouraged him to live according to His will as an Apostle.
Peter fell into deep discouragement after he denied Jesus three times. He no longer had confidence to live as Jesus’s disciple. Jesus visited him to encourage. He asked Peter the same questions three times, "lovest thou me?" And Peter answered three times. “Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.”
Through the conversation between the Lord and Peter, we will learn how we should love the Lord. Therefore, the title of my message is
Love the Lord!
Point I Forsake the world(v15)
Look at verse 15. “So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.”
Jesus had dined with his disciples. They were tired and hungry because of the whole night fishing. Jesus knew exactly the state of his disciples. As they came back from the sea to the land, they saw a fire of coals. There were fishes and bread on it. This meal prepared by the Lord shows of His care and love towards His disciples. Our Lord knows exactly what we need, and He will supply what we need.
After dining, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?” What is interesting here is that Jesus called Peter as “Simon, son of Jonas.” In the book of Matthew 16:17-18, Jesus had changed his name from Simon to Peter. “And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, SimonBarjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”(Matthew 16:17~18)
Peter’s backsliding
Jesus called Peter as “Simon, son of Jonas” with a clear intention. The Lord knew well the state of Peter’s mind. What was the state of Peter’s mind? According to John 21:14, the resurrected Lord had appeared two times to the disciples before. In John 20:21-23, Peter and other disciples were given the mission from resurrected Jesus. “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.”
What was the response of Peter? According to John 21:3, he said, “I go a fishing.” and other disciples followed him. Peter must have thought over and over again about the mission from the Lord and decided to go fishing. Peter still loved the Lord. The problem is that he denied Jesus three times. When Jesus foretold to his disciples that they would scatter, Peter confidently said to Jesus, “Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.”(Mark 14:29) Jesus replied Peter, “Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.”(Mark 14:30) However, Peter stressed more strongly, saying, “If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise.” (Mark 14:31) He was wrong. When the second time the cock crew, Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him. “Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.”(Mark 14:72) Peter thought that he could love the Lord with his own will and strength. This experience made him realize that he was weak. The denial experience of Peter frightened him. Jesus called Peter as "Simon the son of Jonah", to point out that the state of his heart is not ready to carry the mission as an Apostle.
“lovest thou me more than these?”
Jesus asked Peter, "lovest thou me more than these?" "What is “these” referring to?" "These" can be masculine in Greek. So, "these" can refer to other apostles that were with him. Moreover, "these" can also be neuter in Greek, which refers to things. In this case, "these" could be the fishes, boats or fishing nets.
Peter replied Jesus' question, saying, "thou knowest that I love thee." Peter omitted the part of "more than these." This is a confession that "these" are no longer a stumbling block to him. When Jesus called Peter and his brother Andrew, they immediately left their nets and followed Jesus (Matthew 4:20). There is another account that shows the material things of the world are not a hindrance for Peter to do the Lord’s will. It is in the account of the young rich ruler who came to see Jesus. After Jesus remarked that it is very hard for the rich man to enter into God’s kingdom, "Then Peter began to say unto him, Lord, we have left all, and have followed thee."(Mark 10:28)
How should we love Jesus? Like Peter, we have to forsake the things of the world. What are the things in the world that we should forsake? They can be our careers, the material things of the world, or the persons, our parents, families, relatives, or friends. To forsake the things of the world is the means to love the Lord. Our Lord is asking all of us "lovest thou me more than these?" Like Peter, we should answer. “Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.”
Point II Know the Lord(v16)
Look at verse 16. “He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?” Jesus asked Peter the second time, omitting "more than these". The highlight of this verse is "me". Who is "me?" “Me” is Jesus Christ. To love the Lord, we should know who the Lord is.
The relationship between knowing and loving the Lord
We need to think about the relationship between knowing and love the Lord for a while. We never say that we love stranger or someone who do not know well. Some Korean Christians tell the new comers who attend church’s worship service "I love you in the Lord.“ But this word is just a greeting or an expression of ”welcome.“ If I tell one of you whom I don’t know well “I love you”, I will be considered as very strange person.
When we say that we love someone, we have a deeper understanding and knowledge of the person. To have a deeper understanding, I want to refer you to a verse. I will read for you. Genesis 4:1, ”And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.“ The word 'knew' used here has in Hebrew means “to know” or “to experience”. To the Hebrews, “knowing” means to have intimate relationship that is when a man marries a woman and have the intimacy.
Jesus Christ was with Peter for three years. In these three years, Jesus Christ performed many miracles. Peter witnessed Jesus fed five thousand men without counting women and children with five loves and two fishes. Peter witnessed the dead Lazarus rose up from the dead. Peter saw the glorious transformation of Jesus. Peter sincerely loved Jesus Christ. When Jesus asked the disciples, “Will ye also go away?” Then Simon Peter answered him. “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.”(John 6:67-68) When the Lord asked to his disciple, “But whom say ye that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”(Matthew 16:15) Peter knew well who Jesus Christ was. Peter loved him. When he heard, "It's the Lord!", he was naked. Immediately, put on his garment and jumped into the sea.
To love the Lord, we should know the Lord. How can we know the Lord? Through God’s words, we know the Lord. Firstly, we have to learn about who the Lord is. We should communicate with the Lord through the prayers and His Words. Our Lord is not dead God. Our Lord is not like the false gods who are unable to communicate. Our Lord knows us. Our Lord knows what we need. Our Lord listens to our prayers. Our Lord wants us to communicate with him. When we have intimate fellowship with our Lord, we can love the Lord.
When I studied in FEBC, I was so glad to learn God’s words. When my knowledge of God’s words grew, I loved the Lord even more. When I started the church, I was nervous. I did not know what to do and where to go. I had no choice but to have faith in the Lord. My Lord is alive. My Lord is almighty. My Lord is guiding me step by step according to His will. I came to know the Lord experientially. I love my Lord. As I love the Lord, I always keep my morning devotion, using the RPG. It is my great delight to read and meditate God’s words with the RPG and translate it into Korean. It is not duty. It is as if collecting the daily bread. “Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. This is my testimony.
We love our Lord Jesus because we know who He is. If we really want to love our Lord, we must strive to know Him. The more we know about our Lord, the more we can love Him. Jesus asks us for the second time. "lovest thou me?“
Point III Look to the Lord(v17~19)
Look at verse 17, “He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.”
Jesus asked Peter for the third time. “Simon son of Jonah, lovest thou me?" Peter was “grieved”. The word “grieved” in Greek means severe sorrow. It expresses pain as giving birth to a baby. Peter was experiencing severe pain within, when Jesus asked the same question for the third time.
Why is Peter “grieved?” It is because Peter knew that he could no longer make excuses to Jesus. Jesus used 'agape''love' in the first and second times. In Greek, 'Agape' means the most sublime love and unconditional love. This is the divine love. Peter used 'Phileo love', in replying Jesus. This love refers to brotherly love. It is a heart-warming affection. Jesus asked Peter to love Him with 'agape love,' but he replied that he loved Him with Phileo love. In the third time, Jesus used “phileo” instead of “agape.” This is to tell Peter that, "If you cannot love me with “agape” love, then, love me with “Phileo" love. Since Peter realized Jesus would not give up, so he was very grieved.
Peter finally answered in the third time, “Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.” Peter acknowledged his failure and his weaknesses. He also acknowledged that with his own will and strength he cannot serve Jesus to feed His sheep.
Through the conversation between Jesus Christ and Peter, we learn the persistent love of Jesus to Peter. Jesus wanted Peter to live up to his calling as an Apostle. Jesus entrusted Peter His flock. Jesus will never give up in wanting Peter to feed His flock. At the end, Peter surrendered. He was not pressurized by Jesus’s repeated questions but by His love which touched Peter’s discouraged state. Born again Christians will tend to be depressed and discouraged, when they are in sins and transgressions. Our sins and transgressions make us hide ourselves from God as He is Holy. This is the fallen human’s nature. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruits from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they hid themselves, when they heard the voice of God. Genesis 3:8, “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.” God did not give up calling them, “And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?”(Genesis 3:9) God sought Adam and Eve because of His love to them. It is the same as Jesus who loved Peter asked him the same question for three times. The Lord loves us. He will call us as He called Peter. We must respond to the Lord's voice. We should not see our own faults and weaknesses as hindrances not to serve the Lord. Jesus Christ not only died to give us a new life, but also he died for our sanctification. When we commit sin, we as Christians will weep and be discouraged. We should not look at the imperfection of ourselves and be discouraged to serve the Lord. Instead, we should look at the Lord, when we are discouraged. Hebrew 12:2 says, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Is anyone frustrated with his or her mistakes here? Is anyone crying for his or her weakness? Are you like Peter who went back to do fishing again? Do not look to yourself. Look to Jesus who died on the cross for us. Looking to our Lord, not to ourselves is how we love the Lord.
Look at verses 18-19. It is a good example of how a person who loves Jesus should live. Jesus foretold Peter his martyrdom in verse
Conclusion
Jesus asked Peter the same questions three times in order to restore Peter. This love of Jesus will restore us also. The Lord, who did not give up on Peter, will also not give up on us. We should answer like Peter. “Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.” How should we love the Lord? We should learn God’s Words. The more we learn God’s words, the more we know the Lord. The more we know the Lord, the more we love the Lord. When we love the Lord, we can forsake the world. We will look to the Lord. That is how we should love the Lord. I wish our love for the Lord will be filled within me and you.