Do You Love Me?

Do You Love Me?

Scripture: John 21:15-17

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.

16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

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 saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

Background

We break into the story here in John 21. If you were to put yourself in the shoes of Peter this would be a strange time in your life. As you fish you probably think back over the events of the last few years. You used to be a fisherman but one day this strange man called you away from the fish and the nets into a life as a fisher of men. Something about this man caused you to follow this strange call. Over the next years you learned to trust and love this One who called you away from your life of earthly toil.

You think back and remember that conversation that you had early in this time of following Jesus about who He was. Jesus had asked who people thought he was. Many at that time thought that Jesus was some prophet, Elijah, or John the Baptist. Jesus then asked you “Whom do ye say that I am?” You had answered “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus response still rings in your ears. “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

18 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.”

Because of your belief in Him Jesus had promised that you would be the rock upon which he would build His church. He gave you a new name. From that point forward you were no longer called Simon son of Jonah but Peter, or rock. As you fished that memory left a bitter taste in your mind. Your mind raced forward from that moment to a time not so long ago. Jesus message, which had been so focused on what His kingdom would be like began to change. He began to speak of His death. At that time you had no idea how things would go. Jesus talked of betrayal and cowardice from His followers. You boldly spoke up. You promised Jesus that though all men would forsake Him you never would. You would fight to the death for him. You thought you meant it. You really believed that your faith was superior to that of all others, or that your faith was unshakeable. Jesus Himself had named you Rock after all.

So quickly it all changed. That unshakeable faith was tested and found wanting. That night while Jesus was in the high priests house being questioned and examined you were one of the few who had come along to see what would happen. You hung out in the shadows but you were noticed. It was clear that you were a rough Galilean fisherman. People knew you must be one of His followers. When questioned you denied it. 3 times, just like He said you would.

Since then Jesus had been crucified and had risen from His grave. He had met with you along with the other disciples and sent you to Galilee. While you waited on Him you and some of the others went fishing. You weren’t much for sitting around. Truth be told you didn’t really know who you were any more. Were you a fisherman or a fisher of men? Were you Simon or were you Peter? Were you someone who had listened to Jesus teachings or were you the rock on which He would build His church?

The dark night began to be tinged with gray. The morning was beginning to break on this night. The change stirred you from your musings and woke you to the fact that after a night of fishing you and the other disciples had caught no fish. As you and the other began to make preparations to head in from the long fruitless night a voice called from the shore “Have you caught any fish?” You called back that you hadn’t. The voice answered“Cast your nets on the other side of the boat!” For some reason you listened to this voice from the shore and as the light began to grow you cast the net onto the right side of the ship. Almost immediately it was filled with more fish than you could handle! 153 you found out later because for some reason someone stopped to count them. John looked over at you and said “It is the Lord.” You knew instantly he was right. The boat was headed to shore much too slowly hauling all those fish. You dove overboard and rushed to the shore and the Lord. On the shore Jesus sat by a fire with fish already laid over it. He said “come and dine.”

Dinner was quiet as everyone waited for the Master to speak. We broke into the story after dinner. “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. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 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 saith unto him, Feed my sheep.”

Tonight as we consider this most important question that Jesus asks each of us “Do you love me?” lets consider first this conversation between Jesus and Peter.

Jesus and Peter

It must have been a painful conversation for Peter. We know it was for we see that by the third time that Jesus asked His question Peter was grieved. I think he must also have been grieved by the title Jesus used to address him. Early in Jesus ministry when Peter proclaimed his belief in Jesus as the Messiah and as the Son of God Jesus had addressed Peter as Simon son of Jonas and then changed his name to Peter. After Peter’s betrayal it seems that Jesus took back the title for just a bit. He once again called him Simon son of Jonas. Peters betrayal of Jesus had come at a cost. It had proven that Simon was not a rock. Why had Jesus then called him one? Simon, whom Jesus renamed to Peter truly became worthy of that name when he was filled with the Spirit of God at Pentecost. No more betrayal, no more fear of men and no more irrational self confidence was left for Peter after he was cleansed and filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus did not lie when He called Simon a rock, but Simon could only be Peter through the power of God and not his own. It is the same way with us today. We can only become strong and unshakable in the faith when we realize that we are not strong. Scripture says “When I am weak, then am I strong” because when we realize our weakness we cease to trust in our own strength and begin to lean on the strength of our almighty Lord.

More than These

Jesus also asked if Peter loved Him more than these. It is not clear from scripture what these refers to. There seems to be no consensus among commentators either. Peter interestingly never answers this part of the question, and Jesus never asks it again.

More than the other Disciples Love Me

My favorite explanation of what these refers to is that Jesus was asking “Do you love me more than these other disciples love me?” Peter had recently boasted that even if all men forsook Jesus that Peter never would. Perhaps it was just an expression. We say the same often today. We say that even if everyone else forsakes Jesus we never will. We are not intending to say that our faith is superior to others but that we are entirely committed to Christ. Perhaps though Peter was quite proud of his devotion to the point that He thought it was greater than any of the other disciples. If that was the case this question was especially pointed. Peter had claimed superiority. Jesus now asked “Simon, do you still love me more than they do?” Peter’s lack of response makes sense in this context. He proclaimed his own love for Jesus without comparing it to any others. That should be our attitude as well. If we are comparing our spirituality or our love for God to others we are not focused on God. If we claim, whether within ourselves or aloud, that we love God more than others we are showing spiritual pride. This is sure evidence that we are placing ourselves above God. It is more important to us to love God more than the next guy than for us to love God entirely as He asks. Our religion is focused on ourselves rather than on God which is no religion at all.

More than the Fish and the Nets

Another common explanation is that Jesus was asking Peter if he loved Him more than Peter loved the fish and the nets, or his means of livelihood. Did Peter love God more than he loved earthly things and earthly pursuits? Peter did. So must we. It was fair question. Jesus had called Peter away from being a fisherman and yet here Peter was fishing once again. If we are to love God we must be willing to sacrifice all. That includes our jobs and sources of income. God must be the priority in our lives. We all must pull our share in this life. We all must work and bring value to society so that we may eat. That is the way God set up the world and the way He wants us to live. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” This country was founded on the idea which comes straight from 2 Thessalonians 3:10 “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” However the things of this life, even the good things must be put in their proper place. We must love God more that these.

More that others opinion

Another thought is that Jesus was asking if Peter loved Him more that Peter loved the disciples or more specifically than the disciples opinion of Peter. We know that Peter was concerned with what other people though about him. He was unwilling to be thought to be a disciple of Jesus and later in his life he changed his behavior so that Jewish Christians would not have a poor opinion of him. Do we care more about peoples opinion of us than about God’s opinion of us? Sure, we take other peoples wants and needs into account in our decision making, but what we do is not based on whether we look good in front of others. What we do must determined by whether or not it makes God happy, not whether or not we look good to people.

3 Times Jesus Asked

Jesus asked Peter the question “Do you love me?” 3 times. Peter previously had denied Jesus 3 times. I do not think this is a coincidence. I believe Jesus was bringing back to Peter his threefold public betrayal. This too was a public commitment to Christ. The disciples were gathered there at the fire. Peter had often proclaimed his loyalty to Christ, yet he had fallen away. Here he was before those who knew him best, his faults and failures all to real in their minds, proclaiming his love for Christ. In this threefold proclamation of his love I believe that Jesus with each question was bringing each of the betrayals to mind and as Peter proclaimed his love for Christ wiping each one away. He denied Christ 3 times in one night, now in one meal he declared his love 3 times. It seems that Jesus reinstated Simon to the position of Peter in this conversion. Though Peter could not yet live up to being a rock, Jesus knew what would soon unfold and forgave Peter, reinstated Peter, and allowed Peter to mirror his 3 fold denial with 3 fold commitment.

Lord Thou Knowest

Now the third time Jesus asked Peter responded differently. He was grieved that Jesus would ask him again. Peter had already proclaimed his love twice. Why did Jesus ask again? Did he not believe Peter? Peter couldn’t be upset at this possibility. After all he had denied Christ 3 times. And truth be told, did Peter even know if his love was real? I really like Peter’s answer. He casts his case on God’s omniscience. He replied “Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.” Peter did not try to claim some love that was greater than others. He did not claim that he would do some great deed for God. He did not try to prove his love in any way in that moment. He cast the question into God’s knowledge. Lord, thou knowest. Really it is us who should be asking God “Do I love you?” He will show us the answer that we may not be able to see for ourselves. While Jesus walked this earth many came to him asking that He do some miracle or other for them. The father of a demon possessed boy asked Jesus to cast out the demon. Jesus asked if he believed. The man responded “Lord I believe, help thou mine unbelief.”

I believe that we can love God entirely. I believe we can love God with a perfect love, a love that holds nothing back from him. And I believe that as the old timers would say that we can know that we know that we know that we love God. Sometimes doubt and confusion does slip in. Sometimes as we are drawing near to God and turning our lives over to Him we struggle to surrender. I believe that prayer of that faithful man should be ours as well. Lord I believe, help thou mine unbelief. Lord I love you, help thou my lack of love.

God knows our hearts better than we do. While God asks us “Do you love me?” I believe we ought to also ask God “Do I love you?”

Feed my Sheep

I would be remiss if i concluded my thoughts tonight without acknowledging Jesus command to Peter. Feed my sheep. Peter was commissioned as the rock on which the church of God would be built. Peter fulfilled that role. He was instrumental in the leadership of the early church and making key decisions in the wake of Jesus ascension. None of us are Peter. No one alive is in Peter’s position, though the Catholics would disagree. Many of Jesus commands transcended time and place. This one may not specifically, however I do think we can glean from this command some responsibility for us today.

What would it mean to you if Jesus was telling you “Feed my sheep?” For me that means pastoring and doing my best to feed the sheep that God has allowed me to care for. For you maybe that's not what it means. Maybe it means reaching out to that one in the church who is hurting for some reason or another, that one who has lost a loved one, who can’t pay the bills, who can’t put food on the table, or just doesn’t have many friends. I think the call Feed my sheep does extend to you and I in some respects. Are you answering that call? Are you doing what you can to feed the sheep?

Notes on things I did not address

Some of you perhaps have looked at this passage yourself. If you have dug deeply into this passage you will realize that I have not touched on what may be the key to it all. There is some mystery surrounding this conversation. Jesus uses two different Greek words that are translated as love while Peter only uses one. There is also the matter of “Feed my lambs” in the first command. Then “Feed my sheep” in the other two. Some people make a great deal of these some commentators pass over and dismiss these nuances entirely. Which one is it? Does the whole meaning hinge on these slight differences in each question or are they merely literary differences that are not meant to convey any substantive differences? I will leave that for you Bible scholars to study and determine on your own. I cannot confidently say either way so I will let it roll around in your minds and see if you come up with an answer.

Conclusion

While I may not be able to determine every tiny detail of meaning that could possibly be gained from this narrative I do know there is one overarching question that rings out from this passage. It is the only question that matters in your life. Its answer determines whether you are fulfilling the entire law of Christ or disregarding it entirely. Its answer determines your eternal destination. It is the question that Jesus asked Peter and it is the question that the Lord asks each and every individual who enters this world. This evening I want to leave you with Jesus’ questions which transcends time and page. Jesus asks us today just as he asked Peter so long ago “Lovest thou me?