John #84 Restoration

INTRODUCTION John 21:15-25

Tonight we come to the last and my favorite passage in the Gospel of John.

This chapter has one primary theme, restoration.

It is funny how YHWH works to teach me as I prepare to teach others.

At the same time I was preparing this lesson, I was also preparing lessons in Genesis 13 & 14.

There is a common denominator in both, restoration.

Abram failed the Lord, and the Lord restored him.

Peter failed Christ, and Christ restores him.

And that is really good news.

Because I don’t know about you, but I fail.

And it is comforting to know that our Savior does not throw us away when we fail.

As I said to the Genesis group, if He did, the church would be without anyone to worship Him.

Pastors fail, lay people fail, we all fail.

But thankfully we have a God who is big enough to overcome our failures.

And more than just overcome them, but make us better in the process.

We actually already began to see how Jesus was beginning this restoration process.

The disciples had returned to Galilee as instructed.

They were told to wait on Jesus to come to them.

But Peter was struggling.

My thoughts are Peter feels about as useful as a wooden nickel.

He denied Jesus three times, and this after boasting he was ready to die for Jesus.

Peter was not anticipating the resurrection.

In fact, like those two on the road to Emmaus, I think their hope was crushed.

Remember their great hope was that Jesus would establish His kingdom.

When Jesus died, in their minds, that hope died with Him.

Even now, after having seen the resurrected Christ, Peter went back to fishing.

As I showed last week, this was not a day trip, he had every intention of resuming his fishing business.

And to make matters worse, several of the other disciples followed Peter right back to the boat.

Enter Jesus stage left, in my opinion, He exercised His providence, and they caught no fish.

Then miraculously upon His direct instruction, they caught fish.

The message, guys, you can do nothing apart from Me, and you belong to Me.

Jesus had commissioned them to be fishers of men, gospel ministry.

But there is still one big problem, Peter has lost all confidence in himself.

So when they had finished breakfast…….

And so begins the restoration of Peter.

In my mind. what we are about to read is one of the most beautiful demonstrations of love mercy and grace on the part of our Savior.

Read John 21:15-25.

DO YOU LOVE ME

In English this passage is a little misleading.

I have often wondered why the translators translated it this way.

Even the newest translation, which went out of their way to get the translation of doulos correct, failed to give us the most accurate rendering of this conversation.

To be fair, their are 4 primary Greek words and some additional less used words that all describe some form of love.

So listen to me very carefully, I am going to make a lengthy statement, and then I will ask you to interpret.

I love Jesus, and I love my wife, and I love the Oklahoma Sooners and I love you and I love a good steak.

Did I use the verb love in the same manner in each clause?

The answer is no!

But in English, it sounds like I said the same thing.

In fact, most languages make a distinction in how they use this word, but in English it can be very ambiguous.

For example, while preaching in India on one occasion, I said to the congregation, thank you for having me and being so kind to me, I really do love you guys.

Remesh looked at me as if I had made a huge blunder, I urged him to translate, and when he did, the entire congregation busted out laughing.

You see, in that country, love is reserved for a husband and wife, so in their mind I was saying I want to marry you all.

In Greek the words are as follows……

Agapao - that is God like love, a pure and perfect love.

Phileo - that is brotherly love, or affection for a friend.

Porneia - fornication or immoral sexual activity.

Eros - is the passionate love felt between lovers, ie a husband and wife.

The problem is, the translator often translate each of these words as simply love.

Such is the case here.

Jesus asks Peter, do you agapao Me.

Do you love Me with a deep abiding and perfect God like love.

And that is a fair question.

After all the greatest commandment is that we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength.

We are to love God with all that we are.

That is really the question, Peter do you love me with all that you are?

Peter responds, you know that I phileo you.

You know I have a strong brotherly affection for you.

Peter knew he could not say I agapao you.

This is a new Peter.

Prior to the arrest of Jesus, the bold brash Peter declared he was willing to give his life for Jesus.

He was ready to give his all.

But now, we are looking at a different Peter.

A broken Peter, a contrite Peter, a humbled man, now stands before Jesus.

But folks, now Peter is usable, teachable, and can make a difference.

And so Jesus says, Tend my lambs.

Tend, comes from a Greek word that is used in agriculture.

Literally it means to pasture animals.

To make sure that there is ample nutrition available for the flock.

If you have ever wondered why I teach at the depth and pace that I do, well there is your answer.

As a young pastor when I first came to understand this passage, it shaped how I taught.

My greatest fear is that someone walk out of one of my studies and feel like they didn’t learn anything.

The job of pastors and teachers is to make sure there is spiritual food on the table.

Just as a shepherd makes sure there is grass in the field.

Then, the conversation repeats its, Peter, do you agapao Me.

And Peter says, you know that I phileo you.

You know.

Peter knows He cannot fool Jesus.

Peter has seen Jesus read minds.

He has seen Jesus predict the future with perfect accuracy.

He has lived out exactly what Jesus said he would do, even though he didn’t want to do it.

Jesus you know all things.

You know I can’t say I love you with all that I am.

But I have a strong affection for you, and that is the best I can do.

Jesus responds, shepherd My sheep.

To Shepherd the sheep was to care for their every need.

Sheep aren’t very smart.

They have to be moved from pasture to pasture or they will starve when the food runs out.

They have to be taken to calm water, they will not drink from a fast running stream.

They have to be cleaned regularly because stuff gets caught in their fleece.

Especially around their behind.

If the shepherd doesn’t keep their behind clean, they will get clogged up and die.

And sheep can’t even lamb without their shepherd.

If the shepherd isn’t around when the baby is born, most of them die.

Pretty pitiful picture of sheep, I mean us.

We are the sheep Jesus is talking about.

Jesus is reaffirming Peter, restoring Peter.

But notice, Jesus isn’t addressing Peter as Peter.

WHAT’S IN A NAME

In the Bible names have significance.

And you may have noticed, in a few cases, when something significant happens in the life of a person, he gets a new name.

Abram was renamed Abraham.

Sarai becomes Sarah

Jacob became Israel.

And In Matthew 16:16-18

Matthew 16:16–18 NASB95

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

In that moment, the moment I believe demonstrated that Peter and those men believed in Jesus, Simon received a new name.

I call you Peter.

I call you a Rock.

Upon Simon’s confession, Jesus changed his name from Simon to Peter.

In Rev 2:17

Revelation 2:17 NASB95

‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.’

Did you notice, all those who overcome, who place their faith in Jesus Christ, get to eat the hidden Manna, and will receive a white stone, and a new name that is written on that stone.

We get a new name.

A new name appears to occur when some significant change takes place.

Abram got off to a slow start and struggled to obey the Lord.

Then in chapter 15 Abram was declared righteous.

But He still struggled.

But by chapter 17, Abram is all in.

At that point in his life, YHWH changes his name to Abraham.

We always talk about Abraham did this and Abraham did that,

But over half of what is recorded about this man occurs while he is still Abram.

Jacob’s story is similar.

And certainly Peter’s story is similar.

Three chosen men who struggled to surrender to the authority of YHWH.

But when they finally did, YHWH changed their name.

We too struggle to obey.

But when we get to heaven, the struggle will be over, and we get a new name.

This is particularly noticeable in Peter.

Simon was renamed Peter.

But then in Matthew, Mark and Luke, sometimes after that he is called Peter, but sometimes he is still called Simon.

When you examine the texts carefully you discover that when Peter was acting like his old self, the brash bold arrogant fisherman, he is referred to as Simon.

When He is acting like the person Jesus wants him to be, he is referred to as Peter.

For example Luke 22:31

Luke 22:31 NASB95

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat;

Mark 14:37–38 NASB95

And He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? “Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Now here is the interesting part, apparently John didn’t know what to call him because John alone refers to this man as Simon Peter 14 times.

Matthew and Luke each do so only once, and Mark never does.

Now at this juncture in time, Peter has walked away from any thought of ministry and gone back to fishing.

I am not being critical, just explaining.

Peter feels unworthy, which is really the significance of this passage.

This is why Peter is unwilling to say I agapao you.

Peter had failed Jesus, failed himself, failed the others, when he denied even knowing Jesus.

And honestly, I think Peter expected Jesus to abandon him.

After all Peter had heard Jesus teach, that if you deny Me before men, I will deny you before the Father. Matt 10:33.

So Peter probably expected that he was cast aside and no longer part of Christ.

I say this because this was how Judaism worked.

We saw that already.

If you bucked the system, they kicked you out of the club, which was the Synagogue.

This was what Peter knew to be true in his culture.

Which is why, Jesus had to come to Peter.

Which also brings us to the last question.

DO YOU HAVE AFFECTION FOR ME

John is careful to record, He said to him a third time.

Three is the magic number.

You denied Me three times, so now I must ask you My question 3 times.

Three times they asked do you know Jesus.

And three times Peter denied.

So Jesus, stooping down to Peter’s level, the third time says Simon Son of John, do you phileo Me.

Do you really have affection for Me.

You say you do, but you also said you would never deny Me.

This is what is really going on here.

Peter, where are you? Who are you?

Are you the old Simon?

Or are you My rock?

Folks, Peter was grieved, he was broken, I doubt he could even look Jesus in the eye.

And he said again, you know, you know my affection for you.

And Jesus said again, Tend My sheep.

Tend My Lambs, Feed Me sheep, tend My sheep.

In my mind, this is the most beautiful picture of our loving, compassionate Savior who is full of grace.

We have this promise in scripture, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to pass. Phil 1:6.

Jesus had chosen Peter, called Peter, and began the work of transforming Peter.

In spite of Peter.

And now we find Peter being restored.

Jesus is the God of second and third and fourth and many many chances.

You see, Jesus knew when He chose Simon the fisherman what kind of a man he was, and all the struggles He would have.

But we mustn’t forget, Jesus warned Peter that Satan was going to sift him.

But Jesus also told Peter, but I have prayed for you, and when you come through it.

When you come through it.

Jesus leaves none of His own behind.

Though we fail Him and fail Him often, He never fails us.

He is faithful and true, those are two of His names.

But more than a name, they help to define who Jesus is.

The message here is very simple, Simon, I am not done with you yet, we have much work to do.

THE WORK OF SANCTIFICATION

What we have been looking at is the work of sanctification.

Simon Peter was born again back in Matthew 16, his declaration that you are the Christ the Son of God settles that in my mind.

But he was still the same old man in many ways.

Oh he was a new creation, and had been declared righteous.

But he was still the same man in how he thought, trapped in a fleshly body that wanted fleshly things.

And that describes us all.

This is why we struggle with sin.

We have unregenerate minds, and unregenerate bodies.

But the good news is we have a Savior that is renewing our mind so that we might be transformed in how we live.

This is what we see in Peter.

Folks, often we look at failure as such a bad thing.

But sometimes it takes a catastrophic failure to get our attention, to break us.

Peter has finally been broken, he has no pride left, and that is a good thing.

There was a day when He would say, yes I agapao you and am willing to die for you.

But that man is dead.

He died that night in the courtyard of the high priest, when he cursed and screamed I do not know Him.

And in that moment, Jesus turned and looked at Peter, and Peter at Jesus, and all pride was destroyed.

Peter was broken.

More importantly, Peter was now useable.

Up until now, Peter has insisted on trying to tell Jesus what to do and how it should be.

Jesus said I am going to be crucified, Peter said oh no you are not.

But now, Peter is ready to submit, to follow, and be led.

It took a catastrophic failure to get Peter to this point, one that I believe was orchestrated by Jesus Himself.

Jesus could have kept Peter from failure.

But it is through trials and tribulations, through our failures, that we learn the most.

Peter is ready.

Jesus can use Him now.

There is only one more thing Peter needs, and it is the promised Spirit of God.

Peter is a rock, he is strong, he is solid, and like a powerful horse, he has been gentled and now he is ready to be used of His master to accomplish great things.

PETER’S DESTINY

What I have just described concerning Peter is reiterated in verse 18.

Peter when you were young you were your own boss and did your own thing.

And that is true.

Nobody told Peter what to do, not even Jesus.

Peter was a natural leader.

A very strong personality.

A man that others would listen to and follow.

But Jesus had to get him to the place where Peter would follow Jesus.

The message here in verse 18 is Peter, you aren’t in charge any more.

When you grow old.

We are not sure how old Peter is at this point, but I would guess at least in his thirties.

He is going to live another 30 plus years.

What Jesus is saying to him here, is Peter, you are going to die by crucifixion.

This phrase stretch out your hands and be girded, speaks of crucifixion.

Those phrases have been found in other sources to describe being crucified.

Peter, the day will come, when you are old, that they will kill you the very way they killed Me.

This was the disciples greatest fear.

They ran and hid because they feared they would be next.

And to the man, with but one exception, they were all put to death for the cause of Christ.

John alone escaped a martyrs death, but even he suffered greatly having been exiled on the island of Patmos.

These words of Jesus were prophetic, and they came true.

A man named Nero became Caesar and he was brutal and he hated Christians.

Nero would be responsible for the death of both Paul and Peter.

Peter was executed by crucifixion, Paul had his head cut off.

Before Peter was crucified, he was forced to watch as his wife was crucified.

It is tradition that Peter made only one comment to her, remember the Lord.

Then Peter begged to be crucified upside down, because he felt himself unworthy to die in the same manner Jesus did.

And he was.

Jesus said to Peter, you are going to die by crucifixion, now follow Me.

And Peter did just that.

Peter had a question though.

He noticed John following them as he and Jesus walked and talked.

And so he wants to know what will happen to John?

Jesus says, John 21:22

John 21:22 NASB95

Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”

Peter, mind your own business.

You aren’t in charge any more, I am.

I will take care of John, and I will take care of you.

And both of you will fulfill Me destiny for your life.

But because of the way Jesus said it, rumors got started.

And John is quick to squash those rumors right here in verse 23.

John concludes this gospel with a simple reminder.

Jesus is bigger than words can define.

We cannot even begin to write every thing that He did and said.

Jesus is bigger than the world for the world could not contain the books that adequately defined Him.

CONCLUSION

I know I have talked a lot about Peter.

I have studied the life of Peter for one very simple reason, I was that guy.

I understand Peter, I resonate with Peter.

And I too have had to learn some of these hard lessons.

But the truth of the matter is that the life of Peter and those of us like him, are really more about Christ than us..

Jesus is responsible for what Peter became.

And wow, what a man he did become.

As I mentioned earlier, now the Lord has Peter exactly where He wants Him.

Jesus had crushed Peter’s pride.

Jesus has driven out Peter’s self confidence.

Jesus has broken his defiant spirit.

And now, with the coming of the Spirit of God upon Peter, Jesus is going to do great things through Him.

You see, what we really see in Peter, is Jesus conforming Peter to His own image.

Jesus is restoring the image of God in Peter.

Peter, like all of us, were created in the image of God, but due to the fall of Adam, that image was badly marred.

But through the new birth, and the process of sanctification, the image of God is being restored in us bit by bit.

Jesus was doing a work in Peter.

And He is doing a work in you.

Friends, Peter’s story is a story of hope and glory.

If Jesus can do this in Peter, He can do it in you.

And if in the power of Christ Peter can become the preacher he became, leading thousands to salvation, then who is to say what Christ can do with you.

Don’t say I am too old, or too young, or don’t have this or that.

Excuses do nothing but deny the power of God working in you.

You can do great things for Christ, or rather Christ can do great things through you.

It all comes down to this, are you a willing vessel in His hands?

Or are you trying to dictate to Jesus what should happen when and where and how.

I have been thinking about this a lot with regard to prayer.

Our prayer are very often our telling Jesus what we think Jesus should do.

Try spending more time in prayer asking Jesus what do You want me to do.

You might just discover, that if you let Jesus take the lead, you will see great things.

Jesus is a great and glorious King, able to accomplish his will at all times.

And He wants to do so through His people.

2 Chronicles 16:9 (NASB95)

“For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.

On that day as they walked down the shore of the sea of Galilee, Peter could not say I agapao You.

But on the day of his death, he could, and he did.

Mission accomplished, in the end, Peter loved Jesus, with all his heart, soul, mind and strength.

And he stretched out his hands, and proved it.

This concludes our study in John, I hope you have found it to be worth while and a blessing.

Next week we shall begin our study, Jesus in the OT.