The Reckoning
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. 18 I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) 21 When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
22 Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” 23 Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
24 This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.
25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. John 21:15-25 (NIV)[1]
It’s another one of those childhood pictures etched in my mind. It’s not that it’s particularly traumatic but it’s just stuck there. In many ways, I have a gallery of such pictures that mean something to me. Many of them, in one way or another, have affected the way that I live my life, the way that I parent, the deepest values that I hold.
My Dad was in control when I was growing up. I feared him as much as I loved him maybe sometimes more. I understood the rules, they were simple.
¨ Do what you were told to do.
¨ Never show disrespect.
Rule #1 was all-encompassing. It was not contingent on my agreement. It didn’t matter if I disagreed or not. It was not contingent on my understanding. Normally I would be given an explanation – no argument or defense – just an explanation. And I was told to do something once – that’s all. After that, things got nasty. So I complied. I wasn’t always happy about it, often it didn’t make sense but I complied.
And rule #2? To fail to comply here was akin to a death wish. If I ever raised my voice to my parents, I was in deep trouble. But I learned to respect people. This one is knife-etched in my psyche. It’s one of the most valuable lessons that a person can ever learn.
So I found myself one day at my aunt’s house. She was rigid lady, cut from the same genetic cloth as my father. As my father was in charge in our home so his sister was in charge in hers.
We were there for dinner and I was given one simple reminder prior to our going. “Eat everything that is put on your plate.”
There was nothing negotiable about this.
We were rabbit and potato people or partridge and potato people or venison and potato people. I never had pizza until I was in the 12th grade. My aunt put things on our plate that day that I had never seen before. Green leafy things that weren’t cooked and strange colored eggs. Tossed salad, I think it was – my first experience – and she put raw onions in it. It would be tossed allright.
I wanted to go home. Someone prayed out loud – I prayed to myself. “Lord Jesus, please keep this strange food from my plate.”
But I remembered the rule.
The explanation went something like, “There are kids starving to death overseas.” I wanted to send this food overseas. I wasn’t sure that kids overseas would like some of this stuff any more than I did but I wanted them to have this food. I didn’t want them to starve.
I’d have been okay if it weren’t for those onions. And my aunt, concerned for my health heaped an ample supply on my plate. I thought I’d never get through that meal. Fork after fork of that awful stuff. I’d try to swallow against the gag reflex. My eyes were watering. I held my breath while I was chewing and chased it quickly with water. Nothing was working. My Dad kept one eye slightly, menacingly raised and trained on me. He never said a word but I knew that he would kill me if I didn’t put away the meal. That was the longest most painful meal that I have ever endured.
I don’t do that to my kids – most people don’t when it is done to them. Sometimes I think that I should.
For most of us there are hard things to swallow. Things that just don’t go down easily. I remember being on the road singing for Bethany Bible College with Steve Moore, Gary Hicks and Ross Demerchant. We were in Doaktown and being served a huge supper. The dear lady had worked hard to fix a meal for us and she put something particularly disagreeable on our plates. Ross decided to attack it with a vengeance and get it over with quickly. She interpreted the speed of consumption as voracious appetite and a fondness to what he had just eaten. Before he could say a word she reached out and refilled his plate. You should have seen the look on his face.
In the scripture that we read today we find Jesus at the outdoor table with several of his disciples. Another meal together. At the last Jesus had washed their feet, the role of a servant. This time he was the cook. The fish was well prepared and I am sure that they all ate well. The main course however was not so agreeable for Peter. He choked his way through it and it didn’t go down easy. For that day on the beach Peter was served the most disagreeable of all dishes. He revisited his failure, his denial and Jesus made him eat it all – every idle word, every prideful declaration, every hastily made promise.
Really it was leftovers. Leftovers from a night of terror and agony. The pain of watching those closest to him as they scattered and ran for their lives, the pain of hearing his most vocal advocate deny him – not once but three times. It was no surprise to Christ. That was part of the pain because Jesus knew each time Peter declared his allegiance or his intentions that when the heat was on, he would run. Most of us, like Peter have told God what we will do for Him. Most of us have prayed prayers in desperation, looking for God’s help or his physical touch. Somehow we have gotten beyond those places and we have experienced God’s help.
And just like Peter when the heat is on, we have turned tail and run. As a matter of fact, God has watched some of us this morning as we have raised our hands to heaven, sincerely praising God. Maybe we’ve said a few “haleleujahs” or maybe we’ve shed a few tears. Maybe He has as well, perhaps he has cried right along with us because He knows that when the test comes, we won’t stand it.
Are we willing to lose our lives for the sake of the gospel? Never mind our lives . . . are you willing to lose your livelihood for the sake of the gospel. If you had to deny Christ for a paycheck what choice would you make. Perhaps you have done that. Perhaps you’ve compromised your faith and your most basic values because they would affect your paycheck adversely. And of course there are those who would never consider losing your lifestyle for Jesus. Consequently you are unavailable to God – He’s been speaking and you’ve been turning up the home theater system. He’s been talking to you about His design for your life and you’ve been pretending that you don’t understand what He is saying.
Peter, upon whose confession of Christ the church is built and stands – denied the Son of the Living God – and the good news – he was restored – as though it had never taken place.
13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He scannot deny Himself. 2 Timothy 2:12-13 (NKJV)[2]
If he’ll do that for Peter, he’ll do it for you. No matter how bad you think you have blown it. You can be fully restored in the matchless grace of Christ today if you’ll come to Him.
We preach a gospel of forgiveness and we tell sinners that they can bring all their dirty laundry to Christ and he’ll take it away – and He absolutely does.
But you need to hear as well today that God forgives the saint who sins as well. When you have come to Him and you’ve known Him deeply, perhaps better than many people and somehow you find yourself like Peter, estranged from God because you have sinned. I want you to know that there is continued grace and forgiveness for the child of God who disobeys his/her father. Just ask Peter, he’ll tell you that there is wonderful forgiveness and wonderful restoration.
What have you done that keeps you from Christ? Better yet perhaps, what are you planning to do that will drive a wedge between you and God? He already knows what you are contemplating today. He anticipates your denial. He also anticipates your forgiveness and your restoration.
The preface of the parable of the unforgiving servant goes like this. You remember the parable about the man who was forgiven a debt that he could never repay, when he should have been thrown into a debtor’s prison. He was totally forgiven and then refused to forgive a man who owed him a small insignificant debt. Ultimately he was condemned for this unwillingness to forgive others. You, - we are the ones who have been forgiven much brothers and sisters and may God help us if we fail to forgive the small offenses that we suffer when Jesus died for a world of sinners and an eternity of sin.
But here’s the preface to the parable:
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.a Matthew 18:21-22 (NIV)[3]
If he told his disciples to never fail to forgive, then let me assure you that he will never cease to forgive you. There’s only one thing that will keep you from His forgiveness and that is the pride that keeps you from admitting that you are lost without Him. It’s that insidious self that wants to insist that it is good and that being good or doing good is enough. Remember the good clothes or the everyday clothes? This is what keeps people from the fullness of Christ.
Let’s take a look quickly at the process that Jesus employs with Peter in his reinstatement.
1. He calls him by his former name.
Look at it in verse 15.
“15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John . . . .”
He is Simon again, . . . simply Simon. That’s what he was before he met Christ
16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. Mark 1:16 (NIV)[4]
The name Peter was given to him by Jesus upon his profession of Christ as the Son of the Living God. As far as I know, he had carried the name of Peter, the Rock since that day. It might not leap off the pages at us but it surely would have been significant for Peter. He had forfeited something by his failure.
When we make decisions that serve ourselves above God there is always something that we forfeit. Peter was one of the three closest, most trusted disciples. When we disobey we lose something, a sense of standing. This loss has to be faced when we find our way back to God.
2. He calls him on his flawed notions.
“15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” “
Peter was convinced that he would stand when others would fall. He was convinced that he was in some more superior place of spiritual standing than others. Is there a Simon Peter in the house today? Someone who judges others less courageous or committed. Be on guard.
3. He commits the flock to his nurture.
“16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
He charges Peter to do something more here than to feed, but to “care for” the flock the sheep. I think really that he charges Peter at this point with the responsibility of leadership for the early church. To be reinstated as the leader where you no longer have the luxury of running away. I don’t know of a leader who doesn’t want to by times. I don’t know of a parent who doesn’t want to by times. I don’t know of a husband or wife who has never longed for the simplicity of life prior to marriage and family. But all of these are “trusts” give to us by God and the real mettle, the “heavy mettle” in a person’s soul is revealed by their willingness to face their commitments to honor their words, their declarations, their promises and to stand by the people and the position in life that they have been granted.
4. He calls him to face the night.
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
I hold nothing against you. I have simply let you go according to the choice that you made. You declared the preferential direction and you went there. I just assumed that this was what you wanted. You can't live equally in two worlds Ron. If you want full acceptance in the world that you have chosen, you will find yourself estranged from the world that you have forsaken. If you want full acceptance in the world that you have forsaken, you must forsake the world that you have chosen. – (partial response from an e-mail to Ron Caissie)
We want to be quickly forgiven and to relegate our past to the past and then to carry on as though nothing ever happened. Part of repentance is God calling us to take a good hard look at what we are until we become sufficiently sick and tired of what we see that we are willing to make changes. Are you there yet?
It’s not totally clear by Jesus words, just a sketch not filled with great promise but absolute reality.
“I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
The grace of Christ is free – you can’t earn it but there is a price to pay if you choose to follow Christ. He is a dangerous person to fall in love with because he will reach into the depths of your heart to call for things from you that you never thought you could do or give. But it’s there and He can see it and He knows that fullness comes with the total expression of those buried “God breathed” values and gifts. People become stagnant and ingrown and miserable when they refuse to allow God to work at this depth.
And Peter objects. He “turns” around to see John. The fears rise in his throat as he realizes that he will have to face what he has previously run from if he is to be fully reinstated. Whatever it is that you run from will chase you down until you turn and face it. Most of the time when we turn around we see ourselves. To face the truth about ourselves is the most fearsome painful experience that we can know in life. The self-righteous are deluded. Apart from Christ there is no boasting, no grounds for pride regardless of what we have done.
In closing, just a few quick reflections for people who want to find their way back to God.
¨ To be reconciled to God you are going to have to talk to him about things that you don’t want to talk about. And you’re going to have to keep open dialogue with Him as long as He wants to talk about it.
¨ You are going to have to realize that the conditions don’t change. You are going to have to face the things that you have run away from. When you return they will be waiting for you. Peter’s death was prophetically sketched for Him.
¨ You’re going to have to realize that you may have it harder than others. God makes no promise that our lot will be downgraded so that we will not be expected to do more or less than others. And what’s more, God’s dealings with others are none of your business.
I stopped teaching Tae Kwon Do last fall. I don’t miss the time that was required but I notice a loss of strength that comes from the negligence of this discipline. When we quit we lose something – always and it rarely matters what it is that we quit.
I watched a brief interview on television the other night with some elderly sprinters. The youngest was 88 and the oldest was 94. As I remember the oldest was hoping to do the 100 in 32 seconds or so. I thought that this was beautiful.
The 88 year old made this comment:
“We don’t slow down because we get old. We get old because we slow down."”
I love it. You know something, God has not designed us to quit here, because we’re not there yet. You’ll never be there when you’re here. Another bit of outstanding wisdom isn’t it? Too many people feel that they gotten there, they’ve arrived, when in reality they are simply here.
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[1] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
s Num. 23:19; Titus 1:2
[2] The New King James Version. 1996, c1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
a Or seventy times seven
[3] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[4] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.