20 April 2007

Do you love me?

John 21:15-19

Kelly Martin wrote:

Little children are usually painfully honest. One little girl in my church came up to me one Sunday. I picked her up and gave her a hug. She said, "I love you Brother Martin." I replied, "I love you too, Honey." Then she said, "I even love your yellow teeth!"    

Children do say what’s on their minds. And, they have not yet learned that some comments can be painful. 

I guess this is why we feel for Peter when Jesus asked him three times, “Do you love me?” (vv. 15, 16, 17).  Jesus’ words seem to hurt Peter.  Jesus seems to be too honest with him. It is as if Jesus doesn'’t believe what Peter is saying. If my boss asks me “Are you a committed worker?” I would say “Yes.” Then, if he asks me a second time within minutes “Are you a committed worker?” I would probably give him the benefit of the doubt, not think too much of it (try not to, anyway) and answer more emphatically “well yes.” Then, if he asks me a third time, also within minutes, “Are you a committed worker?” I would be upset. I would ask him

 “Ok, what gives? What is going on here? Didn'’t you hear me? I said ‘yes’ two times already. What exactly do you want? What exactly are you asking?” I would begin to wonder if my boss believes what I am sayings and perhaps thinks I am not a committed worker at all. 

In the case of Peter and Jesus we know that Peter has made some comments in the past that were false.  Back in chapter 13 there is a similar conversation between them. Peter asked Jesus “Lord where are you going? Jesus answered, ‘Where I am going, you can not follow me now; but you will follow afterward.’ Peter said to him, ‘Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you” (13:36-37).  “I will lay down my life for you”? Oh, really Peter? Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times” (v. 38). 

There are simply too many connections between the two conversations to ignore. 

Three times Peter denies Jesus

(John 13:38)

Three times Jesus asked “Do you love me?”

(John 21:15-17)

“I will lay down my life for you”

(John 13:37)

“He said this to indicate the kind of death by which [Peter] would glorify God.”

(John 21:19)

“Lord, why can I not follow you now?

(John 13:37

“Follow me”

(John 21:19)

For example, three times Peter denies Jesus. Three times Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?” In the first conversation Peter told Jesus “I will lay down my life for you,” but he doesn'’t. At the last encounter we hear that Peter will die and glorify God. In the first conversation, Peter wants to follow Jesus, but Jesus tells him “no.” At the last encounter Jesus tells Peter, “Follow me.” 

With this information and comparison the message of John seems to be clear.  Jesus is helping Peter redeem himself.  However, there is much more to this story, than what we see at first glance. Jesus is doing more than helping Peter redeem himself. Jesus is letting go of his ministry here on earth and passing the vision to Peter. 

You see, for many of us the question of Jesus’ death and resurrection is clearly answered.  For many of us the question is not “did Jesus die and rise from the dead?” The real question is, “now what?” Easter has ended, now what are we to do? Jesus has risen from the dead. Jesus has conquered Death and Sin. Now what? This is what John, the Gospel writer, is trying to answer as well.  Now that we believe, now that we have embraced the claims of the Gospel, now what?  What happens next? 

Again, at first glance the answer seems to be clear.  Every time Peter said, “Yes, yes Lord I do love you,” Jesus replied, “Feed my sheep” (vv. 15, 16, 17). Yet, if we look closely, “feeding” God’s sheep has many implications. First, before feeding “His sheep,” we must love Jesus. However, loving Jesus is not as simple as it sounds. When Jesus first asked Peter about his love toward him, Jesus doesn'’t only ask “do you love me?” He asked, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” (v. 15).  But, what are the “these”? What is Jesus referring to? These what? These boats, these nets, this work? Is Jesus asking Peter to love him more than his material things, his work, and his occupation? Perhaps Jesus is saying “if you are truly going to follow me, if you are going to truly be my disciple, if you truly love me, you might have to let go of your material things, your source of income, your education, your occupation (what makes you feel important) and trust me and follow me.” 

Yeah, well, perhaps the “these” is something else something easier to let go. Perhaps Jesus was referring to “these other people,” as in “loving me more than the people around you.” Perhaps Jesus is saying “if you are truly going to follow me, if you are going to truly be my disciple, if you truly love me, you might have to let go of some of your friends, co-workers, and family members and trust me and follow me. Perhaps you need to put me first over any other person in your life.” Perhaps this is what Jesus meant when he asked, “Do you love me more than these?” 

Maybe, but perhaps Jesus was referring to all of the above. Perhaps Jesus is referring to loving him more than anything or anyone else. 

“Feeding His sheep,” has another implication. Second, it implies giving your life for the sheep. Back in chapter 10 Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). In chapter 21 we read that Peter too will die. Jesus answered Peter by saying, “Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished, But when you are grown old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go” (v 18). Then we hear John say, “He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God” (v. 19). Both from the Scriptures and from tradition we learn that Peter died preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, following him. Tradition tells us that Peter was crucified upside down. No

 to feed God’s sheep is a dangerous proposition. It might imply giving the ultimate sacrifice, our own lives. 

Having said that, however, I wish the Gospel was a little less radical. I mean, now that we have believed in the death and resurrection of Jesus, can we just simply party, enjoy our salvation, and continue to live our lives as we have been doing? Why do we have to give-up things? Why can’t we just hold hands, sing more resurrection songs and go home at 12 noon on Sundays? The reality is that we can not do that, and we do not do that. For us, for many of us who have embraced the resurrection of Jesus, who call Jesus both Lord and King, we do not continue living our lives as if nothing has happened. It is difficult to believe in the Gospel and continue to live our lives without change.  

The fact is that we do “sacrifice” many things for the LORD.  Many of us have said good bye to friends and family to follow Jesus. Many of us have given-up on personal dreams to follow Jesus. Many of us have given-up Saturdays, afternoons, vacations, time with family and time with friends to work for His Kingdom. Because of our commitment, because we do love Jesus, because we do want to follow him, we have decided to give some or a lot of our financial resources to help His kingdom. Many of us have changed jobs following a call from God. Many of us have put a lot of time and effort working for His kingdom and for His church. For many of us the question “do you love me” has touched our hearts and minds. So much so, that we have done something about it. 

Yes, sometimes honesty hurts.  For some of us, Jesus’ question “do you love me” repeated three times, might be difficult to hear. We might realize that perhaps we do not love Jesus as we should. Perhaps we do put other things and other people before him. Perhaps, we are simply unwilling to sacrifice much, to prove our love and our loyalty for him. Jesus’ honesty might be painful to hear and a chilling reminder that we still have a lot to learn and a lot to grow. 

For others, Jesus’ question is not painful, but a confirmation that we are the ones called to bring the good news of the Gospel to the world; that we are the ones who will continue Jesus’ ministry here on earth; that if positive change in the world is to happen, it has to happen through us. It is a reminder that we are the ones called by name to continue to speak the truth, to serve the world, to feed God’s sheep. 

“Do you love me?” asked Jesus. I pray and I hope that the answer is and continues to be, YES.  May we always answer yes. And, may we continue to find ways to show our Lord and our King, how much we love him.