150503 Love Calls for Action

After his resurrection Jesus met with seven of his disciples by the sea. John tells us that “Jesus revealed himself” to those disciples. The disciples, some of whom were fishermen, had come together one evening and at Peter’s suggestion they went fishing. Apparently, the fishing process was to cast nets all night. We have seen early in the relationship with Jesus Peter, Andrew, James and John had been fishing all night and caught nothing. At that time Jesus told them where to cast their nets and fill them with fish. This time Jesus had prepared a breakfast of bread and fish for the disciples. After breakfast Jesus had an interesting exchange with Simon the son of John.

John 21:15-19 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

Simon Peter was, without question, the leader of the disciples. He had led them to obey Jesus by returning to Galilee. During this time waiting on Jesus to give them further instructions Peter returned to fishing. At least six other disciples went with him on the fishing trip and they fished all night without catching anything. Then Jesus appeared on the shore, told them where to cast their nets, and immediately the nets were full to the breaking point.

This event led directly into Jesus’ discussion with Peter during which he challenged Peter, three times, with a question that reads exactly the same in English but changes significantly in the original language — Greek. Let’s look at those three exchanges and see what they have say to us today. First question…

Do you love me? Peter, like every Jewish boy of the day, was very familiar with the Torah. There we find in Deuteronomy 6:4-5. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ⁵ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.…”

When Jesus asked Peter if he loved him the challenge was to agape love. Agape is love which is of and from God, whose very nature is love itself. John affirms this in his little letter 1 John 4:8 where he says “God is love.” God does not merely love; He is love itself. Everything God does flows from His love. But it is important to remember that God’s love is not a sappy, sentimental love such as we often hear portrayed. God loves because that is His nature and the expression of His being. He loves the unlovable and the unlovely (us!), not because we deserve to be loved, but because it is His nature to love us, and He must be true to His nature and character. God’s love is displayed most clearly at the cross, where Christ died for the unworthy creatures who were “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1), not because we did anything to deserve it, “but God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). We cannot do anything to merit His love. We are the undeserving recipients upon whom He lavishes that love. His love was demonstrated when He sent His Son into the world to “seek and save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10) and to provide eternal life to those He sought and saved. He paid the ultimate sacrifice for those He loves. (http://www.gotquestions.org/agape-love.html)

What we deserve is death and hell. Agape love reaches out to us to give us life and heaven. That is the word that Jesus used when he asked Peter, “do you love me?” The continuation of his question was…

More than these? We do not know exactly what Jesus meant by the word “these”. Possibly Jesus meant these men that were standing around them. He could have meant the whole world of fishing. Later John would write some significant words about the focus of our love. Turn with me to 1 John 2:15-17. Listen while I read. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. ¹⁷ And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Wordsworth said it best, “The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;…” The world is certainly “with us”! We are surrounded by many things that tug at our heartstrings. The world that God has given us, fallen as it may be, is still a beautiful place and often draws us away from a focus on the love of God. The things that are in the world — the desires of the flesh; the desires of the eyes; the pride of life — are all challenging us to come away from our love that is to be focused on the Lord. Peter’s answer would be very much like most of us would give…

You know I like you very much. Peter had often expressed his love for Jesus and was confident that he would be able to show his love properly. However let’s look at the exchange found in John 13:36-38.  Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” ³⁷ Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” ³⁸ Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.

Peter was confident that he would, without doubt, lay down his life for Jesus. That’s how much he loved him. But the love he had was phileo love! Phileo refers to brotherly love and is most often exhibited in a close friendship. Best friends will display this generous and affectionate love for each other as each seeks to make the other happy. Since phileo love involves feelings of warmth and affection toward another person, we do not have phileo love toward our enemies. However, God commands us to have agape love toward everyone. This includes those whose personalities clash with ours, those who hurt us and treat us badly, and even those who are hostile toward us (Luke 6:28; Matthew 5:44). In time, as we follow God’s example of agape love for our enemies, we may even begin to experience phileo love for some of them as we start to see them through God’s eyes.
(Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/phileo-love)

Peter’s response to Jesus was much less than Jesus’ question. And yet Jesus did not rebuke him. Instead he said…

Feed my lambs. We need to remember that Jesus often viewed himself as a keeper of sheep. Peter would have remembered John 10:11-13.  I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. ¹³ He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

Peter had been called as a fisherman to become a fisher of men and now he was called to become a shepherd taking care of the newborn lambs. We are the sheep that the shepherd lays his life down for. Now the Shepherd, who had laid down his life on the cross of Calvary, is commissioning Peter to take care of the flock. Instead of challenging Peter’s use of brotherly love instead of godly love Jesus asks him…

For the second time, do you love me?

This time Jesus limited the question to “do you love me?” and did not include “more than these?” which might have confused Peter as to the real meaning of the question. Again Jesus used “agape” showing that he wanted Peter to love at the highest level.

We need to remember that we have been called to love God through Jesus Christ with God’s kind of love. And when we do we will demonstrate that love by taking care of the lambs he sends our way. And then…

For the second time, Peter said you know that I like you very much.

Peter seems to be stuck on the concept of brotherly love. While Jesus is asking “Do you love me with God’s kind of love.” Peter is answering “I love you like a brother,” or, “I like you very much.” This is not what Jesus is looking for! In Peter — or in us. We are called upon to give back to God the love that he gives to us. So in order to get Peter’s attention…

The question changes: do you (really) like me?

Jesus now uses the same word that Peter used — phileo. Jesus is asking Peter about his love at the same level Peter is using.

Peter was grieved by this third question. Now, let’s think about another time when Peter was questioned three times. While Jesus was on trial Peter had come to be close to Jesus and was challenged by the group of people he was with. Three times he was given the opportunity to assert his relationship with Jesus. Three times he denied Jesus! First, he was challenged by a servant girl. I have often wondered was she trying to find out more about Jesus or was she accusing Peter. I don’t think we can come to a final conclusion about that but it is an interesting idea. The second and third time that Peter was questioned was by some of the men standing around. Peter had a great opportunity to show his love for Jesus by simply saying, “Yes, I am one of his disciples.” Then Peter could have gone on to tell the other people about this man who was on trial.

Peter was grieved by Jesus’ question but he didn’t change the word that he used. I am not sure that he understood what Jesus was saying. In trying to clear himself Peter said…

Lord you know everything. A number of times the Gospels tell us that Jesus had extensive knowledge. Turn with me to John 2:23-25. Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. ²⁴ But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people ²⁵ and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

Here, John tells us that Jesus “knew all people” and that he “knew what was in man”. We know that Jesus’ knowledge, on the human side, was limited in some ways. We are told that Jesus “increased in wisdom” (Luke 2:52) implying that he went through the same kind of learning process that all children do. He learned how to eat, how to talk, how to read and write, and how to be obedient to his parents. Jesus had a human mind like ours and that humanity had to grow up. At the same time Jesus had the mind of God. He knew people’s thoughts and he knew who did not believe. Let’s look at John 6:63-65. It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. ⁶⁴ But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) ⁶⁵ And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

He knew from the beginning who did not believe. From the very beginning he knew who would betray him!

Peter, being grieved by the questions, could say to Jesus, “Lord, you know everything;”. Peter knew who Jesus was. Peter himself had said that Jesus is “The Christ, the Son of the Living God.” (Matthew 16:16) As such, Jesus definitely knew all things from the divine perspective. On the human side he had to grow up on the divine side he had complete knowledge unless it was held back from him by the Father.

After this painful set of questions Jesus returned to his original call to Simon Peter…

Follow me! About three years before Jesus had begun with these words, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Toward the end of his ministry Jesus warned Peter. Turn with me to Luke 22:31-32. “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, ³² but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

Satan recognized that Peter would be one of his greatest opponents. Apparently Satan tried to set up a situation like he had done with Job. He demanded that he be allowed to “sift” Peter like wheat! But Jesus prayed for him that even though he might be challenged and he might fall, he would not fail!

When Peter fell he denied Jesus three times! But his faith did not fail — simply his courage! And some of the most encouraging words in Scripture come from the mouth of Jesus when he said, “I have prayed for you” and “when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” I can easily imagine the feelings Peter may have had after having denied that he knew Jesus.

Peter, possibly in his own eyes, was a failure! He had failed to acknowledge Jesus when he had the opportunity but Jesus had promised him that when he repented — “turned again” — he would be able to strengthen his brothers!

When we fall we have to get up, follow our Lord Jesus, and strengthen our brothers! Falling is not failing!

I believe the questions that were offered to Peter by the Lord Jesus are questions that we should answer for ourselves. We should be able to say to our Lord that we do indeed love him. We should love him with God’s kind of love rather than the kind of love that humans have for each other. We should recognize that God knows our hearts and he is in the process of shaping us into the image of his dear Son. All of us have been called to fulfill the great commission. We are to make disciples baptizing them in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit and then teach them all the things that Jesus had taught. Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Have you followed him in obedient baptism? This could be the day that you tell the world that you are going to follow Jesus.

All scriptures quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.