I imagine most of you are familiar with this story and its setting but, in case it is new to you, let me set the stage for you. Jesus has risen from the dead and has appeared to all of His disciples. He has appeared regularly to His disciples and we find Jesus and His disciples enjoying breakfast together shortly before Jesus was to ascend in heaven to return to His Father in glory.
Some of you know I grew up Roman Catholic and I’d heard this story dozens of times growing up. I’d heard Priests deliver homilies about what this passage of Scripture represents. Do you realize what is sad about those homilies? It is not that the Roman Catholic Church would miss the point of this passage of Scripture. I expect that. They forsook the Gospel of grace over 500 years ago. What is sad is that pastors who call themselves Evangelicals today preach the exact same message that I heard from the lips of Roman Catholic priests. These men who claim to be ministers of the Gospel tell us that this passage is primarily about the kind of love that we’re supposed to have. The message, they state, is that Peter doesn’t have real love for Christ and so Christ is helping Peter to see that Peter needs to be really devoted. Peter, we’re told, needs the agape kind of love for Jesus and not just the friendship kind of love. Peter’s love for Christ should be unconditional. Peter needs to be sold out for Jesus because the Gospel is about how much we love God.
Beloved, that’s what you’ll hear from a Roman Catholic Priest. The Gospel is not how much we show God that we love Him. The Gospel is how much God shows that He loves us by sending His Son who, alone, could be perfect in His love.
Let’s unpack this story and figure out what’s going on.
The Lord turns to Peter to make known to the entire Church that Peter has been restored and forgiven for his sin and that he, as well as the others that fled from Christ’s side, had been entrusted with the flock of Jesus Christ.
The circumstances of this encounter must have reminded Peter of something very painful in his life: the time that he denied his Savior three times. They were at a charcoal fire eating breakfast and it was at a charcoal fire that Peter had denied Christ (John 18:18). Three times Peter denied his Master (John 18:17, 25, 27). Three times he must now own him as his Lord and profess his love for Him.
Three ideas are presented in this passage and in John 13:36-38: following, a cross, and denying. In the first instance, Peter had been sure that whatever Jesus wanted of him he could follow Him wherever He went, now he has been humbled by the fact that no man could go where Christ had gone. Now he is not so sure of himself. Now he has the humility that comes from a man who has a real knowledge of the weakness of the flesh.
Jesus began by asking Peter: “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?”
First, you may not notice this but Jesus had renamed Simon to Peter (the Rock) but here he calls him Simon, which is the name Peter had before he was found by Jesus – a reminder that Peter has acted as a man who does not know Jesus. He asks Peter if he loves Him more than these.
More than these what? More than these other people who are present around the fire. Why would Christ ask Peter something like that? Why would Christ ask Peter if He loved Him more than the other disciples. Let’s look at Matthew 26:31-35.
31Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP OF THE FLOCK SHALL BE SCATTERED.’
32“But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”
33But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away.”
34Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”
35Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.” All the disciples said the same thing too.
In Matthew 26:33, Peter is so certain that his devotion to Christ is so unshakeable that he assures Christ that, even if every single one of these other disciples of Yours was to abandon you then I would not! Brave words Peter. Isn’t that a man that is sold out for Jesus?! Even if the world was to forsake Christ, Peter proclaims that he won’t! Not me! I’m the dedicated one!
But he did. And he denied him within hours of that promise. Are you starting to understand that if the Gospel is about how devoted we are to Christ then it might not be as sure as we hope?
Jesus asks Peter if Peter loves Him more than the others but Peter has at least learned something. He doesn’t answer about his love in comparison to the others. Peter has been humbled by the memory of his fall. He probably didn’t feel worthy to be in the Savior’s presence. In truth, he wasn’t but Christ came to save the unworthy. I believe that Peter understood that to answer Jesus with the same word for love that Christ used would be too proud. Christ had used the word for unfailing love (agape in the Greek) – a love that is completely devoted. The man had recently denied Christ and so he told Christ that he surely had affection for Christ. Peter was certain Christ knew this.
Jesus commanded Peter to feed His lambs.
Jesus asked Simon a second time, again with the word of unfailing love: “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?”
The second question was different from the first. It probed deeper and was more painful. It’s almost as if Jesus was saying: “Simon, by not answering the question whether you love me more than all of these other guys, you have shown that you no longer believe that you do. But now, without comparing yourself to others, Simon, do you really love Me?”
Peter again refused to use the term for love that revealed a perfect devotion and affection that Christ had asked. He merely says that he has great affection for Jesus.
Jesus told him to Shepherd His sheep.
And so a third time Christ asked Peter: “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?”
I really wish the English would note the change here because Jesus had now descended to Peter’s use of the word affection. He asked Peter in effect: “Simon, you don’t love me more than all these, you don’t love me perfectly. Simon, truly, do you at least have this humble affection that you keep saying you have for me?”
Verse 17 states: Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You ”
I think the more I read Scripture, the more I interact with it, the more I start to get to know the people and the circumstances. How many times have we read over that passage that Peter was grieved and yawned over the details of that statement?
Of course he was grieved! Put yourself in his shoes for a minute. He had denied the Son of God three times after promising that he would go to his very death for Him. He had denied Him to no less than a servant girl! Now Christ is asking him if he even has a basic level of affection for Him. Christ is asking Peter if he has just an ounce of affection.
But Peter has wised up even in his pain. He’s learned not to appeal to anything within himself. What was Peter supposed to “give testimony” to? He answers in a way that is desperate. He answers in a way that shows he has lost all esteem for anything in himself. It’s the cry of my heart. All he can do is cling to Christ and say: “”Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You”.
Lord, You know. You know all things. You know that I have an affection for You. You know that it isn’t perfect. You know all things. You know that my love wasn’t perfect. Oh Lord, You know.
You see the profound Truth of what Christ came to do is made so apparent in this episode with Peter. In fact, Jesus had predicted that Peter would betray Him. Christ knew this would happen. Christ knew Peter couldn’t stand with Him under the weight of the Cross that represented the Curse that no man could bear but Him. He knew that all must flee from Him. But Christ did not leave every man for himself. He had foretold this to Peter in Luke 22:31-34.
31“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat;
32but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
33But he said to Him, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!”
34And He said, “I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.”
Oh, how proud Peter was at that time but he should have taken greater stock in what Jesus was going to do for him. For all his promises of devotion to the death, for all of Peter’s dedication to the Lord, Jesus tenderly spoke to Peter and said to Him “Simon, Simon”. This is a term of the utmost affection.
“Simon, I know you have confidence in your strength but Satan has asked permission to sift you like wheat. That’s right, Satan has to ask permission of God to do anything. But the strength of men compared to the power of the Evil One is summed up with something as simple as a woman separating wheat from chaff. We’re toast in Satan’s hands if not for Christ.
Indeed, Satan has demanded permission to have you!
But God!
But God is rich in mercy toward us pitiful sinners.
Do you see why Satan couldn’t have Peter? Do you see why he can’t have you?
32but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
Oh, we have a Great High Priest who makes intercession for us. He prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail forever and He constantly makes intercession for those that believe upon Him that their faith may not fail. He assures Peter that when he has betrayed him that he will turn back to Him.
That’s right, Beloved, it’s not if Peter would fail but when he would fail. It’s not if you will fail to love Christ and to be dedicated to Him with all your heart, soul, and strength but when you will fail. That failure will be often. The reason you stand in faith is not a re-dedicated life but a dedicated Savior who makes constant intercession for you so that when you fail that you will return. Your salvation, if you believe in Christ, is certain not because of your dedication but because Christ’s prayers for you are always “Yes” and “Amen”.
And so Jesus turned to Peter a third time and told him to feed His dear sheep. That’s right, Christ places the building up and establishing of the community of faith that will represent His people, His kingdom on this earth, in the hands of men who forsake and deny Him. Plenty of corrupted versions of the Gospel have tried to gloss over the failings of men and even place different sins on a graded scale. We often like to think of our Church leaders as somehow above sin and that the reason that Christ places the Church in their hands is due to the perfection of their character but the truth is that God places the fate of His Church in men still imperfected. The reason that the Church will never fail is not because the Church or the men in the Church are perfect but because, as Christ has promised, He is with us till the very end. Our reason for confidence is because Christ prays for His own and keeps them from the Evil One.
The question for you today is this: Do you really love Jesus?
Be careful how you answer that question.
Do you suppose that your love for Christ is going to be the thing that saves you from your sin? Do you suppose that you’ll be able to stand up to the power of Sin and death when none of the Apostles could? Is your hope built on the strength of your devotion to Christ or, as the song goes, is your hope built on nothing less than Jesus and His righteousness?
You see, in the end, it is Christ and His righteousness that has secured salvation for you. Your faith is nothing more than a beggar clinging to the feet of the perfect Savior saying: “Lord, you know all things. You know that I have affection for you. Save me! Save me! I cannot save myself. I know my heart is prone to wander. I know I promised not to sin in that way ever again but I am weak. Save me from my sin for you alone are perfect!”
And in your distress, in your humility, you will find the Savior that knew you were weak before you realized it. You will find a Savior that came to Earth because you are weak. You will find a Savior that loved you while you still hated Him.
And then, only after you have truly seen what your Lord has accomplished for you, will you be able to hear Him say: “Follow Me!”
