Thinking straight about Jesus

“The Rock that is higher than I”

(John 21:15-17, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, October 17, 2010)

15 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.”

When they had finished breakfast ... (15)

When Peter first confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus noted Peter's name, “Rock,” given to him by the Lord, and then the Lord said, “On this rock I will build My church.” Then He want on to tell the disciples about His coming suffering and death, but Peter would not hear it. Jesus said to him, “Get behind me Satan.” Later when Jesus began to wash His disciples' feet as an illustration of the humility of the cross, Peter would not at first agree to let Jesus wash his feet. When Jesus said that all the disciples would fall, Peter contradicted Him and said that even if everyone else fell away that he would not. Of course, he did, and he denied Jesus three times. Peter would not accept the necessity of the Lord's death, and he showed no sign that he was expecting Jesus to rise from the dead, despite the clear teaching of Jesus Himself on these important matters. Even after the ascension of Christ, Peter had to be corrected by Paul because he did not want to be caught eating with Gentiles when certain Jewish Christians were looking on. But when Peter knew that Jesus was on shore, he was the one who put on his outer cloak, dove in the water, and swam to the Lord.

This proud, wrong-headed, and not entirely stable follower of Jesus Christ was one of the Lord's chosen servants to bring the message of Jesus to those who would be His disciples. In this passage He is questioned three times about His love for the Lord, and He is instructed three times to feed the Lord's flock. This special commissioning of this man is an important part of the Lord's plan for the progress of His kingdom. I ask you: Would you have chosen this man Peter as your poster boy for New Testament ministry? It says so much about Jesus that He chooses Peter.

He said to him a second time ... (16)

If in these verses Jesus is somehow reinstating Simon son of Jonah to his position as a leading apostle of the faith through this three-fold command, He is doing so not because of Peter's great work to date, but in spite of the evidence against Him. Our great Lord is very capable of making use of weak vessels like us to be His servants in any time and place. He is not waiting around for the most gifted, intelligent, and spiritual people to come forward to offer their special something that makes the work of the kingdom what it needs to be. All of what we need for the progress of the Lord's work is supplied from heaven. But God has chosen to distribute the glory bread of His Word through weak and needy disciples He has determined to use for this task.

Let's make sure that we understand the specific instruction that is given here three times. In order to see what it is that deserves our utmost attention, let's clear away those things that are less important. The variation in the words translated “love” is not the thing we have to see. The different words that are used for the commanded activity, whether “tend” or “feed,” won't be decisive for us in getting the spiritual benefit of this passage. The variation in Christ referring to “sheep” and “lambs” is also not that significant for our hearts. All of this variety may just bring more fullness to the message than if the exact same words were used three times in a row. Also, there is no particular faith or life benefit that comes to us from comparing the number of times that Peter denied the Lord with the number of times that Jesus asks this question. And no one really knows what Jesus was pointing to as “these” in verse 15. (To love anything more than Jesus is a sign that we are not thinking straight, and could lead to lots of problems.) Put all those thoughts away for a moment, lest we miss what is clear and most significant for us to see.

He said to him the third time ... (17)

What should we see? First, Jesus is talking here about the teaching ministry of the church through those who will speak His Word to His people. As is often the case, Jesus is using the imagery of “sheep” to refer to His followers. As He said earlier in this gospel, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” He also says, “I lay down my life for the sheep.” The feeding that Peter and the apostles will do for the sheep will not be the care of physical needs. Families will be encouraged to provide for their own needs by their own hands. Only in extreme cases will the church supply food and only for the most needy people in our midst. That work will be given to the deacons and to those members of the church assisting them in their duties (Acts 6). The apostles will need to focus on prayer and the ministry of the Word. In particular, there will be those elders who must labor diligently in teaching and preaching.

Second, Jesus connects the accomplishment of this task of feeding the Lord's beloved flock with the love that the under-shepherds have for their Lord, the great Shepherd of the sheep. Jesus is the greatest and He loves His followers. His greatness and love should be obvious. Do you doubt that Jesus is the best or that He loves you? Hear the message of the cross again. See His greatness and His love for you there. Then see His provision for your life in His Word. He loves you. Even now He is using one of His servants to speak to you. He will not allow Peter to imagine that He loves Jesus if Peter is not willing to bring the Word of God to people like you.

Third, the Lord who knows everything, the Lord who loves you enough to make sure that your souls will be fed, knows that the Word that you need is not a word about an impressive scholar, speaker, communicator, comedian, or other entertainer, or about any number of interesting things going on all around us. The Word that He has for us is from Him and about Him. He is a Rock that is much higher than everything else. He is the Word that satisfies. Isaiah writes, “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.” The Lord has presented Jesus to us as the best Food, as the living Word, and as the Rock above all.

God can use a man like Peter, despite all his faults, if Peter will love the Lord by feeding the sheep the truth of Christ, obeying the Lord's commands, and setting a sincere example for the flock. If Peter thinks he is the main event, if he supposes that everyone needs to yield to him, then the sheep will not see Christ; they will only see Peter. That will have a sad impact upon their lives. But if Peter and all those whom Jesus sends to tell His loved ones about Him will be willing to feed their own souls on the Word of the Lord, and if they will then lead others to the Rock who is over all, the sheep who hear the voice of the Lord will flourish.

Peter was Peter. He said about Paul that there were some things that Paul wrote that were hard to understand. He once thought that even if everyone else fell away, that He would not fall away. He learned that he was wrong the hard way and He wept bitter tears. But He was the man for the job, and He loved Jesus. As a fellow elder among many that the Lord has chosen to feed His flock, He expressed His love for Jesus by doing what He was told to do. He showed them the Rock. See Mark, 1 Peter, and 2 Peter. He fed the sheep with the greatness and glory of Jesus.

1. Describe the interactions between Peter and Jesus since the Last Supper.

2. How does that help us to understand this episode?

3. Who are the Lord's sheep/lambs, and how would Peter feed/tend them?

4. What does this task have to do with Peter's love for Jesus?