Well, we’ve finally done it. After 16 months, with a few breaks here and there, we’ve reached the final verses of John’s gospel. I mentioned last Sunday that this final chapter almost seems like an addition to John’s text, since John closed it at the end of chapter 20. However, you know how we pastor/preacher types are, we close things several times before they’re actually really closed and we’re completely done. Anyways, last Sunday we saw Peter, after realizing that it was Jesus on the shore, jump into the water, leaving a handful of disciples in the boat in an effort to get to him more quickly. We saw Jesus prepare a meal for the disciples and serve them right there on the seashore. This was the last time that we know of prior to their gathering for Jesus’ ascension that Jesus and his disciples would fellowship together. It seems that after they had all eaten, that Jesus and Peter somewhat break off in a conversation by themselves. We said that this final chapter of John’s gospel was in some ways the story of Peter’s redemption. Well, we saw the change in his reaction to Jesus’ presence between last Sunday’s text and Peter’s first encounter with Jesus in Luke 5. Today, we see a change in Peter’s faith from the account of his denying knowing Christ three times prior to his death to this point where we are today.
Jesus asked Peter “do you love me more than these?” Now, there are several things that “these” could mean, but one option seems to be the most obvious and more common interpretation. It appears that Jesus is asking Peter if he, Peter, loves Jesus more than the other disciples do. Remember, we said that no disciple took Jesus’ crucifixion harder than Peter. This was due to the shame that he felt from his denial of Christ. Because of this, there is a chance that Peter was even more joyous and excited at Christ’s resurrection than the rest of the disciples. That’s not to say that the others weren’t filled with joy and excited, but Peter had a little something extra. Think about it in terms of today, many times, it’s the person(s) who has or have been to the bottom who is more overjoyed at what Christ has done for them than someone who has never really faced hardships or trials. It’s the one who understands just how much they have messed things up and yet sees that God has still forgiven them that seems to appreciate and enjoy God just a little bit more.
Peter answered Jesus in the affirmative, followed by Jesus telling him that because of his love for Jesus, Peter is to “feed [Jesus’] lambs.” Jesus asked him of his love a second time, and Peter answered in the affirmative again. This time, Jesus responds by telling Peter that he is to “tend my sheep.” Jesus goes on to ask yet a third time of Peter’s love for him. Peter answers that he does love Jesus, but this time is starting to become troubled that Jesus is asking this question. However, we have to remember that Peter’s denial of Jesus happened three times; hence the need for Peter’s profession of faith to be in triplicate here. And after Peter’s third profession of faith for Christ, Jesus tells Peter that he is to “feed my sheep.” Now, we could get caught up in these three commands made by Jesus and try and figure out why he used feed sometimes and tend another, or we could try and determine the difference between lambs and sheep. However, I don’t want to do that this morning, I want us to focus on the one word that remains unchanged in each of these statements: MY sheep and MY lambs. Peter is given the command to care for Christ’s sheep, his people, his children. When Christ’s people are fed, nurtured, and filled with the strength of Christ and His Word, they become a mighty army in this world. If his children are not fed and equipped as they ought to be, then they cannot influence the world around them. Jesus is telling Peter here that if he is going to be a disciple, if he loves Christ, if he is committed to the continuation of Jesus’ ministry, then he must care for the needs of his people. And it’s that very same thing that each of us, as modern-day disciples, are called to do as well. As a pastor, I’m called to feed God’s children what they need to reach spiritual maturity. I’m called to care for the faith relationships that all of you have with God. However, I’m not the only one with responsibilities here. As friends, parents, children, brothers, sisters, colleagues, or any other relationship, as disciples and followers of Christ, we are all called to train up those around us in the Lord. We all have the responsibility of helping each other grow in our faith and reach a level of spiritual maturity.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Jesus somewhat abruptly changed the direction of his conversation with Peter. Jesus said to Peter, “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.” John then writes Jesus’ reason for saying these words to Peter: This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God. Now, Peter’s death won’t come for another thirty years; under Nero in Rome when he is, as is thought to be the case, crucified upside down. Basically, Jesus is telling Peter that he’s going to die. He doesn’t tell him when or where, but he does tell him that he is going to die. Despite this foretelling, Peter heeds the words of Jesus “Follow Me.” Jesus is telling Peter that he is to follow Christ even though he is going to die because of it, and that’s exactly what Peter did.
Peter, obviously not exactly thrilled with this news, saw John nearby their conversation and asked Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?” In essence, Peter was asking Jesus, “Ok, you’ve told me about myself, now tell me how John is going to die?” Jesus basically asked Peter what business it was of his how John was going to die. Jesus said to Peter, “If I will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” In other words, Peter you worry about Peter and don’t concern yourself with anyone else. You see, we can relate to Peter many times when it comes to our faith. Think about it, when we are going through something or find out that we are about to endure something, one of the first things we want to know is “what about everyone else?” It’s sort of a misery loves company type of deal. I can remember that when I would come home from school my mom would always ask me about me day. More specifically, she would ask me about my grades and I would have to tell her about any grades that I had received that day. My parents placed a great deal of importance on my grades, and they knew that I was the master of not applying myself, so they stayed on top of me. When I would receive a poor grade, I knew that they would be disappointed in my effort. My defense was always the same, I would always say to them, “Well, it wasn’t just me…a lot of other people didn’t do well on the test.” Looking back on it, I can almost write the script here and know that my mom would respond with, “I don’t care what everyone else did, everyone else isn’t my son.” That’s one of those things that you think your parents just don’t get, but being a parent myself I now understand exactly what she meant.
Jesus is telling Peter that it doesn’t matter what his fate or anyone else’s fate may be, but what matters is following Christ. Peter, John, or any Christians today are not to be concerned with the fate of everyone else, but are to focus upon the task at hand of following Jesus. It’s simple, really. Jesus makes it very clear here to Peter, and to us as well, just how we are to carry on in the faith. We are to keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus, fixed upon the cross. We are to walk the path that has been set before us, teaching and training and guiding all those that we encounter along the way. However, we aren’t to be concerned with the things that are taking place around us. We aren’t to be concerned with the perception of another person’s reward being greater than ours. Our reward is not something that will ever be realized on this earth. No, Christ has given us a mission. He has called us to train and teach those around us, while constantly seeking and following him. We’re not to follow other people or trends, but we are to follow Christ. We are to walk to path that he has laid out before us, proclaiming his name all the way to the end. We are to walk the path all the way proclaiming his name until our Father in heaven stands before us and opens his arms saying, “Well done, My good and faithful servant.” Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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