DO YOU LOVE ME?
John 21.15-25
S: Service
Pr: WE ARE TO SERVE THE LORD WELL.
?: How?
KW: Requirements
TS: We will find in our study of John 21.15-25 two requirements we should meet in order to serve the Lord well
Type: Propositional
The ____ requirement is a…
I. RIGHT RELATIONSHIP (15-17)
II. RIGHT FOCUS (18-23)
PA: How is the change to be observed?
• Love the Lord
• Shepherd!
• Follow God’s plan for you
• Don’t worry about God’s plan for others
Version: ESV
RMBC 27 May 2007 AM
INTRODUCTION:
ILL Ministry (H)
I was golfing one day with Tim Eliason and I drove the ball into the woods. I picked up my golf club, broke it, but I didn’t say a word. Tim just watched.
Then I picked up the golf bag and tore it to shreds but I didn’t say a word. Tim just watched.
I then took out all the golf balls and flung them into the woods, following the ball I had just sent in there, but I did not say one word. Tim, being a man of few words, just stood there sympathetically.
Finally I muttered, "I’m going have to give it up."
"Golf?" asked Tim.
"No," I replied, “the ministry."
OK, that did not really happen.
But it could have.
Many a time the golf course has challenged my faith.
So how about you?
Do you feel qualified when it comes to serving the Lord?
Do you have what it takes to serve the Lord in the ministry?
That is a question before us today.
TRANSITION:
Today is our last study in the gospel of John.
We first started studying John’s story about Jesus in December 2000.
We have done a little bit every year, and now we come to the end and we find that…
1. Jesus is now giving final words.
Final words are important.
We know that.
It is like the reading of the will.
Things are different now that Jesus has returned from the dead.
He is not staying with the disciples constantly.
He is coming in and out of their lives as He sees best.
So when He appears, the disciples are taking it all in.
On this day, after helping the seven disciples catch 153 fish and then have breakfast with them…
2. Jesus is preparing Peter for the next stage.
Peter has been the leader of the band, so to speak.
He has been the go-getter.
He has been the first to speak.
He has been the first one out of the boat.
He has been the one that has called the others to action both by his words and by his example.
And though his faults have been glaring, there is no doubt that he is the leader of the group.
Jesus knows this.
And Peter is going to continue to be a key figure.
He will play a key role in the establishment of the early church.
But not only that…
He serves as an example to us about what it means to serve Jesus well.
You see…
3. WE ARE TO SERVE THE LORD WELL.
But how do we do that?
How do we get that accomplished.
Well…
4. We will find in our study of John 21.15-25 two requirements we should meet in order to serve the Lord well.
OUR STUDY:
I. The first requirement is a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP (15-17).
(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.”
1. Peter needs to know restoration.
Peter needs restoration because when it was time to stand up for Jesus, he sat down.
When it was time to admit that he was a Jesus-follower, he denied that even knew Jesus.
And to make it worse, he did it not only once, but two more times as well.
He did it just as Jesus said he would.
And when he finished the third time, Peter wept bitterly about his failure.
Peter needs restoration.
Jesus has called him to ministry and service.
But if he does not get his relationship with Jesus back as it should, he will neither know forgiveness nor know the ability to be trusted.
Now Jesus approaches this differently than I would have.
I would have said to Peter:
“Why did you deny me?”
“What were you thinking?”
“What do you have to say for yourself?”
But not Jesus.
His question to Peter is, “Do you love me?”
You see…
2. Peter must be intimately connected to Jesus.
The key issue was love.
Did Peter really love Jesus?
If he did, then this would be the right foundation for ministry.
After all, the first and foremost command for us all is to love the Lord our God.
So love is completely indispensable.
The questioning, though, struck at the heart of Peter.
For Jesus did not ask the question only once, he asked it three times.
And Peter knows why.
He has failed the Lord three times.
Those failures need to be reversed by three statements of love from Peter to Jesus.
Now, how Jesus asks these questions and Peter’s reply are significant, because they use different words for love.
For I want us to really note this…
3. Jesus graciously comes to Peter’s level.
The two words we see here are agape, which is the most powerful type of love.
It is unconditional, characterized by self-sacrifice.
The other word for love is phileo, which is a deep affection as a love between family and siblings.
It is very intense, but it is not as powerful as agape.
So Jesus’ first question is, “Do you agape me more than these?”
Jesus asks this question, because Peter had said that he would outlast the rest.
All the others would deny Him, but he would not.
But he did not.
Rightfully, Peter knew that he could no longer compare himself to the others.
He had failed just like them, and even more so.
He does not boast anymore.
His response to Jesus was, “You know that I phileo you.”
“I have a deep affection for You.”
He cannot say anything more or higher within himself.
And he was not going to lie.
He was not going to say that he had the agape kind of love after he had denied Jesus.
He obviously did not have that kind of love for Jesus.
He is careful not to promise more than he can deliver.
Peter is right to say that Jesus knows.
For Jesus knows the worst about us and still loves us.
He knows the best about us when others do not.
He knows what we can be.
Jesus again asks the question, “Do you agape me?”
The reply is the same, “You know that I phileo you.”
Peter had to own the hurt.
You see, you cannot grow from failures until you acknowledge them, own them and learn from them.
And Peter is beginning that process.
But Jesus isn’t done yet.
He has to ask one more time.
But the question this time is different.
He says, “Peter, do you phileo me?”
This is such a wonderful question, for on this third time, Jesus comes down to Peter’s level.
You see…
Jesus graciously meets us where we are.
Peter, the original macho man, had been sized down.
His illusions have been cut down.
Now Peter is ready for his assignment.
And so…
4. Jesus assigns shepherding responsibilities.
Peter’s assignment is to be a shepherd – to nourish, to care for, and to lead the sheep.
He is to keep them growing and going.
We learn here that if we are to serve the Lord well, we must have right relationships.
We must love the Lord our God, and we must love our neighbor.
We say “yes” to the question, “do you love me?” and then we say “yes” to the responsibilities of loving our neighbor, watching over each other’s spiritual lives.
You see, we are to care for what God cares about.
II. The second requirement is a RIGHT FOCUS (18-23).
(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.”
(20) Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had been reclining at table close to him and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” (21) When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” (22) Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” (23) So the saying spread abroad among the brothers that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?”
1. Jesus wants Peter to know the cost.
Jesus is telling Peter, “I’m going to take you forward on this journey.”
“You are going to live your life for my glory.”
“One day, you will even give your life for me.”
Now, those really aren’t the most encouraging words that have ever been heard, but for Peter, they were priceless.
For they meant he was going to succeed.
He was not going to be stuck being a failure.
He was going to live for Jesus, so much so, that he would actually die for Him.
Someone once said, “If you want to follow Jesus, you had better look good on wood.”
This was true for Peter.
Eusebius, a historian in the early centuries, tells us Peter was crucified by Nero about AD 68.
Tradition is that he was crucified upside down because he did not consider him worthy to be crucified in the same manner as His Lord.
Have you ever caught yourself looking around and wondering why others have it so easy?
You work hard and the car breaks down so instead of getting a new deck, you get a new transmission?
You would like to be doing a certain kind of ministry but God has you doing something else?
It is very easy to fall into making comparisons especially when the going gets rough for you.
ILL Ministry (H)
There is a cartoon from Leadership Journal showing a group of people, church leaders, sitting around a conference table. And one of them says:
“We have a preacher who wants to direct music, a song leader who wants to preach, an organist who wants to lead the elder board. Now all we need is an elder who wants to play organ.”
This sounds a little bit like Peter at this point.
He looks over at John, and the curiosity gets the best of him.
“What is going to happen to John?” he wants to know.
ILL Curiosity (S)
A passage in C. S. Lewis’ The Horse and His Boy beautifully illustrates this point. The boy, Shasta, is conversing with the Christ figure, the lion Aslan, and Aslan recounts his sovereign workings in Shasta’s life – how he was the lion who drove the jackals away while Shasta slept and the one who comforted him among the houses of the dead and the one who propelled the boat that bore him to the shore to receive help. As Shasta listened, reflecting on the lion’s sovereign claims, he suddenly questioned:
“Then it was you who wounded Aravis?”
“It was I.”
“But what for?”
“Child,” said the voice, “I am telling your story, not hers. I tell no one any story but his own.”
This so aptly communicates to us that…
2. We only get to know our own story.
Jesus declines to satisfy Peter’s curiosity.
He, in effect, says, “It is none of your business.”
You see, our primary commitment is to Jesus.
He is Lord of his Church, and if people let us down…
…or if people seem to be more successful than us,
…or if people do not seem to suffer in the way that we do,
…or if people have different gifts and abilities,
…it does not matter!
We are called to fix our eyes upon Jesus.
He says to me and he says to you, “You must follow me.”
Our commitment is to Jesus.
We are not called to compare.
We are called to obey.
We are called to follow Jesus.
This is the right focus for the one who would serve our Lord well.
APPLICATION:
Now we come to the final verses, and we discover that…
1. When it comes to the gospel of John, we must realize it is a finite account.
(24) This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true. (25) Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
Our worship folder cover communicates this well this morning.
The subject of Jesus is grand in scope.
There are stacks of books that have been written.
There is always more to be written.
And though John did not get it all written down, we can be sure of this…
2. We have all we need to know.
John’s biography of Jesus has focused upon signs which reveal His identity, and it draws to a close with a challenge.
It’s a challenge to follow, just as Peter is challenged.
It’s a challenge to true commitment.
It is a challenge to serve the Lord well.
3. Service done well requires love.
To do service, to do ministry, you don’t have to have the title of pastor.
It is not about being a great speaker.
It is not about being a people person.
It is not about seminary training.
You don’t have to have a charismatic personality.
It is not about having a high IQ.
It is not about being good looking.
There is one basic qualification.
Do you know what it is?
It is “Do you love Me?”
And if you love Jesus, you qualify.
It is that simple.
Everybody can qualify.
And it begins with loving Jesus.
Then…
4. Service done well follows the will of God.
It says, whatever you want Lord, I will do.
I will die to self.
I will follow You, no matter what.
Is that the kind of Christian you are today?
For Further Study: Deuteronomy 6.5; Psalm 37.4; Matthew 22.37-40, 26.30-35; Romans 8.35-39; I Corinthians 13.1-3; Hebrews 12.1-3; I Peter 2.21
BENEDICTION:
Serve the Lord well…love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind.
Serve the Lord well…and love your neighbor as yourself; love them as God loves them
Serve the Lord well…and follow Him; don’t worry about what others are doing, instead worry about what the Lord has you doing.
Now may the God of peace equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
RESOURCES:
SermonCentral:
Bill, Brian Forgiving the Fallen
Cook, Pat The Reading of the Will
Phillips, Damian How Much Do You Love Him?
Pidgeon, Warner Commitment to Jesus, then Truth about Jesus, and the Story of Jesus
Tow, Richard Ministry Essentials
Yap, Victor The Only Perfect Motivation
pbc.org/library/
Hall, Danny The Search for Purpose
Books:
Hughes, R. Kent. John: That You May Believe. Preaching the Word. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1999.
Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to John. The New International Commentary on the New Testament, ed. F. F. Bruce. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1977.
Renich, Fred C. When the Chisel Hits the Rock: The Sculpting of a Leader. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1980.
