“The Only Thing that Matters”
Luke 22:31-34
31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
33 But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”
34 Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”
Luke 22:59-62
59 About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”
60 Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.
John 21:15-17
John had turned away from the Lord. John was a backslider. He was a coward; a failure and a betrayer. He must have felt like he wasn’t worthy of being a member of “The Way” – the followers of Jesus – so he did what he knew. He went back to fishing.
Did you notice in the Scripture that we read earlier that Satan had to get permission to destroy Peter? That’s encouraging to me. We know Satan wants to destroy us. He is continually plotting and planning our destruction – prowling around like an angry lion, waiting for weakness on our part. But do you know nothing happens to you without God’s permission? Most bad stuff that happens to us are the consequences of our bad choices. But the attacks of the enemy upon us can only go so far and there is always an escape route and what God does allow can always be used for good. Listen to this.
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
1 Corinthians 10:13
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
Do you see that nothing happens to you without God’s permission? It may not be His will. He would rather you not go through this trial or temptation – but He will allow it if can be used for your good. Of course it all depends on your will. You have a choice. It can make you bitter – or it can make you better. Peter, I think, was in the bitterness part of the trial. I think he felt ashamed; I think he felt anger; I think he felt great regret.
Jesus didn’t leave him there – he hunted him down to restore the relationship. Notice that before any of this happened Jesus prayed for Peter. He prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail. He also put a limit on what Satan could do to him. Jesus prophesied that Peter would return to Him and gave him a mission and a ministry when he returned – “Strengthen your brothers”. That’s not too different from “feed my sheep” is it? When Peter’s relationship was restored – he had a duty; he had a job; he had a calling – “strengthen your brothers” “Feed the sheep”.
I want to say to you – no matter how badly you have blown it – God has not given up on you. He has provided a way of escape; He has prayed for you; He has a plan for your life. If you will turn back to Him; if you truly love Him, Jesus will be there. He will be there with open arms waiting for you to come to Him. Maybe He will have a few fish on the fire or some burgers on the grill. Jesus says,
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”
Revelation 3:20
There is something intimate and personal when you eat together. When you eat with someone you don’t like it isn’t a pleasant experience. It gives you an upset stomach. When you eat with someone you care about, like a sweetheart or a family, it is a special bonding expression of love. It is two people getting nourishment physically, emotionally and spiritually. Jesus sought and found Peter and Peter responded like Forest Gump did when he met Lt. Dan. He jumped off the boat and swam to shore and Jesus. Not too dignified - but real.
After lunch with Peter and the boys, Jesus says to Peter, “Let’s go for a walk, Pete.” And they walk together along the shore in deep, heartfelt, conversation. Jesus asked the only question that really matters, “Do you love me?” You can go to the Greek and study the word and make a big deal out of whether it was agape or philia –but we get it. “Do you love me?”
That is a pretty straight forward question. The answer is ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Peter kind of danced around the question – like we often do – but Jesus wouldn’t leave it alone. Three times He asked the question and three times Peter responded.
It is interesting that Jesus asked three times. How many times did Peter deny he knew Jesus? Three times. Del Tackett, in the Truth Project points out that there is something special about three to God. He mentions the trinity and us being body, soul and spirit and things in nature like eggs and cells and on and on it goes. Jesus asked three times and Peter answered three times in the affirmative. I won’t get into the degree of love, but Peter did answer in the affirmative three times.
That is the only question that matters to Jesus. Come Judgment day – that is the question that will be asked of each of us as we stand before that Great White Throne – “Do you love Me?” It won’t be “are you Baptist or Nazarene or Episcopal or Catholic?” It won’t be are you Calvinist or Wesleyan? It won’t be are you pretrib, midtrib or posttrib? It won’t even be “Do you believe in me?” or “Have you accepted me as your Savior?” The question will be “Do you love me?”
Just about all of us quickly and emphatically would shout, “I love you! You know I love you!” But do we? A lot of people ‘like’ Jesus. But they don’t really love Him. If you like someone you enjoy being around them- sometimes. But you choose when and how much. If you love someone you are committed to them. You may not even like what they ask of you sometimes. But you do it. You may not feel warm and fuzzy or loving – but you are committed to the object of your love.
Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?” and when Peter answered in the affirmative, Jesus gave him an order. Jesus gave him a command. Jesus gave him instructions on what to do with his life. He said, “Feed my sheep.”
You see, the sheep are important to Jesus. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He gave His life for the sheep. If you love Him you will care about what He cares about. You will love what He loves and hate what He hates. He loves the sheep. Everyone who truly loves Him will be involved in the care of His sheep. Paul wrote,
“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.” 1 Corinthians 12:12
“But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”
“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” Ephesians 4:7,11-12
“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.” Romans 12:4-6
Just as Jesus responded to Peter’s answer with a command – so he does the same with us. If you truly love Jesus you will be involved in ‘feeding the sheep’ or ‘strengthening the brothers’ in some way. There are many different ways of expressing your love for the sheep from fellowshipping to serving to praying – but love cannot be contained or hidden. Love is always expressed in action.
Before Peter and Jesus ever came to this point – Jesus did His best to prepare Peter and the others. He explained how love is expressed. He said,
“The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” John 10:2-4
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love…” John 15:9-10
“If you love me, keep my commands.” John 14:15
“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.”
John 14:21
“Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” John 14:23
It is not a big mystery of how to love Jesus; how to express our love for Jesus. Love is commitment. It is not a warm, euphoric feeling (although sometimes it makes us feel that way). It is a commitment to do the will of the Savior no matter how you feel about what He is asking of you; no matter whether you agree or not. When I entered into this relationship with Christ He began asking me to do things I didn’t necessarily want to do – giving up bad habits to going into the ministry. When I discovered His will I often had to pray for grace to do it. I often didn’t want to do it – but like Jesus in the Garden, I prayed “not MY will but Yours be done”.
Do you love Jesus? What are you doing about feeding His sheep? Americans have fallen for the shallow theology that all we need to do to go to heaven is to believe. James said that even the demons believe. We need more than intellectual agreement. We need a loving relationship with the Savior. Are you walking in love with Jesus? If not – pray at prayer like this,
Jesus, I love you. I choose to love you more than anything else in life. Forgive me for not walking in loving obedience. Help me to know You better; help me to know Your will and give me the grace to do it. Thank you for loving me so much you died for me. Help me to love You so much I will live for You.
