If We Love Jesus. . .
The Gospel of John
John 21:15-19
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church - August 29, 2018
(Revised August 4, 2020)
BACKGROUND:
*Please open your Bibles to John 21, as we think about our love for the Lord. In vs. 1-14, Peter had decided to go fishing in the Sea of Galilee, and six more of the disciples decided to go with him. It was a frustrating trip, because they worked all night and didn't catch a single fish.
*But the Risen Savior appeared on the shore the next morning, and that changed everything! At first, they didn't recognize Jesus. But when the Lord gave them a miraculous catch, John did recognize that it was Jesus, and they all rushed to shore.
*There, the Lord had already fixed breakfast for His followers! And I love that. But now, breakfast was over. Peter was walking along the shore together with Jesus. And the Lord began to ask Peter the most important question in life.
*Let's read vs. 15-19, to see what happened, and what it means for us today.
MESSAGE:
*"Do you love me?" I suppose we all have asked, or at least thought about that question at times. In tonight's Scripture, Jesus asked Peter, and the Lord is asking us today: "Do you love me?"
*Of course, we have every reason to love Jesus. 1 John 4:19 tells Christians, "We love Him, because He first loved us." And looking back over our lives, we can see that God has been so good to us. He has blessed us in countless ways. And anybody who has been a Christian for any length of time could stand up and say the same thing.
*But if none of those things had happened, or every other blessing was taken away, we would still have the greatest blessing of all. We would still have Jesus! And we can see the Lord's love most of all because He died on the cross for our sins. Jesus died to save our souls and set us free forever!
*There shouldn't be a drop of doubt that Jesus loves us, and we should love Him, because He first loved us. But how can we show it? Tonight's Scripture gives us 3 great ways to show our love.
1. FIRST: WE SHOULD CONFESS OUR LOVE FOR THE LORD.
*That's what Jesus led Peter to do in vs. 15-17:
15. So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of Jonah, 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 again a second time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?'' He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.'' He said to him, "(Take care of) My sheep.''
17. He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, 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 all things; You know that I love You.'' Jesus said to him, "Feed My sheep."
[1] WHY DID THE LORD ASK PETER THOSE QUESTIONS? ONE REASON WHY IS BECAUSE JESUS WANTED TO HELP PETER.
*Peter was feeling terribly guilty those days, because he had miserably failed the Lord. Peter felt guilty, because he was guilty. He had denied the Lord 3 times, and there was no getting around it.
*Sometimes, we would like to get around it. We like to blame other people for our failures and our sins. Glen Miller saw this in his granddaughter, Kayla.
*Kayla was an only child, and one time she was upset after she got in trouble. That's when Kayla said this to her Mom: "The bad thing about being the only child is you get blamed for everything you do." (1)
*It might feel nice to blame someone else. But we can forget about that when it's just us and Jesus.
*Notice how the Lord dealt with Peter's guilt: He didn't rail at Peter, or rub it in. He didn't embarrass Peter or put him to shame. Instead, Jesus asked Peter three very simple questions. They were simple questions, but most profound: "Do you love me?"
*That question is hard to answer when we have let the Lord down. But here the Lord was giving Peter three more chances to confirm his love for Jesus.
*You may know that the original Greek language had more than one word for "love." And the first two times Jesus asked the question, He asked Peter if he loved the Lord with "agape" love. That's the highest love, the kind of unconditional love that God has for us.
*Peter didn't feel comfortable going that far. But he did affirm that he had "phileo" love for the Lord, friendly love, brotherly love. Phileo love: That's where the city of Philadelphia got its name, and why it's called "The city of "brotherly love."
*So here's a good paraphrase of the Lord's questions and Peter's answers in vs. 15-17:
15. "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me unconditionally more than you love these men?" -- "Yes, Lord, You know that I love You like a friend and brother."
16. Jesus asked him again a second time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me with my kind of unconditional love? -- "Yes, Lord, You know that I love You like a friend and brother."
17. Jesus said to him the third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me (like a friend and brother)?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me (like a friend and brother)?'' And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You like a friend and brother."
*Peter gave good answers, and we should have the same answer: "Lord, you know I love you." Jesus was trying to help Peter get over his guilty conscience, and the Lord wants to help us too.
*All of us struggle with a guilty conscience at times. John Phillips said, "Peter was tormented by his conscience. I have been tormented by mine, you by yours.
*Here the Lord deals with Peter's troubled conscience, and its amazing sting. Here the Great Physician shows us how He can help our troubled consciences, how He can lay the persistent ghosts of our past to rest." (2)
[2] THAT'S WHY JESUS ASKED THOSE QUESTIONS. HE WANTED TO HELP PETER. BUT JESUS ALSO WANTED TO HEAR PETER.
*Jesus wanted to hear Peter express his love for the Lord, and He wants to hear us too. Paul Powell explained, "Since Jesus really does know all things, then why did He basically ask the same question three times? Of course, there's the connection of Peter denying the Lord three times. But on top of that, Jesus wanted to hear Peter express his love. And Peter needed to say it."
*Powell compared it to the love between a man and his wife, and said, "No matter how many times in the past a man may have told his wife he loves her. It does not suffice for today. She wants to hear it again and again, and he needs to say it.
*My wife and I have been married 40 years. Let's suppose that I have told her twice a week since we married that I love her. (I assure you I have done it many more times than that.) But twice a week would be more than 100 times a year for 40 years. That's more than 4,000 times! Surely that should be enough for anyone. But I can assure you it isn't. She will want to hear it again and again.
*We never get tired of hearing people sincerely say, 'I love you.' And saying it yesterday is not sufficient for today. Love craves and thrives on expression.
*Arthur Ford was the oldest active member of my former church when I resigned. He was 95-years-old and he was still singing in the choir. He and his wife, Gertrude, had been married for seventy years when she died. I have never known a couple more devoted to one another than they. On her dying bed, Gertrude said to Arthur, 'Arthur, tell me one more time you love me.' That's the way love is. It craves and it thrives on expression.
*It is possible that no greater kindness could have been shown Peter than to draw from him that day this threefold confession of love. What is felt deeply in the heart needs to be attested to freely with the lips. Impression without expression leads to regression. Jesus was drawing out an open and unashamed confession of the deep feelings of Peter's heart, and that helped both of them. (3)
*"Have I told you lately that I love you?" You may have heard Rod Stewart sing those words. But Van Morrison originally wrote that song as a prayer, and part of it says:
"There's a love that's divine
And it's yours and it's mine
And it shines like the Sun
At the end of the day
We should give thanks and pray, to the One
And say,
Have I told you lately that I love you?
Have I told you there's no one above you?
You fill my heart with gladness, take away all my sadness
Ease my troubles that's what You do" (4)
*Peter told the Lord that he loved Him, and so should we.
2. IF WE LOVE JESUS, WE SHOULD CONFESS OUR LOVE FOR THE LORD. WE SHOULD ALSO COMMIT TO WORK FOR THE LORD.
*The Lord certainly wants us to tell Him that we love Him. But that's not enough. God has jobs for all of us. This is what the Lord told Peter three times in vs. 15-17. "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? -- Then feed my lambs. Take care of my sheep. Feed my sheep."
*Love is not just something to say. It is something we are commanded to do. Jesus had jobs for Peter, and Jesus has jobs for us too.
*God's commands are clear: He calls all of His followers to serve Him by serving others. In the original language, the words for "serve" and "servant" are found over 300 times in the New Testament, and many of those verses apply to us.
*For example: In Romans 14:17-18, Paul tells Christians that:
17. . . the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
18. For he who SERVES Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.
*In 1 Corinthians 9:19, Paul said, "Though I am free from all men, I have made myself a SERVANT to all, that I might win the more." And he was talking about winning more people to Christ.
*In 2 Corinthians 4:5, Paul said, "We do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your SERVANTS for Jesus' sake."
*Then in Galatians 5:13, Paul tells Christians, "You have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, BUT THROUGH LOVE SERVE ONE ANOTHER."
*There are many ways that we can serve the Lord today: Singing in the choir, helping in our Children's Programs like Orange, Upward, Sunday School, the Nursery, Children's Church and VBS.
*You can send cards to people, visit your neighbors, go to the hospital, go see a shut-in, make small repairs on somebody's home, witness to your family, friends and co-workers, go on a mission trip to someplace near or far, or invite people to church. The possibilities for serving the Lord are as big as the world and its 7 billion, 800 million people. Keep asking the Lord, and He will show you what to do.
*But our attitudes are just as important as our actions, so for example, Psalm 100:2 tells us to "SERVE THE LORD WITH GLADNESS!"
*Jesus commands us to serve like He served, with love, joy, kindness and humility. Our attitudes in serving are just as important as our actions. And all of us need attitude adjustments from time to time, including the Lord's earliest disciples.
*In Luke 22:24-27, just hours before Jesus died on the cross for us, what were the disciples doing? Of all things, they were arguing about which one of them was the greatest. That night Jesus told them:
25. "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.'
26. But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.
27. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves."
*Think about it: If those guys needed attitude adjustments, then surely we will too. God commands us to serve like He served: with love, kindness and humility. And one of the greatest goals of our service is for more people to get saved! More people to be forgiven. More people living more like Jesus Christ. And more people living forever with the Lord in Heaven.
*That's why the Lord commands us to serve. And that's why, again in 1 Corinthians 9:19, Paul said, "Though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more."
3. IF WE LOVE JESUS, WE SHOULD COMMIT TO WORK FOR THE LORD. AND WE SHOULD CONTINUE TO TRUST IN THE LORD.
*Keep trusting in the Lord, even when things aren't going our way. Things took an unexpected turn as Jesus talked to Peter in vs. 18-19. There Jesus told Peter:
18. "Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.''
19. This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, "Follow Me.''
*It helps us to know that the idea behind the original word for "girded" is binding something, especially with a belt. Jesus was telling Peter that one day he would be tied up and taken to die on a Roman cross.
*Notice that Jesus did not say, "Peter, I know that you love me, and you are going to do some great things for me. When all of that is over, you are going to get that vacation home you always wanted, and live out your last days in comfort."
*Jesus also did not say, "Peter you are going to glorify God by preaching on the Day of Pentecost. Three thousand people will get saved!" Jesus did not say, "Peter you are going to glorify God by working miracles in my name, and by leading the first Gentiles to faith in Me, and by leading the church, and by writing part of the New Testament."
*Now, Jesus knew that all of these great things would happen. And surely they did bring glory to God. But Jesus focused on Peter's suffering. Jesus said, "Peter, you are going to glorify God by doing something you don't want to do: Suffer on a cross for Me."
*Living here in the USA, many of us are used to getting what we want. But God is not always going to give us what we want, and there are some important reasons for that. One reason why is because we don't always want the right thing. On top of that, we are not the center of the universe. Bigger things are going on than what we want.
*Plus, as Paul Powell said, "God is more concerned about our character than our comfort. His goal is not to pamper us physically but to perfect us spiritually." (5)
*The best we can do is hear Jesus say, "Follow Me," then trust Him enough to surrender our wants to God.
*That's what Peter did. He trusted Jesus enough to surrender his wants to the Lord. In 2 Peter 1:14 the Apostle said he knew "that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me."
*In that same passage, Peter urged us to grow in goodness, godliness and love. And in his first letter, Peter challenges us to suffer wrong treatment patiently. As he said in 1 Peter 2:21-24:
21. To this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:
22. Who committed no sin, nor was guile found in His mouth;
23. Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten. -- But committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;
24. Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed.
*We all need to trust in Jesus Christ enough to surrender our wants to God, and most of all, because that's what the Lord did for us.
*You know, as Peter walked along that day with Jesus, he must have looked down at the Lord's hands. Wouldn't you have done that? Peter must have seen the scars of the cross. And seeing those scars he must have thought, "Nothing I could ever do could repay all that He has done for me. I ought to love Him. I will love Him. I do love Him."
CONCLUSION:
*Jesus asked Peter, and the Lord is asking us tonight: "Do you love me?"
*If you do, then confess your love for the Lord, commit to work for the Lord, and continue to trust in the Lord, even when He leads you through the hard places in life.
*It is always a good time to express our love for the Lord, so why don't you do that right now as we bow for silent prayer. And if you have never received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, put your trust in the Lord, and ask Him to save you now.
(1) "Mature Living," August 2005, p.8 - Source: IN OTHER WORDS - February 2008 #1 - produced by Dr. Raymond McHenry - www.iows.net
(2) Adapted from EXPLORING JOHN by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "The Same Determined Love" - John 21:15-17
(3) Adapted from JUMP STARTING DEAD CHURCHES by Paul W. Powell - 1995 p. 19-21
(4) "Have I Told You Lately" by Van Morrison http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Have_I_Told_You_Lately
(5) SermonCentral quotation by Paul W. Powell
