Have you ever let down someone? A sports fan? Your friend? A wife (give eg’s w/o naming people)
Senior Captain, my last soccer game: one own goal and another near miss
Let down my parents with my lifestyle choices the first couple years of university life
Letting down a professor by being more focused flirting with a female, than giving him respect in his class
Some people may feel very confident about who they are: achiever, overcomers (Lance Armstrong)
But many of us, if not most of us—even with our successes—can point to areas of failure and weakness and inadequacy
We could all pour a “cup o’ joe” and sit by the fire side and all tell our stories of failure, of inadequacy of who we are.
Peter, the headstrong, crazy disciple would not only be able to join us by that fireside of failure, he would point to the actual fireside where he failed: there, at Jesus’ kangaroo court, his hastily called “trial”, standing by a charcoal fire, he failed miserably
His friend was in trouble
His friend was in hostile territory
His friend was in a critical, lonely, and down to the wire trial of his very life
And Peter failed him.
Denied him
Cursed at the very suggestion of his friendship
He couldn’t have possibly stooped any lower, save, been the one who betrayed him in the Garden. And yet his denial was not too far off betrayal
You know what happened next: prosecution, indictment, persecution, execution
But Jesus didn’t stay that way for long. After his execution came his resurrection, and he spent his last few days appearing to his disciples, and setting the stage for his departure.
What might Peter have been thinking this whole time?
What would he expect Jesus to do?
READ: John 21:1-19
In this story, we glance back at the failure by the fireside to a filling by the fireside, to a call to following by the fire side.
In this very intimate story, we learn that
Big Idea: We have a Lord who overcomes our deficiencies and gives us what we need to follow Him
Overcomes our deficiencies
Fills what we lack
Strengthens our weakness
Forgives our failures
Takes our hand when we need him
Turns us loose to follow where he leads
1. Disciples who come up empty, a Lord who fills to overflowing
Peter has decided to go fishing. Fishing?—and the others follow him.
I don’t want to make too much out of this, it has been a hard few weeks, up and down emotions, but they have been his DISCIPLES, he is moving on (going away) and they are back home fishing?
• Take his mind off things?
• Do what he knows best? (he has messed up every where else)
• Are they unsure?
• Are they weak?
There, on the beach, in the midst of all these emotions and thoughts and possible confusion,
• Jesus reminds them in dramatic fashion He is the one who knows “where to fish” He is the one that supplies what we need. HE is the one who fills. He is the one who fills to overflowing:
Tom fishing in our river -- but nothing like the catch that they get
There net has 153 fish! (Can’t help but think of “fishers of men”)
We listen to Jesus, and we don’t come up “empty.”
Song: “Fill my cup up, let it overflow”
Red Sea Rules: Surely goodness and mercy . . . shall follow me all the days . . .
David prayed in Psalm 23 that goodness and mercy would follow him all the days of his life: Max Lucado says:
What a huge statement. Look at the size of it! Goodness and mercy follow the child of God each and every day! Think of the days that lie ahead. What do you see?
• Days at home with only toddlers? God will be at your side.
• Days in a dead-end job? He will walk you through.
• Days of loneliness? He will take your hand.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me—not some, not most, not nearly all—but all the days of my life.
And what will he do during those days? (Here is my favorite word.) He will “follow” you.
He further demonstrates his ability to “fill” in a very tangible way:
2. Disciples who are hungry, a Lord who makes breakfast
Been fishing a while, you work up an appetite!
Jesus makes them breakfast. Always the servant. Doing what he didn’t have to do, as Lord (in our human way of thinking)
Food/water streams of living water, never go hungry. Word
John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst
I realize this is a bit allegorical—but I think appropriate
He does supply our needs. Our physical needs. In fact though, putting these two thoughts together, he says:
Follow after me first: seek my ways, and I will take care of the rest.
• Are you worried about food on the table?
• Advancement at the job
• Getting a job?
• Fixing up the place
• Making sure your children are cared for?
• Wondering if your life is going to count? If people will notice when you are gone
• If you will have people around, friends, shoulders you can cry on?
Jesus says: seek me first, I will give you what you need
3. A disciple who is eager for connection, a Lord who accepts
Our Lord doesn’t turn away those who seek Him.
Peter is a bumbler and a failure in many ways, but he still loves the Lord and knows there is no one but Him (Lord to whom would we go?)
A few months—maybe a year or two—back, Peter said (right after Jesus said “I am the bread of life) and according to Scripture:
66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
Shows his eagerness, in spite of his failure, by jumping out of the boat
Jesus doesn’t turn “thumbs down” on him (Maya’s story). He gives him the thumbs up. Invites him by the fire. He gives him the personal connection that Peter is lacking, is wanting, is eager for.
In spite of the fact Lord’s acceptance, he just doesn’t let things go. Peter HAS failed and he has shown himself lacking, For:
4. A disciple who deviates, (we find) a Lord who cuts to the heart
He gets very pointed with Peter. It’s not that he wants to stick it to him.
He wants to get at the core issue. To snap Peter out of self delusion. To make him think. Reflect.
Our heart can be a devious and deceptive thing. Jesus would do him—nor us--no favors to just let it slide, to not lead him to confront his failure, especially if he were trying to Deceive himself.
(focus on Jesus not just being “nice”) this is not always something we expect—of the earthly Jesus. He is NICE! HE is SERENE, He is SOFT
So he pushes Peter:
Do you love me? (more than these)
Do you love me?
Do you love me?
It is the third time that gets Peter
WHY??
Love statements cancel out the denial (but in the end, it is not the number of times, it is the broken heart revealed, not concealed/stifled/ and the savior who moves past it all. It is not so much about saying a certain amount of prayers or I love you’s. It is about softening, breaking, being given the opportunity to move on.)
Sometimes when I have been a bit harsh or demanding with my kids, or when I have had high expectations of others, I am reminded of my own failures. I think the Lord uses that to cut into my proud heart.
We need to be challenged on occasion. And while Jesus is our friend, he is also our LORD. And maybe MOST of all, his is our Lord. Lords are NOT pushovers. Neither is ours.
Expect him to confront us, with people, situations, reminders, scripture, intuition, dreams, whatever method he chooses.
But remember, he is cutting in to our heart, so we can be his. And that is where we want to be. It isn’t easy. Surgery isn’t fun. But it is needed.
Because the result is what we need. And for this disciple who . . .
5. A disciple who boasts, a Lord who humbles
“Simon, do you love me more than these”
Peter obviously had had a high opinion of his loyalty and probably had regarded himself as the model of love and respect for Jesus. But he had hardly lived up to his own view of his loyalty or in comparison to others. So Jesus confronted Peter’s own high opinion of himself and in so doing made Peter face his own frailty head-on.
Borchert, G. L. (2002). Vol. 25B: John 12-21. The new American commentary, New International Version (334). Nashville: Broadman & Holman.
“Simon, do you love me more than these”
• Fishing?
• your fellow brothers, my other disciples do?”
It may be that Jesus was looking back to a night when Peter said: “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away” (Matthew 26:33).
It may be that he was gently reminding Peter how once he had thought that he alone could be true and how his courage had failed.
William Barclay observed
Notice in his answer Peter does not make comparisons any more; he is content simply to say: “You know that I love you.”
But he may have still been bluffing a bit
Like when someone says: HOW ARE YOU? FINE, we reply
Gerald Borchert looked at it this way:
“The threefold questioning of Peter by Jesus concerning his love brought the disciple from a response of something like “of course!” concerning the first question, to a sense of grief with the third one.
But Jesus would not let him go with offering an easy response. Instead, Jesus probed him until he opened the wounded heart of this would-be follower. Off-the-cuff replies and well-meaning superficial responses to the risen Lord will not work in the call of Jesus to the life of discipleship. Jesus forced Peter to learn the hard lesson of a changed life. Everyone who follows Jesus must learn what real believing and loving Jesus means. To be clear on this perspective about the story is absolutely crucial before turning to specific words and phrases in the verses
Peter experienced a major “undoing” (cf. Isa 6:5, KJV) of his self-assertiveness because Jesus asked him “the third time” (21:17) about his love. The third time did it.
6. A disciple who fails, a Lord who forgives
The word is never used, but do you think Peter was forgiven? What clues do we get?
What scripture backs that up? (7 times 77)
7. A disciple who is weak, a Lord who empowers
I can imagine Peter is probably weak at this point. Emotional roller coaster himself. “I have failed. I never do what I say. My Lord and friend is disappointed.
Empowers, gives confidence
Jesus takes his weakness (and remember Luke, “when you have returned/repented, STRENGTHEN the disciples?) and empowers him: makes HIM strong, Gives him important responsibility, BELIEVES in him, turns him loose, “SHEPHERD MY SHEEP.”
and even his own comfort, in prospect of the great work before him, required some such renewal of his call and re-establishment of his position as this.
Leadership in the Christian church should not be a matter of obligation or oughtness but of a willing desire. It should likewise not be from a goal of achieving personal gain but from a sense of calling to serve others. And it should not be because one wishes to dominate others but because one is willing to model the way of Christ in serving God’s flock (cf. 1 Pet 5:3). Seeking power and personal aggrandizement should not be any part of the goals among Jesus’ disciples
Borchert, G. L. (2002). Vol. 25B: John 12-21. The new American commentary, New International Version (336). Nashville: Broadman & Holman.
2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
(DAN adding to the above:) tending/caring for is based on LOVE, and a BROKEN love at that. Humble. This idea is taken from the context in John 21 where Jesus repeats that "tend sheep" until the third time, and it is always after questions of Peter’s love . . .
The third time reveals it all, bringing up such a rush of dreadful recollections before his view, of his “thrice denying that he knew Him,” that he feels it to the quick. It was fitting that he should; it was meant that he should. But this accomplished, the painful dialogue concludes with a delightful “Feed My sheep”; as if He should say, “Now, Simon, the last speck of the cloud which overhung thee since that night of nights is dispelled: Henceforth thou art to Me and to My work as if no such scene had ever happened.”
8. A Lord who calls, a disciple who follows.
There is the drama all throughout of Peter’s blusteriness, rashness, and his dramatic (maybe not totally unexpected) failure in his denial.
There is never a suggestion that Peter was NOT a disciple, he has always been Jesus’ disciple, although he has had a lot to learn. What IS the case, is that he was not as ready as he thought for following Jesus, “whatever it takes.” (NWCC)
Jesus let him spout off, and with the passing of time, with the painful experiences of failure, he allowed Peter to go through a maturing process. He had already called him. FOLLOW ME, and he has been. But all along the way, he has been growing in his understanding of Jesus, he has been growing in humility and servant leadership, and Jesus has been increasing his responsibility.
Now Jesus is going away and he is giving him GREATER and GREAT responsibility: Be a shepherd of my SHEEP! But not only that, FOLLOW ME IN MY PATH of SUFFERING>
This is a point we’d rather avoid. But we must face that the fact that we need to follow Jesus whatever it takes. My dad, farmer, missionary. Few people think of doing something dramatic or costly in their service of the Lord, but what greater calling can we have than “Follow Me” with our humble, time tested and refiner’s fire challenged response: Yes, Lord, I will follow you, wherever you may call.
Our Lord can help us overcome any deficiency. Do we Love him enough to follow—to whatever he may call us?
NRSV—Keep following me
Perhaps it is sufficient to conclude at this point that whatever one has to say here about Peter, it is clear that Jesus had a task for him, but not for the Peter of the preresurrection. It was a Peter who needed to be sifted by the penetrating questioning of Jesus in order to do the work of the risen Lord and be reinstated after his devastating fall. God/Jesus does not bless human beings primarily to provide them with status but to carry out the divine purposes in the world. Thus mission is inseparably linked to the calling and blessing of God.
"one who takes up the new calling gives the old one up." the rich young ruler doesn’t
• some won’t give up old stuff and follow (rich young ruler)
• some that start following Jesus may be tempted to make concessions or have reservations about following Jesus completely, Peter who would not allow Jesus to talk about Suffering, or disciples that quit following Jesus when he talked about eating his flesh in John 6, etc.
• Some take a while to get the full grasp of what following Jesus is: Peter has already left the nets and followed him, and yet has to come back again to what following REALLY is at the end of John 21--Tending Sheep (after taking flight himself in the denials) and dying thru crucifixion (which he didn’t accept for Jesus--get behind me Satan: so Jesus--nor was he as ready to follow Him so, even though he proclaimed it in Jn 13)
"Since the disciple cannot expect any better fortune than his Lord (mt 10:24) readiness for suffering becomes a part of discipleship. "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."--means to be ready for death (quote)
Church Tradition
To the point of the cross
We have a Lord that helps us overcome any deficiency
