In chapter 20, John told us about the resurrection, the giving of the Holy Spirit, and the mission Jesus entrusted to his disciples. He ended that chapter by telling us that he wrote his Gospel so his audience might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and might have eternal life in his name. In chapter 21, John concludes his Gospel by capturing an interaction between Jesus and Peter. In this exchange, I think we’ll find insight into what John meant in chapter 20 in exhorting us to believe in Jesus.
Peter and a few of the disciples are in Galilee when Peter decides to go fishing. It’s sometimes said that Peter intended to cash in his apostle chips and return to full-time fishing (his occupation before following Jesus). Given that we haven’t heard much from Peter since he denied Jesus three times, that’s an understandable thought. But nothing in John or the rest of Scripture indicates that Peter was making such a drastic decision. By this point, Peter has already seen the resurrected Christ. In fact, Paul tells us that Jesus had appeared to Peter before appearing to the apostles as a group (1 Corinthians 15:5). And he was presumably among the disciples when they received the Holy Spirit. So it’s hard to take much from this text except that Peter wanted to go fishing, and he did as he chose.
The disciples didn’t have any luck until Jesus showed up. Then, when they follow his instruction to drop their nets near shore, they come in with a massive haul. What generally applicable truth can we draw out of this? We can work as hard as we possibly can and it may come to nothing. But if God is with us, our work will prosper and bear fruit: “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain” (Psalm 127:1).
The second half of this couplet shows that God’s will is central not just to our prosperity but also our security. A nation can have the mightiest military in the world, but it will crumble without the Lord’s favor. That’s not to disparage hard work or a strong defense, but it should provoke us to recognize that a nation that turns away from the Lord has no reason to expect his continued blessing. Any prosperity it experiences under those circumstances should be treated as evidence of his kindness and further encouragement to national repentance rather than a sign of approval or a promise of continued prosperity.
Isaiah warns about a sinful nation that says, “‘Come, . . . let me get wine; let us fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow will be like this day, great beyond measure” (Isaiah 56:12). When headlines about our roaring economy are side-by-side with those about our nation’s continued acquiescence to the ending of 1 million human lives in the womb each year, we would be as foolish as the Israelites of Isaiah’s day to confidently proclaim that tomorrow will be like today. That doesn’t mean we’re without hope. If you saw the Ninevites of Jonah’s day, they probably wouldn’t have been the first people you invited to the revival meeting. But when God sent Jonah to call the Ninevites to repentance, they did so and were spared destruction. You never know who will repent until you call them to it.
Breakfast on the beach with Jesus. After cooking the disciples breakfast, Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me more than these?” (v. 15). Who or what were the “these” Jesus referred to? That question provokes debate. One theory is that Jesus was asking if Peter loved Jesus more than the other disciples loved Jesus. For my part, I struggle with the concept that Jesus was asking Peter to compare his love for Jesus to the other disciples’ love for Jesus. Especially given that the chapter ends with Jesus telling Peter not to worry about another disciple’s business but to focus on his own.
We might find some help in understanding Jesus’ question by looking at the instructions to Peter that follow: “Feed my lambs,” then “tend my sheep,” and then “feed my sheep.” Jesus is the Chief Shepherd, so he’s essentially assigning Peter as junior shepherd over Jesus’ sheep.
We’ll turn back to Jesus’ question about Peter’s love priorities in a minute, but let’s not miss the tender mercy taking place here. Peter had boldly proclaimed his willingness to die for Jesus, then promptly denied him three times when push came to shove.
I wonder if Peter thought Jesus would have no further use for him after the denials. Have you ever thought the same? If Peter didn’t come up with that thought himself, it’d be surprising if the devil didn’t whisper it in his ear. But Jesus wasn’t surprised by Peter’s denial. He foretold it. He chose Peter knowing Peter better than Peter knew himself. If you’ve ever thought that your past disqualifies you from fellowship with Jesus, read John 21 again and find the riches of Jesus’ lovingkindness. That same mercy that found Jesus cooking breakfast for Christ-denying Peter is available to all who confess Jesus as Lord, regardless of their past.
Now, three times Jesus prompts Peter to express his love. As Peter notes with some frustration, Jesus knows everything! He already knew Peter loved him. But sometimes God has us work something out not so he can learn it but so we can learn it. What do you think Peter gained from this exchange? If nothing else, he found out that Jesus – who knew everything – accepted his profession of love for Jesus. May the same be true for us! ?
Maybe the other disciples also benefited from the lesson. Picture yourself as one of them – would you have looked to Peter for leadership after the “incident”? Jesus gives Peter not merely a mission but a vote of confidence. Has God ever taught you something about yourself or someone else in a similar manner?
Let’s look at one more aspect of this scene. John tells us that there was a charcoal fire burning when the disciples came onto shore (v. 9). The only other time we find this word in the New Testament is when Peter is standing in the courtyard of the chief priest’s house, warming himself against the cold with the heat of the persecutors’ fire. Suffice it to say that the warmth from Jesus’ fire led to greater contentment!
But can we learn a lesson from these contrasting fires? Peter went into the chief priest’s courtyard with good motivation. He was following his Lord. But despite his professed willingness to die for Jesus, he wasn’t prepared for what he faced. Now, Peter didn’t yet have what every born-again believer today possesses – the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. But we can nonetheless learn from Peter’s experience.
When I was a relatively new believer, I was at a professional event one evening. A group of lawyers was going to a bar afterward, and I decided to go with them. A senior lawyer from my firm’s main office was going with them and I thought I might benefit from hanging out with him (FYI, I didn’t). While we were sitting around a table, the topic of homosexuality came up. We’ll just say that those driving the conversation made clear they weren’t interested in what the Bible had to say on the matter. Should I speak up? I asked myself. I’d had a few beers over the course of the evening and wasn’t sure I was at the top of my game. And someone in the group happened to be practicing a homosexual lifestyle. The combination of factors made it easy to justify saying nothing.
I felt pretty awful afterward. Whether or not that would have been the right moment to speak, it was not biblical discernment but the fear of man and the effect of alcohol that drove my decision to remain silent. I had gone into an environment that I probably shouldn’t have been in to start with, then compounded it with drinking – all in the hope of receiving favor from a man. In a sense, I was warming my hands at the persecutors’ fire.
As I imagine Peter learned from his experience, I learned from mine. I became more careful about the situations in which I placed myself as a Christian. A few months later, I stopped drinking for good (by the power of God, a story for another time!). And a couple years later, I had another opportunity. When that guy at the table wrote an article for a national media outlet identifying himself as a gay Christian, it gave me an opportune (if still uncomfortable) occasion to reach out. We met for coffee and shared our views. While we didn’t part in agreement, we did respectfully engage. And I think it was clear to both of us that while we might both apply the word “Christian” to ourselves, we did not share a common faith. So we left with a better understanding of one another. On this occasion, I wasn’t trying to warm myself at some man’s fire and I think I experienced a bit of warmth from Jesus’ fire. Maybe that’s not a coincidence.
Let’s turn back to Jesus’ question about whether Peter loved him “more than these.” In light of the mission Jesus had for Peter, maybe he was asking if Peter loved Jesus more than he loved the other disciples. That lines up with other Scripture, where Jesus says that anyone who wants to be a disciple must love Jesus more than anyone else, even spouse and children.
Asking Peter to confirm that Jesus had the preeminent place in his heart is a logical prerequisite to the ministry assignment Peter received. If Peter loved anything or anyone more than Jesus, he wouldn’t be effective at feeding Jesus’ sheep. Jesus is the Chief Shepherd; he owns the sheep and knows what’s best for them. But if we begin valuing our relationship with the sheep more than the Shepherd, we’ll probably start tending the sheep according to the sheep’s desires rather than the Shepherd’s. That’s a mistake! Sheep need shepherds because they can’t be trusted to know what’s best for them. The junior shepherd who’s devoted first and foremost to the Chief Shepherd will do what’s best for the sheep, even when everyone else (including the sheep) is filling his ear with contrary advice.
Yet another theory is that Jesus was asking Peter if he loved him more than fishing (and maybe hanging out with the boys on the beach). Following Jesus probably didn’t mean Peter could never go fishing, but it likewise probably meant that he couldn’t do it whenever he wanted. Following Jesus means surrendering your will to his will. John records Jesus telling his disciples over and over that if they love him, they’ll do what he says. Here, Jesus takes that principle and applies it directly to Peter – if you, Peter, love me, feed my lambs and tend my sheep.
Regardless of whether Jesus was asking Peter to affirm that he loved Jesus more than his friends, his fishing, or something else, we can reach one conclusion: if Peter’s answer was “no” – if Peter loved anything or anyone more than Jesus – he would not have been fit for his role in God’s story. Let’s apply that question to ourselves: Is my love for something keeping me from my role in God’s story?
If the issue of our will versus God’s will was underlying this exchange so far, Jesus now brings it to the forefront. Jesus says that just as Peter went where he desired when he was young, someone would carry him where he did not desire when he was old (v. 17). As John explains, this foretold that Peter would be put to death for following Jesus. This surely would have been somewhat of a gut punch, yet look at Jesus’ very next instruction: “Follow me.”
Jesus gave no quarter to Peter after announcing that he would not die peacefully in his sleep. Jesus told – he didn’t ask – Peter to follow him on this long march to martyrdom. I bet Peter would agree with Paul when he said, “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:19). The only way Peter could have heeded Jesus’ command is if he, like the heroes of the faith described throughout the Bible, viewed himself as an exile in this world. He was not satisfied with anything this world could provide because he “desire[d] a better country, that is, a heavenly one” (Hebrews 11:16). While it’s not easy to live in exile, the exiles for Christ receive encouraging news: “Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” God has something better than the best Atlanta can offer!
That said, we can understand if it took Peter a minute to come to grips with Jesus’ announcement of his eventual martyrdom. Peter reacts by pointing to another disciple (understood to be John) and asking, “What about him?” (v. 21). In other words, if I’m going to suffer, at least tell me John will too! Can you relate to Peter? I sure can.
But Jesus isn’t playing that game. He says, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” In other words, it’s none of Peter’s business if John never tastes death – even if Peter is going to suffer a painful death for God’s sake. Peter’s mission is to walk out the mission Jesus gave him, even if it looks like John is getting a better deal.
It’s hard enough when God doesn’t immediately give us what we want. But, speaking for myself, it’s even harder when someone else does get what I want. So let’s leave Peter alone and talk to ourselves. Am I ok if God decides to grant someone else a longer life, better health, more money, more recognition, more business success, more productive ministry, or anything else I covet? Will I follow him even if life doesn’t seem so abundant (at least based on the world’s standards)?
Takeaway: John says he wrote his Gospel that we might believe in Jesus and have eternal life. Peter’s story demonstrates what that means: “You follow me,” wherever that might lead. Are you willing?
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