Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 07 April 2013,
Presented to Nipawin Corps, 21 February 2009,
Presented to Weston Corps, May 2006.
By Captain Michael Ramsay
This is the 2017 version: to view the originally published text click here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2009/02/john-2115-23-were-back.html
I can remember one Friday night
when I am sixteen, I need to borrow my parents’ car and I am allowed on one condition – that I bring my
along little sister, Lorinda – she is fifteen. If I can be trusted with the car
then I can take my sister with me. It is bad enough that I have to bring my
little sister with me but what makes this even worse is that she has a curfew,
which I don’t, so I have to stop
whatever I am doing and bring her
home by 10:00.
I
take her down to the local hangout where I meet my friends and tell her to just
to find something to do and not bother me until it is time to go. This works
well because, believe it or not, she didn’t really want to spend all Friday
night with her brother either – so this thing might just work out after all.
Now as the evening progresses, I am having fun. I meet some new friends. There
is a party later that night that the group of us are planning to attend – there
is just one problem – I have to get my sister home by 10pm.
As
my friends and I are in the middle of planning our night, my sister shows up
and says, “it’s time to go” and - she is not alone. She has gone off and found
herself a boyfriend! And this boyfriend is actually a friend of mine! I have an
idea…
He
can bring Lorinda home! There are, however, a couple of details to work out: (1)
my sister isn’t really allowed to date just yet and (2) this boy, Tony, will be
bringing her home on his motorcycle! (actually I think it was probably more
like a moped or motorized scooter). These won’t go over so well with my mom, so
I come up with a plan: I tell Tony that he can take her home but to make sure
that he parks around the corner from our house so my mom won’t see them when
she looks out the window and I tell Lorinda to tell mom that she got a ride
home from Melody, a friend from church group, instead of a boy on a motor scooter.
Tony does get her home all right but rather than parking around the
corner like I told him to he parks down the street, in plain view,
and under a streetlight and he decides to give her a good
night kiss. And then Lorinda has
a cigarette as she walks the rest of the way home where my mom is watching this
whole scene from the window. Lorinda walks in the door and mom asks, “How did
you get home?”
“Melody…” up oh…
Fast forward a couple of hours - I come home. All the lights are on and
mom is waiting for me at the front door… “How did Lorinda get home? How did
Lorinda home? Who took Lorinda home?” I hear her question - I just don’t
answer. I am caught. I know it. I can tell. I betrayed my mom’s trust and now I
am being asked these questions over and over again .
‘Do you love me?’ is the question the recently resurrected Jesus asks
Peter over and over again. John 21:15-23: Peter must feel just
about the same way I did. “Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me?” As
recorded in John 18, Jesus trusted him. Peter said he would stand by Jesus and he did not and now he is in need of restoration. He
betrayed His confidence.
Peter had a special relationship with Jesus; he was even one of the
three Jesus invited up the mountain with him for his last night before Calvary.
Jesus told Peter everything that would happen then; Peter still denied even
knowing him 3 times in the High Priest’s
courtyard… and then they led Jesus out to be crucified.
Now Jesus, who died, is sitting right here;
Jesus, who was killed, has appeared to the disciples more than once; Jesus, who
was denied by Peter, has just finished eating with them. Jesus, who, initially
to Peter’s surprise came back to life, is sitting right in front of him asking
him whether or not he actually loves him. No wonder, as it says is verse 17,
Peter feels hurt. Who wouldn’t feel a little convicted, a little ashamed, a
little embarrassed? You make a promise to stand by someone. He even calls you
on it – “Peter, before the rooster crows YOU will deny me three times.”
“No, not me” says Peter “No, not me”…. well, 3 rooster crows later and
Jesus is denied, crucified, died and now he is back from the dead staring Peter
straight in the face asking, “do you love me?” “Do you love me?”
Can you imagine? You deny someone. He knows it. He’s killed. He comes
back from the dead and is staring you right in the face and asking you, “do you
love me?”
There is even more to it than this. Remember that Peter is the ‘Rock’
upon which Jesus is going to build His church (Matt. 16:18); he is one of the
inner circle of apostles; He is sent out to proclaim the good news; he is
supposed to be a leader. Now he has fallen. How can he be even a follower, if
he doesn’t follow; led alone a leader, if he doesn’t lead. Peter is in need of restoration.
So
with all this probably racing around in Peter’s mind and more, Jesus not only
asks him, “Do you love me?” Peter also might hear, in effect, “Prove it – feed
my lambs, feed my sheep, feed my sheep;” “Prove it - take care of my followers
– prove it, actually feed people - prove it.” Peter hears, “Do you love me? Do
you love me?”
Peter,
we can imagine, is so saddened that he does not answer, “Yes, I love you and
I’ll do it.” Instead Jesus’ ‘Do you love me?’ only elicits, according to some
translators, “I like you…” Can you imagine?
“Do
you love me?”
“I’m
fond of you.”
“Do
you love me?”
“I like you…I like you a lot.”
“But do you love me? Then feed my sheep…”
This is
important. In the Greek it is recorded that Jesus is really asking Peter if he
(agape) loves him but Peter at first is only answering “I (phillia) love you,
which in its range of meanings might mean merely, “I like you,” “or I’m fond of
you.” This was probably not Peter saying, ‘I don’t love you’; it is more like
him responding, “I’m unworthy of loving you.”[1]
“Do you love me?” A runaway child asks
her mom, in our city today, from her cell phone. She wants to come home. She needs to be restored to her place
as a loved and cared for daughter.
“Do you love me?” the little boy
asks his big brother coming back from detention of some sort. He needs his
brother back.
“Do you love me?” a now grown child
who suffered abuse in the residential schools, asks the churches? The church
needs its family back; it needs to be restored.
“Do you love me?” a sister asks her
brother who left her and their mom to live with his dad years ago. He needs to
be restored as big brother.[2]
“Do you love me?” a six year-old
asks her 15 year-old sister who just returned from six months of Drug rehab[3].
The sister needs to be restored as big sister.
“Do you love me?” an estranged wife
asks her recovering alcoholic husband as she returns to him. He needs to be
restored as husband.
“Do you love me?” Jesus is asking each of us as we are in need of restoration in
our relationships.
Let me tell you a story: A friend of
mine grows up in the church. He is almost always involved something up there.
He reads his Bible all the time – everyday for years. He always prays. He never
doubts that God has what is best in store for him. When others surrender, he
perseveres. Even when his parents don’t want to get up to go to church, he gets
himself up, gets dressed and walks all the way there by himself. He rises every
morning at 6am just to spend time with God. He always has a Bible tucked away
in his pocket somewhere so that he can read it or give it away to someone who
might need it. God loves him and he loves God.
Then he meets a girl.
She is a nice girl. He falls in love
but…she is not quite on the same page as he is. As they grow more and more
intimate, He drifts farther and farther from God. He slowly stops reading his
Bible. First he just misses a day here or there, then a whole week, then –he
moves in with her- he stops getting up early and talking to God; he stops
listening to God. Then he stops hearing God; it is silent; it is silent. He is
in need of restoration. “Do you love me?” Jesus is still asking him.
Any parts of this story strike a chord with us? Is there
anything separating us from God? Are
we in need of restoration? “Do you love me?” Jesus is still asking
us. What have we done to remove ourselves from the will or presence of God? Are we in need of restoration? “Do
you love me?” Jesus is still asking us.
Jesus is still asking Peter, ‘do you love me?’– and more. There is an
important progression here. It is not only Peter whose answers possibly develop
– remember the answers of ‘I love you’
that can mean, “I’m fond of you” and “I like you” and that it may be only on
the third time that Peter actually responds “You KNOW I love you.” Jesus’
questioning also develops. He starts out with, “do you love me then…. feed my lambs.”
Next, do you love me, then…. take care of my sheep; then, “feed my sheep.” This
is important: it apparently moves from concentrating on a subset of the flock,
to overseeing all the flock, to actually feeding the whole flock. Peter’s
responsibility grows.[4]
At first Jesus also asks Peter if he loves him more than these – more
than the other disciples[5].
This brings one’s mind back to his boast of a couple of chapters earlier - John
13:37 (cf. Matthew 26:33) - where Peter claims that he will never leave Jesus.
The threefold questioning recalls the criteria for a legal declaration.[6]
This is not about apostolic succession,[7]
however, Peter is not forsaken he is forgiven.
Jesus is restoring Peter.
He does so in such a way as to leave no doubt. While, as we have looked
at, the questions are not exactly the same, he is asked three times to confess
Christ at his restoration like he denied Christ three times to put him in need
of this restoration and later in Acts 10, when he is told through a dream to
bring the gospel to the Gentiles, he is also told three times. The triune God
is building on the significance of threes.
This is exciting and Peter gets it. Finally, he understands. Peter is restored. After he confesses,
(v. 17) “Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus lets him know about what is in store
for the future. In verses 18 and 19 “Jesus [says], "Feed my sheep. I tell
you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you
wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else
will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go. “Jesus [says] this to
indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he [says] to
him, ‘Follow me!’”
The death: Peter gets to die for Jesus. He gets his martyrs’ crown. Now,
while this may not necessarily sound so good to us– the person you deny and is
killed and comes back from the grave to tell you, you are going to die… (And tradition has it
that Peter was actually crucified on a cross, just as Jesus was, except that he
was hanged upside down.) To Peter, however, this is good news. It means he is
back. He is back! Peter has been
restored. His sin is forgiven, Jesus trusts him. He accepts the
responsibility to ‘feed his sheep’ and this responsibility is offered to us
all.[8] As
Peter himself exhorts us in 2 Peter 5:2-4, “Be shepherds of God's flock that is
under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are
willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not
lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And
when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will
never fade away.”
“Follow me!” He is back. “Follow me”, Jesus says to Peter. He is back
and he is excited. So much so that Peter starts asking about others around,
such as John, ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved,’ who was right there and also sat
next to Jesus at the last supper, Peter asks (v. 21) “what about him?” Jesus
answers, ‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?
You must follow me’ (v. 22). Peter is forgiven. “Follow me.” That’s what is
important for Peter now – that he must follow Jesus. Jesus has provided a way
for him to be forgiven, reinstated and Peter is restored.
“Follow me,” Jesus says, and “welcome back.” Welcome home. Welcome home,
in our world today, to the girl who ran away from her mom. Jesus loves you and
you are restored. Welcome home to the big brother who has returned. He is
restored. Welcome back to the alienated denominations who ran the residential
schools, you can be restored. Welcome back to the big sister who slipped up and
went on the binge. You are back. You are clean; you are forgiven and you are
restored to your responsibilities of big sister. Welcome back to the repentant,
recovering alcoholic dad. Welcome back. You are forgiven. You are sober; you
are restored to your position as husband and dad. Welcome back! Jesus has
restored you. Welcome back. All of us can be restored.
I, after not being allowed to use the car for a month or so, was
eventually restored to being trusted again. My mom trusted me again even though
I had denied my responsibilities. She forgave me and I was restored.
My friend, the silence for him must have been as painful as the denial
was for the disciple Peter. The girl he was involved with is now a Christian as
well and they are married. He is restored to getting up early and spending time
with God. Jesus loves them both. God is faithful. They are restored and they
are feeding his sheep.
We
are invited to accept forgiveness. We are invited to feed Jesus sheep. We are
invited to be restored. We are invited to show the way, the truth and the light.
We are invited to accept forgiveness as well. Jesus died on that cross for us
and he is sitting, in effect, on the beach with you and me like he was with
Peter. He knows our hearts. He knows your heart. He knows and forgiveness is
offered. So let us accept that forgiveness, that restoration and that
reconciliation and ‘feed his sheep.’ Let us feed his sheep. Let us look after
the physically hungry. Feed his sheep. Let us look after the spiritually
hungry. Feed his sheep. Let us take care of those in real need. Feed his sheep.
Let us not lose any of the flock of which he has given us oversight. As we are
restored and as we are forgiven, let us forgive others and let us feed his
sheep.
Let us pray: “Dear God, we thank you for your example of the restoration
of Peter. We thank you that forgiveness and restoration is available to us all.
We confess any times we have denied and not followed you. We confess any times
that we have not fed your sheep. We love you and we pray that, as you enable,
like Peter claimed, we will always follow you. Amen.”
---
[1] R.C.H. Lenski, The
Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel. (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Augsburg
Publishing House, 1961), 1420
[2] “Statistics
Canada indicates that ten percent of families with children are stepfamilies,
and about a third of them include children from different unions. In the United
States, it's estimated that stepfamilies may outnumber biological families by
the year 2010.” Reader’s Digest Canada, “What do you think
is the lasting impact for children of divorce?” n.p. [cited 25 03
2006]. On-line: http://www.readersdigest.ca/debate.html?a=v&di=116
[3] 28.6% of 15-17
year-old girls in Canada have reported illicit drug use. Michael Tjepkema, “Use of Cannabis and Other Illicit Drugs,” Statistics Canada Health Reports 15,
no. 4. (2004): 47
[4] R.C.H. Lenski, The
Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel. (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Augsburg
Publishing House, 1961), 1421.
[5] George R. Beasley-Murray,
John. (WBC 36: Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1987), 405.
[6] George R.
Beasley-Murray, p. 404.
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