Do You Love Me?

Can everyone hear me? It’s working? Okay. Everyone, welcome back to Encounter. We’ve been taking a bit of a break thanks to our holiday get-togethers and New Year’s celebrations. But if you’ve forgotten or you haven’t been here for a while, we’re going through our series 10 Questions Jesus Asked. And the point of these questions for this series is these are questions that are supposed to give us introspective. It’s supposed to help us reflect upon why did Jesus ask these questions? Who was he targeting with these questions and what can we learn from them in our daily lives?

And so this week, our question that we are going to go over is do you love me? And more specifically, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? We are referring to the point of time when Jesus was talking to Peter after Jesus had already resurrected and he’s eating with his disciples and he’s questioning Peter saying, Peter, do you love me more than these? Now, this was after Peter’s denial of Jesus. This was after Peter was going back to his mundane life as a fisherman. And so we’re gonna be questioning what was Jesus really asking Peter during this time?

And to do that, we need to look at the life of Peter. And so let’s read the passage together. John 21:1-17 says, afterward, Jesus appeared again to his disciples by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way. Simon Peter Thomas, also known as Didymus, Nethaniel from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. I’m going out to fish, Simon Peter told them, and they said, we’ll go with you. So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, friends, haven’t you any fish? No, they answered. He said, throw your nets on the right side of the boat and you will find some. When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, it is the Lord. As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, it is the Lord, he wrapped his outer garment around him for he had taken it off and jumped into the water. The other disciple followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, but 100 yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it and some bread. Jesus said to them, bring some of the fish you have just caught, so Simon Peter climbed back in the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, come and have breakfast. None of the disciples dared ask him, who are you? They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? Yes, Lord, he said, you know that I love you. Jesus said, feed my lambs. Again, Jesus said, Simon, son of John, do you love me? He answered, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Jesus said, take care of my sheep. The third time he said to him, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, do you love me? He said, Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you. Jesus said, feed my sheep.

Now, this is a very familiar passage. And it’s a question that a lot of us, if we only first read the passage, maybe when we were little kids and we were reading this, we’re like, why would Jesus respond this way? You know, Peter obviously felt very bad and very sorry for denying Jesus three times, but Jesus said, do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me? It’s a very strange way or a strange reaction or strange decision for Jesus to question Peter about this.

And so, Peter, if we go to the next slide, we need to notice a few things about Peter as we’re examining this passage. Peter did love Jesus. And so his emotions and affections for Jesus were not fake. They were not conjured up. It’s not like Peter did not like Jesus. He did not follow Jesus. He didn’t trust in Jesus. Peter’s emotions were not fake.

And so what did Peter do throughout the New Testament that we read in the Gospels? He knelt before Jesus and followed after him, sorry. He walked on the waters until his doubts crept in. He saw the transfigured Christ and didn’t want to leave that place. He cut off someone’s ear to try and protect Jesus. He recognized Jesus as the Messiah, the son of the living God, and he felt unworthy to have his feet washed by Jesus. Peter’s emotions were not fake.

Go to the next slide. He was passionate about Jesus. He wanted to fully experience fellowship with him to the fullest degree. He didn’t wanna leave the mountaintop and he didn’t want Jesus to wash his own feet. But he said, if you were to wash my feet, wash my entire body. He wanted a full experience with Jesus. And to the point where he left his old life as a fisherman to pursue Jesus.

And so the question comes, what caused him to deny Jesus? This passionate, fervent Peter who wanted to go everywhere. Jesus said, I’m going to die. And he predicted his death. And Peter says, Lord, no, no. And he says, I will die. And Peter says, I will go with you wherever you go. And Jesus said, you’re gonna deny me three times before even the rooster crows. Peter was the first to go full out. He was the one to get out of the boat. He was the one to say all these crazy claims he was gonna do for Jesus. And yet he’s the one who denies Jesus. This doesn’t make much sense on the surface level.

But what we see through the life of Peter is passion and emotions are not enough. You see, Peter was very passionate, but that didn’t mean that he had the proper foundation that Jesus wanted to use him for his kingdom. There were things that Peter still needed to know, still needed to learn. Even when he was going out on the water, his doubts showed up and he started to sink. He said, Lord, save me. And Jesus said, ye of little faith, why do you doubt? When Jesus was going to get arrested and going into the hands of Pilate, Peter cuts off the servant’s ear. And Jesus says, if you know me, you would know that I could command all these angels at any second to come and rescue me. And so Peter does these things out of his emotions, his doubts, his fears, based on the circumstances.

You see, in those moments of weakness, he let his doubt and his fear of whatever was around him overcome his trust for God. And he was shaky. And so let’s read back here. And so the next slide, if we can go to it, it says, John 21:1-17. You see, this first portion that we read, Peter went back to fishing. We mentioned that Peter was a fisherman by trade. And you see, this was his first occupation before he met Christ. Peter went back to the mundane. Peter went back to square one, almost. He went back to go fishing. He said, you know what, I’m gonna fish. The other disciples still felt Peter had a bit of leadership in him. So they said, we’re gonna go with you. We’re gonna go follow you, Peter.

But let’s look at the next portion. Let’s look at the original time when Jesus meets them. We know Jesus meets them here in John 21:1-17, but we go to Luke 5:1-5. This is the first encounter with Jesus. The call to discipleship says, one day as Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water’s edge two boats left there by the fishermen who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, put out into the deep water and let down the nets for a catch. Simon answered, master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything, but because you say so, I will let down the nets.

Can we go back to the previous slide? Yes, so John 21, he says, friends, have you any fish? But we see here clearly they worked all night and they didn’t catch a single fish. Very similar to this next encounter with Jesus, this first encounter in Luke.

And so, if we can keep going, yeah. So, next slide. What’s important to know here, that the fishermen were washing their nets. Before Jesus arrives, you see, they were fishing all night and they didn’t catch a single fish. So in their nets were not fish, but there was the debris, there was all the ick, there was the mud, there was probably seaweed. And so if the fishermen were just washing their nets because they were done for the day. They had tried all night, they couldn’t catch a single fish. So they were washing their nets, they’re basically hanging up the towel.

And so, this was not just a simple request from Jesus. Jesus was teaching the towns, these people barely knew who Jesus was. Jesus did not simply say, just throw your nets into the water right now, go for a catch. He said, go into the deep water. These are people who had just tried all night. These are people who just were washing their nets and why would they wanna go all the way to the deep water because someone told them to? When they are fishermen by trade. And so Simon answers, master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.

And so Luke 5:6-11 explains what happens is, when they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, go away from me, Lord, I am a sinful man. For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken. And so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, don’t be afraid. From now on, you will fish for people. So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Now let’s review some of the things that just happened. Jesus told Peter and the disciples to go out into deep water. Why the deep water? Well, we’re not called to be in the shallow waters. Jesus asked the disciples to be fishers of men. Go out into the deep depths water, lay out your nets. You can’t be stuck here on this comfortable shore. Go out into the deep waters and lay down your nets. If we are to be a church that wants to bring restoration, this is our first main point. We can’t be stuck in the shallow waters, expecting the fish to just come wherever they want. But one, we need to heed the instruction of the master and lay down the nets in the deep waters for the catch.

And for the next, it says, the deep of man’s need calleth unto the deep of God’s fullness. And the deep of God’s fullness called unto the deep of man’s need. Between our emptiness and his all-sufficiency, there is a great gulf. Deep calleth unto deep. The deep mercy of God needs our emptiness into which it might pour itself. Nothing can fully meet the depth of our need, but the deep of his almighty fullness.

And so we even see this in various passages throughout scripture. In Psalms 42:7, it says, deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls. All your waves and breakers have swept over me. This is talking about someone who was downcast, who was thirsting for God. Jonah’s prayer when he was repenting said, in my distress, I called to the Lord and he answered me from deep in the realm of the dead. I called for help and you listened to my cry. You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas and the currents swirled about me. All your waves and breakers swept over me. The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me.

We’re not supposed to be stuck here in the shallows when people are struggling in the depths of their problems. They want to experience the fullness of Christ, the fullness of God, where they are, and it’s not necessarily where we are always wanting to go. To be a fisher of men, Jesus was not asking Peter and the disciples to be comfortable. He was asking them to go into far depths, go do things that they never on their own would want to do. And it sounds great at first because they’re catching all these fish and life is looking great and they’re on fire, but this is not the end result. In fact, every disciple we know is martyred for Christ, except John, but he went through his own stuff too. Point is, they all suffered for Jesus in this call for discipleship, in the call to be a fisher of men, they left behind something. They left behind their own comforts, they left behind their occupation, they left behind what they were good at, to put their trust in Jesus.

And so we want to be fishers of men. If we want to put the deep net into waters where the fish are, where people are who want to know Christ, we too cannot be stuck here in the shores. We can’t be stuck in our comforts.

And so, if we keep going, the next part of Peter, the first part we looked over was Peter going back to his occupation, his first mundane back to square one life. Here’s the second part. We read earlier this passage, and I want to just skip to the bolded part. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. Why was this significant? Why does it matter that there’s burning coals? Yes, Jesus was making breakfast for them, Jesus was wanting fellowship with them, he wanted to prove that he was physically eating with them. But this fire of burning coals is not simply warmth after Peter comes out of the water.

We know that he threw off his garments, he went into the water, and he swam and carried all this fish. Passionate Peter. We know this is the Peter who ran to the Lord’s tomb, and even right now, I wonder what Peter was thinking around that fire. And I want you to picture this.

We go to Luke 22:54-62. This is the passage where Peter denied Jesus. It says, then they seized him and led him away. Talking about Jesus. Bringing him into the high priest’s house. And Peter was following at a distance. And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. This warm fire where all these people were, Peter sat with them. Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, this man was also with him. But he denied it, saying, woman, I do not know him. And a little later, someone else saw him and said, you also are one of them. But Peter said, man, I am not. And after an interval of about an hour, still another insisted, saying, certainly this man was also with him, for he too is a Galilean. But Peter said, man, I do not know what you are talking about. And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times. And he went out and wept bitterly.

I want you to imagine just for a second what it was like for Peter to see the resurrected Savior in that moment. Think of the shame, the guilt that he had. The Peter who was so cocky and full of himself to want to do things that other disciples wouldn’t even dare to do. The first Peter to jump out in the water. The Peter said, I will die with you. When he’s around that fire, he’s denying Jesus not once, not twice, but three times. And the Lord turned and looked at him. Could you imagine being at such a devout follower, so passionate, so in love with Jesus, and then all of a sudden he looks at you when you deny him three times? At this, Peter went out and wept bitterly.

This fire, imagine Peter sitting around this fire now, bringing back the fish. He’s talking to Jesus. And Jesus, who looked at him when he denied Jesus, is right there. And they’re eating. I wonder what was going through Peter’s thoughts at this moment.

And so, in the next portion it says, when they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? Yes, Lord, he said, you know that I love you. Jesus said, feed my lambs. Again, Jesus said, Simon, son of John, do you love me? He answered, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Jesus said, take care of my sheep. The third time he said to him, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, do you love me? He said, Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you. Jesus said, feed my sheep.

And so, here’s our question for the night. Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? More than the fish? More than, is he only talking about just the fish and the loaves? Is he talking about Peter’s occupation, Peter’s comfort in his own life? What is Jesus trying to say here?

And so, the first thing that we gotta notice here is he does not call him Simon Peter. He says, Simon, son of John. In fact, this was the same Simon, if we go back to the Luke passage, before he was called Peter, which means rock, he was called Simon went out. And Simon said, master, we’ve fished all night. He was not called Peter in that moment. But John, John’s purpose to write the book, the gospel of John, was to show that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of the living God. And so, John is very intentional when he says, when they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?

You see, Peter was going through this fault. He was going through these doubts. Was he really a good leader? Was he really, was his witness to Jesus being the Messiah, the son of the living God, was his witness to being on the transfigured mountain, was that all just experience for him? Was that just a pleasant, good moment for him, feel good? Or was it a real confession? What was more real to Peter in this moment? Was he Simon Peter the rock, who on that witness, that testimony will build the church? This testimony that Jesus is the son of the living God, that Jesus is the Messiah, this strong foundation, or is he Simon, son of John, who doubted him, who went back to his old life, the Simon that was existing before Jesus came to the Lake of Gennesaret? Which Peter was he? Which Simon is he?

And so we see Peter talking to Jesus and he says, he’s asked this question, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? And Jesus says, feed my lambs, after Peter says, you know that I love you. Why would he say feed my lambs? What does that have to do with Peter and his love for Jesus? Did Jesus say, Peter, do you love me more than these? Are you sorry about what you did? Do you feel regret at your sin? Do you know who I am? No, what does Jesus say? He says, feed my lambs. And if we look throughout scripture, we know that Jesus is the good shepherd, we are the sheep. And so Psalms 95:7 says, for he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Peter knew what Jesus was trying to say. You see, the words that Jesus was using means pastorship, or tend, take care of the flock.

And so Peter was being asked three times to take care of God’s people, to feed them spiritual milk, to help them grow, to go after the fish of the sea, to go throw out the deep net. Jesus was calling Peter back into restoration. He was calling Peter to come back and not go back to the life that he thought he was gonna be forever. Peter thought that that was the end for him. Peter thought, you know, I’m going back to be a fisherman. I tried this, I had this full passion, I went to every single depth to want to know Jesus, to fully experience him, and yet I can’t shake who I am. I am someone who constantly doubts Jesus. He asked me, ye of little faith, why do you doubt? That’s me, denying him three times, in front of his very enemies. And a second ago, he was cutting off a servant’s ear just to try to protect him. This is Peter who fell at Jesus’ feet and said, Jesus, you know, like I am a sinful man, away from me.

And what did Jesus say even in those moments, the first time, when Peter falls before Jesus’ feet when he was called to be a disciple? He says, do not be afraid, be a fisher of men. You see, Jesus took Peter out of where Peter thought he was supposed to be and restored him. And so here, we see three times Peter denying Jesus. And now three times he has the beautiful opportunity to confess his love, saying, Jesus, I love you. You know that I love you, you know that I love you. It wasn’t enough for one time, two times, but three times in Peter’s mind that he denied Jesus, three times now he is restored, confessing to Jesus that he loves him. This is Peter who was once in the fire with his enemies, now in the fire with Christ. This is Peter who is now walking in fellowship with Jesus. This is Peter who is now reinstated by Jesus.

And so in the midst of restoration, Jesus did not just say, are you okay? He did not say, I just forgive you. He’s not just say, are you sorry about what you did? He said, he challenges Peter. He says, do you love me? Feed my lambs, feed my sheep. Jesus says, if you love me, you will obey my commands. There’s no one or the other. If you love Jesus, you must deny yourself and follow after him. This is no easy task. This isn’t the shallow waters. This is going out into the deep and denying ourselves and saying, Jesus, if we truly love you, then less of me and more of you.

And so we’re gonna ask the worship team to start coming forward. But Peter gets another chance. And I want us to think about very clearly, Peter having the second chance with Jesus. See John 21:1-17 was the passage we went through, but the next two verses says, very truly I tell you, when you were younger, you dressed yourself and went where you wanted. And 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 said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, follow me.

And you see, Peter did what he wanted. He went where he wanted to go. We can go back to the previous slide, yeah. He went where he wanted to go. He decided what he wanted to do when he woke up in the morning. He wanted to fish, he went to go fish. But when he was with Jesus all of those years, he was no longer acting the way Peter was wanting to act. He was following, he was with fellowship with Jesus. He experienced miracles with Jesus. He saw Jesus and he didn’t see what was I gonna do by myself. When Jesus was out of the picture, Peter went back to doing what he always thought he was gonna do.

And so Peter gets another chance. We know that by tradition, Peter actually dies on a cross, upside down because he denied Jesus that he wasn’t worthy to be hung up on the same cross, but upside down instead.

And so Matthew 10:37-39, one of the most difficult resonating passages for me in all of scripture says, anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. Anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. This is the same passage Jesus talks and says, those who disown me before men, I too will disown before the father.

And so Peter, the second time when he was before all of the enemies, because of his pursuit, his love for Jesus Christ, when Jesus already ascended, Peter filled with the Holy Spirit, preaching the gospel and going out, he gets a second chance at the cross. He gets a second chance before the people who crucified Jesus. And he said this time, Lord, I will take up the cross. He wanted to be worthy of the calling. He says, Peter said to himself, I will find my life through Christ and I will lose my life to where I myself wanted to be. Peter denied himself. He realized that true love for Jesus is denial of the self.

And so the question, do you love me more than these, is a call to deny ourselves and love others. And so our question for tonight, what do we love more than Jesus? What do we think when we fall short of the glory of God, when we are sinning, when we’re doing our own thing in rebellion, and when we come for restoration, we come for redemption, we ask for forgiveness. Is it simply, God, I’m sorry, forgive me? Well, that is a part of it. Repentance is a part of it. The call is to turn away from our wicked ways. The call is to go towards Christ, run towards Christ. The call is not simply, I’m sorry for who I am, what I am. The call is to resurrender back to Jesus Christ and run away from those desires that were enticing, to let go of it.

Peter recognized a new calling in his life. Peter recognized that he no longer wanted to live for himself. And so tonight, as we sing these songs, we’re gonna sing Resurrender. As we lay down these things that we consider idols in our lives, we need to be inclined to the ear of the master. We need to be inclined to hearing him, what he wants us to do, where he wants us to go, and not just dress ourselves each and every single day.

And so, we know we’re unworthy. Peter did too. We know we make mistakes. But Jesus challenges us to love him more than the things of this world. He challenges us to take up the cross and have fellowship with him. He challenges us not to live out mundane lives on the shore with empty nets, but instead, hear his correction, hear his instructions from the shore and go catch the lots. This is a call to deny ourselves.

I’m gonna close in prayer, and we’re gonna go back into a time of worship.

God, we just come into your presence, Lord, tonight, Lord. We just thank you, Lord, for giving us this opportunity, Lord, from hearing from your word, God. God, so much of us tonight, Lord, are passionate about you, God. We spend time with you, Lord. We love you, God. We say we wanna do all of these things for you, Lord. We wanna reach the masses, God. We want this church to be filled, God, with believers. We want people of all nations to come here, Lord, to worship you, God, to serve you, God. We wanna have fellowship. We wanna see this city changed, God.

But Lord, this city can’t be changed unless we ourselves, God, get out of our comfort zones, Lord. God, we pray, God, that we’re not just sitting on the shore, Lord, going into our mundane lives, expecting fish to just fall and fall into our laps, God. But Lord, help us to hear your instructions, God, and go out into the deep waters, God. God, challenge us, Lord. Restore us, God. Challenge us to love and to deny ourselves, Lord. For, God, we wanna be considered worthy of the calling, God. We wanna be worthy of the calling that you have given to us, Lord. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.