Easter
Sunday
The Collect
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LMIGHTY
God, who through thine only-begotten Son Jesus Christ hast overcome death, and
opened unto us the gate of everlasting life; We humbly beseech thee that, as by
thy special grace preventing us thou dost put into our minds good desires, so
by thy continual help we may bring the same to good effect; through the same
Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost
ever, one God, world without end. Amen.
15 So when they had dined,
Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas,
lovest thou me more than these? He
saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16 He saith to him again
the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest
thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love
thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon,
son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto
him the third time, Lovest thou me?
And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love
thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When
thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but
when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall
gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. 19 This
spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had
spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.
20 Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved
following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is
he that betrayeth thee? 21 Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what
shall this man do? 22 Jesus saith unto him, If
I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.
23 Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple
should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He
shall not die; but, If I will that he
tarry till I come, what is that to thee? 24 This is the
disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know
that his testimony is true. 25 And there are also many other things which
Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even
the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.
Amen. (John 21:15-25)
When your love and care for someone is greater than your vocabulary can
express, you nonetheless do your utmost to capture the goodness and character
of the object of your love with such language that leaves room for assumptions
of greater magnitude than your words have described. That approach captures the
writing of John in perfection. His beautiful and figurative language surpasses
the greatest of our literary giants yet John feels that even this language does
not do justice in painting a full portrait of Christ. When I was a very young
boy, my mother would ask me "How much do you love mother, Jerry?" I
would then stretch my childish arms as wide as I could and say, "This
much, mother." But if my arms had been ten times longer, I would not have
felt them sufficient to express just how much I loved my mother. John faces the
same dilemma because of his great and abiding love for Christ. We shall see
this expressed in the last verse of John's Gospel.
Why does John love Christ so greatly? Do you know that love begets love? John
has an exceedingly deep love for Christ because he is reciprocating that love
which Christ feels for John. Simple, is it not? John hints of this in his
first epistle: Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved
us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)
and John states it outright in this verse from the same Epistle: We love
him, because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19) If you have been
operating under the assumption that Christ loves you because you love Him, it
is time to recognize that just the reverse is true. So John records in tender
words this third meeting of Christ with His disciples. John typically uses the
third person adjective in referring to himself out of modesty. The
incident he describes between the Lord and Simon Peter is tenderly expressed
and gives a full light on the Lord's regard for Peter as a strong disciple
though he has denied Christ very recently, and three times. We note that John
refrains from reminding us that Peter denied Christ, but it is alluded to
indirectly in the narrative.
You will recall that early in the ministry of Jesus, He called a man to follow
Him by the name of Simon bar Jonas (Simon son of Jonas). This was when
Simon was a fisherman and man of the sea. But Jesus gave Simon another name
when he became a disciple of Christ – Cephas, or stone. (John 1:42) In
the Greek, the word is Ðá½³ôñïò, or Petrus, which means a piece of a
rock. Jesus is the Rock, and, if we have His same nature, we will be like that
great Rock from which we are chipped. (Matthew 16:18) So, the great apostle
began as Simon the fisherman three years before on the Galilean shore, and
winds up as Peter the shepherd of the lambs of God on this same seaside
setting. Is this not quite a stretch? When a man or woman comes to Christ they
are made new creatures in Him from that moment forward.
"In a gallery in Europe there hang, side by side, the first unlovely
sketch that Rembrandt ever drew, and his great masterpiece, which all men admire.
So in the two names of Simon and Peter, we have in the first a rude fisherman
who came to Jesus that day, the man as he was before Jesus began a work in him;
and second, the man as he became during the years when friendship of Jesus had
warmed his heart and enriched his life." J.R. Miller, Personal
Friendships of Jesus.
Gathered about a breakfast fire by the peaceful Galilean shore, there is such a
joy and comfort in all hearts to be again with their Master whom they had
considered to have been dead. Of course, it was true that He had been
dead, but the greater miracle was that He had risen from the Tomb and now sat
at meat with them. There are no more cordial and warmly felt discussions than
those that take place after a good meal. There had been plenty of fish, and
more than enough bread; and now there will be another serving of that Bread
which came down from Heaven. So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon
Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more
than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.
He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16 He
saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of
Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I
love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon,
son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him
the third time, Lovest thou me?
Why did Christ ask Simon Peter the same question three times over? Shall we
connect the dots? I will avoid the complex issue of shades of meaning in the
Greek text for the sake of this devotion; but we will need to review in our
hearts those events that have preceded this line of questioning by Christ to
Simon Peter.
Perhaps we have too often made reference to Peter's denial of Christ the night
of His betrayal, but the events surrounding Peter's thrice denial has a direct
bearing on this present circumstance. Jesus has fulfilled a promise, made just
before His Passion, to meet the disciples in Galilee: All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it
is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be
scattered abroad. But after I am risen again, I will go before you into
Galilee. (Matt 26:31-32) But see the reaction to these words of
Jesus by the boisterous Peter at the time: Peter answered and said unto
him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be
offended. (Matt 26:33) Strong sounding words, yet words that Peter was
unable to back up with courage and action. Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock
crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. Peter said unto him, Though I
should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. (Matt 26:34-35)
Peter
did, that very night, deny Christ thrice before the cock crew. Do you remember
the humiliating affair? And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest.
And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. And the Lord
turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord,
how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow,
thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.
(Luke 22:60-62) Notice that on the third denial, "the Lord turned,
and looked upon Peter!" Can you imagine, out of fear, denying your
own father to the death by firing squad and have he turn and acknowledge that
betrayal? What agony filled Peter's heart for all these days since his fall. He
wept bitterly, and he hated himself for his own weakness and denial of the best
friend he would ever have in this life, or in the life to come. And you will
recall from the earlier lesson that the Angel at the Garden Tomb told the women
gathered to go your way, "….. tell his disciples and Peter
that he goeth before you into Galilee" (Mark 16:7) So what
is so remarkable about this counsel of the Angel? It is evidence that the Lord
is aware of Simon Peter's anguish and therefore mentions Peter by name in his
counsel – the only disciple mentioned by name! See how lovingly kind and
merciful is Christ our Lord!
Christ
is gently opening Peter's memory to that terrible night of denial and betrayal.
But He masks His loving rebuke in terms of affection and care. "Lovest thou me more than these?"
"How much do you love me, son? Do you love me more than anything in the
world?" My mother intended this point in asking how much I loved her. Of
course, Peter honestly answers that he loves the Lord, but he does not even
suspect the direction the questioning is headed. Jesus then tells Peter to
"Feed my lambs."
Lambs are baby sheep that need feeding before they become adult sheep. So first
of all, Simon, Feed my the lambs of my
embryonic Church! Now you will notice that after the second and
third question of love, the Lord tells Peter to "feed, not my lambs, but
my sheep!" When lambs are well fed they will grow into sheep. When our
young are brought under the teaching of the Church, it is our responsibility to
feed them with the milk of the Word, and when they are weaned of the milk, then
we feed them with the meat of the Word as adult sheep.
Now
comes a somber prophecy from the Lord to Peter: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young,
thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt
be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and
carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by
what death he should glorify God. The Lord knew that though
Peter had experienced a lapse of courage in denying Him, he would from
henceforth have great faith and courage in propagating the Gospel, and would
die a martyrs death at the last. The idea that peter was crucified upside down
is nowhere proved in Scripture. It follows the line of Satanist who constantly
foist upon society an upside down `peace' cross. The false account comes down
to us from Roman fables. Peter would now have an undying courage that he
briefly demonstrated in the Garden when he drew his sword against the guards
who came for Christ.
And
when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow
me. This is a repeat of the first command
Christ ever uttered to Simon Peter by the same Galilean shore three years
earlier at the beginning of His ministry. (Matthew 4:19) He calls us to "Follow Me" yet, when we fail, He
forgives and tells us once more, "Follow
Me." Are we so much better than Peter that we are not
likely to fail in great manner? I think not. We all fail and falter, yet Jesus
stretches down His mighty arm to pull us from the foaming waters of the sea.
Jesus
had directly counseled Peter to "Follow
Me;" yet the disciples whom the Lord loved followed without
being directed. Words did not draw John, but love did. Then Peter,
turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned
on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?
Please observe an unbridgeable breach in human frailty. Peter has just been
forgiven a horrendous sin of denying his Lord three times, yet he is now
jealous, again, as to who will be most favored by the Lord. He saw John
following and remembered that Jesus had a particular love for John. Peter
seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?
John is writing this narrative, but he writes without rancor in giving a
straightforward account. He does not demean Peter's character in asking.
A good
soldier, in the heat of battle, never questions the validity of higher orders.
He simply obeys without question. This is a further lesson that Peter must
learn: Jesus saith unto him, If I will
that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. How an employer treats one employee as opposed to
another is no one's business as long as he keeps faith with both in the bargain
for their labors. Jesus has told Peter to follow
me. That is enough for Peter. Then went this saying
abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said
not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?
Jesus never said that John would tarry until His second Coming, but simply
asked what was it of concern to Peter if he did. It should be observed that
John did live to a ripe old age of all the disciples. He wrote the last Book of
the Bible even – Revelations!
John
openly admits here that it is he who has written the words of this Gospel. He
does os, still, without mentioning his own name. This is the disciple
which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his
testimony is true. John's modesty is inconsistent with the
glory-grabbers of the modern pulpit!
Here follows John's benediction to his Gospel: And
there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be
written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the
books that should be written. Can we not sense his unsurpassed love
and feeling for Christ here in this conclusion. There is so much more goodness
of Christ to tell that the world could not contain the books! No matter how
powerfully we preach and teach of Christ, no matter our labors or
self-abnegation, it never comes up to the measure of glory and greatness
fitting the Lord. Jesus to us, and to John, is always greater than we can
preach or comprehend. So closes the lovely Gospel of John. I love the book, I
love the man, John, and I love the Lord of whom he has written.
