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)
In completing
today’s devotional in the Gospel of St John, we come to a glorious sunset on
the Gospels – a sunset that gathers all the beauty and color of Christ into one
intimate moment with His disciples – and with us. The Gospel of John is my
favorite book out of all the other sixty-five books of the Bible and, although
they are all equally important in expressing a vital message to us, I
nonetheless feel so warmed and strengthened in reading John’s accounts of these
remarkable titles: In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (1:1), Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the
sin of the world. (1:29), This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana
of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory. (2:11), Take these things hence; make not my Father's
house an house of merchandise. (2:16), There was a man of the Pharisees, named
Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night. (3:1-2), The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou
hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it
goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. (3:8), And he must needs go through Samaria.
(4:4), There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give
me to drink. (4:7),
Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
(5:8), The hour is coming, and now
is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear
shall live.(5:25), And the sea arose by reason of a great wind
that blew. So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty
furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea. (6:18-19), I am the bread of life: he that
cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. (6:35), And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto
him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst.(8:3), I am the light of the world: he
that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.(8:12), and
the fountain of beautiful stones continues flowing throughout the remainder of
John’s Gospel. I ambitiously believed that I could summarize the beauty in less
verses, but see that I cannot for the book is too full –so, I fell short of my
purpose.
Though John
closes with a sunset of glorious beauty and truth, we are sure to have the
privilege to revisit the Day Star and Son of Righteousness at any moment simply
by opening our Bibles and learning of Him! The great glory of a sunset is that
the Sun must set ere we can witness an even more brilliant dawn and Sunrise.
Though today’s
text is about all of the disciples, including you and me – it is more centered
on that one disciple most grieved by his renunciation of Christ and whose guilt
bears down upon his shoulders like a huge and powerful stone. He boasted of
going the distance with Christ, but Peter had fallen asleep thrice in the
Garden the night of Jesus’ betrayal, and it was Peter who conspicuously denied
the Lord of Heaven three times during the night of Christ’s mock trial. You
will recall on the last denial, the cock crew as Christ had prophesied, and the
Lord turned and looked at Peter. 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) Can you imagine those tears of grief shed by Peter? Do you
believe Peter wept only briefly and felt restored? I think not! Peter dwelt
upon his denials for the three days that Christ was in the Tomb, and all of the
following week, before seeing the Lord on the Shores of Galilee. There
was a dark and heavy stone in Peter’s heart that had not yet been rolled away. Do
you know that when we wound the Lord grievously that His love is constant
still? The Lord made a special provision for Peter in the Angel’s message at
the open Tomb: And entering into the
sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long
white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not
affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is
not here: behold the place where they laid him. But go your way, tell his
disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall
ye see him, as he said unto you. (Mark 16:5-7) Did
you note, fellow lovers of God, that the Angel tells them to carry the message
to Peter in particular. Why? Because Christ wanted Peter to know that He
remembered him in love, and held a special regard for his hurt.
Peter and the
other disciples have come to the shoreline of the tranquil Sea of Galilee for a
breakfast of the Lord’s own preparing. As they sit and eat, Peter may have felt
a guilt that prevented his looking into the eyes of the Lord whom he loved. 15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? “Do you love me, Peter, not simply with a brotherly love
as you feel for your true friends and brothers, but with a greater love of
sacrifice and care for the Good Shepherd of the Sheep?” It is apparent that
Peter knew not where such a question was leading, but it certainly was a
leading question. He saith unto him,
Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. It is impossible to love the Shepherd
without, at the same time, loving the little lambs for whom He gave His life.
Do we, friends?
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. Peter may be a bit perplexed at the repetitive question,
but he answers Christ in the spirit of knowing that nothing is hidden from the
Lord. It must be pointed out here that lambs who are well-fed will become grown
sheep. For the Christian life to be full of beauty and service, it is important
that we reach the little children for Christ so that they may become grown
children for Christ.
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. Yes,
Peter was grieved the third time Jesus asked this question for the memories
flooded his soul of his third denial outside the court of the High Priest. But,
in spite of Peter’s weakness, he KNEW that Christ could see his heart full of
love for Him.
You will note in
the three questions addressed to Peter, the Lord did not refer to the disciple’s
title in the same manner as He did in Matthew 16:18 (Thou art Peter) – a Stone of the Rock of
Israel. I believe Christ did not annul that title; He only withheld its use due
to the need for Peter to be reconciled and fully converted.
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. This
statement reveals that Peter, being fully converted, will indeed do that which
he boasted of doing earlier before his courage failed him. But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and
when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. And he said unto him,
Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death. And he
said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow
this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.
(Luke 22:32-34) Peter’s mind was attentive to every
Word now that flows from the lips of Christ. He knew, deep in his grieving
heart, that Christ had forgiven him and extended the honor for Peter to die a
like death as his Lord. Peter will die the same death, and drink from the same
Cup, as our dear Lord and Savior. 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? We
are often no sooner restored to our favored place in Christ than the devil sets
into our hearts a bit of covetousness or greed. Peter is following Christ to a
place apart from the others who are gathered around the fire when he glances
back and sees following that one disciple that love compels to follow Jesus
regardless the summons. Though humility restrains him from mentioning his own
name in the Gospel he records, I will tell it – it is John, and I love him for his humility and love!
21 Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord,
and what shall this man do? Peter
knows that Christ has forgiven his failures and restored him as an apostle, but
he also knows of the special measure of love the Lord holds for the younger
John. Peter, out of a tinge of jealousy, asked if this man perhaps will be as
blessed as Peter is with Christ. “What shall HE do?” Such a question is not pleasing to our Lord. None
are worthy of their calling (me very assuredly most of all). But when God calls
us to a service, He will enable us to perform it. If, in the heat of battle, a
field commander orders a battalion forward to the line of battle, it would be
most inappropriate for that battalion commander so ordered to ask, “But what of
the 3rd Battalion? What will they do?” What another
battalion, or officer, will do under command of the Field Commander is of no
concern to the one receiving orders. His only duty is to obey the order
addressed to him. What God has commanded of you will fill your plate enough
without concerning yourself over the calling of another. 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? We learn from this last verse that we are not to read
meaning into the Words of Christ which does not exist. God’s Word is simple,
and direct, and needs no addition of meaning by our feeble hands.
24 This is the disciple which testifieth
of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. All
who know Christ, then and now, know of the veracity of this testimony given in
the Gospel of St John and recorded by the very hand of John. It is very
important to be a Bible scholar and to learn the words and meaning of scripture
diligently, but it is even more important to know that the testimony of God’s
Word is true and above question.
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. As we
admitted in the devotion for John 20, the books, banks, mines, and seas of the
world could never hold all of the works of Christ as Creator, Redeemer, Savior,
and Lord. He created the seas, the dry land, the vegetation, the animal life,
and you and me. He created the Sun, Moon, and Stars. His works precede, and
will succeed, the Creation in Eternity. Is it improbable that man could ever
account for all of these mysteries and sciences put into play by the same
Finger that wrote upon the sands outside the Temple when a woman taken in
adultery was maliciously brought to Christ?
John concludes
His Gospel with his customary ‘Amen’ with which he concludes most of his other
writings. Have we said AMEN to all that God has said? Have we read and studied
His whole Counsel to us? If we would have more of the Light of the World, we
must read for effect so that the Holy Ghost will have something wherewith to
REMIND us. A flashlight needs a casing and a light bulb (the WORD), but it also
needs the battery (Holy Ghost) to make the Light (Christ) of the bulb fully
illumine our hearts. Have you done, friend?
