FBCWest 448 | Jesus Questions Peter, Peter’s Response and Jesus’ Instruction
Recorded On: 04/25/2021
Bulletin
FBCWest
April 25, 2021
“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and truth.”
Praise and Worship
SCRIPTURE READING – Psalm 111:1 - 3
“Your Love Awakens Me”
“Your Promises”
Proclamation of the Word
Message by Pastor Joe
“The Earthly Life and Ministry of Jesus the Messiah”
“Jesus Questions Peter, Peter’s Response and Jesus’ Instruction”
PRAYER TIME / Time of Reflection
“Build My Life”
Giving of Selves and Our Offerings
“I Love to Tell the Story”
OFFERTORY PRAYER
SPECIAL MUSIC – By Pru Hungate
Continued Praise and Worship
“He Has Won”
“More Than Amazing”
Benediction “Egypt”
Acknowledgements and Announcements
Sermon Notes
John 21:15 Jesus asks Peter if Peter loved Jesus – After saying yes, Jesus instructs him to “Tend His Lambs
John 21:16 Jesus asks him a second time and instructs Peter to shepherd His sheep
John 21:17 Jesus questions Peter a third time and instructs him to Tend His sheep
John 21:18 & 19 Jesus tells Peter how Peter’s ministry will end
John 21:20 – 23 Peter wants to know John’s outcome and Jesus responds it’s none of your business you follow Me
Scritpures
Transcript of Service
If you don't take care of the details, sometimes you can mess up very seriously.
Specially, let's say in medicine or something. If you don't get everything exactly right, you can mess up. My wife is very good at detail.
One of the things that kind of.
Drove that home is many years ago we bought her mother, my mother-in-law, a bedspread.
And while we were talking about that bedspread, I think we're driving to see her or whatever.
Wife said that we had got a green bedspread.
I said no.
It wasn't green, it was blue.
She said no no, it was a green bedspread. I go.
No, the the background everything was blue, so we kind of agree to disagree until we got to her house and basically what it was was the I was right.
As always, and the background was blue but there were little green leaves all over it. She so focused on the details that she saw the green an I'm.
The general thing, and so I looked at that, and so while details are important, sometimes they can lead you to some conclusions, and so the First off is Jesus is going to have a discussion with Peter and he's going to ask him some questions.
There are those who will tell you that the reason that this takes place is to restore Peter back to his original place because he had denied Jesus three times and so now Jesus is going to ask him three questions, and he's restoring Jesus.
I don't think that.
Surprise, I'm kind of always in the minority. I'll tell you the reason I don't accept that.
Jesus, when he first appeared after the resurrection, he appeared.
Peter
I think he dealt with any sense of of problems between him and Peter and and the reality is, it wasn't a problem between him and Peter is a problem between Peter and Peter.
I've been feel guilty about doing the very thing you said you wouldn't do, and now here's the Lord alive and you got to confront it. I think Jesus restored Peter at that time. Who. Why do I confirm that? Because when we looked at last week when they were fishing and John turns to Peter and says it's the Lord.
If Peter was by all other human experiences.
Oops, I am uncomfortable. He would have jumped in and swam to the Lord.
He said I want to spend as much time as I can in the boat, and then when the rest of the guys are there, maybe we can defuse the problem. But no, Peter went immediately. He swam above in front of them. So I believe Peter had already been restored.
And because of that.
Detail, sometimes I think people miss.
The main point of this.
Situation, another detail that people will talk about is that Jesus is going to initially ask questions an when Jesus talks about love. When Jesus says love, he's going to use one word in the Greek, which is agape, which is God type self giving love those Athena Greek. There there are four different words for love. We mostly know the three one Eros, the ******.
Love that's all about me. The Philleo, the brotherly love and there's a Gothic.
Jesus will use.
Two of the questions agape. Peter will respond by using the word phileo. Brotherly love and people say, well, see Peter is not on the same wavelength. And then Jesus finally uses the term for love that Peter uses.
Yeah, that's a detail and I think it's something that's significant.
But unimportant.
Is this look at it?
There is no way I will ever love Jesus the way he loves me.
He has will always love me.
The godly way.
I am lucky when I love him. Just as a brother.
So the details of, oh, it's he's not using same language.
OK.
It's probably significant, but I think unimportant.
So there's a couple of details we're dealing with. OK, so now I can get to the point of what I think that this message is all about. So if you have your Bibles turn to John Chapter 21, starting with verse 15.
So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter Simon, son of John.
Do you love me more than these?
I'm sure that Peter knows exactly when Jesus says. Do you love me more than these that Peter knows in the circumstance what these are?
We're not quite so sure it could be the boats. It could be the catch of fish. It could be a number of different things, but I think it's kind of probably unintentional. Intentional that it's vague or us.
Because what are the more than these?
Because if he had said, do you love me more than the fish?
Then we would say obviously we would love you more than the fish.
If we termed it well, do you love me more?
Then what the fish represent?
Income.
Or do you love me the fish and the boats? Your business? Do you love me more than your business?
And I think that's a question that he asked. Peter and I think it's a question that we need to ask ourselves.
Do we love Jesus more than these and these maybe.
Health, wealth, fame.
Prestige.
Job.
Standing in the community, whatever it is that may cause you to say, yeah, I love Jesus, but not more than this.
And so I think the circumstances of do you love me more than these?
Is intentionally vague so that we might not say well, obviously I love Jesus more than a bunch of fish.
And he there being Simon Peter said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you.
I want put my lawyer hat on here.
And I want to say.
Your Honor the answer was non responsive to the question.
Please instruct.
The witness to answer the question.
With the court Reporter. Please read the question again.
And the question is.
You love me more than these.
He simply says, yeah Lord, I love you.
He didn't say that I love you more than these.
He said I love you.
And a lot of times that's exactly where we are. We say we love the Lord.
But do we love him more than?
We love to sing and we love to preach and we love to recite and we love to do all kinds of things about yes Jesus loves me.
The Bible tells me so. We teach our children. We have Christian songs that are all on the theme that Jesus loves us. Jesus loves us so much that he climbs every mountain and swims every sea and does all these things because he loves me.
Question is.
Do you love him?
Uncomfortable questions.
Because when Jesus during his ministry, he would be very.
To the point.
If you love and then I'll let you fill in the blank. If you love your family more than me.
You're not worthy of me.
If there is something more that you love than Jesus, then you are not worthy of him.
That hurts.
'cause there's a whole lot of times we want to put things in headed Jesus.
But Peter does exactly like we do.
Yes, all I love you.
But notice Jesus doesn't rebuke him.
When he doesn't answer the question.
Instead.
He gives him some instructions.
Simon
Peter Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? He said to him, yes Lord, you know that I love you.
He, being Jesus, said to him and my lamb.
If you love me.
And there is something for you to do. You are to take care of you to watch over here to protect you, to make sure that my lambs, the young ones, the ones young in the faith.
Are protected, you tend them.
You saying we cannot say we love the Lord?
And then do nothing for the Lord.
It's kind of like the question what do you get the person who has everything?
What really does God need from you?
So in my response that yes, I love the Lord and he says then do something and the thing that you do is you make sure that my young.
Believers.
Or attended for.
We don't love.
In the abstract.
How can you say you love God who you do not see if you do not love your brother who you do see?
See, Jesus is summing up much of what he is taught in these very questions, and these very specific.
Instruction.
And so you see, my concern is that we're so dealing with well, he said. The word agape and Peter talked about a flail Ann and the restoration that we miss. What he's telling Peter, and he's telling you and me.
Love him more than everything else, and by showing that love you do something.
You tend to the lamp.
He said to him again a second time. Simon, son of John.
Do you love me?
He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you.
He said to him, Shepherd my sheep.
Again, he says if you love me, then there is a instruction that I have for you. You are to Shepherd my sheep.
Now I want you to notice something he didn't say. OK, well I want you to be a hireling while I'm away.
He did say you have a job to do.
He said I want you to be like me. I want you to Shepherd my sheep.
And the perfect example of that we find in Psalms 23 the Lord is my Shepherd.
I shall not want.
It makes me to lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul, he guides me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake.
Those are the things that he is called Peter and you and me who say we love the Lord to do.
We don't just.
Become hired hands because Jesus said the hired hand, when when the Wolf comes or somebody comes to steal, they run away.
But not the Shepherd.
A Shepherd stays and will even die for the sheep.
Which is exactly what our Shepherd did for us.
He's saying Peter, if you love me.
And I need you to Shepherd my sheep.
And in the same way he's asking, do you love me?
Now, Fortunately for us, we're city folk.
Most of you, unless you've gone to a petting zoo, have no clue what a lamb and a sheep look like.
Other than turkeys there about the dumbest animal around.
They have no self protection. The only real protection they have is is there wool and so that if a predator comes to bite them to if they if the thief can get sinking far enough. So that's why they get him by the throat, all done.
They don't have natural protection.
And optically break.
But they are smart enough to follow the Shepherd's voice.
And they don't follow anyone other than this ship.
The Jesus says, if you love me.
You were going to Shepherd my people.
Sometimes they are difficult to deal with.
Sometimes they can be a little dirty.
Sometimes there.
Yeah, just irritating.
But they're mine.
And since there are mine, you Shepherd them.
You make sure that they are.
There with green pastures that they might.
Eat the word of God.
That they might be beside quiet waters that calm and drink of Salvation.
That they might truly understand the paths of righteousness for his name's.
He said him the third time I'm in.
Son of John
do you love me?
And Peter was grieved because he said to him, the third time, do you love me?
Again, I get it with Peter.
In any relationship.
Husband and wife.
Parent, child, whatever. If that person is asking you three different times, do you love me?
Then they're not feeling loved.
So what's going on? And so he feels like he feels hurt because wait a minute, what? What kind of person is I? Am that my responses doesn't secure you that I love you.
And so Peter's hurt, and I don't think he's hurt because Jesus said it three times and he denied him three times. He said it because the human response is a.
Lord
I've answered your question, but really I haven't. 'cause I didn't tell you that I loved you more than everything else, but I've been asking you the question.
Here's what's disappointing.
For me and Peter.
And again, as I point my finger at Peter I .3 fingers back at me.
He will respond when Jesus says, do you love me, yes, Lord.
But it doesn't follow up with and I will do what you told me to.
He simply says yes, Lord, I love you.
Then do this.
And Peter doesn't respond with Yes, Lord, I will.
Maybe the reason he's asking three times is that Peter might respond only. Yes, Lord, I love you, but I will do exactly what you tell me to.
I will do because you told me because I love you.
I don't necessarily want to be with the sheep, but you told me I love you. I'll do it.
Which is why people will say.
I can be a Christian and not go to church. And yes, you can be attrition in and out of the church, but how do you love the sheep if you don't go to church?
How do you share the sheep if you don't go to church? How do you tend to the sheep if you don't go to shirt? How do you turn for the Lambs if you don't go to church?
That's like saying.
I love football, but whenever games on TV you don't watch it.
Whenever somebody gives you tickets to go to a game, you don't go.
Talk is cheap.
Jesus, yes I do and we can say I love Jesus. Yes I do. I love Jesus how about you and you can yell back. Yeah we love Jesus. Yes we do we love Jesus? How about you and we go back and forth and talk is cheap.
And yelling is even cheaper.
You love me.
And he said to him, Lord, you know all things you know that I love you.
Jesus said to him, tend my.
First, he said 10 my lambs, the ones that are are weak and you.
Shepherd my sheep, and now I need you to protect guard. Watch for. Make sure they are provided for my sheep.
Not just the lamp.
He just asked a question.
Peter responds incompletely.
In Jesus gives instructions.
These are the details.
We need to pay attention.
Do I love him more than anything else?
And do I do so not just in Word?
But indeed.
No wonder people preach about Jesus restoring Peter.
A lot better than her about.
What Peter is doing wrong and what we're doing wrong?
Following up in verse 18 truly, truly I say to you when you were younger, you use a gird yourself and walk wherever you wish. But when you grow old, do a stretch out your hands, and someone else will purge you and bring you where you do not wish to go. Now when I read this and I haven't read the rest.
I read it like a man getting older.
A man getting older says yeah, I used to go wherever I wanted to go.
But there may come a time.
When others will tell me what to do.
'cause I'm not competent enough to do that, or they don't think I'm competent enough to do that. So they dress me and they feed me and they take me on trips and they do whatever they do an and I see that as kind of getting old and.
Even though my mind keeps saying I'm not getting old, my body keeps disagreeing.
So I see that an I think.
Well, that's kind of a fate for all of us.
But Jesus isn't talking about that in that natural round.
So it tells us.
Now this he said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.
Notice that by just what kind of death?
This is how you're going to end your life.
At the end of your life will glorify God.
And we are told.
That Peter.
When he was martyred was to be crucified.
But it is said that Peter did not wish to die in the same way that his Lord did.
So they crucified him upside down.
To glorify
is Lord.
Now, after having this greater good news that they're going to stretch your arms out and they're going to nail you to across.
Jesus said to him.
Follow me.
I love the scripture.
They're so different than our culture.
You will hear said over and over and over again.
That God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Which is true and that God once only good for you, which is true, and so that good is always you're rich. You're famous, you have all these neat things. People love you.
Jesus says.
You're going to die by crucifixion. Follow me.
It's not that.
God has a wonderful plan for your life, but God does have a wonderful plan for his life because he's going to glorify God.
And your whole point of existence, even though you may disagree.
Is to glorify God.
You think the whole point of God is to glorify you?
At wrong.
He's creator.
He's God.
Even those who do not believe and don't even believe that he exists will one day bow their knee and confess that Jesus is Lord.
All to the glory of God.
Follow me and glorify.
Peter turning around saw the disciple whom Jesus love owing them.
So again, this is John.
John is consistent throughout the.
Is gospel. He never says it's me, he just says it's the disciple Jesus loves and so apparently John is kind of.
Gotta listen into what's going on. Kind of little nosey.
What Peter and him talking about.
It's always following.
And the one who had also leaned back on his bosom at the Supper, and said, Lord, who is the one who betrays you?
That guy.
Peter seen him said to Jesus, Lord.
And what about this man?
OK, I'm going to be stretched out and I'm going to die and I'm going to glorify God, but what about him?
And isn't that so much like us?
OK, Lord of this is by law. Well what about these other people?
If they have to suffer the same way, hopefully so because Misery loves company.
No, I don't want him to have a break. I don't have it. And Jesus said to him, if I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?
In essence, Jesus says it's none of your business.
If I want him to live until I come back so that John in essence will live almost 2000 years so far.
So what?
What I have in store for him is what I have in store for him, but I have a story for you. Is what I have in store for you follow me.
You follow me.
Therefore the same went out among the brethren that that disciple would not die.
Yeah, Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but only if I want him to remain until I come. What is that to you?
So again, it's interesting how.
Rumors.
It's treated in whatever.
The simple what is that to you becomes John's going to live forever.
Rather than, it's just none of your business.
Is this face that we all wanted part of our business?
As we all tell God, what he ought to do.
Most of our prayer lives that way.
Not hear your marching orders.
And I'll talk to you next time.
As opposed to.
Nevertheless, not my will be done Lord, but yours.
Probably the people most susceptible to what other people are doing or pastors.
Because we live in a world of comparison.
There are churches and meat.
In former stadiums.
And they're packed.
And so obviously that pastor must be better than the one who meets in a small church somewhere.
But there's a few dozen people.
Because the results are more important apparently.
Unless you start to.
Determine
why.
One is successful and another may not be.
Maybe?
God is giving him the Grace.
And the spirit to draw people to him.
Or maybe he's just tickling people's ears, and he's not really presenting the gospel.
But let's say.
At that pastor, whoever.
Who's ever in your mind and he he is the next Billy Graham.
He consciously follows the Lord. He preaches the word he's not caring about success or whatever he's doing with the Lord is called him to do.
And then there's the pasture.
A few dozen people.
Easy for the pastor say well, what about him? And what about me?
If God says.
What do you care about that guy?
If I wish to pack his church and I wish to pack his church.
You follow me.
You turn my lamp.
You turn my sheep, you Shepherd my sheep. The amount of sheep.
Matter is who I put you in charge of so that you may protect them and teach them and prepare them.
From lambs to sheep.
None of your business.
What I do?
You follow me.
So this message has two parts.
Love the Lord by your action.
Determining that it is just not.
Words.
But demonstration.
And don't be concerned about what's happening with other people.
I won't say the name, but there are a number of.
Of current.
Musical celebrities
as the world celebrates.
Who got their start in church?
That's what God wants for their lives, fine.
I'm not their boss.
But just think how awesome it would have been if those people with that talent would have stayed in their church.
And glorified God there.
Do you love me more than fame?
You see, it's easy for me to ask those questions of other people.
Watch get in my way.
Of loving God.
And serving him.
And to get that out of my life.
Whatever happens in that celebrity, wonderful, it's none of my business.
My business.
Is the follow him? If you're a believer, Gore business is to follow him and to demonstrate your love for him by doing what he tells you to do.
Whether you're popular or not.
Because I'm going to choose to build my life and to attempt to build in your life.
Him.
People said.