Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Jn 21:17. Indeed, only seven disciples are at the rendezvous that Jesus fixed for them in Galilee (Mt 26:31-32; Mt 28:5-8). And again, they seem to have forgotten the purpose of their expectation. Simon Peter, whose Lord had made a fisherman of men, returned to his former occupation.
What’s surprising if “that night they took nothing”? How could the work one does according to one’s own thoughts and outside the presence of the Lord be fruitful? He had warned them that separated from Him, they could do nothing (Jn 15:1-8). But when He is with them, everything changes. The right side of the boat has on the left only one (but essential) advantage: it is the one that Jesus designated to them.
And it is the meeting with the Master who has prepared everything in advance for his tired servants. He did not need their fish, however He also does not despise the fruit of their labor and counted it exactly.
How many times like these disciples we forget our great and next appointment! That sometimes, too, in the midst of our circumstances and failures, as well as our successes, we should be able to discern more quickly the One who speaks to us and recognize him: “It is the Lord.” For it remained for the Lord to perform one last service of love for his disciple Peter.
Thus, on three occasions, the latter had denied his Master. On three occasions he must be surveyed by a painful question: You claimed to have more attachment to me than these, but they did not deny me (Mark 14:27-31). Where is this ardent love you were talking about? I have not had proof of that. “Lord, you know him, you who read in my heart” is all that the poor disciple can finally answer.
So, will the Lord Jesus set him aside? No, because now that Peter has lost confidence in himself, he is clean for service. “Graze my lambs… my sheep,” the Master said to him. And by caring for those whom Jesus loves, Peter will again have the opportunity to show his love for Him.
The gospel ends. But all that the infinite Person who fills it has done, expressed, or experienced is of una priceless interest, and God has not lost its memory: inexhaustible books that we will read for eternity. For the moment, let each redeemed retain with fervour and as a personal call, these last words of his Savior: “You, follow me”.
That is why this appearance of Jesus is reported as his third manifestation. But the manifestation of Christ on earth before his death is not included in the revelations to which this enumeration typically alludes. Indeed, the three as being: the one which, after his resurrection, gave rise to the gathering of the saints in assembly; (2) a revelation of himself to the Jews, in the kind of what is presented in the Song of Songs; and then, 3° the public deployment of its power, when it will have already gathered the residue in the last days. His appearance like a lightning bolt is outside of all these things. For, historically, the three manifestations were: on the day of his resurrection; then on the first day of the week; and its appearance in the Sea of Tiberias.
Then, in a passage full of ineffable grace, the Lord entrusts Peter with the care of his sheep (that is, Peter is the apostle of circumcision), and leaves John an indeterminate sojourn on the earth. These words apply much more to the ministry of these two apostles than to their individuals, except for a single verse relating to Peter.
Thus, the Lord begins with the full restoration of Peter’s soul. He does not blame her for her, but he judges the source of the evil that produced her, self-confidence. Peter had declared that if all denied Jesus, he at least would not deny him. The Lord therefore asks him, “Do you love me more than they do?” And Peter is reduced to recognizing that it took God’s all-science to know that he, who had boasted of loving Jesus more than all the others, really had affection for him. The question, repeated three times, must indeed have probed his heart to the bottom; so it was only at the third time that Peter said: “Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you”. The Lord did not stop working on His conscience until He came to this point. However, the grace which did so for the good of Peter, the grace which followed him in spite of all things, praying for him before he felt the need, or even had committed the fault, this grace is perfect here too; for at the moment when it might have been assumed that, at most, Peter would be readmitted by divine support, the most powerful testimony of grace is lavished upon him.
For when he has been humiliated by his fall, and brought under the complete dependence of grace, grace unfolds in abundance towards him: the Lord entrusts him with what was most dear to him, the sheep which he had just redeemed; he entrusts them to his care. Here, therefore, is manifested the grace which surpasses all that man is, and which, consequently, produces confidence, not in oneself, but in God, as in the One in whose grace one can always put one’s trust, He being full of grace and perfect in this grace which is above all things and always itself. It is this grace that makes us able to do the work of grace—to whom? — to men who need it. It creates trust based on the extent to which it acts. I believe that the Words of the Lord apply to the sheep already known to Peter, and with whom only Jesus had been in habitual relationship; those who were naturally before the spirit of the Lord at this time in the scene we see this chapter dealing with: the sheep of the house of Israel.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
- Christ the Shepherd: God’s people are your flock:
Ps 74.1 Song of Asaph. Why, O God! do you reject forever? Why do you get angry with the herd of your pasture? Ps 79:13 And we, your people, the flock of your pasture, will celebrate thee eternally; From generation to generation we will publish your praises. Mt 10:16 Behold, I send you like sheep in the midst of wolves. So be careful like snakes, and simple like doves. Mt 15:24 He answered: I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Mt 25:33 and he will put the sheep to his right, and the goats to his left. Mt 26:31 and he will put the sheep to his right, and the goats to his left. Jn 10.3 The doorman opens to him, and the sheep hear his voice; he calls by name the sheep which belong to him, and he leads them outside. Acts 20:29 I know that there will be among you, after my departure, cruel wolves who will not spare the flock,
- Feeding the herd:
Jr 3.15 I will give you shepherds according to my heart, and they will graze you with intelligence and wisdom. Jr 23.4 I will establish upon them pastors who will graze them; They will have no more fear, no more terror, and there will be none missing, saithovah. Ez 34:23 I will establish upon them a single pastor, who will make them graze, my servant David; he will make them graze, he will be their pastor. Jn 21:17 He said to her for the third time: Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? Peter was saddened by what he had said to her for the third time: Do you love me? And he answered her, Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you. Jesus said to him: Feed my sheep. Acts 20:28, therefore, beware of yourselves, and of all the flock on which the Holy Spirit has established you bishops, to graze the Church of the Lord, which He has acquired by his own blood. 1 P 5.2 Graze the flock of God which is in your care, not by compulsion, but voluntarily, according to God; not for sordid gain, but with devotion;
- Divine omniscience:
Jn 2:24 But Jesus did not trust them, because he knew them all; Jn 16:30 Now we know that you know all things, and that you do not need anyone to question you; that is why we believe that you have come out of God. Jn 21:17 He said to her for the third time: Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? Peter was saddened by what he had said to her for the third time: Do you love me? And he answered her, Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you. Jesus said to him: Feed my sheep. Acts 1:24 Then they made this prayer: Lord, you who know the hearts of all, designate which of these two you have chosen,
- Proof of service
– Established in Israel: Dt 10:12 Now, Israel, what does Jehovah, your God, ask of you, except that you fear Jehovah, your God, in order to walk in all his ways, to love and serve Jehovah, your God, with all your heart and soul;
– Condemned King Saul: 1 S 15:22 Samuel says: Does Jehovah find pleasure in holocausts and sacrifices, as in obedience to the voice of Jehovah? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifices, and the observance of one’s word is better than the fat of rams.
– Exclude from the kingdoms the superficial believers: Mt 7:21 Those who say to me: Lord, Lord! will not all enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
– Christ applies it in the parable of the good Samaritan: Lk 10:37 He is the one who exercised mercy towards him, replied the doctor of the law. And Jesus said to him: Go, and you do the same.
– Reveals the quality of love: Jn 21:17 He said to him for the third time: Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? Peter was saddened by what he had said to her for the third time: Do you love me? And he answered her, Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you. Jesus said to him: Feed my sheep.
– Shall be applied in order to determine the final fate of each man: Mt 25:35-36 For I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; 36 I was naked, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me.
- Persecution, predicted in connection with the Church:
Mt 10:17 Warn yourself against men; for they will deliver you to the courts, and they will beat you with rods in their synagogues; Mt 24:9 Then you shall be tormented, and you shall be made to die; and you shall be hated by all nations, because of my name. Lk 21:12 But before all this, they will get their hands on you, and they will persecute you; they will deliver you to the synagogues, they will throw you into prison, they will take you before kings and before governors, because of my name. Jn 15:20 Remember the word I said unseed to you: The servant is no greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my word, they will also keep yours. Jn 16:2 They will exclude you from the synagogues; and even the time comes when whoever makes you die will believe that he worships God. 2 Tim 3:12 Now, all those who want to live piously in Jesus Christ will be persecuted. Rev 2:10 Fear not what you will suffer. Behold, the devil will throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have a tribulation of ten days. Be faithful to death, and I will give you the crown of life.
From all of the above, we note that grace surpasses all that man is, and therefore produces trust in God, He who is full of grace and perfect in that grace above all things. For now that Peter has lost confidence in himself, he is clean for service. This grace creates trust depending on the extent to which it acts. He becomes fit to graze the Lord’s flock. And the Lord’s words apply to the sheep already known to Peter, and with whom only Jesus had been in the usual relationship: the sheep of the house of Israel. This flock expands every day through the Gospel. Our prayers support you all in your efforts to be among the Lord’s sheep.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite anyone who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me as follows:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I acknowledge that I have sinned against you and ask forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as my Lord and personal Savior. I acknowledge that you died on the cross of Calvary and that you rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me each day to eternal life you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal to me and strengthen my heart and my faith so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me in your divine family so that I too can contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
To you all worship, power, and glory, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be glad to respond to your queries and comments if necessary, before sharing with you next week “the disciples waiting for the Holy Sprit.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Lord of hosts.