Jesus said to 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.”
John 21:15-19
After breakfast, Jesus asks Peter, “…do you love Me…?” Peter answered Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” Jesus asked Peter this question three times. Some people believe the reason for the question three times was because Peter had denied Jesus three times the night of Jesus’ trial by the religious leaders. Jesus’ response to Peter’s answer each time was to tell Peter to feed or tend Jesus’ lambs/sheep. In John 10, Jesus, in one of His “I am” statements, said that He was “the good shepherd.” Here, in telling Peter to feed/tend the lambs/sheep, Jesus is saying that He is the shepherd of all His lambs/sheep, the redeemed. Jesus is the Great Redeemer who shepherds all the sheep of His sheepfold. Beginning with the Apostles, and continuing to today, Jesus has called men to be under-shepherds of the flocks gathered throughout the world in what are called churches. The under-shepherds are charged, just as Peter was, to feed and tend the sheep that belong to Jesus. All ministerial positions, i.e. pastor, associate pastor, elder, deacon, teacher, musician, etc., are authorized to preach, teach and, lead in the worship of our Savior and Lord, Jesus. Such positions are held to a higher standard by God because of the large numbers of people such positions affect. In James 3:1, James, brother of Jesus, tells his readers that “not many of you should become teachers…for (teachers) will be judged with greater strictness.” Though Peter had fully repented of his sin of denying Jesus, Jesus was telling Peter to follow Him as he fed the sheep. Jesus, then, ends His talk with Peter by describing the manner of Peter’s death that would glorify God. Death is not a topic anyone likes to contemplate or discuss. But, Christians, consider that, even in dying, we can give glory to the Holy One for God is sovereign over all things, including life and death.
Source: S C Ball April 13, 2023
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