There are a lot of organizations in the world which run on volunteer labor. Go into most hospitals or museums and notice the people serving there without pay. Sometimes the leadership of the group is highly paid, but the grunt work is done free of charge. Why do those volunteers give of their time? Often it is out of love and thankfulness. At some time they, or someone they love, was treated in that hospital, and they want to give back. Or perhaps it is a simple love of history that moves them to help others to love history.
Love is a critical ingredient of Bible Christianity. It begins, as we saw this morning, with the love of the God of Love, who chose to bestow His grace upon a few unworthy sinners. Out of that love and salvation, our hearts are changed and “we love Him because He first loved us.” And then that love reaches out to others. True Christianity is not just a matter of baptism and doctrine, churches and Sunday services. Among other things, the Apostle James said that godly religion included “visiting the fatherless and widows in their afflictions.” True saints “love their neighbors as themselves,” because that is both the command, and the example, of their Saviour. In order to “see” God “we must be holy as He is holy,” and we must love “as He first loved us.” Knowledge of the Bible, faith in the Lord, hope in Heaven, giving and praying for missions are all good. But these things will crumble into dust without the kind of love we see expressed in God’s Word. “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.”
This episode with Peter is filled with emotion, and it highlights the importance of love above them all. Jesus, their Master, had been crucified, creating a physical void in the lives of the disciples – emptiness. They were in mourning. They were beginning to understand the necessity of the sacrifice of the Lamb – creating thankfulness. They were rudderless about where to go and how to move forward – creating confusion. These and a dozen other emotions were flying in and out of their lives on an hourly basis. We can sympathize with them, because our lives get that way sometimes. And then the Lord revealed Himself to them once again, bringing their hearts back to a couple of earlier miracles, and turning all their emotions upside down once again.
In the midst of it all, the Lord Jesus asked Peter a question which He repeated 3 times: “Lovest thou me?”
The word which the Lord used was the strongest possible – “lovest thou me with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy strength and with all thy mind?” Peter “agapeo?” “Lovest thou me more than these?” More than what, Lord? More than the fish you just fed me? More than fishing and the boat over there at the shore? More than I love these brethren with whom I have spent the last three years of my life? More than WHAT Lord? It is believed by John Gill and many others, that the Lord asked Peter if he loved more Him than the rest of the disciples loved Him, and I tend to agree with that. It needs to be remembered that Peter had once said, “Lord, though the others all forsake you, I will never forsake you,” but he HAD forsaken Him. “Peter do you love me more than John loves me, or more than Andrew loves me?” “How can I answer that Lord? I can’t measure their hearts. I can hardly weigh my own.” All I can say is, “Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee.”
Think about this question – and the One who asked. Did Christ HAVE to ask? Did He need to ask? Absolutely not. Christ knows the heart and mind of every man – the mind of every soul. “He needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man.” The disciples once testified, “Now we are sure that thou knowest all things.” The Lord knows your deepest secrets. He knows your sins and He knows your joys and hopes. He knows that the Pharisees are hypocrites and He knows who are the liars – fakes and frauds. We all need to be prepared for exposure. So the Lord knew the heart of Peter – and yet He asked the question anyway.
That tells us several things. First, the Lord wants you and me to open the door of our hearts and honestly look inside. Most people have no idea how much cholesterol and plaque have clogged up their hearts. Second, Christ wants a public declaration of our love, if it really exists. There is no room for secret disciples in these last days of grace. We are in a battle, and it is necessary that the army of the Lord pledge its allegiance. When was the last time that you honestly and humbly said, “Lord, I love you, and I want you to be the center of my life?” Maybe this is the central lesson in this text.
A third lesson is that Christ Jesus has a legitimate claim on our hearts – especially if we are children of God. We owe to Him a great deal – as simple created beings, living in His garden palace. “Every good gift and every perfect gift cometh down from Heaven….” But then, if we are children of God, our debt is compounded ten thousand fold. We must love Him who first loved us with a love expressed on Calvary. Notice that Jesus didn’t ask for Peter’s doctrinal statement, even though there was reason to doubt Peter’s orthodoxy after his recent denial of Christ. The Lord didn’t check to see if he was still a member of the first Baptist church. He didn’t ask if had a fishing licence or if he spent much time in prayer before he went fishing. As is often the case, the Lord dug right into the core of the question: “Peter, do you love me.” Despite appearances, Peter didn’t answer the question. I’ll come back to that in a minute.
Of course, we recall that Peter had denied the Lord three times as he warmed himself in the high priest’s courtyard. And Jesus asked His erring disciple that question the same number of times. Judy and I have been married 56 years, and from day one, my wife as been asking me, if I love her. I suppose that the reason for the question is because, like most husbands, I don’t verbalize my love as often as wives would like to hear it. But when she asks, she doesn’t have ask twice – I have always known that a quick reply is appropriate. “Thou knowest that I love thee.” In Peter’s case, there had been a public question after his illicit liaison with the servants of the high priest. The Lord wanted a confession of love. His return to fellowship with the brethren wasn’t enough, nor was a mere expression of grief – “Sorry, Lord.” Getting back to work was not sufficient either. Why? Because its all too easy to make sin seem trivial. Public sin requires public confession and public restoration.
God will test our love for Him. In Peter’s case it was intimate and personal – Jesus may have even pointed to him. And the question was repetitive and searching – like several blows of a hammer. It was inward not outward – at least initially, the Lord didn’t ask Peter to DO something outstanding. And as I suggested, it was public – both the question and the required answer were in front of the others. Don’t whisper your love, thinking that you will be believed. Its not love at all if it can’t be shouted from the roof-top. Love for Christ is proof that we are children of God. Jesus said, in John 8:42 – “If God were your Father, ye would love me.” I Corinthians 16:22 – “If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.” God’s saving grace is only with those who love Christ, as we see in Ephesians 6:24 – “Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.” And only those who love the Lord find that “all things work together for good.” If someone lacks genuine love for Christ, scripture teaches that they bound for Hell. And it doesn’t matter how many times they have uttered the so-called “sinners prayer.”
That brings us to Peter’s tripled answer.
The first thing that he did was appeal to the Lord’s deity. “Lord, you KNOW my heart. Why do you even ask me; I know that you KNOW all things. And whereas before I thought I knew myself, today I’ll make no rash boast. Lord, you know that I love you.”
Peter’s reply was sweetened with honesty and humility. But here is a problem, Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him with all his heart – “agape.” Peter answered the Lord saying, “My love is with the utmost human emotion” – “phileo.” Perhaps in this Peter incidentally reminds us not to boast of more than what we know ourselves to possess. Be honest if you must acknowledge that your love is inferior to what the Lord deserves. If we refuse to admit that there is a problem, there will be no correction of that problem.
So perhaps we need to ask, “WHY it is that we love Christ?” Is it because we want something from Him? Or is it because we have received something from Him? In Peter’s case, his love may have been because of what the Lord had already done. We should love Christ because He first loved us and gave himself a ransom for our souls. And beyond his, Peter has learned more of Christ – he knows He is infinitely worthy of love. To love out of debt is not necessarily a sinful thing, but to love the Lord for who He is – is better. He who is worthy of, our Sundays, our service, our giving our worship and our fear is worthy also of our love.
As the short conversation came to a conclusion, the Lord gave Peter a three-fold commission.
“Feed my sheep; feed my lambs.” By the very fact that this command was given is evidence of the Lord’s forgiveness. Oh, thank the Lord that He has allowed us to be His servants. Don’t curse His commands – we don’t deserve to have them.
The Lord said to Peter, “Feed my lambs and my sheep.” Perhaps the commands given to you are slightly different than what was given to Peter. Maybe you can’t think of anything specific. But there are those general things.
When a person loves someone, he will do all that he can do to please that other person. Do you please the One who loved you enough to die for your sins? Jesus said, “If you love me keep my commandments” – do you? When a person loves another, he longs to be with that person – to hear about him – thinking about him. I know that the Bible is said to be the most published book in human history. But on a weekly basis, at the grocery check out counter, how many Bibles are sold in comparison to the gossip magazines? Lovers usually love the friends of the one they love. And they love to talk about the One whom they love. And they are jealous of the name of their loved one, and they are willing to defend that name.
Jesus asked, “Peter, lovest thou me?” I believe that we have every right – perhaps even the responsibility – to substitute our name for Peter’s in that verse. Do I love the Lord, my Saviour, as I should?