John 21:1-25
Key Verse: John 21: 17
“The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you. Jesus said Feed my sheep.”
Good morning everyone! Hope you guys are enjoying the conference so far. So let’s just look back on what we’ve learned so far about Peter’s walk with Jesus through these past few days. From Peter, we learned about Jesus calling upon Peter to be his disciple and beginning a relationship with him. Then in Patrick’s message, we learned about Peter receiving his name through Jesus. Then in Paul’s message, we learned about Peter denying Jesus three times, but how Jesus forgave him. Through this passage, we will learn about Jesus’s shepherd heart and his amazing grace, and about Peter’s reinstatement as a follower and lover of christ.
Let me pray first: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for really blessing this conference so far and letting us to really just have a good time of fellowship while learning about Peter’s Journey of really encountering you. Please help me to be able to deliver this message through your grace, and please fill me with the holy spirit so that I may be able to really speak your word.
I pray in Jesus’ name Amen.
Now in Paul’s passage we learned about the crucifixion of Jesus. But between Paul’s passage and my passage, Jesus Christ is resurrected. Three days after his crucifixion, Jesus conquered and rose from the death.
After his resurrection Jesus also made appearances to certain people. He first appeared to Mary Magdalene. Jesus also appeared to his disciples. He first appears to them in Luke 24:36, where he says “Peace be with you”. Now all the disciples were frightened and even thought they saw a ghost. The disciples were so amazed and filled with joy that they couldn’t believe what they just witnessed. Then Jesus appears to them again as we see in John 20. Now Thomas, one of Jesus’ disciples wasn’t there when Jesus first appeared to his disciples and he doubted that it even happened. But he was with them now, when Jesus came into the disciples’ house even through locked doors. Again, he said Peace be with you. Jesus said to Thomas “stop doubting and believe”, which then led Thomas to declare Jesus as his Lord and God. Now Jesus appeared to his disciples twice, which means that he appeared to Peter twice. But even after these two appearances, Peter still felt guilty and conflicted. Which leads us into this third appearance of Jesus.
Part 1: Jesus’ grace and shepherd heart
“Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.”
In verses 1-3, we see that the disciples had now gone back to their hometown, Galilee. This is where the disciples were, when Jesus first called them to be his disciples. Now after following Jesus, the disciples went back to their old lives as fishermen. They were just sitting around, when Peter decided that he was going to go fishing, and the other disciples tagged along. This was the default action that the disciples were used to doing. When the didn’t know what to do, they decided to fish. Do you guys have any default activities? Maybe watching netflix, browsing the interweb, or maybe trying to get swole like Peter. We get this feeling that the disciples were in a state of having no direction and were lost.
Can someone read verse 3
Through this verse, we see that the disciples weren’t even able to succeed at their old job as fishers or even get food for themselves. Now fishing is not an easy task and can be very hit or miss, but they fished for the whole night and into the next day.
At this point in their lives, the disciples probably felt like complete failures. Not only did they fail Jesus, but they couldn’t even catch one fish.
Let’s look at verses 4-6.
Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. 6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.”When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
Now after a whole night of failure, the disciples were probably exhausted and hungry af. Jesus called out to them, but the disciples were too tired to even recognize their lord. Jesus clearly noticed the disciples failure, and was willing to help as he always did. The disciples went from catching absolutely nothing to catching a boat load of fish, all because of Jesus. All he did was tell the disciples to throw their net on the right side of the boat, and considering that the disciples were fishing all night, I assume that they already tried fishing from all directions on the boat. This was not the first time that Jesus performed a miraculous catch with the disciples. Jesus also performed this when he first called his disciples in Peter’s passage:
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.
Now let’s look at verses 7 and 8: Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.[c]
Now after Jesus performed this miracle, one of the disciples finally realized that the man who was standing on the shore, was Jesus. In verse 8, it says peter put on his garment and jumped out of the boat. The disciples hadn’t even reached shore, yet Peter jumped out and swam to Jesus. This shows that Peter still had a love and desire for Jesus. Even though Peter denied Jesus in times of threat and trouble, he still wanted to show that he loved Jesus the most. Peter’s respect for Jesus is also shown. When you go swimming, you usually take off your garments before you go in the water, however before he jumped in the water Peter wrapped his garment around himself.
In verses 9-12, Jesus cooks a meal for the disciples and eats with them. Not only did Jesus just help the disciples catch an immense amount of fish but he also cooked a meal for them. This really shows Jesus’ shepherd heart and his care, almost like a parent cares for their child.
When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.
In verse 12a, Jesus says to his disciples “Come have breakfast”. Even after his disciples had failed him, Jesus still wanted to eat with them. Through this we see that Jesus just wants to have a close and intimate relationship with us. Also the fact that Jesus just wants to have a meal with us is significant. A meal eaten with family or family is a way to reconnect with each other, and just to share fellowship. I don’t usually spend that much time with my family, but I always have a meal with them everyday which is one of the ways that I maintain a relationship with them. Jesus wanted to reconnect with his disciples and just wanted to be in each other’s loving company. At this meal, the grace of Jesus is shown upon his disciples. Jesus lifts us up whenever we fail him, but he just wants us to come to him. The disciples all failed Jesus, yet he didn’t try to rebuke them. All he said to them was come.
Part 2: Peter restored in Jesus Christ
Let’s look at verses 15-17. “ When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” 16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” 17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.
Now you all probably have heard these verses before, and feel like it’s simple and easy to understand. That’s also how I initially felt, when first reading through my passage. But after studying it and reading it over, I realized that there are so many things that we can learn from just these three verses.
First, let’s look at how Jesus addresses Peter. He calls him Simon son of John. Now this was his name before Jesus gave him the name Peter as we learned about in Matthew 16. It’s kind of like how are parents call us by our full names when we are in trouble. This gave Peter a sense of guilt and made him realize that he had failed the named that Jesus had given him. This alone was enough that Jesus didn't even need to rebuke Peter.
Next we look at what it means to love Jesus. Here Peter was, one of Jesus’ greatest disciples. And yet, when he confessed his love for Jesus three times, it wasn’t enough. In Luke 22:33, Peter even says “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”. Yet Peter ended up denying Jesus three times. This really shows the extent to which we love Jesus with our own power. It shows there are limitations to human love. Jesus asked Peter three times “Do you love me?”. Three times to represent the amount of times that Peter denied Jesus but also three times because Jesus really wanted Peter to ask himself if he truly loved Jesus. In verse 17, it also says that Peter was hurt, because he thought that he actually loved Jesus. But as Jesus asked Peter three times, he actually became convicted and realized that he is a great sinner and that he is weak without Jesus. Peter realizes that he wasn’t truly loving Jesus and in this way he restores his relationship with Jesus because he realizes that he needed to do more in the relationship. The transformation and restoration of Peter happens right before our eyes. As you can see from verses 1-16, Peter is referred to as Simon Peter, which symbolizes his old self. Yet after his exchange with Jesus, he is referred to as just Peter through the rest of the passage. Peter’s relationship with Jesus is restored. As we learned in Patrick’s message, Jesus gave Simon the name Peter, so that he would be a rock for his church. When Peter’s relationship was restored with Jesus, he would be able to carry out this name.
Now when you usually ask someone “Do you love me”, it’s because you love them and want them to love you too. Now Jesus also asked Peter this question, because he wanted Peter to know how much he loved him. He wanted Peter to know that even though he failed him, literally denied even knowing Jesus, and even denied his own identity, that Jesus still loved him. Jesus wanted Peter to realize how great is love actually is. That it can cover any sin and all guilt. Jesus wanted Peter to know that even though he was not at the greatest point in his life at that moment, that he was still with Peter and that he would never disown him. Jesus is constant and is with us through every trial and every success in our life.
Next we look into Peter’s higher calling as a shepherd. In verse 15-17, Jesus says to Peter, “Feed my lambs”, “take care of my sheep”, and “feed my sheep”. This is interesting because when Jesus first called Peter to be his disciple, he said “from now on you will fish for people.” Let’s look at the difference between a fisher and a shepherd. A fisher goes out and catches numerous fish and then brings them back to shore. However shepherds have a much closer relationship with its sheep. It knows each one by name, tends and cares for each one. In this way, Jesus was giving Peter a higher calling and a bigger responsibility. Jesus almost promoting Peter in a sense, but what’s interesting is that it wasn’t in the sense of a reward but in times of failure. Jesus has a way of coming to people in times of failure, and it’s at these times that his grace really shines through. From this we see that Christ is really constant. When we have a loving relationship with Christ, we are really able to thrive and glorify God. And even in times of failure, Christ is there to lift us up and bring us back to him.
We should also pay close attention to what Jesus said to Peter. Jesus says “Feed My Sheep.” First, we must know who Jesus’ sheep are. We are all Jesus’ sheep. Jesus is the greatest shepherd and cares for all of us, as a good shepherd does. Now Jesus wanted Peter to feed His sheep. Jesus wanted peter to take care of his flock. Peter was also Jesus’ sheep, but now Jesus wanted him to be a shepherd. Now what exactly does this mean. To feed a sheep, is to give it food. Matthew 4:4 says ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’. The food that Jesus is talking about is the word of God. One of the biggest ways that mother show their love to their kids is through food. In the same way, if we feed Jesus’ sheep, we will show them the love of Christ, but also show that we love Christ. Now Peter takes this heart, and we’ll see through Johnny’s passage, how he uses the Word of God to reflect Jesus’ love.
From these verses, we know that Jesus really wants us to feed his sheep. And that through feeding his sheep, we are loving him. Whether this means to reach out to others and really bring them to Jesus and help them grow in christ. Or even just reevaluating your own relationship with Jesus, so that you can bear fruit.
Now even though Jesus wants us to truly love him, he makes it very clear that it is not easy. Look at verse 18-19 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go. Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” This shows the struggle that we will face, when we love Jesus. We might not always be able to do what we want to do, and we will have to deny our selfish desires to follow Jesus. Our selfish worldly self must die in order for us to be able to glorify god. It really is an all or nothing situation, where you either follow god or you don’t. Simply identifying as a christian, going to church, and thinking that you love Jesus is not enough. In verse 19, Jesus says “Follow me!” You can see that an exclamation point is used. Jesus really put an emphasis on this point of following him. Peter had just restored his love relationship with Jesus, and just received a higher calling as a shepherd. Peter must have felt uplifted after he was restored with christ. He also must have felt honored that Jesus had just gave him a higher calling. But with all the responsibilities that come with being a shepherd, Peter probably also felt very overwhelmed and uncertain if he would be able to handle it. And although Jesus claims that it will not be easy, he tells Peter to follow him, because we learn that without Jesus we can’t do anything and will fail every time, so we truly need him.
Honestly when I first started writing my message I just expected to get through it without putting much effort or thought into it. But through studying this passage, it made me realize how much of a sinner I am. Here I am, picking at Peter’s flaws and mistakes when I am much worse than Peter. Even though peter had many shortcomings, he still had a burning desire for Jesus. Which I can’t exactly say for myself. I often find myself in the state that the disciples were in before jesus appeared to them. Not really having spiritual direction. I actually think that I was in a better spiritual condition earlier in my life, because I actually had a desire to have a relationship with Jesus which led me to be baptized during my sophomore year. But during the past two years, especially with school becoming more challenging, I really pushed God aside and went on my daily life without any spiritual growth. Whenever I am questioned about my religion, I always just say that I am a christian, and in my head I say to myself that I love Jesus so I’m fine. But through writing this message, I learned that my thoughts of loving Jesus were not actual love. I realized that I really need to restore my relationship in Jesus.
Through writing this message and learning about how Jesus is constant and is always with us, I realized that Jesus is also really constant in my life even if I don’t feel like it. He’s really been with me through the high and low points in my life. During the beginning of my senior year and through the whole college process, I honestly was starting to feel like a failure. I really had no expectations of getting into the school that I wanted. With so much pressure and stress, I truly felt like I was at a low point. I started to prepare myself to go to a different college, not saying that anything is wrong with that, but I just felt disappointed because I was given so many opportunities and benefits throughout high school. So when I got my acceptance letter to Northwestern, not only was I shocked but I also really felt God’s grace and mercy. At a time where I should have really been depending on him, I failed to acknowledge him and still he really came through in my life and blessed me.
Now that I’ve been accepted to Northwestern along with four of my closest friends, and have really looked at Jesus’ command of Feed my Sheep, I’ve realized that this is honestly a really good opportunity to build upon this blessing. The student ministry will really grow next year with the new freshman, and living near the Northwestern campus I can see that a lot of students need Jesus and need to know his love for them. As I work to restore my own relationship with Jesus, I hope that I can make an impact on the Northwestern student ministry and also really pray to reach out to Northwestern students.
To love Jesus means so much more. It means to deny ourselves and our worldly desires, and to actively seek christ to build a relationship with him. It also requires us to realize that we really need Jesus in order to love him, and that we cannot love him by our strength alone. Jesus is waiting for all of us to just come to him even if we feel like failures.
To recap, we learned of God’s amazing grace and shepherd heart for us in times of trouble. Christ is with us during all times. He is constant. Even in our low points of life. And he’s always ready to accept us and begin a relationship with us. All we have to do is come to him. We also learned what it means to truly love Jesus and how important it is to have a loving relationship with him. To love Jesus, we must feed his sheep and find out what that means for our life. And sustaining a loving relationship with Jesus is so important because if we don’t invest in Jesus, we really can’t do anything that bears fruit. Two questions that I want everyone here to think about is
How has God been constant in your life?
And how is God calling you to feed his sheep?
And in Johnny’s message we will learn about how Peter lives his life after being restored in christ, and how he feeds Jesus’ sheep.
Can we read the key verse one more time
Prayer: Dear heavenly father,
Thank you for really allowing me to speak your word and I really hope that everyone here was able to take away something from this message. Lord thank you for letting us learn about how you really are constant and how great your love is. Lord really bless the rest of this conference and be with Johnny as he gives the closing message. Also please help this conference to not just be a spiritual high for all of us but for all of us to really build on our relationship with you.
At this point in their lives, the disciples probably felt like complete failures. Not only did they fail Jesus, but they couldn’t even catch one fish.
Let’s look at verses 4-6.
Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. 6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.”When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
Now after a whole night of failure, the disciples were probably exhausted and hungry af. Jesus called out to them, but the disciples were too tired to even recognize their lord. Jesus clearly noticed the disciples failure, and was willing to help as he always did. The disciples went from catching absolutely nothing to catching a boat load of fish, all because of Jesus. All he did was tell the disciples to throw their net on the right side of the boat, and considering that the disciples were fishing all night, I assume that they already tried fishing from all directions on the boat. This was not the first time that Jesus performed a miraculous catch with the disciples. Jesus also performed this when he first called his disciples in Peter’s passage:
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.
Now let’s look at verses 7 and 8: Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.[c]
Now after Jesus performed this miracle, one of the disciples finally realized that the man who was standing on the shore, was Jesus. In verse 8, it says peter put on his garment and jumped out of the boat. The disciples hadn’t even reached shore, yet Peter jumped out and swam to Jesus. This shows that Peter still had a love and desire for Jesus. Even though Peter denied Jesus in times of threat and trouble, he still wanted to show that he loved Jesus the most. Peter’s respect for Jesus is also shown. When you go swimming, you usually take off your garments before you go in the water, however before he jumped in the water Peter wrapped his garment around himself.
In verses 9-12, Jesus cooks a meal for the disciples and eats with them. Not only did Jesus just help the disciples catch an immense amount of fish but he also cooked a meal for them. This really shows Jesus’ shepherd heart and his care, almost like a parent cares for their child.
When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.
In verse 12a, Jesus says to his disciples “Come have breakfast”. Even after his disciples had failed him, Jesus still wanted to eat with them. Through this we see that Jesus just wants to have a close and intimate relationship with us. Also the fact that Jesus just wants to have a meal with us is significant. A meal eaten with family or family is a way to reconnect with each other, and just to share fellowship. I don’t usually spend that much time with my family, but I always have a meal with them everyday which is one of the ways that I maintain a relationship with them. Jesus wanted to reconnect with his disciples and just wanted to be in each other’s loving company. At this meal, the grace of Jesus is shown upon his disciples. Jesus lifts us up whenever we fail him, but he just wants us to come to him. The disciples all failed Jesus, yet he didn’t try to rebuke them. All he said to them was come.
Part 2: Peter restored in Jesus Christ
Let’s look at verses 15-17. “ When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” 16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” 17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.
Now you all probably have heard these verses before, and feel like it’s simple and easy to understand. That’s also how I initially felt, when first reading through my passage. But after studying it and reading it over, I realized that there are so many things that we can learn from just these three verses.
First, let’s look at how Jesus addresses Peter. He calls him Simon son of John. Now this was his name before Jesus gave him the name Peter as we learned about in Matthew 16. It’s kind of like how are parents call us by our full names when we are in trouble. This gave Peter a sense of guilt and made him realize that he had failed the named that Jesus had given him. This alone was enough that Jesus didn't even need to rebuke Peter.
Next we look at what it means to love Jesus. Here Peter was, one of Jesus’ greatest disciples. And yet, when he confessed his love for Jesus three times, it wasn’t enough. In Luke 22:33, Peter even says “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”. Yet Peter ended up denying Jesus three times. This really shows the extent to which we love Jesus with our own power. It shows there are limitations to human love. Jesus asked Peter three times “Do you love me?”. Three times to represent the amount of times that Peter denied Jesus but also three times because Jesus really wanted Peter to ask himself if he truly loved Jesus. In verse 17, it also says that Peter was hurt, because he thought that he actually loved Jesus. But as Jesus asked Peter three times, he actually became convicted and realized that he is a great sinner and that he is weak without Jesus. Peter realizes that he wasn’t truly loving Jesus and in this way he restores his relationship with Jesus because he realizes that he needed to do more in the relationship. The transformation and restoration of Peter happens right before our eyes. As you can see from verses 1-16, Peter is referred to as Simon Peter, which symbolizes his old self. Yet after his exchange with Jesus, he is referred to as just Peter through the rest of the passage. Peter’s relationship with Jesus is restored. As we learned in Patrick’s message, Jesus gave Simon the name Peter, so that he would be a rock for his church. When Peter’s relationship was restored with Jesus, he would be able to carry out this name.
Now when you usually ask someone “Do you love me”, it’s because you love them and want them to love you too. Now Jesus also asked Peter this question, because he wanted Peter to know how much he loved him. He wanted Peter to know that even though he failed him, literally denied even knowing Jesus, and even denied his own identity, that Jesus still loved him. Jesus wanted Peter to realize how great is love actually is. That it can cover any sin and all guilt. Jesus wanted Peter to know that even though he was not at the greatest point in his life at that moment, that he was still with Peter and that he would never disown him. Jesus is constant and is with us through every trial and every success in our life.
Next we look into Peter’s higher calling as a shepherd. In verse 15-17, Jesus says to Peter, “Feed my lambs”, “take care of my sheep”, and “feed my sheep”. This is interesting because when Jesus first called Peter to be his disciple, he said “from now on you will fish for people.” Let’s look at the difference between a fisher and a shepherd. A fisher goes out and catches numerous fish and then brings them back to shore. However shepherds have a much closer relationship with its sheep. It knows each one by name, tends and cares for each one. In this way, Jesus was giving Peter a higher calling and a bigger responsibility. Jesus almost promoting Peter in a sense, but what’s interesting is that it wasn’t in the sense of a reward but in times of failure. Jesus has a way of coming to people in times of failure, and it’s at these times that his grace really shines through. From this we see that Christ is really constant. When we have a loving relationship with Christ, we are really able to thrive and glorify God. And even in times of failure, Christ is there to lift us up and bring us back to him.
We should also pay close attention to what Jesus said to Peter. Jesus says “Feed My Sheep.” First, we must know who Jesus’ sheep are. We are all Jesus’ sheep. Jesus is the greatest shepherd and cares for all of us, as a good shepherd does. Now Jesus wanted Peter to feed His sheep. Jesus wanted peter to take care of his flock. Peter was also Jesus’ sheep, but now Jesus wanted him to be a shepherd. Now what exactly does this mean. To feed a sheep, is to give it food. Matthew 4:4 says ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’. The food that Jesus is talking about is the word of God. One of the biggest ways that mother show their love to their kids is through food. In the same way, if we feed Jesus’ sheep, we will show them the love of Christ, but also show that we love Christ. Now Peter takes this heart, and we’ll see through Johnny’s passage, how he uses the Word of God to reflect Jesus’ love.
From these verses, we know that Jesus really wants us to feed his sheep. And that through feeding his sheep, we are loving him. Whether this means to reach out to others and really bring them to Jesus and help them grow in christ. Or even just reevaluating your own relationship with Jesus, so that you can bear fruit.
Now even though Jesus wants us to truly love him, he makes it very clear that it is not easy. Look at verse 18-19 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go. Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” This shows the struggle that we will face, when we love Jesus. We might not always be able to do what we want to do, and we will have to deny our selfish desires to follow Jesus. Our selfish worldly self must die in order for us to be able to glorify god. It really is an all or nothing situation, where you either follow god or you don’t. Simply identifying as a christian, going to church, and thinking that you love Jesus is not enough. In verse 19, Jesus says “Follow me!” You can see that an exclamation point is used. Jesus really put an emphasis on this point of following him. Peter had just restored his love relationship with Jesus, and just received a higher calling as a shepherd. Peter must have felt uplifted after he was restored with christ. He also must have felt honored that Jesus had just gave him a higher calling. But with all the responsibilities that come with being a shepherd, Peter probably also felt very overwhelmed and uncertain if he would be able to handle it. And although Jesus claims that it will not be easy, he tells Peter to follow him, because we learn that without Jesus we can’t do anything and will fail every time, so we truly need him.
Honestly when I first started writing my message I just expected to get through it without putting much effort or thought into it. But through studying this passage, it made me realize how much of a sinner I am. Here I am, picking at Peter’s flaws and mistakes when I am much worse than Peter. Even though peter had many shortcomings, he still had a burning desire for Jesus. Which I can’t exactly say for myself. I often find myself in the state that the disciples were in before jesus appeared to them. Not really having spiritual direction. I actually think that I was in a better spiritual condition earlier in my life, because I actually had a desire to have a relationship with Jesus which led me to be baptized during my sophomore year. But during the past two years, especially with school becoming more challenging, I really pushed God aside and went on my daily life without any spiritual growth. Whenever I am questioned about my religion, I always just say that I am a christian, and in my head I say to myself that I love Jesus so I’m fine. But through writing this message, I learned that my thoughts of loving Jesus were not actual love. I realized that I really need to restore my relationship in Jesus.
Through writing this message and learning about how Jesus is constant and is always with us, I realized that Jesus is also really constant in my life even if I don’t feel like it. He’s really been with me through the high and low points in my life. During the beginning of my senior year and through the whole college process, I honestly was starting to feel like a failure. I really had no expectations of getting into the school that I wanted. With so much pressure and stress, I truly felt like I was at a low point. I started to prepare myself to go to a different college, not saying that anything is wrong with that, but I just felt disappointed because I was given so many opportunities and benefits throughout high school. So when I got my acceptance letter to Northwestern, not only was I shocked but I also really felt God’s grace and mercy. At a time where I should have really been depending on him, I failed to acknowledge him and still he really came through in my life and blessed me.
Now that I’ve been accepted to Northwestern along with four of my closest friends, and have really looked at Jesus’ command of Feed my Sheep, I’ve realized that this is honestly a really good opportunity to build upon this blessing. The student ministry will really grow next year with the new freshman, and living near the Northwestern campus I can see that a lot of students need Jesus and need to know his love for them. As I work to restore my own relationship with Jesus, I hope that I can make an impact on the Northwestern student ministry and also really pray to reach out to Northwestern students.
To love Jesus means so much more. It means to deny ourselves and our worldly desires, and to actively seek christ to build a relationship with him. It also requires us to realize that we really need Jesus in order to love him, and that we cannot love him by our strength alone. Jesus is waiting for all of us to just come to him even if we feel like failures.
To recap, we learned of God’s amazing grace and shepherd heart for us in times of trouble. Christ is with us during all times. He is constant. Even in our low points of life. And he’s always ready to accept us and begin a relationship with us. All we have to do is come to him. We also learned what it means to truly love Jesus and how important it is to have a loving relationship with him. To love Jesus, we must feed his sheep and find out what that means for our life. And sustaining a loving relationship with Jesus is so important because if we don’t invest in Jesus, we really can’t do anything that bears fruit. Two questions that I want everyone here to think about is
How has God been constant in your life?
And how is God calling you to feed his sheep?
And in Johnny’s message we will learn about how Peter lives his life after being restored in christ, and how he feeds Jesus’ sheep.
Can we read the key verse one more time
Prayer: Dear heavenly father,
Thank you for really allowing me to speak your word and I really hope that everyone here was able to take away something from this message. Lord thank you for letting us learn about how you really are constant and how great your love is. Lord really bless the rest of this conference and be with Johnny as he gives the closing message. Also please help this conference to not just be a spiritual high for all of us but for all of us to really build on our relationship with you.
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