Do You Love Me?
John 21
When they had finished breakfast, 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.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”
I witnessed this strange conversation between Jesus and Peter. With the others, I was on the beach, finishing the breakfast that Jesus had prepared for us.
You may remember that the night before, we, seven of us, had gone fishing on the Sea of Galilee. And you might rightfully wonder why. Why did we, after witnessing the Risen Christ in Jerusalem, decide to retreat to Galilee and go fishing? (And we caught nothing!)
I don’t think I could answer that question at the time, but now, years later, I can. And if you are able to imagine dozens of other more responsible actions we might have taken, I will probably agree with you. After all, we had been among a very small collection of witnesses to the most amazing miracle of all time, the raising of Jesus of Nazareth from the dead. Couldn’t we respond in some better fashion than to run away and go fishing?
It's notable, I believe, that our risen Lord came after us. He followed us, you see, to Galilee, seeking us out. And I take great comfort in that. I mean, after our behavior in Jerusalem, I couldn’t blame Jesus if he had just written us off and found more suitable disciples. He could have just let us go! But he didn’t. You see, we learned that Jesus never gives up on us!
And he had plenty of reasons why he might give up on us. Don’t forget that we didn’t believe him when he told us that he would be raised from the dead. And of all people, it was Peter who argued with Jesus, boasting that he would never allow Jesus to be crucified, that Peter himself would be willing to die first. And of course, that was followed by Peter’s threefold denial that he even knew Jesus.
It’s notable, too, that this exchange between Jesus and Peter was the last time that they spoke. After three years of their up-and-down relationship, this was how it ended. I’m sure you remember that Peter was hot one minute and cold the next. He could say and do the most brilliant things, like when Jesus asked “Who do you say that I am?” and Peter was the first to respond that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
But Peter could also say and do things that made us all shake our heads. His attempts to criticize Jesus’ prediction of his death and resurrection prompted Jesus to call Peter “Satan.” And his denials of Jesus made him wonder, I am sure, about why Jesus followed us to Galilee. Peter’s shame knew no limits and he no doubt feared a scolding.
So, why did we go fishing? Speaking for myself, it was because I had been numbed by the events of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. You can’t imagine the shock of what is now called “Holy Week.” Remember, we were simple men, mostly illiterate; men who were adept at minding our own business.
But Jesus led us onto the largest stage you could imagine, boldly confronting our elite Jewish religious leaders, and also interacting with our Roman occupiers. We were clearly out of our league as we tried to comprehend the events of the most intense week of human history. It’s no wonder that we needed to get away and collect ourselves. This was all too much for us.
You might read through the account of this strange breakfast in John’s gospel, thinking nothing stood out as odd or special.
But I can tell you that there was nothing in this experience that wasn’t strange.
First of all, the fishing. Most of us were accomplished fishermen, with experience on this very body of water. We were the latest of many generations of fishermen, and though uneducated in most respects, we were without equal on the waters of the Sea of Galilee.
But after a long night of fishing, we had nothing to show for our labors. Nothing, not even one small fish.
Then Jesus arrived, telling us (from the shore of all places!) to cast our nets on the other side of the boat, the “right side.” Don’t you think we’d already done that?
But we obeyed and amazingly, we found an abundance of fish, more, actually, than our boat could hold.
Was Jesus a better fisherman than those of us in the boat? That’s not the point. What spoke to me was the role of Jesus in fishing, not for fish, but for people. Remember, he had told us that he would make us “fishers of men.”
It seems to me that he was telling us that fishing for people by ourselves was hopeless and that we would be successful as apostles only as we listened to him and followed him. We could do nothing without him. He would show us where to find the fish. We had to learn that, as we did most things, the hard way.
And what about his conversation with Peter? He had previously called Peter, whose real name was Simon, the “rock.” But now, he used Peter’s formal name, Simon, a name he’d not used since his original invitation into discipleship. Did that mean that their relationship needed to be rebuilt, going back to its beginning? Perhaps.
I was reminded of a previous exchange between the two of them. It was on the night when Jesus shared the Passover meal with us, the sacrament that is now called the Eucharist. There had been a conversation among us as to who was the greatest. Then Jesus, addressing Peter, said “Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail, and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” And he said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death!” Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day until you have denied three times that you know me.”
Satan surely did “sift” all of us, especially Peter. But don’t miss the prophecy of Jesus that Peter would “turn back.” And that he would lead, which he did.
And as I reflect on the words of Jesus, it strikes me that his prediction applied, in one way or another, to us all. And to every Christ-follower, all throughout history. You see, we’re all “sifted” aren’t we? And we all seem to need, from time to time, to be restored in our faith, or “turned back.” If we are honest, isn’t that our own personal experience? It seems to be our nature, as our faith ebbs and flows.
And the reassurance we have from Jesus is that he will come after us, even if we have gone fishing to get away from our failures and from the demands of our lives in him. And when he does, he will tell us where to find fish and then he’ll feed us breakfast.
And finally, what about the three questions Jesus asked Peter? “Do you love me?” Surely Jesus knew, as Peter said, that he did love Jesus.
So, why did Jesus ask?
I’ve long pondered this question. And I have come to the conclusion that Jesus wanted Peter (and all of us, really) to know that the most important thing in following him is to love him. After all, he could have asked Peter, “Aren’t you sorry for what you did?” or “Will you promise to never again deny me?” or “Will you obey all of my commandments?”
But of course, instead, he simply asked if Peter loved him. Jesus really wanted Peter to state what Jesus already knew: that Peter did, in fact, love him, albeit imperfectly. And he did so as much for Peter’s sake as for himself. He wanted to hear Peter’s confession of the most important thing, a confession that we all must make, even after what we consider to be our greatest failure. Answering Jesus’ question “Do you love me?” in truth, is all Jesus wants.
And if, like Peter, we answer that we do, in fact, love Jesus, then our worst failures will be forgiven and he will be with us as we seek to serve him as “fishers of men.”