John 21 – jeffersonvann

FEED MY SHEEP

FEED MY SHEEP

John 21:15-17 (pastor’s translation)

¹⁵ When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you care about me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you are aware that I have regard for you.” “Feed my lambs,” he told him. ¹⁶ He asked him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you care about me?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you are aware that I have regard for you.” “Shepherd my sheep,” he told him. ¹⁷ He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you have regard for me?” Peter was so grieved that he asked him the third time, “Do you have regard for me?” He said, “Lord, you are aware of everything; you are aware that I have regard for you.” “Feed my sheep,” Jesus said.

The incident that John described in today’s passage fell between our Lord’s resurrection and his ascension to heaven. Peter had decided to go fishing and had a disappointing night because they had caught nothing. But Jesus intervened and told them to throw the net on the right side of the boat. They caught so many fish that they could not haul in the net. Some of the other disciples came and assisted them in recovering the net. When they went onto the shore, Jesus instructed them to bring some of the fish they had caught. He had already started a charcoal fire. The conversation Jesus had with Jesus took place at this fireside.

This passage is about Peter’s grief.

The fact that they were at a campfire and Jesus asked essentially the same question three times got Peter’s memory going. He remembered another fireside – on the night of Jesus’ crucifixion. On that night the people had built a fire to keep warm, and Peter had approached the fire, hoping that nobody would recognize him. Sure enough, three different people had asked him if he knew this criminal – Jesus. Three times, Peter had denied knowing Jesus and being his disciple.

Our text says that Peter was so grieved that Jesus had asked him the same question three times. He was grieved that when challenged, he had chosen to deny Christ rather than admit that he had been his disciple. Peter had boasted that he would follow Jesus even if he had to die doing it. But when the time for testing came, Peter chickened out. The rooster crowed, and Peter had broken down in shame and grief. He was grieving not only because his master was being condemned. He was also grieving because he (Peter) had not lived up to his promise. He proved to be not as committed as he said he was.

Each of us who tries to live the Christian life will find ourselves in such situations. We will see that our actions do not match our testimony. As much as we love Jesus and declare our allegiance to him, we will discover times when we fail to live the life we want to live. We will be seriously disappointed with ourselves.

I’m glad that this passage is in the Bible. It tells us something about our loving Savior. It tells us that when we have failed him in the most public and shameful ways, Jesus will still be waiting at the seashore, ready to talk about it over breakfast. If we did not have this passage, we might be tempted to think that Jesus would reject us as soon as we fail to admit our loyalty to him. But this passage tells us that the one who taught us to forgive seventy times seven is going to be there for us with love and forgiveness.

This passage is about Peter’s love.

Y’all know that I do not normally use my translation when preaching. I usually use a modern translation that is available to anyone. However, I chose to use my translation because the modern translations and the ancient ones all have problems translating the passage. The difficulty is found in the fact that the passage was originally written in Greek with two different words, both of which are usually translated with the same word in English. The Greek words are ἀγαπάω and φιλέω. John is using these two words because even though both can be translated with our English word love, each has a different connotation. Each denotes a different aspect of love.

In order to show the differences between the two words being used, in my translation, I translate both words differently. I chose not to use the word love in my translation because it would not be clear which word was being used in Greek. When ἀγαπάω is used, I translate the word “care about.” When you care about someone, the focus is on what you can do for them. When φιλέω is used, I translate it as “have regard for.” When you have regard for someone, the focus is on appreciation for who they are and what they have done for you.

So, here again is my translation of the conversation:

“Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you care about (ἀγαπάω) me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you are aware that I have regard for (φιλέω) you.” “Feed my lambs,” he told him. ¹⁶ He asked him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you care about (ἀγαπάω) me?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you are aware that I have regard for (φιλέω) you.” “Shepherd my sheep,” he told him. ¹⁷ He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you have regard for (φιλέω) me?” Peter was so grieved that he asked him the third time, “Do you have regard for (φιλέω) me?” He said, “Lord, you are aware of everything; you are aware that I have regard for (φιλέω) you.”

Peter had grieved because he knew that he had dissapointed Jesus when he denied him at his crucifixion. His grief was natural because he cared about Jesus. He did not want to disappoint him again. But Jesus was teaching Peter that he didn’t want Peter to focus on his concern for Jesus. He wanted Peter to concentrate on his admiration and appreciation of Jesus because that is what he needed to be successful in his future ministry. In other words, his future ministry had to be based on the greatness of his master, not the strength of his concern for his master.

This passage is about Peter’s mission.

That is why Jesus kept telling Peter to feed and shepherd his sheep. Peter had to get his mind focused on his mission because that was to be the means by which he proved his regard for his master. The story began with Jesus asking Peter, “Do you care about me more than these?” Who were the “these”? They were the fish. Peter had decided to go fishing. Jesus first met Peter when he was out fishing. Jesus called Peter and three other fishermen to follow him, and he would make them fishers of people.

The new mission required a new metaphor. The old metaphor was good enough when the disciples’ primary ministry was evangelism. Jesus made them fishers of people because their primary responsibility was to catch people in the net—to win them to Christ. They would still be doing that, but Jesus was adding a new ministry when he told them to feed and shepherd his flock.

The new mission was to assist and lead the congregations to maturity in Christ. This would be proof of their high regard for their master. Jesus had given them a new commandment: to love one another. Now, he was giving them a new mission to nurture and protect all the sheep in the fold.

The Lord has been dealing with me on the issue of feeding the flock as well. For this coming year, he wants me to focus on getting this congregation into the word of God on a regular basis. I am introducing a new calendar for the coming year. Each day of the calendar has a reference to two chapters from the Bible. We will be beginning in Genesis and reading through the Bible, finishing with Revelation in the middle of 2026. Each month, you will get a new calendar with the month’s readings. Each Sunday, I will take my Scripture passage from that Sunday’s texts. I want us to commit to reading or listening to those two chapters every day if possible. The Sunday School lessons will also be taken from that week’s readings.

There is more to spiritual growth and maturity than just reading the Bible regularly. But one of the reasons Christians stay spiritually immature is that they do not get into the word and let it nourish them. As a congregation, we are responsible to feed the sheep in this community. I want us to get more biblically literate because it is one of the means of becoming more spiritually mature. As we are preparing to begin a new year, let us take the opportunity to establish some new patterns. One of the most critical new patterns that anyone can set is to have a regular plan for reading and studying the Bible. As you read, if you encounter a word or phrase you do not understand, write it down to discuss on Sunday. You can also email or text me with a question.

The owner of the flock wants us all to be well-fed and strong. Let’s commit to becoming a congregation that knows the Word and lives by it. God bless y’all.

A quote from Piney Grove Pulpit #3:

““Make yourself an ark of gopher wood” (Genesis 6:14).

Noah’s response was that he “built an ark to deliver his family.” He built it by faith. Nobody had built such a thing before. There was no precedent. There hadn’t been any need before. God himself had to give Noah the blueprint for the thing. Building the ark was something that was going to be very hard to do, and it was going to take a lot of effort and resources to do it.

But … and this is very important… it could be done. God sometimes calls you and me to do the impossible, but most of the time he just calls us to do the impractical, to test our resolve and commitment to him. God didn’t call Noah to build a spaceship. A boat was what was needed, and Noah could do that. Noah’s faith helped him to respond appropriately to his fear and build that boat.”

the big catch

(See Matthew 4:18-22) Imagine Jesus walking on the beach of the lake called the Sea of Galilee. He sees two brothers, Simon (whom he had called Peter) and Andrew his brother, throwing a net into the sea, since they were fishermen. And at that time he commanded them, “Follow me, and I promise to make you into fishers of people.” Realizing who Jesus was, they immediately left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, repairing their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him too.

Our story of the big catch begins here – not in the bustling, crowded city of Jerusalem, but in a remote beach setting in Galilee. There would never have been a big catch in Jerusalem if there had not been a command and promise by Jesus that day on the beach. These four fishermen would have caught only fish if they had not obeyed Christ’s command and trusted in his promise that day.

(See Luke 5:1-11) But something happened once while the crowd was mobbing him so they could hear the word of God, he was standing again on the beach of Lake Gennesaret (another name for the Sea of Galilee), and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had got out of them and were washing their nets. After getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And after he stopped speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Teacher, we worked hard all night and caught nothing! But at your word I will lower the nets.“ He didn’t realize that Jesus was using this experience to teach them what he had promised to teach – how to fish for people. When they had obeyed him and put the net on the other side, they caught so many fish that their nets started to rip. So they motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they were about to sink. But when Simon Peter saw the miracle, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, because I am a sinful man!” Because Peter and all who were with him were stunned at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s work partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” So when they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

This is the first of two lessons that Jesus taught Peter and the other disciples about fishing for people. That day, the disciples learned that God will provide the location and the power, but he expects his fishermen to provide the net, the patience, the effort to haul in the catch, and to follow his instructions.

(See John 21:4-11) On a day after Jesus’ resurrection, just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Throw the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they threw it, and then they were not able to haul it in, because of the weight of the fish. John said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off. When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn.

This miracle is similar to the first one, but took place three years later. Jesus used this miracle to remind the disciples that they were going to be involved in the big catch soon – the people catch. The same principles of people catching are being taught by this miracle. But this incident seems to give a powerful hint as to when the big catch would take place. Why 153 fish? The Bible does not say, so we should be careful about speculating. There is an interesting coincidence. The year was 33AD. Not too many days from this incident, these disciples would be gathered together in Jerusalem as part of a larger group, waiting for Pentecost. That larger group numbered 120. 120 + 33 = 153.

Jesus had commanded his disciples to gather in Jerusalem and to wait for the power of the Holy Spirit to manifest. Then they would know that it was time to drop their net. He had described that event as a second baptism, and reminded them that John’s baptism was in water, but this second baptism was going to be in the Holy Spirit. The lessons that Jesus had taught his disciples to get them ready for the big catch had all taken place in water. But the real catch was not going to be in water. The whole group was going to be immersed in the Holy Spirit, and the miracle would manifest. Remember the principles of the big catch: that God will provide the location and the power, but he expects his fishermen to provide the net, the patience, the effort to haul in the catch, and to follow his instructions.

To put it another way, the big catch happens because God provides the hook, and his servants provide the bait. The hook is the miracle that draws the crowd. The bait is the gospel message about who Christ is and what he has done. The book of Acts demonstrates that the hook keeps changing, but the bait remains the same. The way God manifests his power to get people’s attention changes all the time, but the gospel of Jesus Christ stays the same. The pattern that we learn about in the book of Acts is not a constant repetition of Pentecost, but a people who patiently wait for the Lord to manifest his power, then seize the opportunity to let down their nets with gospel preaching.

The Jerusalem church was literally born in a day, but it happened that way because the disciples were willing to wait on the Lord to provide the location and the power, and they provided the witness.

Another thing that we learn in the book of Acts is that this great megachurch that went from 120 to 3000 in one day, and 5000 not long afterwards – faced disaster after disaster in the years that followed. In fact, in less than forty years, this megachurch was out of business. Famine, persecution, and church conflict kept taking their toll, and finally all the Christians fled Jerusalem for Petra just prior to the siege and war that destroyed the temple in 70AD.

But the megachurch was not God’s ultimate plan. God’s ultimate plan was for the gospel to go with these Christians as they scattered throughout the Roman empire.

God is doing the same kind of thing today. Sometimes he brings together large churches, at other times he sends people out to plant the gospel in places where there is no church. Sometimes we have great success, at other times we do not. What matters is that we stay faithful at the task.

The fish are still out there. We may have to wait a lot for the next big catch, but God is still able to make it happen. His power is still present. He has taught us what we need to know to be involved in the next big catch. God will provide the location and the power, but he expects his fishermen to provide the net, the patience, the effort to haul in the catch, and to follow his instructions. We don’t know what hook he is going to use next, but we do know what bait he has given us to use. That never changes. Paul said “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” It was God’s power to save the Jews in Jerusalem, and the Greeks in Greece, and the Romans in Rome. It is God’s power to save the Filipinos, the Kiwis, the Japanese, the Malaysians, the Burmese, the Thai, the Indians, and even the Americans.

So, if you want to be ready for the next big catch, pull out your net and make sure that your presentation of the gospel is ready. Then, when God tells you where to witness, you can pull in a pile.