A.After Christ’s resurrection, His eleven disciples went to Galilee to see Him as they had been instructed.
1.On the night that Jesus would be arrested, He had led the eleven disciples (Judas had left to betray Him) to the Mount of Olives and informed them that He would go before them to Galilee after He was raised (Matt. 26:32; Mark 14:28).
2.When Christ was raised, the angel at His tomb and Christ Himself sent a reminder to the disciples by way of Mary Magdalene and the other women that they would see Him in Galilee (Matt. 28:7, 10; Mark 16:7).
3.After seeing Jesus in Jerusalem, the eleven disciples proceeded to a mountain in Galilee that had been designated by Jesus, and there they saw Him again (Matt.28:16).
B.There in Galilee, Simon Peter was questioned by Jesus with the same question three times: "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?”
1.Peter and six other disciples had been fishing all night on the Sea of Tiberias (Galilee) and had caught nothing until the morning when they saw a man standing on the beach.After the man told them to cast the net on the right side and they caught many fish, they realized it was Jesus.(See John 21:1-14 and compare this to when the disciples were first called in Luke 5:1-11.)
2.After the disciples came ashore and had breakfast, the Lord began to question Peter (John 21:15-17).His questions and Peter’s answers are the subject of our lesson.
II."DO YOU LOVE ME?”
A.Why did Jesus ask Peter the same question – "Do you love Me?” – three times?
1.First, let us notice that Christ’s three questions were not identical.
a.His first question was, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?”
i.It is important to know that the word "love” in this question is translated from the Greek word agapao, which is love expressed by active goodwill.
ii.This first question called on Peter to measure his love for the Lord.Did he love Jesus more than he loved his closest friends or even his own brother Andrew?
iii.Consider this question in light of Matthew 10:37 – "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”
b.His second question was simply, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?”
i.Again, the Lord used the word agapao to indicate the type of love.
ii.This time, Peter was not asked to compare his love of Jesus to his love of others.
c.His third question was again, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?”
i.Rather than the word agapao, Jesus used the word phileo in this question.This word indicates an affectionate type of love.
ii.Whether Peter’s love was active goodwill love or affectionate love, Jesus called Peter’s love into question and showed that his love would have to be expressed in one particular way (see below).
2.Perhaps Jesus was not satisfied with Peter’s answers.
a.Each time Peter answered the same: "You know that I love you.”
i.In each of Peter’s answers, he used the word phileo and not agapao to indicate his affectionate type of love for Jesus.
ii.Peter seemed to purposely avoid the word agapao.Maybe he was certain of the affection of his heart, but he knew his deeds fell short of proving his love.
b.Just claiming to love Jesus would not be enough.Jesus would know that Peter loved Him when Peter proved it, and he had not done so yet.
3.Perhaps these three questions corresponded to Peter’s three denials of the Lord.
a.On the night that Christ was arrested, He had predicted that Peter would deny Him three times.Peter had refused to believe the Lord’s prediction (Matt. 26:33-35; Mark 14:29-31; Luke 22:33-34; John 13:36-38).
b.Only a few hours later, Peter fulfilled the words of Jesus while Christ was being tried before the Jews.Peter cursed and swore as he denied having any relationship with the Lord (Matt. 26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72; Luke 22:54-62; John 18:12-18, 24-27).
c.After Peter had denied Jesus three times, a cock crowed as Jesus predicted, Jesus turned to look at Peter, and Peter rushed out and wept bitterly.Perhaps this same grief was renewed by the three questions of Jesus.
4.Perhaps most importantly, Jesus sought to emphasize His reply to Peter’s answers, which was, "Tend My sheep.”
B.Why did Jesus give the same reply – "Tend My sheep” – three times?
1.Jesus was instructing Peter to express his love for the Lord by caring for Christ’s disciples.
a.In John 10, Jesus identified His sheep as those who follow Him (vv. 3-5, 16, 27-28) and those for whom He laid down His life (vv. 11, 15, 17-18).Of course, He was speaking of Christians.
b.This instruction for Peter was similar to Christ’s teaching from Matthew 25:31-46, where He taught His disciples that He personally received any kindness that they would practice toward His brothers.
c.Later, the apostle John would write, "And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also” (1John 4:21).
2.Jesus was assigning to Peter the work of a spiritual shepherd.
a.Peter was to become a leader of Christ’s sheep, for he would feed the sheep by speaking the word of God through the Holy Spirit, and he would lead the sheep by being an example of service and suffering (see the book of Acts).
b.Years later, Peter would also serve as an elder and shepherd of the Lord’s church (1Pet. 5:1-4).
III.DOES JESUS KNOW THAT YOU LOVE HIM?
A.Today, when we claim that we love Christ, His reply from the Scriptures is, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15).
1.Declarations of love for Christ are empty and useless without the faithful obedience of keeping the Lord’s commandments.
2.Such an expression of love toward God is nothing new, for even in the Ten Commandments God recognized "those who love Me and keep My commandments” (Ex. 20:6).
3.Keeping God’s commandments is still the way we show our love for Him today.Notice 1John 5:3 – "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.”
B.Our love for Christ also requires us to love His sheep, which are our brothers and sisters in Christ, for the Lord said, "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you” (John 15:12).
1.We cannot love Christ without keeping His commandments, and we cannot keep His commandments without loving one another.
2.The love we are to have for our brethren in Christ is to be as the love that Christ has for us.
a.Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12).This is exactly what Christ did.
b.Christ’s example of sacrificial love stands as a model for us to follow today.Notice 1John 3:16-18 – "We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.”
IV.CONCLUSION
A.Christ’s question to Peter – "Do you love Me?” – is truly the one question that we must answer in our lifetimes.Christ has demonstrated His love for us, and now He waits for us to show our love for Him.
B.It is not enough to simply say, "Lord, You know that I love You.”Regardless of how we feel about Christ, He does not know that we love Him unless we prove it by doing His will.Let us do so today.
