Feed My Sheep…

By: Kelley Hinson

This morning when I awakened, I had a strange thought hit me. My morning started the same way it normally does.  “Ben”, my four-legged tornado, lying beside me.  I laughed at the cuteness as I looked at him, looking upside down at me, stretched from one end of the bed to just under my arm pit, and communicating silently. I knew what it was he wanted; he was communicating to me that he was ready for me to get up and feed him.  In the same thought, I had another thought… “Feed my sheep”.  Although it was peculiar, I knew exactly what to do with it. Right then I knew what passage I was going to be studying this morning. As you get to know me, you will start to notice a trend with me.  I don’t dismiss the “out of place”.

In John 21, Jesus has appeared, for the third time, to 7 of his disciples, although they didn’t realize that it was Him. He made his presence known to them through an experience that they once had shared together, the experience that started it all and Peter couldn’t get to him fast enough.

“Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of them dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord” (John 21:12).

When you know…you know. Earlier in The Gospel of John, Peter had done the unthinkable.  He had denied Jesus three times before his crucifixion, as Jesus told him he would.  At that time Peter denied that he could ever do such a thing. He would never dismiss him in that way. Jesus knew different. In a moment of weakness, fear, and uncertainty, Peter denied Jesus…3 separate times.  By doing so he denied what Jesus had meant to him, all that He had taught him, the things, events, and knowledge they shared in their time together.  It was like it never happened.  It would have been too hard to admit he knew Jesus. Afterward, Peter fell apart.  When he saw Jesus look at him, he knew exactly what he had done, and it wrecked him. 

Now we will look specifically at John 21:15-19 Jesus confronted Peter by asking him a question.

“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.”

He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”

He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.”

He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”

He said to him a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was 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”.

Jesus asked him this question 3 different times.  One for each time Peter denied him.  Jesus wasn’t looking for quick thoughtless or superficial answers.  He wanted Peter to really think about his answer. He was looking for true repentance. He wasn’t looking for dismissal of what he was asking him to do, He was looking for acknowledgment.  He needed to know that Peter would continue the work that He started (and Peter did). It’s one thing to say you love Jesus It’s altogether different to show your willingness to serve him.  Jesus was asking him to commit his life to him… Feed my lambs, Tend my sheep, Feed my sheep… Follow Me! I believe, in the final question, Peter finally caught on to what it was that Jesus was asking him and it hurt him.  He was hurt by this, but Jesus was confronting Peter’s sin and his denial of the friendship they shared during their time together.

When you have a relationship with Jesus, He will confront your sin. He will ask for this love from you.  The love that He gives freely. How would you respond to Jesus’s question?  “Do you love me? Do you really love me? Think about your relationship and friendship with Jesus.  Do you tell others about him, or do you hide it, staying at arm’s length of true submission?  Do you find it hard to admit you know him?  Can Jesus trust you to carry on the work he started?  Does his sacrifice mean something to you?

What does His sacrifice and forgiveness of your sins mean to you? Do you do all the things…go to church on Sunday, Bible study on Wednesday night, say you love Jesus, and then deny his teaching, his presence, his wisdom, outside of church and inside your life? Ask yourself these questions, then look at your life in light of who is asking them. It can be humbling what you can see in yourself through the eyes of Jesus. I have done this, and I understood why Peter felt hurt.  It wasn’t because of the question itself; it was because of what I did for Jesus to have to ask that question. After Peter received forgiveness, he never denied Jesus again.  Can we say the same?