“He said to him a third time, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ and he said to Him, ‘Lord, you know all things: You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.’ “ John 21:17 [Read John 21]
On the particular morning of this incident in the life of Peter and some of the other disciples, the cruel crucifixion was past, the resurrection of the Lord had ocurred, and this was His appearance to some of the disciples beside the Sea of Tiberias, where Peter had said earlier, typical of him, “I am going fishing” (John 21:3), and those disciples with him said, ‘We are going with you, also.” Not fishing for men as Jesus had commanded them, but fishing for fish. Back to the old nets.
To Peter, Andrew, James and John, early in His ministry, Jesus had said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Mt. 4:19). They were to tell forth the news of the Messiah. Peter had always been in the inner circle with Jesus, a natural leader, but with many raw edges to his personality that needed to come under Lordly rule. “Your name is Petras, a stone,” Jesus had told Peter. And on Peter’s confession, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” Christ would build His church (Mt. 16:18).
Peter saw Christ transfigured as he, James and John witnessed this magnificent event on the mountain (Mark 9:2-10). Peter wanted to build an altar there to Jesus, to Moses and to Elijah. When we have a mountaintop experience, spiritually, don’t we, as Peter, want to remain there—not come again into the valley where we meet the challenges of everyday living?
The most fallible of all of Peter’s impetuous acts was his denial of Christ in the courtyard of the high priest (Mark 14:66-72) after Jesus had been arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. How could Peter deny the one who loved him so and whom he had seen perform so many miracles? The one he had declared to be the Christ, the Messiah? We want to blame Peter for his terrible weakness. But if we are honest, we can identify with Peter the fallible, even in this denial. How many times have we ourselves failed Christ, failed to stand for Him?
The beauty is that Jesus restored Peter. He had gone a-fishing, but beside Tiberius, the living, resurrected Lord gave Peter his assignment again: “Feed my sheep!” And Peter was faithful, even unto death. Amen!
c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Friday, March 5, 2010
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