John 21:15-17
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
15 When they had finished
eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you
truly love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I
love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you
truly love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I
love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
17 The third time he said to
him, “Simon son of John, do you
love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the
third time, “Do you love me?”(D) He said, “Lord, you know all
things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.
Acts 2:14
New International
Version 1984 (NIV1984)
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his
voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in
Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.
The verses in John 21 set the
stage for what happens in Acts. Often
times when we read this scripture we wonder why Jesus would keep asking Peter
this question. As I pointed out in the
blog related to these scriptures, I found it interesting that Jesus asked him
three times, the same number of times that Peter had denied Christ.
We have probably all had people
say to us, “If you love me, you would . . .”,
but I don’t believe that is what Jesus is really saying here. I think He was trying to get Peter to
understand how much he really loved Jesus and I believe Jesus is instructing
him. He tells him what he is to do once
Jesus has ascended into heaven. I believe
He was saying Because you love me Peter, I need you to feed my lambs, take care
of my sheep, and feed my sheep.” That is
exactly what we see Peter doing in Acts.
All of a sudden in Acts we see
Peter stepping into the role of leadership.
Peter is listed before John in the list of who were in the upper
room. Peter stood among the believers
and now, Peter is about to address the crowd of Jews. Peter listened to what Jesus was instructing
him to do and he was now acting upon those instructions.
How does this apply to us? Be sure to notice that not all of the
disciples could be the leader. One
person needed to address the crowd, if they all did there would have been
confusion, much like “too many cooks in the kitchen”. Jesus had specifically asked Peter to take on
this role and he did. The other
disciples though, also had a part in the ministry, they too were a part of the
decision making process, they too spoke to the crowds, they too prayed, they
too loved Jesus and were called to minister to the people. They could not all address the crowd at the
same time but they all had a part in the ministry. As we go about our day today we need to think
about the gifts that Jesus has bestowed upon us. Those are the gifts that we need to use to
feed His lambs, take care of His sheep, and/or feed His sheep. We need to assess which of these or maybe it
is all of these that He has called us to do and then we need to do them with
fervor. I find it interesting that Peter
is the leader, but he is not really the leader, the Holy Spirit is leading him. We know this because if Peter were the one leading,
simply put he would not have been leading but rather would have hidden away or
denying Christ. Yet we see him bold and
strong, serving the Lord in spite of his past, in spite of his comfort zone, he
is addressing the crowds about the Son of Man that he once denied. We need to take the example of Peter and apply
it to our lives. Not because we have to
prove that we love Jesus but simply because we love Him. We need to put our past in the past, get out
of the comfort zone and need to push forward as Peter is doing but not on our
own power but from the power of the Holy Spirit.
Seek Him with all your hearts and
in doing so, you will have the desire to share His love with others in the
manner in which God has bestowed His gifts upon you.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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