공동체와 양육

Do you Truly Love Me More Than These? (John 21:15~17)

2017.07.30P.Ron Chu

Jesus' three questions to Peter ask whether we love him the way he wants to be loved. Worship, prayer, and Bible reading are lifelines we need to live, not the proof of our love, and Jesus' answer is to feed his lambs and sheep and bless others in his name.

Obey even when the command sounds ridiculous

The disciples fished all night and caught nothing. Then a man on the shore told them to cast the net on the right side of the boat, which made no sense, yet they obeyed and caught 153 large fish. Sometimes God asks us to do what we do not understand. When we submit and say yes, we get to share in his blessing. That is the first lesson before we turn to the three mysteries of this passage.

Do you love me more than these? (vv. 15)

The word 'these' could point to the other disciples or to the fish and the boat, and the text does not say which. The answer matters less than the question itself: how much do you really love Jesus? Peter answered quickly and automatically, saying yes, Lord, you know I love you. We can give the same quick answer without thinking about what loving Jesus actually requires of us.

Jesus asked three times for Peter's sake (vv. 15-17)

Many commentaries connect the three questions to Peter's three denials, but that raises a problem, because when we confess our sins, God promises not to remember them. The repeated question was for Peter, not for Jesus, to help him understand what it means to love God. Like a spouse who keeps asking whether her husband loves her, the repetition makes us stop and think about what Jesus really wants from us.

Love God the way he wants to be loved

Worship, prayer, and Bible reading are not how we prove our love for God; they are lifelines we need, just as we must breathe and eat to live. Jesus does not mention them in his answer. He says to feed my lambs, tend my sheep, and feed my sheep. A husband who takes his wife to a steakhouse for her birthday, when she wanted vegetables, shows a selfish kind of love. Real love gives what the beloved wants.

A blessing that goes beyond our walls

A real church does not only talk about love for God and blessing others; it blesses in the name of Jesus. Last week, 85 people from our church went to Guatemala and served over 6,000 children in 23 schools and 10 churches, and they were blessed too. We do not always have to travel to the ends of the earth, because people from many nations are already here. We can be a blessing in our own streets, workplaces, and schools.

Apply to Life

  • Let us examine whether our love for Jesus is only expressed through worship, prayer, and Bible reading.
  • Let us feed the lambs and tend the sheep whom God places in our path.
  • Let us step out in faith and be a blessing wherever we live, work, and study.
  • Let us serve others with our hands and hearts, not only with our money.
  • Let us answer Jesus' question, do you truly love me more than these, with our lives as well as our words.

This summary was made automatically from the sermon's captions and may differ from the sermon.

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