"Forgiveness" Sermon: John 21:15-19

“Forgiveness”

[John 21:15-19]

September 17, 2017, Second Reformed Church

            From the shore of the Sea of Tiberius, Jesus calls out to the Seven to set them up for the sign He would give them, asking if they caught any fish.

            After a long night on the sea, they caught nothing, but Jesus tells them to cast the net to the other side, and they immediately catch 153 large fish, and the net doesn’t break.  The Stranger on the Shore shows His Sovereignty in sending the fish into their net and in keeping the net from breaking, and they recognize their physically risen Savior and God and come into shore.

            Jesus provides breakfast for them, and they all eat breakfast together.

            After they finish breakfast, Jesus forgives Peter for denying Him.

“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 the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, 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 everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.’”

Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him more than the other disciples.

Why would Jesus ask that?

We need to remember a passage about what happens after the Last Supper to understand why Jesus asks this:

“And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, ‘You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.” But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.’ Peter answered him, ‘Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.’ Peter said to him, ‘Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!’ And all the disciples said the same” (Matthew 26:30-35, ESV).

Jesus says that they will fulfill the prophecy and all scatter when He is taken into captivity.  But Peter pridefully states that no matter what anyone else did – no matter how weak and fearful they all might be – he would never fall away, he would never be scattered, he would never deny Jesus.

So now, as Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him more than all the others, Jesus is asking if Peter has humbled himself.  Has he understood his place in the history of salvation?  Or would he still claim to be better, stronger, more able than the rest.

And we notice that Peter never answers the question.  And in that we can assume that he is struck to the heart and repents of his pride and arrogance.

But Jesus continues, and we know why – Jesus prophesies that Peter will deny Him three times – despite his protesting – and they will occur before the rooster crows:

“Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in. The servant girl at the door said to Peter, ‘You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself. (John 18:15-18, ESV).

“Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, ‘You also are not one of his disciples, are you?’ He denied it and said, ‘I am not.’  One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, ‘Did I not see you in the garden with him?’ Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed” (John 18:25-27, ESV).

Just as Jesus prophesies, Peter denies Jesus three times and the rooster crows.  So now, Jesus takes the opportunity to publically forgive Peter, reinstate him, and to make a point about the work that Jesus is calling Peter to.  Jesus forgives each of the three denials individually, as He asks Peter three times if He loves Him, and commands him to his work.

Again, the first time, Jesus asks if Peter loves Him more than the other disciples – pointing back to Peter’s rash claim of superiority.  But Peter doesn’t respond to the issue of loving Jesus more than the others – he gets the point.  Instead, he submissive responds, “Yes, Lord, you know I love You.”

Jesus responds as He asks the question again and again and Peter responds again and again, by commanding Peter to do something slightly different each time in response.

First, Jesus tells Peter to “feed my lambs.”

Commentators explain that what Jesus is commanding here – using the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd and those who believe being His flock – is for Peter to guide those believers who are weak and immature (cf. Hendriksen, John, 488).

Then, “tend my sheep.”

That is, Jesus commands Peter to faithfully teach those who are prone to wander away.

And then, as Jesus asks Peter the third time if he loves Him, and Peter cries out in strong repentance, proclaiming the Sovereign Omniscience of Jesus, “Lord, You know everything; You know that I love You.”

Therefore, “feed my sheep.”

Jesus commands Peter to prepare those who need spiritual nourishment for spiritual warfare.

In response to Peter confessing that he loves Jesus – that he repents of his sin of thrice denying Jesus, Jesus calls him and commands him as a pastor – a minister – an apostle – to care for the believers by teaching them everything that the Word of God says, by helping them discern between true and false teachers, and by equipping them to answer those who argue against the claims of the Word of God.

Jesus receives Peter’s faith and repentance, and calls him as a minister of the Gospel – the Word of God – to care for the people of God in every way – but especially in making sure that they understand, believe, and can defend their faith.

That is what ministers are to do today. 

Paul writes:

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:11-16, ESV).

Minsters are to equip all other believers so all the other believers – primarily – will do the work of the ministry.

We don’t have time to flesh this out today, but understand that Jesus is calling Peter to the same ministry that all pastors – ministers – are called to today.

What we want to see is that Peter is forgiven for a very grave sin – he denied knowing Jesus – three times.  And Jesus forgives him because he truly repents of his sin, and Jesus has a plan for him to minister to the people of God.

Second, Jesus prophesies how Peter will die, and commands him to follow.

“’Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.’ (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, ‘Follow me.’”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes:

“The cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with his death—we give over our  lives to death. Thus it begins; the cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow him, or it may be a death like Luther’s, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time—death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at his call” (The Cost of Discipleship, 99).

Jesus tells Peter that he will be put to death for the Gospel.  When he was a young man, he did what he wanted, but when he became an old man – some thirty years after Jesus says this – Peter will be taken.  He will be crucified and killed for his faith – for proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ – for never again denying that he knows Jesus.  (The phrase “stretch out your hands” was commonly used at the time to indicate crucifixion.)

And we see that this is what happens, as two record:

Eusebius writes, “But Peter seems to have preached in Pontus and Galatia and Bithynia and Cappadocia and Asia, to the Jews of the Dispersion, and at last, having come to Rome, he was crucified head downward, for so he himself had asked to suffer.”

And Tertullian writes, “At Rome Nero was the first who stained with blood this rising faith.  Then is Peter girt by another when he is made fast to the cross” (Hendriksen, John, 490).

After telling Peter this, Jesus commands him to follow – to do the work God has given him, to obey all that God has set before him, for the sake of the cross and to the Glory of God.

And he does.

What are we to do with this history?

First, we are to believe with all our being that we are forgiven in Jesus.

John tells us, “We love because [God] first loved us” (1 John 4:19, ESV).

Jesus says, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12-13, ESV).

And again, John writes, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2, ESV).

Brothers and sisters, God loves us and sent Jesus Christ, His Only Son – Who loves His brothers and sisters so much that He died for us to make us right with God.  And when we sin now, God bids us to run quickly to Him, because Jesus is seated at His side – as our advocate – our lawyer – to plead our case – because Jesus has already paid our debt.  If we confess our sins to God, we are forgiven. 

Peter was forgiven for denying Jesus three times, and you can be forgiven for your sin – just ask Him – He will forgive you.  If you truly desire to be forgiven – Jesus paid the debt and will forgive you, just like He forgave Peter.

Come to Jesus; focus on the love of God.  He forgives us.

Second, if we love Jesus, we are to follow Him.

John writes, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:1-5, ESV).

Brothers and sisters, we have not been left alone.  The Father bids us to come into His throne room.  We commune with Jesus and He advocates for us.  God the Holy Spirit lives in us and guides us and empowers us to follow God’s will.  And what God has commanded us to do is not burdensome – it is not a pain in the neck.  When we do what God commands us to do, we are filled with joy.  Even when we suffer for the Gospel – even if we are put to death.  We will be filled with joy, because we know that God is with us and death only brings us into glory with Him!

And when the devil whispers in your ear and encourages you to deny Jesus – when the devil tells you that one sin won’t matter – that it will make you feel good and make you happy – remind him that he was cast out of Heaven – he is a fallen creature, doomed to eternal suffering in Hell.  He is a liar and not worthy of our obedience.

No, if we love Jesus – do you love Jesus? – He forgives us and calls us to follow Him – to do what will be good and joyful for us.

Do you love Jesus?  Has He forgiven you?  Then show your love by doing what He commands – ask the Holy Spirit to keep you from sinning.  Repent and follow Jesus anew.  He loves you – He loves me.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, what wondrous love is this that You sent Your Son to live and die for us that our sins would be forgiven and we would be reconciled to You.  Thank You for the history of Peter and for Jesus’ public forgiveness of him and Jesus’ command to him to follow and obey.  May we be so awed by what You have done that we would believe and experience joy in obedience – in following after You – day after day.  Lord, help us.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.