“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.’”

The Model of the Chief Shepherd

Just this week the Catholic church elected their new Pope. The Bible makes a clear case for having elders and overseers within the church, outlining very specific guidelines in 1 Timothy 3:1-13 and Titus 1:5-9 – the office of the Pope however isn’t something we see in Scripture. While Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus give specific instructions that there are to be leaders within the churches, and what qualifies someone to hold this position, the Papacy is something that’s largely taken from an eisegetical reading of today’s passage, as Catholic tradition holds Peter to be the first Pope. Obviously, practicing Catholics will disagree with me, but this is achieved by taking Scripture out of context and elevating a central figure in the early church beyond his station. The red flags start to pop up in the titles given to the Pope, again, originally attributed to Peter. He’s called the “Vicar of Christ,” and the “Successor of the Prince of the Apostles,” with the first “Prince of the Apostles” being Peter. A “vicar” is meant to be a sort of earthly representative of God… That’s what every Christian is called to be. We don’t require a singular person to hold the office of Jesus’ earthly deputy when He directly indwells us through the Holy Spirit, and we hold the Word of God in our hands. While we see that Peter seems to hold some authority among his fellow disciples, if there’s a “Prince of the Apostles,” it’s Jesus, not Peter. While Peter held a role of prominence in the early church, it wasn’t a singular one. There were multiple Apostles – twelve or thirteen, depending on how you look at Matthias, chosen by lot in Acts 1:26 to replace Judas and return the original number to twelve, and Paul, who identifies himself as “an apostle of Christ Jesus,” though also in 1 Corinthians 15:9 as “the least of the apostles.” Regardless, Peter held a prominent role, but not the prominent role. While the Catholic church may overemphasize and almost deify Peter’s position within the church, it seems to me that in the Protestant circles, his faults are often what’s focused upon. Peter gets called onto the waves, gets to walk on water with Jesus, then doubts in the face of adversity and begins to sink. He confesses Jesus as the Christ, and then almost immediately tries to rebuke Jesus and gets told, “get behind me Satan.” He declares that he will die rather than betray Jesus, then denies Him three times. Peter messes up. A lot. You know who else messes up a lot? Us. Peter is not the highly exalted “Prince of the Apostles,” and he’s not the screw up whipping boy for us to look down our noses at. He’s our beloved brother, church planter, Apostle of Jesus Christ, and an example by which we can better understand ourselves, and, far more importantly, understand our desperate need for Jesus.

1. Peter’s Failure

Peter is a man who we’ve watched deal with a crisis of identity. This isn’t a foreign concept, we live in a world that is actively in a crisis of identity. We don’t know what marriage is, we don’t know what gender is, we don’t know what good and evil are, and we mock the Word of God and His bride, the church for daring to share the Truth and impose on our desires. I have good and bad news as it relates to this – this isn’t new. As God rebukes Israel and Judah for their rebellion and idol worship, a repeated offense that He lays upon them is child sacrifice, along with perverse sexual behavior. Hundreds of years later, during the first century, Paul would write in Romans 1:26–32,

“For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”

While the tides may ebb and flow, on the whole, we’re not getting better, and we’re not getting worse – the world is broken beyond repair in sin. Just how broken eventually becomes a moot point, as regardless, it’s broken. The spirit of the world is never good, just varying extremes of evil. We are always in a crisis of identity in our flesh, and so while it’s disappointing to see Peter stumble, we should be able to empathize with his struggles. Now bearing in mind that I can empathize, that I want to give grace, and I don’t want to dilute Peter into a bumbling caricature of himself, I also want to appreciate that Peter is a failure. Every time we see him handed the ball, he drops it. We’ve already talked about some of these passages, but to look at things a little more closely, Matthew 14:25–33 says,

“And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, ‘It is a ghost!’ and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.’ And Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me.’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’”

This passage lets us watch as a man’s bold faith crumbles, as Peter falters in the face of the chaos and uncertainty of the world – but it also lets us keep our eye trained on the One that this is all about. Matthew 16:13–18 says,

“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’”

This is a huge moment, and is incidentally the passage that the Catholic church uses to support Peter’s leading role among the disciples who would become the Apostles. But Matthew 16:21–23 goes on to say,

“From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.’”

It’s interesting that Jesus can say, “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church,” and to the Catholics, Peter is the rock. It’s not his confession that Jesus is the Christ, but he, Peter, the one they title the “Prince of the Apostles” upon who the church is built. But no one, Protestant or Catholic reads the following passage where Jesus says, “get behind me Satan,” and walks away thinking that Peter is Satan. Both sections have to do with Peter, but neither are about him. Peter didn’t have some brilliant understanding of nature and physics that allowed him to walk on water, just as it was not his own mortal understanding that allowed him to confess the Truth of Jesus as the Christ. “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” Both events are miracles, enabled by the Spirit, and we watch Peter fail in both as he leans on his own understanding. When Peter begins to sink beneath the waves and cries out for help, Jesus doesn’t leave him to perish, but reaches out a merciful hand. After Peter rebukes Jesus for telling them of His coming crucifixion, Jesus chastises Peter harshly, But Jesus says in Revelation 3:19,

“Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.”

Peter failed, but his shortcomings had no impact on the perfection and righteousness of Christ, instead they gave opportunity for us to see the expanse of Jesus’ power and love in new ways – which is exactly what today’s passage affords us. Luke 22:55–62 shows us Peter’s denials of Christ,

“And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, ‘This man also was with him.’ But he denied it, saying, ‘Woman, I do not know him.’ And a little later someone else saw him and said, ‘You also are one of them.’ But Peter said, ‘Man, I am not.’ And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, ‘Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.’ But Peter said, ‘Man, I do not know what you are talking about.’ And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.’ And he went out and wept bitterly.”

All four gospel accounts record Peter’s denial, but it’s only Luke who gives us that piece of information that when he denies a third time, and the rooster crows, and the reality of his failure comes crashing down upon him, he breaks under the eyes of Jesus. And just to bring everyone back down to earth – if you read any of this and think, “well I wouldn’t have lost faith and sank, I wouldn’t have been so headstrong as to rebuke Jesus, I wouldn’t have denied Christ in the face of fear and uncertainty,” yes, you almost certainly would have. If you read about Peter and think “I would have done better,” you’re missing the lesson that God has used the stumblings of your brother to illustrate. Because you wouldn’t have done better facing down the crucifixion of your Lord and Master, you wouldn’t have withstood the confusing and crushing news that Jesus was going to the cross and withheld your rebuke, and you wouldn’t have felt the sea spray on your face, heard the wind howling in your ears, and not have been wracked by the fears of your flesh – just like you wouldn’t have stood in the garden and resisted the temptation of the serpent. Peter was a failure, just as you are, and I am – but Christ is not. Christ is righteous, and holy, and perfect, and loving, and He redeems us from sin, frees us from slavery, and reveals Himself through the changes He brings forth in us. Today’s passage, this series of questions that shows us the formal reinstatement of Peter, and mission set before him is only necessary because he failed, and is only offered because Jesus loves us all more than we could ever deserve.

2. Peter’s Restoration

“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?’”

So, Peter failed. Three times he denied Jesus, he vehemently rejected the One he claimed that he would die before betraying. Three of the same denials, and now three of the same questions to reaffirm his loyalty and devotion. Jesus has not rejected Peter, but as when He reached out and grasped him to save him from drowning, He now reaches out to His confused and demoralized disciple to share a meal, and with his brothers watching as witnesses, Jesus lets Peter clarify where he stands. There’s a degree of shame and pain that we can see building in Peter as Jesus asks these three times, “do you love me?” But again, this correction and conviction is in keeping with what we’ve seen from Jesus as well as the rest of Scripture. God tells David in 2 Samuel 7:14–15,

“I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.”

And He says in Jeremiah 46:28,

“Fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the LORD, for I am with you. I will make a full end of all the nations to which I have driven you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”

We are convicted by the Spirit in our sin because we are loved, and when Peter fails, Jesus corrects him and restores him because He loves him. This cycle of stumbling, correction, and repentance doesn’t end here. Paul’s confrontation with Peter, recorded in Galatians 2:11–14 says,

“But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, ‘If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?’”

Peter (who, for clarity, is also called Cephas, which is Peter in Aramaic) fell into the trap of leaning on appearances, eating with the Jewish Christian converts who still maintained ritual purity and insisted that circumcision was necessary for salvation, while alienating the newly converted Gentile Christians. This is an abandonment of the orders Jesus gave him during his reinstatement in today’s passage, and Paul publicly calls Peter out over this. This again helps us see that Peter is not some super Apostle who is above reproach, but remains human and fallible, and is blessed by the correction of Paul, his brother in Christ. Acts 15 shows the church have this debate around circumcision and whether or not keeping the Law is necessary for being a Christian, and we see Peter publicly defend the salvation of the gentiles alongside Paul and Barnabas. Peter failed again, he was chastised and convicted in his sin, and he repented, behaving differently going forward. What we see is that each time Peter responds that he does love Jesus, he’s tasked with something. Following Jesus is not something done through word alone. Romans 10:9 says,

“because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

People will mock this verse, treating the “confess with your mouth” like some kind of get out of jail free card to be used and abused to live a live of sinful hypocrisy. They fail to realize that to “believe in your heart” is to live out the Truth of Christ crucified and resurrected, not simply say the words. 1 John 3:18 says,

“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

And in John 15:1–2 Jesus says,

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”

We are called to Christ. We are rebuked, and healed, chastised, and built up by the Father who loves us. Peter failed, and Peter was restored, and this highlights the hope we all have in our salvation, and the process of our sanctification. Peter wrote of this hope that we have, not in ourselves, but in God our Father in 1 Peter 1:13–19,

“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’ And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”

We can never be holy by our own hand, but can only be delivered, restored out of death into life, by the blood and sacrifice of Christ.

3. Peter’s Mission

“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.’”

“Feed my lambs,”… “Tend my sheep,”… “Feed my sheep.” Three questions, three declarations of love, three commands. What we see is that if Peter truly loves Jesus – if we truly love Jesus, then we are called to one of the most significant positions in all of Scripture – that of the shepherd. In the same line as Jacob, Moses, and David, these men who all started as shepherds were elevated to glorify God and tend His flock in their own unique ways. Jacob, renamed Israel, who God used to father the twelve tribes. Moses, who God spoke to like a friend, used to shepherd His people out of Egypt. David, the shepherd boy who God made king, who after all the other battles of conquest was the one allowed to take Jerusalem. Like Jacob, like Moses, like David – if Peter loves Him, then Jesus calls him to be a shepherd. Not of earthly sheep or a mortal flock, but of the flock of God. This process of development, from lambs to sheep, outlines the same principle we see Paul striving after in 1 Corinthians 3:1–3

“But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?”

In Matthew 18:5–6 Jesus says,

“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”

Now in this case, Jesus is literally speaking about a child, but this development of lambs to sheep, or milk to solid food helps us see that there is a process of building up those who are sometimes called baby Christians. We, as Christ displays, are called to lovingly and firmly foster growth and right spiritual practices in our brothers and sisters. But here’s the thing – the Catholic church treats this passage and Peter’s presumed papal role as this mission to shepherd the flock of God as Peter’s sole charge, and it’s not. Peter himself wrote in 1 Peter 5:1–4,

“So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”

Peter was made a disciple, made an Apostle, and made a fisher and shepherd of the souls of men – but he was not alone in this. Because this is not just Peter’s mission, but is the calling given to us all. Because whether you’re leading your children, your household, your friends, your mission trip, your Sunday school class, or your church, you as a Christian are called to follow the example of your Good Shepherd and lead. You are called to exemplify Christ in the lives of those around you. Jesus is the Light of the world, He declares it of Himself, and He also says it of us, because He shines through all who are called and changed in His name.

Peter’s third response, “‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you,” reminds me of another passage of Scripture. When Ezekiel is taken up in the Spirit and shown a vision of a valley filled with dead and dried up bones, Ezekiel 37:3, shows the Lord speak, and Ezekiel answer,

“And he said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ And I answered, ‘O Lord GOD, you know.’”

This is the spirit and mindset of someone whose eyes are set on the things of God, on the kingdom of heaven, on the love of Christ. The mission is too great for us, the catch is too large for the net, the waves are too high, and the darkness that presses in is too vast. It’s not about looking and assessing with our own eyes, for as we lean on our own understanding, we fail. It is when we can look with eyes to see, hear with ears to hear, and leaning not on our own understanding but justified in our faith, we look to our Father and say in response to the world, “‘O Lord GOD, you know.” We have all fallen short, all failed, all been offered redemption, and restoration, and we are all set a mission, called to follow in the path of our Good Shepherd, to love and serve Him, and to love and serve His flock. There can be no greater joy, there can be no higher calling – and it goes out to each and every one of us.

Pastor Chris’ sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR2VIXB1_N4