Do You Love Me? John 21

John is my favorite gospel. John, as a disciple, had a unique and extremely valuable relationship with Jesus, and I've always believed that hehad a certain understanding of the spiritual, and of love, that surpassed that of his peers. Therefore, naturally, the last chapter of his gospel is really rich in content, and stands out, for several reasons. Here, I will walk through John 21, sharing what the Lord has revealed to me, personally, through it! This chapter brings up a lot of questions about timelines that scholars have many disputes about, but that's not really what I'm going to focus on, as I can't give a perfect answer for them, nor do I find them particularly important to the weight of what is being communicated.

A little context: This takes place shortly after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. During the trial of Jesus, his devoted disciple, Peter, denied him three times, just as Jesus had told him that he would. Since then, while the exact timeline is disputed, we are going to assume that the disciples have all seen Christ at least once.

John 21 (ESV)

1 - After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. 2 - Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3 - Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

-- Here, several disciples are together, and seem unsure of what to do. Many would say that they are actually waiting for Jesus to make an appearance (Mark 16:7) Peter takes the lead and decides that they should go fishing--something that they are very accustomed to doing.

-- At this point, I think that Peter is still quite raw, emotionally, and feeling ashamed for what he had done against Jesus.

4 - Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 - Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6 - He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. 7 - That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. 8 - The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

-- John refers to himself as the "disciple whom Jesus loved" and I love that it is how he identifies himself.

-- This interaction with Jesus is almost identical to the very first time that he and Peter met (Luke 5:1-11)

-- Peter, regardless of any shame he is still feeling, throws himself into the sea to meet Jesus.

9 - When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. 10 - Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 11 - So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 - Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 - Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. 14 - This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

-- Jesus, the son of God Almighty, the one who conquered death, is the same man who makes his friends breakfast.

-- I have to wonder what this was like. Here they are, on this beach, around a fire, with this man who they have just seen humiliated, beaten, and crucified, for their sake. He has then proceeded to rise up from the dead. Now he is here, eating breakfast with them...What do you say? No conversation is mentioned. I think, perhaps, there was only silence--a deep silence, louder than any conversation could be.

15 - When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”...

-- Jesus, before this point, has always referred to Simon as Simon Peter or simply Peter, the name that he gave to him, as a disciple; Peter meaning "Solid Rock." Here, Jesus calls him by his former name "Simon, son of John." This indicates that Peter has acted out of character--as a coward and a traitor, not as a rock or as a disciple. He has fallen from a certain position (to which he will be redeemed, as we see later on.)

-- "...Do you love me more than these?" Jesus is likely referring to "More than these other disciples do?" as Peter had previously boasted that while the other disciples may fall away from Jesus, he never would.

-- So in one question, Jesus has already cut Peter's pride twice.

...He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”

-- He does not say "You know that I love you more than they do." This is a sign of humility.

-- Many say that by asking Peter to "feed his sheep" Jesus is alluding to leading the church; leading God's children, whom he loves.

16 - 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.” 17 - 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' asking three times recalls the three denials that Peter had made, which deeply hurts Peter. Jesus is bringing Peter to a place of brokenness, which is painful, but is also giving him an opportunity to repent and to be restored. By asking "Do you love me?" three times, he is conducting true discipleship.

-- When Peter prefaces his third response of "you know that I love you," with "Lord, you know everything..." he is displaying humility, once again. He refers to Jesus as "Lord" and then credits him with divinity and knowledge of all things, in a supernatural way. At the same time, he is crediting Jesus' knowledge of Peter's love to this fact--admitting that his behavior has not always supported it.

18 - 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.” 19 - (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.”

-- This can communicate two things at once. Once again, Jesus can be talking about humility, and about how as a servant of the Lord, we cannot be proud and we cannot always have our own way. in addition to this, as John clearly states, he is referring to Peter's crucifixion, by which he would be bound to a cross, in order to glorify God, out of love.

-- "Follow me." Jesus is giving Peter another chance to get up and to do what is right, following him. He is to take up his cross, both in life and in death, to live a life like Jesus'.

20 - Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” 21 - When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” 22 - Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

-- This passage used to really confuse me, but this is how I have come to understand it: Peter inquires as to the role/fate of John, who he knows is very close to the Lord. Jesus responds by saying “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” which is essentially his way of saying "That's his business and mine. Don't worry about what he is to do, but focus on the tasks/life that I have assigned to YOU."

23 - So the saying spread abroad among the brothers that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?”

24 - This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.

-- Once again, even at this point, the disciples have missed the point of what Jesus was saying, thinking that he was claiming that John would live forever. John is simply clarifying that it is not the case.

25 - Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

-- The entire life of Jesus on Earth was full of meaning and power. It was the most important life ever lived, and I think that John understood how lucky and honored he was to be a part of it.

This is such a powerful and beautiful conclusion to the gospel of John; addressing the devotion, humility, and obedience that it takes to follow Jesus, and what it means to love him. Thanks for reading! I hope that this may stimulate some thought/prayer, as you reflect on this passage of scripture.

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