NASB says tend…shepherd…tend
GW says feed…take care…feed
It’s desert time for Peter!
He is traveling in the desert of restoration and challenge as he is forgiven and then commissioned for his life ahead. I am struck by the significance of the underlying reason for all work that is to be done for Jesus. It is to be done because we love Jesus. Because Peter loves Jesus, he is to tend to the lambs of the flock and feed the sheep. The root is LOVE.
The question was the same each time.
- Do you love me?
- Love with reasoning, intentional love, spiritual devotion, as one loves the Father?
- What was the opposite of loving Jesus? Denying Him.
John 18:17-18, 25-27 Peter had been asked three questions as well. You are not also one of this mans disciples, are you? The first question was asked by the gatekeeper who knew apparently who John was, and yet Peter denied. As Jesus confronts Peter, who is Peter now? You know that I love You, he tells Jesus. And Peter is told to feed the babies in the flock, the children, and the immature that belong to The Lord.
Second time in John 18 and Peter is asked if he loves Jesus, as again he had denied Him. The same question, now asked by the officers of the high priest who stood around the same warming fire, you are not also one of His disciples, are you? This time, in response, Jesus tells Peter to shepherd, to take care of His sheep- the grown ups, the sheep, to lead them, to heal their wounds, to guide them.
The third restoration from denial came in contrast to the question from the slave cousin of the one whom Peter had cut off the ear of (which Jesus had healed on the spot during His arrest.) Did I not see you in the garden with Him? An eye witness? Peter lies again and denies it and hears the cock crow just as Jesus had warned. Now, this third time that Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him, Peter’s heart was racing and he was humbled to the core, grieving over his own failure under the pressure at the time. How can Jesus trust him so after such a failure? Yet he loves Jesus more than the others, he is consumed with love and frustrated in pain over his own failure to live up to his own love. Embarrassment central! So he admits his struggle, he declares his love and then, joy upon joy, Jesus again tells him to feed His sheep -to provide healthy food and water, and to teach.
Forgiveness happened at the cross, restoration happens face to face with Jesus.
- Who am I?
- Do I love Jesus?
- Am I also one of His disciples?
- Have I been seen in the garden with Him?
- Do I love Jesus? Then am I feeding the lambs? Am I tending the sheep of His flock?
- How do I love Jesus? By loving my fellow believers!
- How was the early church known? By their love for one another.
- Is my love for Jesus showing in my care for believers? For lost sheep? For neighboring sheep in His flock?
- There are sheep in far away countries that struggle for food and water, safety and security, His flock, His persecuted. How am I doing with my love for them? Am I seeing to their food?
- Do I love Jesus? Then I, if I follow the example set in Jesus command to Peter, am also charged with feeding the lamb and the sheep and tending to their needs.
Father, forgive me for my stingy choices and thank you for the reminder to love my sisters and brothers. Guide me today to where and how I can share my time and share my resources with Your flock here in my neighborhood and around the world.
Musings 