Feed My Sheep
How do you go back to fishing after Jesus asks you to feed His Sheep?
"Shepherd hand feeding his sheep corn" by Ivan Radic is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Sunday’s sermon was billed as the “state of the church” address, but it was couched in another title; Feed My Sheep. Before the message began, two things popped out to me. In verse five, Jesus uses the word “children” to address his disciples to ask them if they have anything to eat, and the remaining five verses of the chapter Pastor Lee chose not to use.
First, verse five and the word children. I won’t bore you with the Greek word behind children, but it has some interesting connotations. The word implies a male or female child but immature, an infant, someone half-grown and not mature. Jesus is talking to grown adults with their own families, yet He implies they are babies.
The second part I’ll leave for after looking at the first part of chapter 21. Let’s look at that scripture now. We’ll get into the message after and close up with the last five verses that weren’t covered in the sermon.
1After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way.
2Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together.
3Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.
4But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
5So Jesus said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.”
6And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.
7Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea.
8But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net full of fish.
9So when they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread.
10Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have now caught.”
11Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.
12Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples ventured to question Him, “Who are You?” knowing that it was the Lord.
13Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise.
14This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead.
15So 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, “Tend My lambs.”
16He said to him again 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, “Shepherd My sheep.”
17He 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 all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.
18“Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.”
19Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!”
John 21:1–19 (NASB95)
This is the final resurrection appearance of the Risen Lord. I’ve just seen something new in this passage I’ve never seen before concerning the words used the three times Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him. I’ll get to that in a moment.
Before that new bit of information, let’s talk about the interesting point Pastor Lee made about this three-fold question. The disciples were fishing. It’s what they were doing when Jesus called them. It’s what they knew, the life before Christ. With the passing of Jesus off this mortal coil, the disciples returned to their old lives. Jesus showed them a new life, a new way, but they immediately went back to the old ways once Jesus was gone.
In the three questions by Jesus, “Do you love Me” and the three answers by Peter, “You know I do, Lord,” we have two very different words for love used. The first two times Jesus asks this question, the word used is agapao, divine love, as the Greek definition puts it in a social or moral sense, meaning following God’s ways as being loving because His ways provide the best of life to His children. In the first question, Jesus asks if Peter loves Him more than “these.” Halley’s speculates Jesus is referring to either the profession of fishing or his human brethren, but we aren’t sure. What is certain is that Jesus is asking Peter if he loves Him more than some otherworldly thing.
In the second asking, Jesus again uses agapao, but He pointedly asks Peter if he loves Him. Peter responds that he does, not with agapao as Jesus asked but with phileo, brotherly love. This seems to hint at the idea that Peter doesn’t fully accept and recognize Jesus as God, though we know from Peter’s writings and other Gospel writers that he does. We get a better understanding of both Peter’s answer and why Jesus asked it these three different ways in the third question and answer.
Jesus asks again if Peter loves Him, but this time Jesus comes down to Peter’s level and asks if he loves Him with phileo, brotherly love. At that moment, it is Jesus meeting Peter where he is. Peter would later grow into an agapao level of commitment to Jesus, but for now, Jesus is content to meet Peter where he is.
Jesus is content to meet us all where we are, whether it is at a human level of phileo, brotherly love, or at God’s level of commitment to His ways with a social and moral agapao level of love. Regardless of the level of commitment or feeling, the command is the same. Feed My Sheep. It is this call that Jesus is trying to communicate to Peter that fishing is not what Jesus wants him to do. The old life is just that, the old, past life. Jesus wants Peter to commit to the new life, the feeding of the sheep life.
How does that fit into the State of the Church portion? Because Pastor Lee focused on the Gathering part of East Cobb’s mission statement.
For those not in my small group or who do not attend our church, we have three axioms about our church. East Cobb United Methodist Church is gathering, growing, and going. There’s more to it than that, but it breaks down into those three simple G words. Pastor Lee focused on the Gathering part and reminded us we are the body of Christ.
In that body, not all the parts are the same. She highlighted both our differences and our similarities. As Christians who follow a Risen Lord publicly claiming the title of Christian, we agree on the salvational nature of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. We agree on some really basic principles about who Jesus is and what He did. Because of these agreements, we set aside our worldly differences and feed His sheep. She drove this home by focusing on what we were there to do Sunday.
Worship God.
The service isn’t for us. We are for Him. Our presence in the sanctuary isn’t because God is doing something for us. We come together on Sunday in small and large groups to worship God.
Feed My Sheep.
The question that’s stuck with me from then until now and will be with me all week is this: do I go back to the old life after Sunday service each week, or do I walk in the new life with the new creature to feed His sheep? That one is going to bother me all week as I do the things I consider to be normal, everyday activities that are not centered on Jesus, God, or the Holy Spirit. How do you go back to fishing after Jesus asks you to feed His sheep?
The second thing, which is now the last, is the last five verses from John Chapter 21.
20Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?”
21So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?”
22Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”
23Therefore this saying went out among the brethren that that disciple would not die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but only, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?”
24This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.
25And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.
John 21:20–25 (NASB95)
A singular point lept out of this passage that dovetails with the Feed My Sheep sentiment from the sermon. Peter is concerned about the traitor in their midst, which they all know about, and why Jesus hasn’t done anything about him yet. Jesus’ simple statement is paraphrased as “I’ll worry about the traitor. You worry about you.” Put in another way from scripture, don’t worry about what another man’s servant does. Be concerned about what you are doing for your master. The master will deal with the other servant as pleases the master.
1Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.
2One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only.
3The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him.
4Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
Romans 14:1–4 (NASB95)
To sum this up, feed His sheep the way you can feed them, and don’t worry about how someone else feeds His sheep. You and I need to look to the tasks we’ve been given to walk the path God has laid out for us. If someone else walks a path we don’t understand, but they assure us they do and that it is a path God gave them, we’d best not put stumbling blocks before them.
11For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall give praise to God.”
12So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.
13Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.
Romans 14:11–13 (NASB95)
Walk your path as best as you are able. Jesus will meet you where you are able and lead you. You feed His sheep the best you can and don’t worry about how others feed His sheep. In the end, your and my judgment rests with what we do and say, not with what someone else does or says, and that is a very good thing for them and us. ? God bless you, and Godspeed this week.