Do You Love Me More Than These?

Do You Love Me More Than These?

—John 21:15

What do you do when you’ve blown it?

Simon Peter had been so proud when he boasted that he would never betray the Lord, but Peter’s pride inevitably turned to shame: he did betray Jesus. And on the very night Jesus needed him the most. For several days Peter’s disappointment in himself had been playing over and over in his mind. How he wished he could go back in time!

So what do you do when you’ve failed? Do you find something to occupy yourself, to take your mind off your failure? That’s what Peter and a half dozen other disciples who were in the same situation did—they went fishing. All night they fished . . . with absolutely zero success. At morning light they heard a familiar voice from the nearby shore: “Cast the net on the right of the boat, and you will find some” (John 21:6). They did—and they did! Peter, always the impulsive one, didn’t wait for the others. He plunged into the sea, swam to shore, and saw the crucified and risen Lord . . . alive! Together they had breakfast on the beach. Jesus looked at him and asked, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” (v. 15).

For Simon Peter, this day marked a new beginning. Coming to grips with this question enabled him to realize his potential, which he had lost sight of after his devastating failure, after he had denied knowing his Savior. This question enabled Peter to recognize anew his purpose and to realign his priorities. A fresh encounter with the Lord Jesus will bring a new beginning to any of us who come face-to-face with the question, “Do you love Me more than these?” It is never too late for a new beginning. Just ask Simon Peter.

FRESH ENCOUNTERS ENABLE US TO REALIZE OUR POTENTIAL

When Peter arrived on shore, Jesus referred to him as “Simon,” not Peter, not Simon Peter. Just Simon—and this is significant. Simon was his old name. When our Lord first encountered him three years earlier, Jesus said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas (which is translated, A Stone)” (John 1:42). Jesus used a play on words. Simon means a small pebble; Cephas means a large rock or boulder. Jesus looked at Simon Peter not for who he was then, but for who he could become: a solid rock. Jesus clearly saw the potential in Peter’s life.

After this first encounter, Jesus never referred to him as Simon again—until this breakfast on the beach. And why did Jesus choose that name at this time? Because His impetuous disciple had been living in his old nature. When the test came in Caiaphas’s courtyard after Jesus’ arrest, Peter acted as he had before he met the Lord. Peter lied. He cursed. He denied. Now when he heard Jesus refer to him as “Simon,” that name was like an arrow piercing his heart. That name reminded Peter of the potential Jesus had seen in him, the potential He now wanted to recover. Fresh encounters with the living Christ will do this for us. Meeting Jesus anew will not simply cause us to sense our shortcomings, but will also inspire us to reach the potential He still sees in us.

FRESH ENCOUNTERS ENABLE US TO RECOGNIZE OUR PURPOSE

The bottom line for Peter—and for us—is whether we truly love the Lord Jesus. He still asks us today, “Do you love Me?” After all, as Jesus stated in the Great Commandment, loving the Lord Jesus is our primary purpose in life (Matthew 22:37–38).

But what strikes me about this encounter between the Lord and His sometimes follower is not just what Jesus said, but what He didn’t say. He didn’t say to Peter, “Some friend you turned out to be. I had you figured all wrong. You are just all talk. You failed. You let Me down after boasting so often and so loudly about how faithful you would be at the crisis hour.” No, Jesus looked at Peter and simply asked, “Do you love Me?” Three times in rapid succession, He asked the same question. He was giving Peter three opportunities to counter his three denials that he knew Jesus, statements he had proclaimed before the rooster crowed at dawn a few days earlier.

Jesus’ question to Peter is also the bottom-line question for us. It is not whether we love one another or love the lost and lonely. It is “Do you love Me?” Loving Jesus is our primary purpose, and doing so affects all other issues in life for our good and His glory. Fresh encounters with the living Christ will enable us not simply to realize the potential that is locked within us, but also to recognize afresh and anew our primary purpose in life.

FRESH ENCOUNTERS ENABLE US TO REALIGN OUR PRIORITIES

Then, going a step further, Jesus qualified His question to Peter as well as to us: “Do you love Me more than these?” These what? These who? Peter was surrounded by his best friends and fishing buddies. They traveled together, ate together, laughed together, wept together. Simon Peter was always the life of the party. He was a born leader, a classic type A personality. Could “these” mean more than these other people? Was Jesus asking Peter, “Do you love Me more than you love your friends and partners in ministry?” Also, Peter was back near his hometown in Galilee where everything was so familiar—the landscape, the people. Could Jesus mean “Do you love Me more than you love the comforts of your sentimental surroundings?” Nearby were the boats, the nets, the fishing business he had known all his life. Could Jesus mean “Do you love Me more than you love your possessions”? By asking Peter, “Do you love Me more than these?” Jesus was having Peter zero in on his own priorities.

When, as believers, we have our priorities properly aligned and we love the Lord Jesus more than we love life itself, it is amazing how other areas of life seem to fall into place.

Now we see one of the most beautiful manifestations ever of our Lord’s tenderness and grace. Jesus asked Peter these three questions, which on the surface seem simply the same question asked three times: “Do you love Me? . . . Do you love Me? . . . Do you love Me?” (John 21:15–17). But let’s look more closely. First, remember that John recorded this encounter not in English, but in the universal written language of his day, Koine Greek. The Greek language is much more expressive about love than the English vernacular. No matter what the reference to love in the original language may imply, we use the same word to say, “I love my wife. I love my dog. I love Mexican food.” The Greeks, however, had three words that we translate love. One was the highest level of love, agape—God’s love that is sacrificial and sanctifying, always seeking the other’s highest good above our own. The next level of love in Greek was philos and referred to affection, to a brotherly type of love. Think about Philadelphia and its nickname, “The City of Brotherly Love.” Finally, the Greeks used eros (think “erotic”) to refer to the lowest level of love, to a merely physical attraction. Now we’re ready to look again at Jesus’ question.

When Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love Me?” in verse 15, Jesus used the word agape. That is, “Peter, do you love Me with this godly, sacrificial, unconditional kind of love?” Peter used a different word for love in his answer: “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You” (v. 16). But Peter used philos, referring to this brotherly fondness as if he was very aware of his limited ability to love. Aware of his failure to love, Peter was no longer boasting.

Again, Jesus inquired about Peter’s love for Him in verse 16, and again Jesus used agape to refer to this highest level of love. Now, grieved in his heart, Peter still could not bring himself to claim as he had in the past that he could love with agape love. Continuing to be open and honest, Peter again used the word philos. Peter loved the Lord, but Peter knew his limitations: Peter knew he wasn’t able to love the way Jesus loves.

Finally, Jesus asked Peter a third time, “Do you love Me?” (v. 17). But this time He came down to Peter’s level and used the word philos: “Peter, as best you can, here and now, do you love Me?” This is amazing condescension. And Peter replied, “Lord, You know all things. You know I love you!”

New beginnings are not automatic. They involve the true confession of our shortcomings and a realignment of our priorities. Consider the fruit of those two steps in Peter’s life: Peter went away from this encounter to become the Spirit-filled preacher of Pentecost and the undisputed leader of the Jerusalem church. It is never too late for a new beginning! And a new beginning will do three things for you, just as it did for Peter. A new beginning will enable you to realize your potential, recognize your purpose, and realign your priorities.

Our Lord is still waiting on the shore for you . . . and me.

Q & A: “Do you love Me more than these?” Look around you this week and then join Peter in answering, “Yes, Lord, You know all things. You know I love You . . . You know I love You more than I love these.” Jesus sees you now just as He saw Simon Peter, not for who you are, but for who you can become. So with Jesus’ help, realize your potential, recognize your primary purpose in life, and realign your priorities. When you do, you will hear—as Peter did—those two simple and life-changing words, “Follow Me” (John 21:19).