Jesus asks: do you love me? - Bible Message

Sunday Worship Meeting at Gainsborough Corps
Sunday 17 February 2008

Introduction:
Next Saturday morning during the coffee morning we will be able to enjoy an all day breakfast here at the hall. Many, many years ago Jesus cooked fish and served breakfast to the disciples on the waters' edge. The Lord Jesus who had been crucified, buried and now is resurrected, appears to his disciples who were fishing.

Jesus asks Peter ...do you love me? What a question to ask Peter by a campfire when It was probably during the last three campfires that Peter had denied ever knowing Jesus. (John 18:17) Do you love me?

Last Thursday it happened to be Valentines Day, when traditionally people have tried to find out if the other person loves them, or if there might be a chance of love? Cards might have asked 'Will you be my Valentine? in other words- will you go out with me, will you spend lots of time with me, will you share my dreams...etc..etc... Do you love me?

Anecdote: Listen to this love letter:
Dearest Jimmy,
No words could ever express the great unhappiness I've felt since breaking our engagement . Please say you'll take me back. No one could ever take your place in my heart, so please forgive me. I love you, I love you, I love you!
Yours forever,
Marie
P.S. And congratulations on winning the lottery.

So how do I know if I love someone? I have now been married nearly 28 years and I still couldn't tell you exactly why I love my husband. All I know is that I love him very, very much. If I said I loved him for his looks then would that be true lasting love? If I said I loved him for his money then would that see me through my entire marriage? There has to be' that something very special' which I may not be able to explain, but I most certainly know it is there!

Watch a video clip from Sense and Sensibility where they discuss true love.

Does Peter Love Jesus?
How can Jesus know if Peter really loves him? We have a situation here, there's history between Peter and Jesus. We read all about it in our Bible readings earlier on. First in John 13 from verse 34 Jesus predicts that Peter is going to deny ever knowing Jesus. Jesus knew Peter in all his weakness. He knew his impulsiveness, he knew his habit of speaking before thinking. . Jesus knew that Peter would find it very difficult to follow Jesus just now but Jesus also knew what Peter could become. Jesus knew that whatever happened Peter loved him.

What makes Jesus great, special, is that he sees the hero in the coward. Jesus can see what Peter can be and has the power to help him attain it. Verse 36: Peter asked Jesus..Lord, where are you going? (in other words what’s all this about because I want to stick with you) verse 37: Why can’t I follow you now? ..I would die for you! (in other words try me!) Jesus then predicts Peter’s denial which must have hurt Peter and embarrassed him in front of the others. How awful to be told that there's no chance of dying for Jesus is he won't be able to cope with standing up for Jesus in the first place! But that embarrassment was nothing when compared with the actual time when Peter denied ever knowing Jesus. This denial did not happened once or twice but three times!

What’s going on with Peter who reckons loves Jesus so much? There’s a couple of things we need to know here about Peter. Just after Jesus’ death the rest of the disciples have gone into hiding of some sort or another. It is Peter who in the middle of his denying knowing Jesus, is also defending him. Peter did not go into hiding. Peter did the opposite and came out of hiding and said here I am Lord.

He failed the accountability test if you like at a time when no one else was prepared to take it. And how Peter must have suffered the mocking of passers by, imitating the crow of the cock and laughing at him. Peter had to confront the reality of where he was on his journey of faith whilst Jesus was alive, and now so soon after, he has to face the reality of where he is again in regards to his faith and discipleship. Possibly for the first time in his life Peter is needing to sort out what it is going to mean to follow Jesus.

Now let us go to the breakfast- by the lake and see Jesus and Peter begin the process of re-building their relationship again. There's no doubt that Peter's denial of ever knowing Jesus will have formed a barrier, a mask between Peter and his Lord. First of all, Jesus asks Peter if he loves him three times. Peter gets a chance to sort out those three ghosts. Three times Peter can affirm his love for Jesus and hopefully move on. So what does 'do you love me' mean now? Do you love Jesus? like Peter did? enough to move on with him?

So how are they going to move on? Peter is trusted with a most important task! Feed my sheep! again Jesus commands Peter to do this three times: verse 15 feed my lambs..verse 16 take care of my sheep..verse 17 feed my sheep.. It seems that with his great love for Jesus came great responsibility...to love and care ..to continue the ministry of Jesus ..to help others from going into hiding, from going astray, encouraging them to follow too.

Do you love Jesus?
When Jesus asks you- do you love me? What do you answer? How do you know if you love him? I am sure there are plenty nice things you can say about Jesus which would explain why you like to be with him...but why do you love him? If you cannot say exactly why then don't worry because what really matters is that you know you have something very special and even if you cannot explain it you know its there. Do you love him? Do you have that something special about the Lord which you cannot explain but you know its there?

Following our thoughts from last Sunday morning we need to remember the importance of following Jesus because in order to follow Jesus you are going to have to remain close to him...following from a distance does not work, from a distance you loose sight. Distance and discipleship don’t go together. We cannot love and remain distant. We cannot develop intimacy from a distance. There needs to be two to tango.

Peter and Jesus move on in their relationship by putting very important things in place. If Peter had been here today I think he would have sang this very song...It is the cry of my heart to follow you..to be close to you ..all of the days of my life (Songs of Fellowship 832)..and he did it! Peter, from that very day began to follow and to follow closely..and he never regretted it. How do I know?.. because you only have to read what Peter wrote in the N.T. 1 Peter has only 5 chapters and 2 Peter has only 3 chapters.

These two books were written by a mature disciple who has come a long way, who has learnt a lot about his walk with the Lord. Knowing what we know of him makes for extremely interesting reading. What a changed man. There, you will read things that you had heard of but didn't realize Peter had said them like..'Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.'..1 Peter 5:7

Concluding thoughts...
Jesus asks you this morning ...Do you love me? What is your answer? What practical things will you and the Lord put in place to help you deepen your love for each other and enrich your relationship, your discipleship? Lets sing a song that talks very well about following closely and see how it helps you just now and in these days...Song 740..Like to a lamb who from the fold has strayed...