Shalom,
In the midst of our difficult situation these days, we should be grateful that we are still given the opportunity to listen to God's Word. Why? The Word always gives us strength, guidance, and a way out when all "doors" seem closed. It also helps us to overcome our fears and worries and also to face these upcoming uncertain days. What we should always remember is, whatever happens is in His control and He always provides help, peace and happiness to keep us strong.
When our faith weakens, we are often searching for testimonies of other people to revive our souls. Let us this time learn from the Apostle Peter’s testimony when Jesus called and established his faith. Through his experience, he gave advice not only to the wide spread congregations but also to us, "But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.” (1 Peter 5:10)
Peter's testimony is very convincing because it is based on his own life experience. He remembered clearly what he had experienced with Jesus. At that time, while sitting down to eat with His disciples, Jesus told them that the Son of Man would be betrayed and delivered by one who was with them at the table (Luke 22: 14-15, 21). Then Jesus turned to Peter and told him that Satan had asked for him that he may shift him like wheat, and also reminded him that his faith should not fail. And after he had turned to God, he was asked to encourage his brothers (vv. 31-32). At that moment Peter seemed so confident and felt strong to go with his Master even with the risk of being put to death and being imprisoned (v. 33). Hearing that, Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed (v. 34). It truly happened. Peter denied Jesus three times before the cock crowed. Peter turned to Jesus, who was looking at him. He then remembered the words of his Master; he regretted and wept bitterly (vv. 61-62).
Jesus died on the cross and rose again on the third day. He then appeared to His disciples in a place with the doors locked for fear of the Jews. He wanted to prove them that He was risen and alive.
The time when the disciples saw the empty tomb, they were terrified, not knowing what was happening. They did not remember what Jesus had said that after He was put to death, He would rise again on the third day. But when Jesus showed Himself to them, He gave them peace. At that time Thomas was not with them; he did not believe Jesus was risen. Eight days later, when Jesus appeared again among His disciples, Thomas was with them. To strengthen the faith of Thomas, Jesus let him put his finger into the scars in His hands and side. Finally, Thomas confessed Jesus as his Lord and God (John 20: 26-28).
It was the third time when Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias (John 21: 1). Seven disciples were there. Peter decided to go fishing again. Not knowing what to do, the other disciples followed him. So they went out and got into the boat but that night they did not catch anything (v. 3) even until it was almost day time. You can imagine how hungry they were in the middle of the lake!
What happened then? When morning came, Jesus stood on the shore and asked if they had any food (vv. 4-5). The disciples did not realize that it was Jesus, and answered that they did not have any. Then Jesus told them to cast their net on the right side of the boat. When they did, they were unable to draw the net because of the large number of fish (153 heads). John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, told Peter that it was the Lord. Hearing this, Peter plunged into the lake while the others hurriedly landed ashore.
When they landed, they saw a fire of coals there with fish and bread on it. Jesus knew they must have been hungry and tired, so He told them to have breakfast with the food He had prepared. During their meal, they did not dare to ask Him who He was, because they knew He was the Lord. (v. 12).
What is interesting here, Jesus was very concerned about the condition of His disciples who were starving and gave them the food (physical) they needed. He did not come directly to reprimand why they did not preach the gospel but returned to their old profession (fishing).
After breakfast, Jesus asked Peter specifically if he loved Him (Jesus might consider Peter a leader because he was followed by his fellow companions). Up to three times Jesus asked Peter the same question and there were both dynamic questions and answers. In the first and second questions Jesus used the word love (= agapao meaning true love, unconditional and willing to sacrifice love) to which Peter answered that he loved (= phileo) his Teacher. Jesus' third question made Peter sad because he realized he only had a friendship love (phileo). Illustration: Imagine a young man asks his girlfriend whether she loves him. If then the girl answers that she loves him just as a friend, it is the same as she gently rejects his love.
Jesus was not disappointed or angry at Peter's honest answer. He knew Peter had to live up to his calling. When Jesus called him, He wanted him to be a fisher of men (Luke 5:10). For this reason, Jesus came specifically to Peter to confirm his call as a fisher of men and established through His presence as the evidence that He had risen and was alive. Jesus' request to Peter to feed His sheep was also indirectly heard by the other disciples.
What does loving Jesus have to do with tending His sheep? Jesus knows that if someone does not love Him, he will not be able to feed His sheep wholeheartedly. If he does not love God, he will work as an irresponsible shepherd who runs away when an enemy comes (John 10: 12-13) because he does not love God nor His sheep. Therefore, Jesus had to restore Peter's calling first to be able to shepherd His sheep as He wanted.
Application: Before we do any ministry, we must first answer God's question whether we have love (born from the heart). Love should be the motivation to serve Him. We are called to love Christ deeply. Was it not true that the true love of God was poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit when we were still sinners (Romans 5: 5,8)? We should honestly answer how deeply we love Him because He wants to restore our calling. Let us not behave like the church in Ephesus who seemed to serve God extraordinarily. However, when God looked at the depths of their hearts, He found that they had left their first love (Revelation 2: 1,4)! In the same way, when our worship in this hard times is carried out via online, do we still serve Him seriously or are we disoriented and walk "backwards" by occupying our times with physical matters related to the necessities of life?
Jesus did not let Peter live in doubt, He came to give advice, to correct him and to see how his love grew. Obviously, Peter's growth in faith and love was not spontaneous but progressive. Each of us grows in faith and in love differently, but the important thing is that we should grow in God's Word. To Peter, Jesus lowered His love from agape to phileo because He knew Peter needed to grow in love to be able to do the right ministry. Jesus did not retract the assignment given to Peter simply because he did not have agape love; on the other hand, Jesus continued to place that great trust in him to feed His sheep.
When we look at Peter's next life journey, he experienced restoration. He knew that his goal in life was to take care of God’s sheep. After being filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter proclaimed boldly about Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified, died and rose again (Acts 2: 22-24). He was not afraid to testify about Jesus before the Religious Court and loudly said that he preferred to obey God rather than to men though threatened and prohibited from speaking or teaching in the Name of Jesus (Acts 4: 18- 21). Based on his personal experience, Peter then advised the elders to serve not by force nor for dishonest profit but with self-dedication (1 Peter 5: 1-3).
After giving the task of tending His sheep, Jesus told Peter how he would die and glorify God in his old age (John 21: 18-19). Despite facing a huge risk as a shepherd, Peter did not turn back from the ministry. He ended his life dying on the cross (feet above, head down) in Rome. It is evident that Peter followed the foot steps of Jesus; his love grew in such a way for Jesus, no longer through confession but through action.
After hearing Jesus’ statement about what was going to happen to him, Peter turned and saw His beloved disciple (John) following them. He then asked the Lord what was going to happen to John but Jesus firmly answered that John was none of his business (John 21: 20-22).
Application: Calls and ministry are personal, we should not compare our call and ministry with other people's. Let us not serve God enthusiastically because of seeing other people's success in serving God or becoming weak when we see other people’s failure in their ministries. Let us serve God because we love God without any other motivation. To say the truth, we like meddling in other people's business instead of tidying up our own messy business. Each of us has to grow in love and faith in God. How deep is our relationship with God? Our faith should grow stronger (like Apostle Peter’s) to be able to strengthen the faith of others who are weak.
God calls us not without purpose. His purpose for us is to carry out the noble task of "catching" souls and feeding them with God's Word. Are we willing to serve Him with the risk of undergoing suffering such as being ridiculed, belittled or even rejected? If we have not served Him, do we really love Him? Let us not be discouraged but believe that the resurrection of Jesus has the power to restore our calling and ministry to be according to His will. Amen.