4/9/24 - John 21:15-23

John 21:15-23

Observation:

Jesus has a conversation with Simon Peter and asks him three times if Peter loves Him and instructing him to feed His sheep. After each affirmation of love from Peter, Jesus responds with a command. Jesus further explains to Peter with the utmost importance that in Peter's earlier life there were his youth and freedom of movement but when Peter gets old, he will have to stretch out his hands and someone will dress him and force him to go places Peter does not want to go. Jesus predicts that Peter will face his own persecution. Peter then asks about the fate of another disciple, to which Jesus responds that it's not Peter's concern and that Peter simply must follow Jesus. The prediction of Peter's future became known among the other disciples, which may have caused speculation and discussion among them even regarding the fate of the beloved disciple. Jesus did not actually say that the beloved disciple would not die, rather Jesus emphasizes that what happens to the beloved disciple should not concern Peter.

Interpretation:

Jesus and Peter were sitting by the Seas of Galilee. Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him, which corresponds to Peter's denial of Jesus before his crucifixion. Since Peter denied knowing Jesus, Jesus asks three times to Peter regarding Peter's love for Jesus and through this, Jesus is giving Peter an opportunity to reaffirm his love and commitment to Jesus. With Peter's response each time being "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you," this indicates his sincere affection for Jesus despite his previous denial. This is important as Jesus wanted to make sure Peter knew he was forgiven and still loved. Also after each affirmation of love, Jesus commissions Peter to feed and tend His sheep. This command reflects Peter's role as a leader and shepherd and it symbolizes Peter's responsibility to care for and nurture the believers spiritually. Jesus then takes the time to predict that Peter will die for his faith, using the imagery of stretching out his hands. Yet despite this, Jesus wanted Peter to stay focused on following Him by telling Peter, "Follow Me," reaffirming Peter's call to discipleship and dedication to following Jesus regardless of the cost. Lastly, Peter notices the beloved disciple following them and asks Jesus about his fate. Jesus responds by redirecting Peter's focus back on his own calling and relationship with Jesus. He emphasizes that Peter should not concern himself with what will happen to the beloved disciple but should focus on his own journey of discipleship. 

Personal Reflection:

This passage shows great importance on showcasing that every Christian, every believer and every follower of Jesus will come up short like how Peter fell short on denying Jesus. But at the same time Jesus will forgive us and reaffirm His love for us just like what He did for Peter. There's been numerous times when I have fallen short but one thing hits home is when my heart completed stopped going to church yet my physical body was present every Sunday. I was burnt out at the time and I simply did not want to serve the church anymore. During that time I dropped out being the leader of my cell group and I seldomly was attending church. I was doing what Jesus described to Peter on being young and free but when Jesus would knock on my door, I would answer it but not open it. I would go about my day living out my life yet I was not doing much to glorify God. Eventually my sins caught up to me and it was a true wake up call for me and I understood that I needed to recommit my faith to God. As I asked for forgiveness I can feel God reaching out to me letting me know that I have been forgiven and that's when I also felt God telling me to serve again.

Envy and jealousy can easily kill relationships in the church. I've heard that question, "what about him?" or "what about her?" countless of times. There's times when I felt that I have served more than another servant of the church however while the other servant was blessed, and I was not which lead to numerous internal questions and complaints to God regarding why is that I'm not being blessed as much. Going back to this passage, Peter knows his own mortality and he inquires the mortality of another. The theme of looking at others when we should be looking within comes up quite a bit. When I dropped out of the cell group as their leader I saw the blessings that they had and I complained to God about it. As I took it up with Him, He quickly reminded me while I'm looking at others, where am I at with Him. I quickly noticed God was asking His own set of questions like "why are you so caught up with others?" and "how is worrying about another's actions or blessings increasing your maturity with Me?" 

Application:

I have made many mistakes in my life even rejecting God. Admittingly, the call to serve has been a challenging one as God put it on my heart some time ago yet I never quite acted on it. I rejected Him and His commands out of sheer laziness, priorities, or simply unwilling to listen and disobedience. But God has never gave up on me and constantly put into my heart to serve. I do hear Him asking me the same type of questions that He asked Peter on if I love Him. Of course I do but I never got to act on it until recent of last year. It's been seven years since the last time I served the church but throughout that hiatus I would hear God calling out to me. I finally found a church where I know I can serve. God has called me here and this time I'm following it. I want to help others grow and mature in their walk with God. As for my envy or even jealousy, I need to remind myself that whatever I am doing is to glorify God and if I'm complaining or worrying about others or putting more attention to others that's unnecessary then I know that I'm doing the opposite on glorifying God. I need to remind myself that everyone has their own faith towards God including God. I need to remind myself that even though there are others being blessed, I am still being blessed. I need to remind myself that God is fair and just. I need to remind myself to not be like Cain, Martha and others. I will pray and work on my self-centeredness and make sure to remind myself that it will hinder my ability to cultivate meaningful relationships and to fully engage with God as my selfish desires are meaningful compared to what God wants me to do in order to glorify Him.