As a church, Lakeside spends the month of August focusing on global missions, leading up to REACH BBQ for Global Missions. We highlight each of our missionaries who will receive support from the fundraiser. It is a good time to stop and dwell on the heart of God for all people.
The next four weeks in youth group we will be focusing on REACH – our part in global missions. We will discuss The Motive, THE Cause, The Promise and The Vision.
The Motive – John 21:1-19
I’m a big fan of crime drama TV series. I like the funny shows, like Psych, to the serious ones like Law and Order. In all the TV dramas, and in real life, when a crime happens the question is asked, “what is the motive?”
The question is trying to get to the heart of why a person would do this act. If you can figure out the motive, you can identify the culprit. At least that is how it works on TV.
But it is not just in TV dramas where we see motives. We see it in art, in science, in politics, in music, and in sports. Motives are desires of the heart that cause someone to act to attain a specific goal. A criminals jealousy causes them to commit a crime. An artist’s wonder is captured in a painting. A scientists desire to explain the complex leads to a ground breaking formula. A politicians desire to help her community leads to new legislation. And so on.
In order to understand the motive for Christians to share the Gospel, I want to examine one of the last conversations Jesus had with his best friend Peter in John 21.
READ John 21:1-19
Context:
It’s only been days since the crucifixion and resurrection. Really, it has been a whirlwind for the disciples, and especially Peter. They had all walked away from their jobs and families for three years to follow the rabbi, only to be surprised at his death. Their hope, their vision, and their purpose died on a Roman cross just a few days ago. Peter, in all his self-confidence, found himself denying his best friend three times when he was needed the most.
They were all astonished with the news of Jesus’ resurrection, and almost couldn’t believe their own eyes at His appearance. You can imagine the internal and mental exercises they struggled with at first, “did I really see Him?”, “is my mind playing tricks on me?”, “the other guys saw Him too didn’t they?” and so on.
We see in John 21 where the disciples were awkwardly waiting in a room not knowing what to do. It’s not like it was before Jesus died. He isn’t there to tell them what to do or where to go. That’s when Peter said, “I’m going fishing,” and they all joined him.
A Miracle
These trained fishermen had been out fishing all night without success. They saw someone on the shore who said, “cast your net on the right side and you will find some fish.” When they did, their nets overflowed with fish! That’s when John realized the man on shore was Jesus.
“Hey Peter, that’s Jesus!” said John. Peter immediately put his clothes on and jumped in the water. I love this scene! Most people take off layers so they can swim. Peter, in his excitement to see Jesus, put clothes on and swam in.
Even though they knew it was Jesus and they all sat around a fire to eat with Him, they were all afraid to say anything. They had questions in the heads, like “who are you?”, which probably meant something like, “how in the world are you risen from the dead? We saw you die. People don’t rise from the dead, but you did! How can this be?” The resurrection was still fresh to them and they marveled at the possibility.
The Three-fold Restoration of Peter
Could you imagine sitting around a campfire with all your closest friends and your mentor calls out, “Hey Peter, do you love me more than these?” Everyone around the fire remembers that less than a week ago, you just publicly denied Jesus to save your own skin. The guilt and the shame are suffocating, but He is here, He is alive, maybe if I just pretend it didn’t happen He will let it go.
And then the questions comes up. I believe Jesus is referring to the fish, meaning “Peter do you love me more than your career?” It could mean, does he love Jesus more than the other disciples do. Or it could mean does he love Jesus more than he loves the other disciples. Yet, in a moment of uncertainty, Peter had gone back to his fishing boat. I think Jesus was calling on him to leave the boat behind.
“Yes Lord, you know I do.” “Feed my lambs,” said Jesus.
A moment later, “Peter, do you love me”? “Yes Lord, you know I do.” “Tend my sheep,” said Jesus.
A third time, “Peter do you love me?” This time, Peter was grieved at the question, and wondered why he was asked a third time. “Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you.” “Feed my sheep.”
And then after that, Jesus seems to summarize the rest of Peter’s life and how he will die. Jesus concludes this conversation with, “follow me.”
In this unfolding conversation, we see Jesus helping Peter walk back his denials of Christ. Three times Peter said he didn’t know Jesus, and now three times he declares his love for Jesus. Not only is Jesus giving Peter an opportunity to declare his love, but He also charges Peter with caring for the flock.
It’s as if Jesus said, “hey Peter, I have a big task for you. I want you to care for my church, but not because you love the church. You need to love me above all else. If you love me, you will tend to my sheep.”
The language Jesus uses is that of a shepherd and his sheep. A teaching method Jesus has used on several occasions.
John 10:14–15
14I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
So in this passage, Jesus, the good shepherd, is charging Peter with the care of His flock. In this reference, I am sure Jesus is calling to mind in Peter the other teachings about His flock.
John 10:16
16And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
There are some sheep who are not Jewish believers, they aren’t part of the flock yet. They need to hear the Gospel, the Words of Christ, and they will join the flock. Peter’s love for Jesus would compel him to protect and feed those in the church, but he would also go out and preach the Gospel to those who had not yet believed. This is the plan Jesus had for Peter since the beginning.
Matthew 4:18–20
18While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
“Peter, leave those fish behind and I will teach you how to fish for men!” By “fish for men,” Jesus stated from the beginning, that He was going to teach Peter how to reach people with the Good News of Jesus Christ. It started with the command, “follow me!”
One of the last phrases Jesus said to Peter was, “follow me!”
Following Jesus is a daily call. It’s something we will never arrive at this side of heaven. But when we follow Jesus, we will love Him and we will feed His sheep.
Love, Follow, Feed
The motivation for being a global missionary is loving Jesus first in our lives. Principles we can gather from Peter’s experience here is that Jesus doesn’t give up on us because we have failed Him. He died and rose again to cover our sins. Instead, He asks us to love Him and follow Him.
When we love and follow Him, He will lead us into opportunities to tell others about Him. If you want to impact this world for Christ, seek to love Jesus more each day and follow Him. He will open doors for you to share His Good News with a dying world.
Are you sharing Jesus with others? Why or why not?
If you are a Christian and you are not sharing Jesus with others, what is your motivation for silence? Are you trying to please the crowd? Are you afraid of being unpopular? What is your desire?
When we are not sharing our faith, we need to gauge our love for Jesus. Peter’s love for Jesus led him to go all over preaching the Gospel and ultimately give his life as a martyr for his faith in Jesus. What is your love for Jesus leading you to do?
Your number one responsibility is to grow in your love for Jesus. When you love someone, you are excited about that person and proud of being associated with that person. When you are excited about something, you will talk about it. Consider your attitude and words from this past week. How did you feel about Jesus? How often did you talk about Jesus?
Not happy with your answers? Spend time with Jesus today, and ask Him to help you love Him more and more. He loves you, and we love Him because He first loved us. Allow the love of Jesus to be your motivation today!
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