Alright, well let's turn in our Bibles to the book of Isaiah. Our first reading comes from Isaiah chapter 40. I've selected just two verses to read here, but I want to remind you that this is a whole class of Old Testament references that are speaking of God coming forth. Particularly in the book of Jeremiah, this is usually in the context of judgment on the shepherds who had led Israel astray. And God then making a promise that he would come and he would shepherd. And he would send shepherds to shepherd his people. And so this is one of these. So that's in the context of judgment and promise. This is in the context of comfort. If you look at Isaiah 40 verse one, this is the dramatic turn of the book of Isaiah as now God has forgiven. And now there is promise of blessing, comfort, comfort my people. Verse two, speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her that her warfare is ended. And so all of these verses in Isaiah 40 have particular significance in terms of the Messiah who is to come. And so the two verses we wanna look at are verses 10 and 11. One thing I'll point out for those reading the ESV here, this is one of the unusual statements that we have, usually when we see the word Lord, and it's capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, that is the divine name. Here you'll notice Lord is in lowercase, and then it's the word God that is the divine name. So Lord is the word Adonai, and this means master or teacher or king with authority. And then there is the name God. So this is already an unusual construction here. And then notice how God now promises that he himself will tend his flock. Isaiah 40 verses 10 and 11. Behold, the Lord God comes with might and his arm rules for him. Behold, his reward is with him and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arms. He will carry them in his bosom and gently lead those that are with young. And then verse 12 begins a meditation on this glory and wonder of the God of creation. Then let's turn over to our text today in John chapter 21. John chapter 21. We've been spending some time in this chapter and I think we still have at least one, maybe two more sermons before we officially end the book of John. And then we're going to be taking a break and then doing some other things. And then probably, maybe still the end of this year, but possibly on into the new year, we'll be continuing on in the Book of Acts. And so I want you to anticipate that with me. Very much looking forward to preaching this historical book once again. So we're going to be looking today at verses 15 through 19. So notice this is just four brief verses, and yet this is full of meaning. And particularly, I want you to think today about John and one of his best friends in the world, Peter. As one last time, John is going to shine the spotlight on Peter. This is the only place in the Gospels where this account is given. And I'm going to argue today that there's a reason why John needed to do this, and it's in particularly in verses 18 and 19, that this is in fact interpreting a statement that Peter made that otherwise would not be understood. So this again is John not simply copying the structure of the synoptics. He's given, that's a given, that three different authors have had a similar structure to the gospels, but now John is a supplemental gospel. And friends, this is one of the supplements. This is one of the ways that John the Apostle wants us to know that Peter was restored after he denied Christ three times. So hear the word of the Lord, John 21, beginning at verse 15. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, feed my lambs. He said to him a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, tend my sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, do you love me? And he said to him, Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you. And Jesus said to him, feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go. This, he said, to show by what kind of death he, that is, Peter, was to glorify God. And after saying this, he said to him, follow me. This is the word of the Lord. I don't know how Peter was addressed by members of the local churches that he visited. We actually have very few records in the New Testament of Peter's travels. Later church tradition indicates that Peter may well have played the role of being the founding pastor of numerous churches all across Europe and even Asia perhaps. But I've wondered, how did people address him? I was asked that question just a couple weeks ago. How are we supposed to address you, Pastor? And so I decided to use our convention today and thinking about Pastor Peter. I want you to see that our passage today is built around three confrontations. Now, these are not angry confrontations. but they are nonetheless gentle confrontations. And in response to the confession of faith that is elicited by those gentle confrontations are three direct commands that Jesus is giving to Peter. And my argument today is that if you understand the Old Testament context of these commands, I've made bold and I've underlined in each one of the bulletin references today where I think these commands are coming from. That is that now, after his resurrection, just before Jesus ascends and goes away from us. Remember how broken up they were when they heard that Jesus was gonna leave and he said, it's to your advantage that I go away. I'm aware that one of the things that people really wrestle with today is, and in fact, it's a primary reason for rejecting Christianity, is what is called the hiddenness of God. That is that we can't see God, that we can't scientifically or empirically verify God's existence. And yet Jesus said it was to our advantage that he would go away and that he will come again. After breakfast, Jesus had a conversation with Peter that shaped the rest of his life. It involves Peter's future among Christ's flock. One last time, John spotlights Peter. and specifically his restoration to the ministry. He's confronted three times with his denials, he's commanded three times in his service, and then another piece that I've added as a fourth point today, commended for a death that was, quote, to glorify God. What is man's primary purpose, both in life and in death? It is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. Today, Peter, and I want you to note this is not Peter under the title or the moniker Apostle, but rather going back to John 21 verse one, Peter as a disciple. Peter is even to the very end of John's gospel referred to as a disciple because John wants us to see ourselves as disciples of Jesus in this example of Peter. Peter's pulled out of retirement. I'm not sure that the word retirement is the right word here. It's not that he was retired, it's that he left his calling. It's that he gave up and walked away. And lovingly, in our passage today, Jesus calls him back, reminds him of who Jesus is. He calls him back into a type of service that fulfills Yahweh's all important promises. And I want the last blank there is the word shepherding. I want you to see the prominence of the theme of shepherding. That word in Hebrew is connected to sheep. A shepherd, the noun form of the Hebrew word, shepherds, that's the verb form of the Hebrew word. It's all through the Bible. And even in my own private devotions this week, I was stumbling across passages that were dealing with this issue of shepherds who do a good job of shepherding or shepherds who do a bad job of shepherding. There is a responsibility that God lays before his people. To frame this today, I'd like to quote from Matthew Henry, Reformed commentator as he talks about this passage, quote, After his denials, Peter might justly expect to be struck off the role of the disciples and to be expelled from the sacred college. Twice, if not thrice, he had seen his master since his resurrection, and Jesus said not a word to him about his denials. We may suppose Peter, full of doubts upon what terms he stood with his master. Peter had reproached himself for his denials, and therefore Christ did not reproach him. Yet here was the same question three times, repeated by our Savior, the more to affect Peter and the other disciples who were present. Simon, son of Jonas, Lovest thou me more than these?" Friends, there's a question precisely repeated three times in our passage. It's the one that in fact serves as a love in truth confrontation of Jesus with Peter. The first time it was asked, in a comparative way, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? Those three last words are unique in the first question. Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? More than these what? Well, you would be surprised how much time commentators have spent talking about what precisely is the question that Jesus is asking here. Some people say what Jesus is asking is, do you love me more than these other disciples love me? That's one interpretive option here. Do you love me more than the other guys? Or secondly, Do you love me more than you love these other disciples? Peter had gone out with his buddies, the seven of them in the boat. They had been fishing that night. And Jesus is asking Peter, perhaps, do you love me more than you love your buddies? Now it's a comparative question about how much Peter loves his buddies versus how much he loves Christ. Or, and I'll confess that this is the one that I lean toward, is the third option. Do you love me more than you love these nets and these fish? I think that after Peter had gotten to be all manly, and he had pulled in that net, and he had brought fish to the fire, and they'd had breakfast, and now they're reclining around the table, and Jesus says, Peter, do you love me more than this fishing gig? Are you doing the fishing gig because I was out of the picture? What are you doing, Peter? I called you. I called you to something. And in fact, the third time that this question is asked, Peter finally understands that in fact this is a love and truth confrontation of his beloved master, And it says in verse 17, Peter was grieved. So notice that there's a confrontation and then each time Jesus would issue a command. And as much as I'd like to spend our time talking about the question, I really want to focus today on the three commands that are given here. So it's the three questions, they're identical. Notice it's Simon, Not Peter, but Simon, son of Jonah. They found remnants of the Jonah family in Capernaum in Galilee through archeology. Do you love me? And then the first time he says, more than these. So let's look at these today. First, Jesus' command is to feed my lambs. Here Jesus now is quickly pointing us to the young ones. This might be physical young ones. Peter was married. We know he had a mother-in-law. Presumably he had children. But Jesus is saying, feed the young ones who follow me. Peter, they need you. They need your eyewitness testimony. They need to see your love for me lived out practically. Again, remember that they've just gotten off the boat. Peter was headed back into his secular vocation, if you will. And Jesus is saying, Peter, I have an assignment for you. You belong to me and I need you. Feed. My lambs. Did you hear, I appreciated how Jonathan read John 10 earlier. My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me, not the hired hand. There's the distinction between the chief shepherd and the under shepherds. Between the shepherd who is the owner of the flock and those who are hired to represent the shepherd, and it's those men who are with the sheep. But ultimately, it's not the shepherd's sheep, it's the chief shepherd's sheep that we have in mind here. And so what Jesus is saying in these three simple words, Peter, you have a job to do, that job is with my people, And particularly, I want you to think about the young ones. I want you to think about the people under the age of 20 in our pews today. There is a job that Peter had for the young ones. There's a job that this minister has for the young ones. Now, why is this so important? Well, when Jesus uses this word, Isaiah 40 would be quickly in the minds of those who knew the Old Testament well. Behold the Lord God, behold your master Yahweh comes with might and his arm rules for him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arms. Peter, I've gathered these lambs. They're all over Israel. They're hurting because I was crucified. Feed my lambs. Tell them what you saw. Give them what they need to walk with me. I love them and they need to come home and be with me forever. By the way, we can also correspond this. I have there John 18, 17. This is taking us back to the three denials. The reason there's three commands is because there's three denials. Peter, denied Jesus to the servant girl at the door of the high priest's house. He said, I am not a follower of Jesus. I'm not a disciple of Jesus. And now, Jesus is saying, Peter, do you love me? Do you see how it is necessary that all duty flows out of love for Christ? If we don't understand the progression, first the grace of God, then the law of God in the life of the believer, then we can so easily fall into a legalism that relies on our service to God to please God. That's not how it works. We always must come as sinners, deserving of God's wrath, and now made part of God's flock through grace. He bought us. We did not buy Him with our good works. And Jesus is once again saying, these lambs belong to me. I have chosen them. And now, Peter, I'm commissioning you to feed them. Well, this leads us to the second point, and this is the one that I'm actually most excited about today. Again, I wish they would use this, but there in verse 16, Jesus asks him the second time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? He said, and I think now he's taken a little off guard. He says, yes, Lord, you just asked me that question. You know that I love you. He said to him, literally, shepherd my sheep. Here's the chief shepherd speaking to one who had been called to be a shepherd, reminding him that he's to shepherd the sheep of the chief shepherd. Tend my lambs. The word tend is the Greek word poimaino. This is used all through the Old Testament. It's also used many places in the New Testament. My favorite Old Testament reference is Jeremiah 23 verses 2 through 4. Thus says the Lord the God of Israel concerning the shepherds who care for my people. So now he's talking to the religious leaders. Jeremiah is bringing the word of the Lord to the religious leaders of his day. I wonder what the Prophets of God would say to the religious leaders of today, this is what he said at that time. You have scattered my flock and driven them away. I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries. I will bring them back to their fold and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for There's that same Greek word, literally, who will shepherd them, and they shall fear no more nor be dismayed. Neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord. Do you hear what's happening? In this passage, Yahweh is setting shepherds who will care for the sheep. And now what is Jesus doing? care for, tend my sheep." He's taking the place of Yahweh, according to this verse. And again, Acts 20, 28, Paul exhorts the Ephesian elders to care for or to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. In 1 Timothy 5, Peter speaking to the elders among his readers, I exhort the elders among you, shepherd or take care of the flock of God that is among you. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Do you see that what Jesus is doing here is he's claiming the sheep that God had promised to rescue. He is God, but he's also a shepherd in the world, and he's about to leave the world, and what is he doing? He's calling Peter, as a representative of the disciples, to be a shepherd. This leads us to the third point this morning, and that is, yet a third time. Notice in verse 17, this is where I think big, burly fisherman Peter might have shed some tears. I've decided one of my favorite things is when manly men shed manly tears. You don't see it very often, and a lot of times it's funny to watch manly men choke back, because it's not manly to cry. That's what they keep telling us, and I don't believe it. Jesus wept. Men, there's a time and a place. for your heart to be broken and for you to be on your face grieving over your sin. Look at what happens. Jesus does it the third time. Now it's just downright awkward. Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was grieved. because he said to him the third time, do you love me? He gets it. He gets now what Jesus is doing. Jesus knew that he had denied him. And now he's saying, Peter, are you repenting? Are you acknowledging me as your savior? And Lord, you were ready to die for me back there. And then you abandoned me. And now I want to know. Do you love me? And do you see how this is a question not just for Peter. This is a question for all those who would become disciples of Jesus. John is keen to set down this question again and again and again. And I want you to hear it resonate in your soul today. Brother, sister, do you love Christ? We can have all kinds of apologetic discussions. We can have all kinds of questions about how does the Word of God affect my life, but at the bottom of the barrel, it's you and Jesus sitting by the sea. And Jesus says, do you love me? Friends, I leave that with you today. Peter says, again, in grief, Lord you know everything. You know that I love you. And this is when Jesus says to him now, feed my sheep. Notice that it began with the young ones. It proceeded to the general principle of shepherding. And now, verse 17, the very end, I understand this to be a particular call to the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the only thing that feeds the souls of disciples of Jesus. And if disciples are to continue with Christ throughout their life, they need to be fed the way sheep need to go into the pasture. Remember John 10? By me they will go in and out and find pasture. It's through Christ that we're both protected and we're also sent out. It's through Christ that we come together and it's through the commission of Christ that then we go into all the world preaching the gospel. What gospel? The gospel of Jesus Christ. He says, feed my sheep. Now, the significance of this, Jeremiah 3.15, God is speaking. He says, I will give you shepherds after my own heart who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. The mission of the church is to equip people with the knowledge of Christ, with a deep understanding of the Word of God, so that day by day, both in times of joy and in times of grief, in times of confident faith and in times of deep despair, that you would be one who would open the Scriptures and know how to feed from the Word of God. Jesus is the one who's giving not one shepherd, but many shepherds after his own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. 1 Peter 2 verse 25 says, the last verse, you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer. of your souls. Again, do you hear the echo years later in Peter's writings of these lessons that Jesus was teaching him? So finally, point number four this morning, I want us to hear the call to glorify God even in your death. I want you to think today about how many years Peter lived about the struggles that he faced. He probably met his physical death hanging upside down on a cross in Rome. And I want you to see that now what Peter's going to do is he's going to answer a question. And I thought I had it written down there. Yeah, it's the last one there. You can circle 2 Peter 1 verses 12 through 15. We'll have to spend time on this another time, but I just want you to see that in this passage, Peter makes an interesting statement. He says here, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, and then he says this, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me, And I will make every effort so that after my departure, you may be able at any time to recall these things." These words of 2 Peter may have been written a few days or weeks before Peter's martyrdom. But he makes this statement, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I think there were people everywhere saying, wait a minute, we never heard this story. What's this story? How did Jesus make clear to Peter that he would die for the faith? And I think that's why John includes, among other reasons, this story. John interprets the words of Jesus, verse 19, this he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God. You will stretch out your hands and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go. And then in the conclusion here, we see that Jesus, maybe his last words to Peter here on this earth, are the first words that he heard back in the beginning, follow me. Follow me were the words that Jesus used in calling his men, in calling his disciples. John 1.43, the next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found the disciples and said to them, follow me. Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. John 12, 26, if anyone serves me, he must follow me. And where I am, there will my servant be also. He said this long before the cross. Where I am, when I move to the next town, that's where my servant will be. If I go to Jerusalem, that's where my servant will be. If I carry my cross, my servants will carry their crosses. If I endure in order to be glorified, my servants need to do the same thing. And then he says these very comforting words, if anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. One of the things I want to remind us today, as I know our church is grieving with the passing of three members just recently, If anyone serves me, the Father will honor that person. Think about the service that Dean O'Neill rendered to this church. Think about the service that Esther Parnell rendered to this church. Think about the service that Mac McFarlane rendered to this church. Friends, we can rejoice because if anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. And I wonder what that honor looks like today. We'll know not very far from now. I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, Peter says. 2 Peter 1 verse 14. As our Lord Jesus made clear to me, I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able to recall these things. So two applications today. Number one, have you heard the call to follow Jesus? Do you love Him? And have you responded as a volitional act in faith and in submission to Him? I pray that everyone who hears these words would know of the free gift of grace in Jesus Christ. Secondly, notice the centrality of the call to shepherd in this passage. Elders, shepherd the flock of God entrusted to you. Fathers, shepherd your families. And I believe that this can be rightly applied to all disciples, to saints. Shepherd one another. It's not that All the job gets dished off onto the elders. The elders, there's a formality, there's an authority, there's a commissioning to that. But that all of God's disciples are called to shepherd one another. And so, shepherd your family. Shepherd your friends who know Jesus. Try to shepherd those who don't know Jesus yet. Because in fact, Jesus has commanded it. feed my lambs, tend or shepherd my sheep, and feed my sheep. Let's pray. Oh Lord, how we thank you for the love that you have for us. Thank you for providing for us in this real and wonderful way. We ask that you would receive the worship of your people. Lord, that your church would be expanded throughout the world. We pray, Lord, for churches that are seeking shepherds to lead them. We pray that, Lord, you would raise up godly, humble, confident shepherds to minister in the churches across our denomination. We pray, O Lord, that you would remind us all of the command that you gave to those first disciples, feed my sheep, shepherd my sheep, feed my lambs. Lord, help us to do these things well. We'll give you thanks in Jesus' name. Amen.