Beloved, as we begin this afternoon, I'd like to just begin with a word of context. I am preaching the same sermon I preached twice this morning in Brantford. This is the conclusion of a series for us. We've been considering interactions with Jesus from the Gospel of John. And over the recent months, we've taken just the conversations that Jesus had with individual people, beginning with the disciples, as Jesus called them, the marriage in Cana and so on, just focusing on those conversations until John 21 this morning and this passage in particular. And so the entire liturgy actually is the same as we had in Brantford this morning. That being said, our text is John 21, verses 15 through 19, and I just want to reread verse 15 at this time. So when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? If one of your elders came up to you or your pastor, former pastor came up to you and asked you, do you love Jesus? What would you say? What would go through your mind in that moment? I think some of us would answer very quickly. Yes, I love Jesus and we wouldn't hardly Think about it because we would just assume that's the answer that the elder or the pastor desires. Others of us might be taken back at least just for a moment and have to think and ask ourselves, do I? And maybe in the moment, not even be sure whether we loved Jesus. Others can say, yes, I love the Lord because of what we've saying in Psalm 18. I love the Lord because he's my strength. But now imagine if it wasn't an elder or a pastor who came to you and asked you if you loved Jesus, but imagine if it was Jesus himself. Coming to you and asking you. Do you love me? Not do you say you love me or do you tell your elders you love me, but do you love me? We want to see four things about this question. Do you love me? First, let's notice it's a timely question. It's timely because of the moment that it comes. When we think of questions like, do you love me? We think of them at the beginning of relationships or maybe at crucial moments in a relationship. But as Jesus asked this question to Peter, it's not coming at the beginning of the relationship. Peter had followed Jesus, been sent out by Jesus for three years. And yet, it comes at a critical moment. The disciples, Peter included, knew they were to be in Galilee. In Matthew's gospel, you recall the post-resurrection, Jesus said to Mary, go tell my disciples that I go before them into Galilee. And so in anticipation of meeting Jesus there, the disciples go to Galilee as well. And we read in John 21, they're on the Sea of Tiberias. It's also called the Sea of Galilee. And they're waiting because they haven't met Jesus there yet. And like so many people, waiting is difficult for the disciples. They can't sit still and wait. They need to be doing something even while they're waiting. So Peter decides that, as I wait, I'm going to go fishing. And others say the same, and they go out together all night. And it's dark. And they're waiting. And they're fishing. And they're waiting. And they're not catching anything. And what a long night it must have been. A discouraging night. A dark night. If you think of the theme of dark and light even in John's Gospel, John begins with this. The darkness is where we don't know Jesus. We don't experience Him. But He is the light that comes into the world to bring light to every man. But now it's dark again. They're waiting in the dark. They're waiting for the light. They don't know what to do. And if it was going to be a measuring stick of how good were they at fishing, well, they're not even good at their previous occupation anymore because they didn't catch anything all night. But then there's someone on the shore. Someone who says, pull in your net, throw it over on the other side of the boat. And they pull the net in, throw it to the other side, and suddenly the net's heavy and they're pulling it in, but they can't pull it in. They have to drag it behind the boat. It's full of fish. And suddenly it's a good night. The discouragement's over. We're catching fish. And then John says to Peter, it's the Lord. Peter jumps into the lake and swims to shore, and the other disciples are rowing the boat towards shore, dragging this net, and they pull the boat onto the gravel of the beach, and there's a fire. And there's breakfast. After a night of fishing in the dark, breakfast is already ready. And they know it's the Lord Jesus, but they don't dare ask. He looks different, but they know it's the Lord. And He hands them bread and He hands them fish and they see the scars in His hands and they know they're in the presence of the resurrected Lord. And what a glorious moment that must have been. And then think of the question, do you love me? If the question came at that moment, what would the answer have been? We can even think of Peter answering, of course, I love you, Lord. You just gave us fish, lots of them, big ones. You just gave us breakfast. You just surprised us. We've seen the post-resurrection Jesus. The discouragement that we had, it's all gone. We're filled with joy. See, it's easy to love Jesus when things suddenly turn wonderful. They go beyond our expectation, and it's easy to say, I love the Lord. As long as the Lord's doing positive things in my life, it's easier to say. And we see, in a sense, how Peter was very ready, desirous to show that he loved. Look at verse 10. Jesus says to the disciples, bring some fish. And who jumps up to go get the net full of fish? It's Peter. He goes and drags the net by himself. Full of fish. There's eagerness to do what the Lord requested. If doing is a test of love, Peter will do. But is that the best test of the question, do you love me? You see, it's after this positive moment that the question comes. It's not in the positive moment. So the question that Jesus asked is not only a timely one, but it leads to a convicting examination. It's a convicting question because the question as it comes to Peter the first time is qualified. Do you love me more than these? Now, Some have said that the question means, do you love me more than you love these other disciples? Others have said that it means, do you love me more than you love your fishing equipment, your net, your boats? And there's implications to both of those questions. But I think it means something else. And we need to back up actually to the gospel of Mark to see what that is. In Mark 14, we read Jesus telling the disciples that they would all stumble because of him. For it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. But after I have been raised, I will go before you into Galilee. And now they were in Galilee. And Peter undoubtedly recalled what he had said next that night that Mark recorded. Because Peter had responded to Jesus' warning and said, even if all the others are made to stumble, yet I will not be made to stumble. And now they're in Galilee and Peter's surrounded by those who had fled, but not stumbled as publicly and shamefully as he had. And Jesus question then is not do you love me more than you love the disciples? But Jesus question is Simon. Do you love me more than these disciples do? You follow. What you said they might do you have done and they didn't do. Do you love me? It's convicting. Jesus is putting Peter in light of the other disciples, but in light of Peter's own words. It's also a convicting question because it's repeated. Do you love me? A lot's been said about this question, the word in the question of love, because the words in the original are different and some people see radations of expression and all the different forms that that can take. But I think it makes too much of how John writes, because John always uses a variety of words. He doesn't use the same word over and over. Just think of, even in this passage, feed and care and lands and sheep. So it's repeated convictingly, not because of the love so much as It's addressed to Simon. Simon, do you love me? Simon. Simon's the name Peter received before he was renamed Peter. And the implication in the question is, have you regressed all the way back to before you were the rock, the stable one? Simon, do you love me more than these disciples love me? You know, Lord. Do you love me? Yes, Lord. But do you love me? Now, if you're elder, The former pastor came up to you and asked you that question three times in a row. Do you love the Lord Jesus? And you said yes. And they asked you again. Do you love the Lord Jesus? And you said yes again. And they asked you again. What would you think? They're doubting you. They're questioning you. And I think most of us would get defensive. We might even get angry and say, I do. I am a Christian. I am. Why are you questioning me? But Jesus asked the question three times in a row. And Peter was grieved because Jesus asked him three times. He wasn't angry. He was pained, sad. Because what was it that was exposed in his heart? It wasn't anger that was exposed in his heart. It was conviction that was exposed in his heart. Conviction because he knew he was a sinner. Conviction because he knew he had brought shame. Conviction because he was confused. And yes, grief then comes out of his heart. Because you know, Lord, that I love you. And I know my actions haven't always shown it. And Jesus isn't rubbing salt in the wound by asking Peter three times, but he's doing the serious work of bringing this disciple to a true repentance and is bringing someone to true repentance. Is it painful for the person? Absolutely. Because undoubtedly, Peter's mind went back to another fire. Where the question was not, do you love me? The question is, do you know this man? And he said, I do not. I do not. I do not. But now Jesus asked the question three times for equal emphasis. Do you love me? Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. What if Jesus had only asked that question twice? Once? Would Peter have thought for the rest of his life? Would the other disciples have thought for the rest of their lives? He denied him three times. He only said he loved him once. But Jesus comes silent. Before you're restored to Peter again and go out, I need to know, do you love me? Simon, before you go out as Peter, you need to know. You need to be convinced in your own mind, do you love me? Simon, before these others go out and interact with you again, they need to know, they need to hear you. Simon, do you love me? Do you see Jesus is focused on true repentance, but also true restoration and his desire then is to expose the deepest heart, not the superficial things. Because Jesus is not asking, did you enjoy breakfast? Jesus is not saying, do you want to go back to fishing? Jesus is not saying, Are you amazed at my post-resurrection body? No, it comes down to the very heart issue. Do you love me? If this question had come to Peter a month previous, how would Peter have answered? Love you, Lord? I'll do anything for you. My heart's on fire for you. I'll go to prison for you. I'd die for you. Sometimes when I think about everything I've seen, I'm overwhelmed. I've seen what has happened even this week, today. And did you see how I was the one who jumped up to get the net of fish? And I was the one who dragged it when you said, can someone bring fish? I love you, Lord. But you see, on this day, Peter doesn't answer that way at all. because his heart's been exposed, and not just to others, but to himself. And Peter suddenly saw beyond all his previous boasting, all his sword swinging, and all his impulsive statements were but failures. All his assured arrogance had been exposed for what it really was. It was wrong. And he couldn't keep on going like this. But he needed to see himself as broken and needy and weak, in need of grace, in need of forgiveness of Jesus, but also in need of restored relationship with these other disciples. So the question comes, do you love me? What can Peter say? Lord, thou knowest all things. Everything. You know my sin. You know my shame. You know my tears that night. You know the struggle I've had with peer pressure. You know how I've puffed myself up. You know how I've wrestled with insecurity. You know my weaknesses. You know my desires. You know that I love you. It's a timely question that leads to conviction. But Jesus' point is not to weaken this relationship or destroy this relationship or say it's not a worthwhile relationship and push it aside. No, he asks the question. so that Peter would be motivated. It's a motivating discussion. Do you love me? If you love me, feed my lambs, my sheep. And the focus isn't on the nouns so much as the verbs. You are to feed, you are to care, you are to tend to these. Put this into perspective. This is Peter. Peter is the one called to feed the sheep and to be an under shepherd. And today we would ask the question, why would Jesus pick Peter? Peter had shamed himself. Peter had dishonored the Lord. Peter had denied him three times. Peter had lost the confidence he even had before. But you see, that's exactly why Jesus comes to him. Peter is no longer just the bold character with the authoritative voice. But now he's this man who's broken and vulnerable. And Jesus says, now you're ready for service. Did Peter learn? Absolutely. Just consider two passages from Peter's letter, first letter. First Peter 4, and above all things have fervent love for one another for love will cover a multitude of sins. What was Peter thinking of when he wrote that? Was he thinking of this discussion? Realizing how much Jesus loved him? Jesus love covered a multitude of my sins And now I implore you that your love would would cover multitude of sins of others So he goes on be hospitable to one another without grumbling as each one's received a gift minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God and Then another passage first Peter 5 and shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion, but willingly, not for dishonest gain, but eagerly, not as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. You know, those brave, loud people Don't be one of those who lords it, but be an example to the flock. You see, Peter's brokenness never disqualified him for service. Peter's brokenness qualified him for service. Not because he was broken, but because he was a broken sinner who knows and hopes for redemption in Jesus Christ. And Peter knows that it's a broken servant who will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away from the Great Shepherd. And Jesus doesn't come and ask him the question then to dismiss Peter. He doesn't come and say, Do you really believe? He doesn't say, do you really pity me? He doesn't say, did you cry enough over your sins? He doesn't say, did you beat yourself up long enough? No, he comes to Peter even in that moment and he says, do you love me? If you love me, feed my sheep. You see, love is what leads to piety. Love is what leads to service. Love is what leads to fruitfulness. He who is forgiven much loves much. Do you love me? If you love me, serve my people. Did you pick up on How close Jesus ties himself to the people. They are his sheep. They are his lambs. And Jesus highlights that. They are mine. And I want you to feed them, tend them, care for them. Unless we miss the point, here's a broken, shamed sinner who denied the Lord, who Jesus says, I want you to feed my sheep, and I trust you to feed my sheep. There's implications here for office bearing. There's implications here for pastors. Who are you going to call as a pastor? Someone who has it all together or someone who knows brokenness? What happens when we have a fallen sinner who's maybe even publicly embarrassed themselves and could be pointed to and said, do you really love the Lord? Jesus says to Peter, feed my sheep. And the points not office bearing or pastoral selection. But how much do fallen sinners who feel shame and embarrassment and conviction at times disqualify themselves or even disqualify others because they don't have it all together? Jesus comes to Peter and restores Peter with the goal that if you love me, serve me and let your love for me fuel your service. And yes, then even broken sinners who have sinned publicly and maybe even shamed themselves can be restored to service. And yes, it's to varying degrees. And yes, it's with inappropriate contexts, of course. But you see, Jesus' concern is this, if you love me. Feed my people. And the focus should be then on if I love the Lord, how can I serve him? How can I serve his people? And you see, when that's the focus of the question, we realize it's timeliness and it's convicting. It's also motivating. But it's motivating towards a continual calling. Because how long should you love the Lord? How long should you continue to serve? How long do you keep on? we'll notice Jesus' words to Peter in verse 18. It says, Verily I say unto thee, when thou wast young, thou girdest thyself and walkest whither thou wouldest. But when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death Peter should glorify God. And when Jesus had spoken this, He said unto Peter. Follow me. How long are you to follow? Until death. That's not because death is the end of loving Jesus, but it's it's because at death all those who love the Lord will will see him, they'll be. In the presence of the one they love. And the point is then as you continue on, as you go towards the final trial of your lives, as you face the final enemy, don't be discouraged as you go on. Don't stop thinking this is tough. Don't be dismayed because this is getting difficult now. But because you've seen Him, Go on. Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you as though some strange thing happened to you, but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you for the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters. Yet, if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. Do you love me? Follow me. Even if it leads you into trial, even if it's through trial, even if it's into shadows that you wonder, how dark can it get? Follow me. But what happens when we hear these instructions, follow me? So often we do this. Right? You start looking at what other people are doing. And we might look at ourselves, but we look at ourselves in relationship to them. Are they following? Oh, why is their life easier than mine? Why do I have more trials? Why are my sins public sins that everybody seems to know about? But those people, everybody, they think, he's perfect, she's perfect. Look at that family. They don't have any of the issues that my family has. And we start comparing ourselves to others. Peter, seeing John, the disciple Jesus loved, said to him, Lord, what about this man? Jesus said to him, if I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow me. Don't compare yourselves to others. Don't compare your love to others' love for Me. Don't compare the ease or difficulty of your life with the ease or difficulty of another person's life. You follow Me, Jesus says. You make sure you are following. And that's the continual calling then, isn't it? Do you love Me? Make sure you are following Me. Follow. the shepherd. In the last couple of weeks, I'm not sure of the exact date anymore. Tim Challies had an article where he wrote the following. We run best when we run light, free from the burdens of sin, free from the distractions of the past, free from the dangers of solitude, free from the weight of discouragement. I'm sure it was personal for Tim, but it's a generalization of every believer. But think of Peter here. We run best when we run free from the burdens of sin, free from the distractions of the past, free from the dangers of solitude, free from the weight of discouragement. And you see, then if you love Jesus, Run, run, run towards him, run with him in your view. And then Tim Challies continues, we must run through enemies who surround us and threaten us. We must run through, though bombarded by sorrows, losses, and discouragements, We must run though others give up, drop out, or fall away. We must run though many will attempt to persuade us to try a smoother, wider, easier way. We must run with endurance. We must run to win the prize. We must run till we have finished the race. We will run till we have received the victor's crown. Because who is ahead of us? Jesus Christ is gone before us. into heaven. But Jesus Christ goes before us now even in the more practical things of life. Did you notice that it was Jesus who met the disciples on the beach? Jesus had breakfast prepared. Jesus led the discussion towards Peter's restoration. Jesus was the one motivating to greater service. Jesus was the one really calling the other disciples to witness this act of restoration, that they would all know this is the heart of the Savior that beats with love, so that others would know, yes, I love the Lord, but also so that they would know I can go out serving Him. And they could take away this question themselves. Do you love me? And you see, that's the question that comes to us today, this afternoon. And from our perspective, the question of whether we love Jesus may not come in ideal moments. If it comes to us in ideal moments, it's easier to answer. But like Peter, the question often comes when our sin's exposed. The question comes when others know something of our brokenness. The question comes at moments where you don't know the future. Do you love Jesus? Maybe last week you embarrassed yourself in front of God, filled yourself with shame, self-doubt, secrets. This week might even add to it all. But realize this it's not an elder who's asking you this question. It's not a pastor who's asking you this question. It's Jesus who comes and asks this question. Do you love me. I should go through your social media feed. Do you love me. As you feel something bubbling inside your heart that you are convicted, you didn't be there. Here, Jesus asked this question. Do you love me? You let that word escape or that thought escape, maybe about your children or your spouse, or maybe about someone else in the church. Here, Jesus asked this question. Do you love me? And when it's Jesus asking us that question, what are we going to say? Lord, you know all things. You know all things. You know what you've put in my heart so that I can say I love you or I am beginning to love you or I know I don't love you. You see this is where God's word comes to us and here's the conclusion of the series that we were doing. Why does Jesus come and talk to individual people? so they would see his heart. And what's his heart to sinners? That they would see the light and that they would be able to say, I love you, Lord. And you see that it doesn't matter if it's the disciples in John 1 or Nicodemus in John 3 or the Samaritan woman or the lame man or the crowds walking away or the adulterous woman or the proud Pharisees or Mary and Martha or Pilate or Mary and John or Thomas or Peter or you. Jesus comes close. He reveals his heart. And he says, do you love me? He doesn't ask if we love perfectly. He doesn't ask if we love consistently. He doesn't ask if we love as much as he deserves to be loved. But he asks it personally. Do you love me? What are you going to say? William Cooper, English poet, answered this way. Lord, it is my chief complaint that my love is weak and faint. Yet I love thee and adore. Oh, for grace to love you more. Amen. Let's pray. Lord, we give thanks this afternoon that thy word reveals to us the tender and gentle and loving heart of the Saviour. We give thee thanks this afternoon that thy spirit still applies this word, so that broken and needy sinners might see that love learn to know that love, but also learn to love the one who cares and equips and empowers. We pray with William Cooper for grace to love thee more. We pray for those, Lord, who don't know thy love, and we pray for those who don't know whether they love thee. May they be so overwhelmed by the love that the answer is clear in their minds, and they must speak well, not because of their wholesomeness even, but because of thy restoring and redeeming love. We pray for this church, all of the needs that it includes, all of those with burdens. Lord, may they be encouraged and strengthened, not only by this picture of the love of the Savior, but also knowing that this same loving Savior intercedes and advocates heaven even now and so we pray for thy blessing on this week we pray for thy blessing on our lives and may we live to thy honor and glory and we pray all of this in Jesus name