Restored to loving service
by Pastor Joshua Pfeiffer
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Jesus said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me? … Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep’ (John 21:17).
Read John 21:15–25
Simon Peter had messed up big time. He had followed Jesus so far in his time of need, but then, when it came to the crunch, he fell to pieces. To deny knowing him once was bad. To do it again was worse. To do it a third time, well, that just seems unforgivable. Now, however, Jesus comes to restore him. If you’ve ever been in this position of making a big mistake and then have been given a second chance, you know something of what this must have been like for Simon Peter. Jesus, in his resurrection, comes not to condemn or settle the score with those who had let him down, but rather, he comes with his blood-bought peace to restore Peter to his service in a remarkable way.
Jesus repeats his question three times, a parallel to Simon Peter’s threefold denial. The question is striking, though, as it doesn’t exactly match. It’s not, ‘Simon, can you publicly admit now that you do know me and are one of my disciples?’ Instead, it’s ‘Simon … do you love me?’ As always, Jesus gets past the external manifestation to the deeper issue of the heart. The issue is, who or what has Simon Peter’s fear, love and trust above all things? Jesus graciously forgives and restores Peter to service, and in that restoration, Peter is invited to once again place Jesus at the centre of his service and life. He is invited to love the one who loves him.
If you struggle with past sins and wonder how Christ can still use you in his kingdom, look to Peter and how he was graciously restored to service. As we do this, we’re invited to respond to the same question our Lord posed to Peter, ‘Do you love me?’ At the centre of all service in the church and all of Christian life is the one who loves us and invites us to love him above all things. I once heard someone say that when a congregation is searching for a pastor or lay worker, they usually have many questions but can sometimes miss the obvious one: do you love Jesus?
Gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for restoring Peter to your service, even after his failure. Help us to fear, love and trust you above all things. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Joshua is married to Kimberley, and they have four children together. He is a pastor of the Lutheran Church of Australia and previously served at St Paul’s Nundah in Queensland and Bethlehem Adelaide in South Australia. He is currently pursuing doctoral studies at Concordia Seminary St Louis, USA, and enjoying the adventure.
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