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The Gospel of Matthew Bible Studies
The Gospel of Mark Bible Studies
The Book of Acts Bible Studies
January 2010
February 2010
March 2010
April 2010
May 2010
June 2010
July 2010
August 2010
September 2010
October 2010
November 2010
December 2010
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The 3rd Sunday of Easter (C) In the name of our risen and living Lord Jesus Christ! Grace and peace be with you! Amen! As we heard in our gospel: “When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" (Jn. 21:15) What a question this is!! And it is one which our Lord continues to ask of us here today. To each of us, Jesus comes and calls us by name, saying, "George...Carol...Robert...Sue...(or put your own name in there)...do you love me? Do you really LOVE me? Do you love me more than anything or anyone else?!" Note what Jesus is asking here. He is not asking us if we "believe" in him. He is asking us if we LOVE him! And if we do, what does that mean for us in our lives? A lot of people "believe" in Jesus. More than two billion people on this planet call themselves "Christians". And here in America, the vast majority of people claim to "believe" in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. But “belief” by itself does not mean that much if it does not make a practical difference in our lives. Mere “belief” in Jesus is not what brings us to worship on a regular basis, nor does it really shape our attitudes and conduct in our day to day living. But Jesus in today's gospel is not asking about "belief". Nor is he asking about doctrines that we may hold. He is asking about our LOVE. Do we love him? Do we really love him like he loves us? Simon Peter in our gospel is an example of this. Before this event, he had "believed" in Jesus. Indeed, PETER was the very first person to confess Jesus as being the Christ, the Son of the Living God. (Mt. 16:16) But Peter’s belief – as special and powerful as it was – had failed him at the time when he had needed it most. When push had come to shove, Peter on the night of Jesus’ betrayal and arrest had denied Jesus three times. Not only that, it seems that Peter's life had not been changed in a real and dramatic way. For in today's gospel, he had gone back to doing the same old thing as he always had. He was a fisherman, so he (and some of the other disciples) decided to go fishing. Had not Jesus appeared to him again and asked him "Do you love me?", it seems probable that Peter and the others would have gone back to that occupation full time. Think about how different things would be if that had been the end of Peter's life story! Peter would have been known as nothing more than a fisherman who took "time out" for three years to follow Jesus - and then returned to the fishing business. If that had been so, there would have been no Christian Church! We would not be here today! But Jesus DID come to Peter on the Galilean lakeshore - and there he asked him for more than "belief". Jesus asked him for his LOVE. He asked him for his LIFE! "Simon, son of John", Jesus asked him, "do you love me more than these?" Do you love me more than your boats, your fish, and if need be, anything else? It is interesting to note that in the original Greek language of the New Testament, Jesus asks Peter if he loves him "AGAPE" - that is, a total self-giving love – and Peter in reply says that he loves Jesus "PHILOS" – that is, as a friend. Peter apparently has a hard time making the ultimate commitment of giving his life to Jesus! He wants Jesus to be his friend, but he does not love Jesus enough to give his life to him. He does not love Jesus so much that he would be willing to follow him wherever that might lead. I have a feeling that this is true with most of us. We believe in Jesus, and indeed, most of us love Jesus – as a friend. As a friend, we are glad to have Jesus with us whenever we call upon him. We are glad to spend time with him, at least when we do not have anything more important to do – just like we do with our other friends. But Jesus wants more than our friendship – as important as that is. Jesus also wants our love – our AGAPE love. The same kind of love that he gives us. A love so deep that he will give us everything he has – even his life. Do we love him like that? I think that this is one of the reasons why Jesus asks Peter three times if he LOVES him. The first two times, Jesus asks him “Simon son of John, do you love me (AGAPE)?” – and Peter replies that he loves Jesus “PHILOS” (as a friend). And so finally the third time, Jesus comes down to Peter’s level and asks him “Do you love me (PHILOS)?” According to our gospel, Peter felt hurt because Jesus had asked him this the third time. Perhaps he was hurt because he remembered how he had denied Jesus three times. But I think he was also hurt because he finally realized that Jesus was asking him for a deeper love than PHILOS. And finally, Peter replies “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you (AGAPE).” It was at that moment that Peter yielded his entire life – his heart, mind, and soul – to Jesus. And after this, Peter would never again be the same. He still believed in Jesus as being the Messiah just as he had before, but now his "belief" was also so much more! Peter also continued to love Jesus as a friend just as he had before, but now his "friendship" was so much deeper. He now loved Jesus with everything with every fiber of his being – and was willing to give him everything he had! And today, Jesus still asks us the same question that he asked Peter. “Do you love me? Do you love me (AGAPE) enough to give me your very best? Do you love me enough to give me your lives as I give mine to you?” If we love Jesus like that, then our lives – like Peter’s – will never be the same. We will follow Jesus wherever that may lead, even when it is hard. But through it all we will know a joy that comes from knowing that nothing – not even death – will ever separate us from him. For his love for us will never fail. And so when Jesus asks us, “Do you love me?” may we like Peter finally reply “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you (AGAPE).” May this be so for us today and always. Amen. -------------------- Pastor George Karres 418 W. Main St. Sidney, MT 59270
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