John 21:15-19 “Recommissioning the Repentant”

Hey friends, Alan Doody here, preaching pastor at New Life. We're delighted to bring you this sermon from our Sunday gathering. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net. Thank you and enjoy the following message. Charles Coulson had a meteoric rise and fall. After graduating from Brown University, he became the youngest captain in the Marine Corps.

He went to law school and earned his degree and then worked several years in politics before he was appointed special counsel to President Richard Nixon. He retired under pressure due to his role in the illegal Watergate scandal and he went into private life. But after a few years, he was restless.

He was fearful for his future. He didn't know what was going to happen to him. And a friend gave him a copy of Mere Christianity. That led to several conversations, which led to his conversion. And after his conversion, he became convicted. That he needed to confess what he had done.

And so that's what he did. He went to the authorities and made a full confession of his involvement in the Watergate scandal, and he was sentenced to one to three years in prison. During that time, he fell into despair. He thought that he had ruined his chances of doing anything meaningful with his life.

But when he got out of prison, God gave Chuck Coulson a vision for what became Prison Fellowship International, which ministers to prisoners, ex-prisoners, and their families. And today, almost 11 years after his death, it is the largest ministry to prisoners, ex-prisoners, and their families in the world. It's touched thousands, millions of lives.

And at one point, Chuck Coulson thought that God could never use him again. Last week, we began the epilogue to John's Gospel in chapter 21, the part of the book that ties up the loose ends and answers questions that remain. And if you've been with us over the last few weeks, at least, you know that we have seen Jesus betrayed and arrested, crucified, dying, buried, and risen again.

He appeared to Mary and to the women at the tomb, and then he appeared to Peter and the disciples multiple times. And now, John is tying up those loose ends by answering the questions that still remain. Last week in verses 1 through 14, he answered the question: what did the disciples do next?

We saw that they went back to Galilee and they didn't just go back to Galilee, they went back to fishing, went back to doing what they did before they met Jesus. This morning, we're going to answer the second question: Did Peter ever reconcile with Jesus? We find that answer in our text today, where Jesus is going to publicly initiate reconciliation with a repentant Peter and recommission him to serve.

And so, friends, what we're going to learn today through the text is that God recommissions the repentant to a life of service. If you look there in verse 15, John notes that they had just finished breakfast. And if you go back to verse 9, which we covered last week, we saw Jesus cooking breakfast over a charcoal fire when the disciples met him on the shore after that last fishing trip.

And, friends, that's significant because this is not the first charcoal fire that we've seen in the Gospel of John. Take a look at John chapter 18. The servant girl at the door said to Peter, You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you? He said, I am not.

Now, the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing. And warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself. So it's very interesting that the last time we saw a charcoal fire in John's gospel, Peter was publicly denying Jesus three times.

And after he denied him that third time, here's what Luke records: And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times. And he went out and wept bitterly.

As we saw last week with the miraculous catch of fish, John seems to be drawing our attention to something that happened earlier in his gospel by mentioning a key detail in the story, in this case the charcoal fire, that really doesn't serve a purpose except to trigger our memories.

That we have seen something like this before in our reading of John's Gospel. So here in verse 15, Jesus and the disciples have finished breakfast, and look at what John records. Take a look at verse 15. Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?

Now, hang on a minute here. Names in the Bible can be quite confusing and hard to. Keep up with, as you probably know. It's like our dog. Bless his heart and both of his brain cells. Technically, his name is Oliver, but we never really called him that. The kids started calling him Ollie, but I started calling him Ollie Gator, which just got shortened to Gator.

But now I just usually refer to him as you big bozo. So that's at least five names to keep up with. And here we have kind of the same deal. The man that we know as Peter is technically Simon son of John, whom Jesus renamed Simon Peter, who goes by Peter, which in Aramaic is Cephas, meaning rock.

Hopefully you followed all that. Now, here's why I think this is important. In verse 15, John, his friend, the author of this gospel, calls him Simon Peter. But what does Jesus call him? Simon son of John. And the reason that John calls him Simon Peter is because Jesus actually gave him that name.

I want you to take a look at John 1:42 on the screen. It says, Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas, which means Peter. Take a look at Matthew chapter 16 now. Jesus said to them, But who do you say that I am?

Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah, that is Simon son of John. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, Petros, or Cephas.

You are Peter, meaning rock, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. So, friends, what do we see in these texts here? As soon as Jesus met Simon the son of John, he gave him a name, Cephas, or Peter, meaning rock.

That's the name that Jesus gave him. And when Peter made the great confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, how did Jesus respond? He said, I tell you, you are Peter, meaning rock, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

But back here in verse 15, John calls him Simon Peter, but Jesus doesn't call him that. He calls him Simon son of John. Why doesn't Jesus call him Peter, the name that he himself bestowed upon? Him. That's because Simon Peter is the rock. He's the one who made the good confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Simon, son of John, is the fisherman. He's the one who didn't know Jesus yet. He's the one who denied him three times, the one who went back to Galilee and said, I'm going fishing. You see, Jesus is asking Peter, who are you? How do you identify yourself? How do you view yourself?

Are you really Simon, the son of John, the fisherman? Or are you Simon Peter, the rock, the fisher of men? Brothers and sisters, these are very important questions. Questions that every one of us has to answer. Who are you? What's your identity? How do you view yourself? Our culture tells us, find your identity in your job.

You are what you do. Our culture tells us, find your identity. In success. You are what you've accomplished. Our culture tells us, find your identity in your tribe. You are who you associate with. Our culture tells us, find your identity in sexual desire. You are who you're attracted to.

But, church, God does not view us in any of those ways, and he does not want us to view ourselves or to view each other in any of those ways either. Here's how God views us. Look at Galatians 3:26. For in Christ Jesus, you are all sons of God through faith.

That is, in Jesus Christ, every believer has the rights of the firstborn son. There are no second-class citizens in God's kingdom or in God's family. Every one of us, men and women, young and old, rich and poor, has the rights of the firstborn son in God's family. And you might say, not me.

You don't know how I've sinned. I'm forever identified with it in God's eyes and in my own eyes. I'll never escape it. That's who I am. But, friends, that's not true. Look what Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 6. He says, Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?

Do not be deceived, neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. Now, listen to this. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

Brothers and sisters, through faith in Jesus, you are not who you were. That person is dead and gone. In God's eyes, you are no longer a stranger, an outcast, an alien. You are a beloved child. In God's eyes, you are no longer identified with your sin or your former sin.

You are a saint. That is how God views you. But the question is: is that how you view yourself? Is that your identity? Is that the identity that you've embraced? In your own eyes, are you? Are you washed and sanctified and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God?

Or are you still identifying with who you were before Jesus revealed himself to you and called you to repent and follow him? That is the question that Jesus is asking Peter. I think that's why he calls him Simon, son of John. Now let's go back to verse 15 again.

Look what Jesus asks him: Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? Well, what does the word these refer to? More than these. Well, it seems clear that Jesus is either referring to the other disciples or the fish in the fishing gear. Those are the immediate reference.

Those are the things that are around, the other disciples and the fish and the fishing gear. And most commentators I read said he's got to be referring to the other disciples. But friends, it's hard for me to think that Jesus was asking Peter, do you love me more than these other guys love me?

For several reasons. First, Jesus never promoted competition among the disciples. In fact, every time they were competing with each other about who was going to be the greatest in the kingdom or who was going to sit on the right and the left hand, he squashed that immediately. He said, if you want to be great, you've got to serve.

If you want to be first, you've got to be last. Jesus never tolerated or encouraged comparison among the disciples, so it's hard for me to think that Jesus is going to say at this point, Peter, in front of all the other disciples, Peter, do you love me more than these other guys love me?

What good could come from asking such a question? Second, if that is the question that Jesus is asking, Peter doesn't understand it that way. If Jesus is asking, do you love me more than these other disciples do, why does Peter answer, yes, Lord, you know that I love you?

Well, if I'm Jesus, I'd be like, that's not what I asked. I didn't ask, do you love me? I asked, do you love me more than they love me? And yet three times Peter responds in the same way, you know that I love you. So if Jesus is asking the question, do you love me more than these guys?

Peter doesn't seem to understand it that way. And then third, that interpretation doesn't seem to fit the context. I want you to remember all that we've looked at so far here in John chapter 21. What is the context here? Peter promised never to fall away. He promised to die with Jesus if that was what was necessary, and then he denied him three times.

Jesus had risen from the dead, but what did the disciples do? They go back to fishing. How did that go? Well, they fished all night and they caught nothing, but Jesus showed up and produced a miraculous catch of fish, just like in Luke chapter 5. And at the end of Luke chapter 5, Peter is very afraid.

But Jesus tells him what? Do not be afraid. From now on, you will be catching men. From now on, from this moment forward, you are no longer a fisherman. You are a fisher of men. But then, after Jesus rises and appears to them, they go back to fishing.

I think that's why Jesus calls him Simon son of John, because that's who Peter was before he met Jesus. He was just John's son, a fisherman, and that's what he went back to doing. And so, friends, I could be wrong. Maybe Jesus is asking Peter if he loves him more than the other disciples do.

But because Jesus never promoted competition, Peter never answers that question, and that understanding doesn't seem to fit the context. I don't think that's the case. And so let's assume that Jesus is asking Peter, Do you love me more than fishing? That is to say, do you love me more than you love your old life?

The next question is, why does Jesus ask him that three times? Especially when we know, and Peter knows, that Jesus already knows the answer. Three times Jesus asks the same question, and three times Peter responds, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. The third time, he even adds, You know everything.

I mean, what is Peter going to do? Lie? Jesus is omniscient, he knows all things, he already knows the answer. And so, Peter is confused as to why Jesus would be asking that question three times, and he's grieved because Jesus asks him that question three times in front of the other disciples, no less.

So, why does he do this? Why does he ask that question three times? I want you to think back to what has happened in the courtyard that night by the charcoal fire. Peter publicly denied Jesus three times. He said, I do not know the man. And now, the disciples are all sitting here on the beach around a charcoal fire, the exact same setting, and Jesus asks him this question three times.

Do you love me? He is initiating reconciliation with Peter in a public forum in the same setting to get him to undo those denials with these public professions of his love and devotion to Jesus. Jesus is initiating reconciliation with him. He doesn't ask him, do you know me?

He asks, do you love me? And there's a big difference between knowing and loving. But friends, I think the beauty of this whole situation in Jesus asking these same questions three times and Peter responding with the same answer three times is because it helps us to understand what I think is really going on here in the whole chapter.

Because we still haven't fully answered the question, why is it? Why is it probable that Peter went back to fishing? We still haven't answered that question fully and completely. Peter loved Jesus. Jesus affirms that. Peter knew that Jesus was alive. Friends, I think maybe Peter went back to fishing because the full answer to Jesus' question is yes, Lord.

Know that I love you, but I don't think you can use me anymore. I think that's why Peter went back to fishing. Not because he didn't know Jesus was alive, not because he didn't love Jesus, not even because he didn't think that Jesus loved him and forgave him for what he did, but because he figured that Jesus would never use him again because of his sin.

Who among us hasn't felt that way before? Have we not all felt after we have sinned that we still love Jesus, that he loves and forgives us, but that he can't use us anymore because of our sin? I think we have all felt that way. We believe that our sin and failure disqualifies us, that we will spend the rest of our lives on the sideline.

That's exactly what Chuck Coulson thought. He thought, I've been arrested, I have been charged, I've been convicted, I am in jail as a felon. God can never use me again. He thought that. I believe that Peter thought that. But, friends, There is no one among us who has not sinned and failed Jesus.

There is no one among us who has obeyed Jesus perfectly and completely, who has always honored him in our hearts and with our words and with our actions and with our choices. I think this is exactly how Peter felt, which is why he went back to fishing. He loved Jesus.

He just didn't think that Jesus could ever use him again. And if that's right, I want you to listen to their interaction with that understanding. Simon, son of John, do you love me? Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. But I don't think you can ever use me again.

Feed my lambs. Simon, son of John, do you love me? Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. But I don't think you can ever use me again. Feed my sheep. Simon, son of John, do you love me? Yes, Lord, you know that I love you, but there's no way that you could ever use me again.

Feed my sheep. Through this interaction with Peter, Jesus is telling him, Jesus is telling all of the disciples, Jesus is telling every person who will ever live: if you will confess your sin, if you will turn away from it, and turn to me in repentant faith, I will use you.

I will transform you into a beautiful display of my grace. I recommission the repentant. Here's how Paul says it in 2 Timothy chapter 2. Now, in a great house, there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable.

Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

Christian, maybe like Peter, you have sidelined yourself, believing that God could or would never use you ever. Again, because of your sin and your failure, you believe that even if Jesus still loves you and forgives you, he can never use you again. But I hope that you see from this passage that that is not the case.

If he can still use Peter, a man who publicly denied even knowing him three times to feed his lambs and his sheep, to tend his lambs and his sheep, believers young and old that needed spiritual instruction and spiritual care, then church, Jesus can still use you. He will still use you.

But to be used by Jesus, you have to follow Jesus. And following Jesus is very costly. Let's pick up here in verse 18. 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 was to glorify God. And after saying this, he said to him, Follow me. Following Jesus is absolutely worth it. Following Jesus means joy and purpose. It means abundant eternal life. But it is costly. It is very costly.

In fact, it costs us everything. And that is obvious from what Jesus tells Peter here in verses 18 and 19. He tells him there will come a day, many years from now, where he will stretch out his hands, a euphemism for crucifixion, and he will be led away to his own execution.

His death would glorify God, but he would die for following Jesus. He would die for feeding and tending Jesus' sheep. Following Jesus was going to cost Peter everything. But, friends, that shouldn't have been surprising to Peter, and that shouldn't be surprising to any one of us because all throughout Jesus' ministry, that's what he's been saying.

Take a look on the screen at Luke chapter 9. And he said to all, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

I want you to see in that verse that Jesus taught that anyone, not just the apostles, anyone who would come after him must deny himself, take up the cross, and follow him. Now, one day, Peter would literally take up the cross because he followed Jesus. He would be crucified just like Jesus.

But between this day and that day, Peter would have to deny himself and figuratively pick up the cross every single day, dying to himself and to this world and to sin. You see, Peter and all Christians don't just die a single time, whether at the end of our life from old age or when we are martyred, Christians die every single day.

That is what it is to follow Jesus, and that's why we begin our lives with baptism. We start the Christian life with baptism because it is a picture of us dying with Christ to sin and to self and to the world and rising again to live a new crucified life with Jesus.

Take a look at Romans 6. Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried there. For with him by baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

So, yes, Peter would be martyred. He would die for following Jesus. But until then, he would figuratively die every day to himself and to sin and to the world in order to follow Jesus. Friends, we may not be martyred for following Christ. In fact, statistically and historically, it is very unlikely that any one of us is going to be martyred because most Christians in the world are not.

But our calling is to die daily. It is to pick up the cross and follow Jesus. Because the Christian life is a movement away from my kingdom come, my will be done, to your kingdom come, your will be done. That's why Peter is told by Jesus, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and go wherever you wanted.

But when you're old, somebody else is going to dress you. You're going to stretch out your hands and you're going to be led to a place that you don't want to go. Because the entire Christian life is a movement away from my kingdom come, my will be done, to your kingdom come, your will be done.

The whole Christian life. Is a death. Church, I hope that this passage has spoken to you at a deep level and greatly encouraged you. Because the way that Jesus pursued reconciliation with Peter reminds us that he took on flesh and came to earth to pursue reconciliation with us.

He came to live that life that we are called to live that not a one of us has lived, obeying God perfectly and completely every moment of the day from the moment he was born till the moment he died. He came and he did that for us. He died in our place for our sins so that we would not have to.

He rose again for our justification so that we could have hope for today and for eternity. This passage gives us hope because God transforms us. And as he transforms us, he commissions us to a life of service. And friends, when we fail and when we sin, which is inevitable, God recommissions the repentant to a life of service.

We see that here with his interaction with Peter. Peter's sin and failure did not mean that Jesus couldn't and wouldn't use him again. He had to acknowledge his sin and failure. He had to turn away from it, but Jesus recommissioned him for service and used him for his glory.

And so, brothers and sisters, understand God desires to use you for his glory. It may not be in the ways that you would have chosen for yourself, but that is part of dying daily. It's part of dying to self and picking up the cross and saying, your kingdom come, your will be done.

It's part of following Jesus wherever he leads, who loved us long before we loved him. Maybe you're here today and you're not sure whether you are a Christian. And if that's true, if you're in that place and you don't know if you're a Christian, many, many people are in that place.

You are not alone. Especially if you grew up in America, especially if you grew up in the American South, it is not uncommon at all to wonder, am I really a Christian? Friends, this passage helps you to answer that question. Because in this passage, God is asking you three questions.

Do you love Jesus? He's not asking if you believe that he exists. Do you love Jesus? He's not asking if you just believe that he died and rose again. Do you believe that Jesus died? Love Jesus more than these. These grades, these career opportunities, these relationship possibilities, these successes, these possessions.

Do you love Jesus more than anything else? My friends, that is what Jesus is asking you today. And I want you to remember Peter's reply, Lord, You know everything. He knows everything. He already knows if you love him or not. He already knows if you love him more than you love anything else in the world or not.

He already knows that. But friends, it's critical that you know that. You need to know whether you love Jesus more than these. And so I encourage you to ask that question today. And if you're not sure of the answer, to read John's gospel, to read 1 John, that's why he wrote that letter, to talk to another Christian who's here today, to talk to a pastor.

Because following Jesus is costly. It is very costly, but it's worth it, and we want you to follow him. But you will not follow him if you don't love him. And you cannot love what you do not know. Thanks be to God. Jesus has revealed himself to us that we can know him through his word.

Let's pray. Father, as we read this passage, we're faced with challenging questions. We know that we are called to love you with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. And like Peter, the best that we can do is say, Lord, you know that we love you. We don't love you as we should.

We don't love you with perfect consistency. We don't always love you more than we love other things in this world. But we say this morning. Lord, we do love you. And we pray that you would help us to live as those who love you. As those who have reordered their lives around Jesus and His resurrection, His promise of eternal life, His power over sin, His power over death.

God, I pray for those who know they are not Christians or those who are unsure as to whether they are Christians. I pray that you would draw them to yourself, that they would see Jesus as one who left everything to come for them. That He is a gracious and merciful Savior.

I pray that they would run to Him this morning. God, thank you that you saw fit to include this in your word. Thank you for Peter, for his life and his ministry and his mistakes, his sins, that we get to learn from. We pray that we would walk in a manner worthy of Christ.

In Jesus' name we ask. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.