When Jesus called
to Peter and said “Follow me”, Peter’s response was impressive: “Immediately (he) left (his) nets and
followed” (Mark 1:19). From that point
on, Peter made an impact. He was the first to recognize that Jesus was the Son
of God (Matthew 16:13-20). He stayed
when others turned their backs and left. (John 6:8/ Mark 14:29). Peter put his own life on the line by pulling
out a sword and fighting to defend Jesus on the night of his arrest (John
18:10). In every way possible, Peter was
one of Christ’s best followers.
However, in
spite of all his effort, Peter ultimately failed. At Jesus’ sentencing hearing, when Peter was
asked if he was one of his followers, he said “no”. In fact, he said it three separate times
(Mark 14:66-72). When push came to
shove, Peter simply ran out of gas. He could
not force himself to do any more.
Several
weeks later, after his death, burial and resurrection, Jesus finds Peter and offers
him another chance. However, this time
Jesus puts a condition on it. Before
telling Peter to follow him a second time (John 21:19), he asks, “Do you love
me?” In fact, Jesus asks him three times
(John 21:15-17). I think that is
interesting because if I was Jesus I would have asked a different question. I would have asked, “Do you think that you
can do better this time?” or maybe, “Can you try just a little harder?” At the very least, I would want to know, “Did
you learn anything from your mistakes?”
Instead, Jesus asks, “Do you love me?”
Why would Jesus do that?
I think
Jesus focuses on whether Peter really loves him or not simply because love was
the only motivation that would really work!
You see, Peter did great things when he was out to prove how faithful he
could be. However, he would do even
greater things if he simply loved Jesus, lived in the strength of his spirit
and responded to the opportunities that God provided.
In the end,
it never was about Peter. It was never
about his strength, his ability, what he could offer or even his
commitment. Rather, it was always about
loving Jesus and letting God’s power work through him. Once Peter had the proper motivation, he
never failed again.
It is still true that great
strength makes a great hero, but great love makes a great disciple (Matthew
22:37-40).
Comments