Sermon: Undershepherds of the sheep

I'm going to have you tonight turn open to the Gospel of John, and the very last page of the Gospel of John, John chapter 21.

This evening, I just want to think through John 21, verses 15 through 22.

Just give a few thoughts on this text as we think about the officers in the church, elders and deacons. Think about the charge that the Lord Jesus gives to Simon Peter here in this text. But let me pray before we open God's word together.

Father, we thank you for the gift of your word. We pray even this evening that we would sit under it.

Pray that you would bring to bear your truth and that we would each find the wisdom that is here, wisdom which comes from above. And that our own hearts would be stirred that such a great God would share such great wisdom.

We pray that we would have ears to hear and that we would have hearts to receive. We pray all of this in the strong name of Christ. Amen. John chapter 21, verses 15 through 22. This is the holy, inerrant, sufficient word of God. "When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?' He said to him, 'Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.' He said to him, 'Feed my lambs.'

He said to him a second time, 'Simon, son of John, do you love me?' He said to him, 'Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.' He said to him, 'Tend my sheep.' He said to him the third time, 'Simon, son of John, do you love me?' Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, 'Do you love me?' And he said to him, 'Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed my sheep. 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.' Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, 'Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?'

When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, 'Lord, what about this man?' Jesus said to him, 'If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You, follow me.'" Though the grass withers and the flower fades, the word of God is forever. Thanks be to God. Amen.

It's interesting to me that John gets to the end of his gospel and this is the account that is running through his mind and that he wants to end his gospel with. It's not about himself. It's about Peter, and it's about his Lord, Jesus. The scene, of course, is Jesus is now in his resurrected body, and he has appeared to the disciples, and here he has appeared to them on the beach. And that lovable Simon Peter had jumped out of the boat and swam

to Jesus as he recognized who he was on the beach. And here they are having eaten breakfast together. Fascinating that Jesus in his resurrected body eats. And he's finished eating breakfast with them, and he and Simon Peter go for a little walk.

He begins and he says, "Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon, son of John.'" It's not a mistake that he calls him Simon. Peter was the name that he had given to him at Caesarea Philippi when Peter had made that first confession of who Jesus was when Jesus said, "Who do people say that I am?" And when they gave their answers, then he said, "Who do you say that I am?" And it's Simon Peter who often is the man of boldness who will say what everyone is thinking or

say what nobody is thinking but at least say something. And he immediately confesses, "Oh, thou art the Christ." And Jesus says to him, "On this rock, Petra, Petros, Peter, I will build my church."

He gives him the name PeterHe's called Peter throughout the Gospels, and then you get here. But Jesus doesn't use that name. He goes back to Simon. It wouldn't have been lost on Peter as he is now with the resurrected Christ walking on the beach that he says to him, "Simon." "Lord, you haven't called me that for years." "Simon."

And then he asks him that question, "Do you love me more than these?"

I take the these as the rest of the disciples that are there. Do you love me more than these disciples?

You remember it was Peter that at the Last Supper when they were gathered together, and John references it here at the end of this passage, that when he was leaning against the chest of Christ, and he asked, "Who is it that's going to betray you?" It's because Jesus had said, "Someone here at the table is going to betray me."

It was Peter who said, "Oh, all may betray you, but not me. All may deny you, but not me." "Do you love me more than these, like you confessed, Peter?"

"Lord, you know that I love you."

"Then feed my sheep."

They walk a couple steps farther. "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" Second time. "Yes, Lord. You know that I love you." "Then tend my sheep."

They walk a little farther and Jesus asks him a third time. "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?"

John says in the text that Peter was grieved. How does John know that Peter was grieved? Because he's watching.

And I imagine that you get asked this the third time, and now maybe there's even a tear that is rolling down Peter's cheek. He's grieved. "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?"

You read different commentators on this passage. I have over the years. It's one of my favorite passages, so I've read a lot about it, and it is interesting. Different commentators will ask the question of why does Jesus do this? And some have the goal to say, well, there's maybe a little bit of, not cruelty, but a little bit of pressing in on Peter in an unkind way maybe here. No.

Jesus isn't being cruel. He's not being unkind by asking it three times. Peter had denied him three times, and so in a way it is taking him back to those three denials, and he is doing a threefold restoration of Peter. Listen, Peter, you denied me three times. You said you would not deny me three times, and I told you before that c**k crowed twice, you would deny me three times. Now he's taking him back. It's kind of a threefold restoration.

Threefold denial, threefold restoration. You denied me three times. Now let me hear you confess that you love me three times.

Peter erupts. That last one, "Lord, you know everything.

You know everything. You know that I love you."

Jesus has the same reply. "Feed my sheep."

It's fascinating that the Lord Jesus, as he's restoring Peter, he's putting before him the one necessary thing. Do you love me? This is the necessary thing. Do you love me?

And when Peter confesses it, then what he does is he orients him to his people. If you love me, you love my people.

And how are you to love my people, Peter? You're to feed them. How do you feed them? By giving them me, the living Word through the word.

I often think of this ministry. We're installing elders and deacons tonight, and ministry to me is kind of like baseball. I love baseball. Baseball can be incredibly complexYou can have double shifts, you can have pitch outs, you can have balks. Who even knows what a balk is? Garrett does.

And it gets very complex. But the reality is it's very simple. It's just hitting, throwing, catching, batting. That's all it is. And it can get so complexified, but it's just hitting, throwing, running, catching. That's it.

Ministry gets so incredibly complex. If you sat through some of the session meetings and some of the diaconate meetings, you would say, "Oh." I get done with some of those session meetings, most session meetings, I don't sleep that night after a session meeting. My mind's racing for hours after a session meeting. It can feel so complex. And you go back here, it's just simple. It's these three things. Love Christ, love His people,

love the Word. You love Christ by loving His people. And how do you love His people? By loving His Word and bringing it to bear, and you tie those three things together. That's all ministry is. When you're thinking about doing ministry and you're saying, "How do I reach that fellow college student? How do I reach the kid in my class at school? How do I counsel someone that is a friend that's just lost their mother or father?" Or, "How do

I reach out to my neighbor?" It's very simple. All you're doing is pointing them to Christ, seeking to love them by pointing them to the Word. You bring the Word to bear. We bring the Word to bear when we visit the hospital. We bring the Word to bear when we counsel. We're not just giving good advice, just practical things that help. We bring the Word to bear when we're discipling others. We bring the Word to bear when we're evangelizing.

We're not just making logical arguments. Why? Because that's ministry. It's loving Christ by loving His people, and you love His people by the Word. "Do you love me, Peter?" "Yes, Lord. You know I love you." "Then feed my sheep.

You're oriented to me, now let me orient you to them."

He's calling Peter to a life of ministry, of pouring himself out for the sheep. "If you love me, Peter, this is what it looks like. You give your life for the sheep.

You're seeking to love my people."

Now Peter gets ahold of this. He understands this. In 1 Peter 5, I've been thinking a lot upon it over the last couple of weeks. Peter writes this: "So I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed." It's what he's going to tell them. "Shepherd the flock of God that is among you." Where'd you get that idea from, Peter?

"Exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you."

Not under compulsion, but lovingly. Loving the sheep as a shepherd of the sheep, as God would have you. "Not for shameful gain, but eagerly. Not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock." What's the example? "Peter, do you love me?

Then love my people. Love my Word."

And then he says this, "And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory."

You know what he says immediately after that? "Likewise, you who are younger, be submissive or be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

These are Christ's last words in the Gospel of John. Why? Because He's ascending on high, but He hasn't abandoned His church. How? He's given it under shepherds who He's called to care for the souls of His people. "You love me, love them by loving my Word."

So Peter can write, "Listen, elders, you're to be after this. Pour out your lives," as Paul will say, "as a drink offering for their sake. You give yourself for them." "But oh, people," Peter immediately says, "you must be subject to them. You must honor them because this is what He's ordained."This is how He cares for us. This is how He's chosen to work in this world as He's ascended on high. This is what it looks like.

Peter is told by the Lord Jesus, "You follow me," and then Christ tells him, "Look, this is what it is going to look like for you, Peter. You are going to die a death for me, but this is what it looks like for you to follow me." Peter, church history tells us, will be crucified, but he refused to be crucified like Jesus. He didn't feel worthy, so he asked to be crucified upside down.

"You love me, you pour yourself out for the church." He did to death.

That's what officers in the church are to do. That's what they've been called to.

Peter's interesting.

Jesus has told them that, and they don't take a couple more steps, and Peter's already open mouth, insert foot. "What about him? This sounds a little rough, what you're telling me is going to happen to me. What about that one? The one that you love."

And Jesus says to him, in essence, "It doesn't matter. You follow me."

We all have different lots in this room, different degrees that we will suffer for the glory of Christ, different roles to play in the body of Christ, different weights to carry because we love Christ, different things that we will sacrifice for the people of Christ.

It doesn't really matter what that person's lot is.

What's commanded of each of us is, "Follow me." We're just to follow Him.

And if we love Him, then we want to follow as closely as we can to Him, who laid down His life for the sheep.

We want to look like Him. And so we love His people by loving His Word, especially the officers of the church. Let me pray for us.

Father, we thank you for this account at the end of the Gospel of John that truly sets the church on mission. It says it cannot be content thinking it has arrived.

That we've been given the great gift of having love for your Son and how He orients us to His people and to His Word. Would you help us to be people that truly have our lives oriented to your Son and to His people and to the Word, that we truly follow Him? We thank you for the great gift of calling elders and deacons to serve this congregation. It is a true sign to us that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church, that you continue to provide for her,

and that you continue to bless University Reformed Church with godly men willing to serve, with godly wives and children that are willing to support their husbands and fathers in this work. For a godly church membership that prayerfully considers who indeed you are calling, and prayerfully and humbly seeks to be subject to those that you've placed over them. We thank you that you are a God who has preserved us for 60 years and

pray that you'd preserve us for another 60 years, and that these officers would help this church to persevere in grace and in truth, for your glory and your praise. And we pray all of this in the strong name of Christ. Amen.