John 21:15-17 – From fishing to shepherding

It is interesting to note that the phrase, “by hook or by crook” is a Christian phrase.  It is derived from John 19. We often think that the meaning of this phrase is to get anything by all means, whether rightly or wrongly. In the context of John 19, this phrase is about fishing and shepherding. Christ expects us to go out and like skilled fishermen, use the hook and fish people for the Kingdom. Having won them for the Lord we are then to use the crook to shepherd and disciple them for Him. Using the shepherd’s staff we guide the sheep, and with the crook of the staff, we rescue the sheep when they fall into a ditch.  

This is a record of the particular conversation Jesus had with Simon Peter by the charcoal fire which the Lord had started by the shore of Galilee. Notice that the Lord addressed him as “Simon”. When the Lord first enlisted him into His band of disciples, He renamed him Peter. It meant a stone. Simon at that point was as impulsive and unstable as a grain of sand. But in the new name Peter, he was expected to be more stable. Unfortunately, Peter had two natures that we are also accustomed to. On the one hand we may declare our commitment to the Lord and desire to be faithful to Him. But on the other we also recognize that we do have a compromising nature that we often function in, because of the fear of what men may think about us. In addressing him Simon Peter, the Lord was addressing the side of Peter we are all akin to.

Here the Lord asked him three times to affirm his love for Him. This is truly designed to parallel the three times Peter had denied Him. The physical setting of both situations were similar. Both the incidences took place around a charcoal fire. During his denial, Peter was warming himself by a charcoal fire in the courtyard of the High priest’s residence. Now he was warming himself by the charcoal fire that the Lord had started. Both times we see a three-fold statement. He denied the Lord three times and now he was asked to affirm his love for the Lord three times.

The Greek has several words that had been translated love, each with a different shade of meanings. The two used here are: firstly, “Agape” – that means a decisive love which one would commit to another wholly for the benefit of that person. It is unilateral. Love despite of and not because of. And secondly, “Phileo”, meaning a natural affection or a natural love we feel toward another. Peter used the word “phileo” on all three times in response to Jesus’s questions. Jesus on the other hand used the word “agape” for the first two times before He descended to the word “phileo” on the third time.  

Jesus’ questions to Peter was “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” What was Jesus referring to in the three words “more than these”? It could mean these fish that they had just caught, or his business of fishing or these boats that they had used for the fishing. From the context, we can safely conclude that Jesus was asking Peter if he loved Him more than the love those men had shown for the Lord. Prior to his denial, Peter had on several occasions vehemently declared his love for Jesus. He claimed that even if all would fall away, He would stay and fight and die with Him. He had regarded himself to be more faithful and committed than the other disciples. That’s why Jesus asked him “Do you love me more than these?”   

Peter had obviously learned some painful lessons. And like him, we are not to judge our relationship with the Lord with the level other people show. We must learn to measure our love for Jesus from our heart, and respond from the depth of that heartfelt love. Notice Peter in his response did not include the others. Twice, he said to the Lord, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” Finally he vehemently said, “You know all things; You know that I love You.”  Peter had come to understand the Lord better. At Gethsemane, he felt that loving Jesus meant he had to fight to demonstrate his love. Here he realized that loving the Lord meant loving and taking care of those whom the Lord loves.

At the declarations of Peter’s love for the Lord, he was told in three different ways to take care of the sheep that belong to Jesus. He was first asked to “Tend My lambs.” Then in verse 16 to “Shepherd My sheep.” And again in verse 17 to “Tend My sheep”. Each suggests a different aspect of looking after the sheep of Jesus. First, Peter was to tend the lamb, meaning the younger ones in the faith. It’s to teach them in their formative years and not wait till they have grown up. Then to “shepherd the sheep” is a call to guard the sheep of God. It is a call to discern where the sheep are at and to arrest the impending dangers, and to warn and fend them from the danger. Then Peter was called to “Feed my sheep,” the grown-up ones. He was to teach them the Word of God to help open their minds to the thoughts of God

In response to the call of Christ, we, whom God has given the privilege to know and grow in Him, are now entrusted to help the younger and weaker ones in the Lord. People, by and large, are not looking at life the way God wants us to see it. Many are not even thinking of the way God would have us think. Many Christians are following the fantasies of the world blindly. What we need in our day is an active and accurate understanding and obeying of the Word of God. The crisis of the church is a crisis in the famine of God’s Word. Let’s not just read and study to understand the Word but let’s study to learn and then to teach it!