Easter has finally come and gone. Sunday Church Services have ended. WhatsApp messages wishing one another Happy Easter have been sent. Easter eggs and chicken have been eaten. Now we can get on with our lives. For some people, it had been an intense week of prayer and fasting, observing the passion week. For others, the wait is finally over, they can now go back to eating meat or indulge in whatever they were abstaining from during the 40-day Lent period. One more item on our to-do list as Christians can now be crossed off.
We’re in the Company of the Apostles
If what I have said so far describes you in anyway, you should not feel strange, you are not alone. It was the story of Jesus’ Apostles too. In chapter 20 of his gospel, John documents the resurrection account and how Jesus revealed himself in different settings to his followers after his crucifixion. The sorrow and sadness had now been turned into joy and excitement. The tomb is empty! Jesus is alive again, praise God! But the question was, now that Jesus is alive, what next?
In chapter 21:1-3, we read, “after this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.””
Like most people, after celebrating the resurrection, Peter and his co-apostles went back to their life as usual, back to fishing. A lot of things had become clear, they now understood that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah, and this had been proven by his death and resurrection. It was now time to get on with life. However, John records that, “they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.”
Jesus then appears and performs a miracle that enables them to have a bumper catch. He also set-up a fire and they barbecued some of the fish and enjoy a delicious breakfast (John 21:4-13). John adds a little footnote in verse 14 which says, “this was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.” Jesus had walked with his disciples for three years before his death; and within that time, he told them of the reason for his coming and gave them tasks to accomplish. It is therefore interesting that the disciples seemed to have moved on with their lives after Easter. Had they forgotten so soon about all the ambitious plans they and Jesus had together?
Love for Jesus Must Reflect in Everyday Acts of Service to Him
It is for this reason that Jesus’ short interaction with Peter in John 21:15-17 is instructive for all Christians, especially after Easter. This passage is primarily about the restoration of Peter and its implications for his future ministry as the lead apostle. But it is also a reminder that our relationship with Jesus must not end with Easter. He calls us to renew our love for him. An all-consuming love that will cause us to sacrifice our very lives as Peter ultimately did, knowing that the reward will be far more than worth it. In that passage we read:
“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.”
Three times in this passage, Jesus asks Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Some commentators have opined that Jesus asks the question three times to correspond to the number of times Peter denied him. Regardless of the connection, a repetition is always meant to signify emphasis. Peter, on the other hand felt offended that Jesus would ask him three times if he truly loved him.
I guess you can’t blame Jesus, can you? After all, this is Peter we are talking about. Just before his betrayal and crucifixion, he vowed, “though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away…even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” Yet his 3-time denial of Jesus prior to his crucifixion is forever a part of the gospel account.
In this encounter with Peter in John 21, Jesus teaches us that a love for him must reflect in daily acts of service for him. Three times he asked him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” And three times, he tells him, “Feed my sheep.” Peter had just celebrated the first Easter and he was ready to move on with his life, but Jesus draws his attention to what it means to say you love him.
The reason why Jesus came was to gather together all his wandering sheep into his kingdom (John 10:1-18). His death and resurrection had accomplished this goal; his charge to Peter as the lead Apostle was to take care of the sheep whom he had purchased with his precious blood. This was Peter’s charge. But the call to serve Jesus and his cause has not only gone out to Peter. All of us who have tasted of the goodness of God through the death and resurrection of Christ are called to lay down our lives for him (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).
My prayer is that you would not be so quick to move on with your life after Easter, but the gratitude and affection you feel for the sacrifice and atonement of Christ will reflect itself in daily acts of devotion and sacrifice to him. That we will be committed to sharing the good news with those of his sheep that are still outside the fold, to call them to repentance and obedience. That we will be committed to his bride, the church, for which he died.
