Session 1 – Week 2 – Day 3
John 21
Why was this conversation between Jesus and Peter so crucially important? What does it suggest about Jesus’ attitude to failure and the way in which Peter himself responded to his failure? Is there any sense in which you have failed God and need to assure him of your love for him and willingness to serve him despite your failures? (Don’t manufacture a failure for the sake of it!)
I see a couple of things in this conversation. First, I see that Jesus explains to Peter that God will use each person for their own unique and specific purpose. We are not to worry about other people’s purpose in life but to focus on ours. The second thing that stood out to me is that once Peter told Jesus that he loved him, Jesus told him to care for his sheep. In fact, Jesus did this three times in this passage. Jesus was explaining to Peter that as a person who loved Jesus and was willing to follow him, he must care for others. He must put others before himself.
Jesus knew that Peter was a sinner and would fail. As an example. he knew that Peter would deny him three times before the rooster crowed. Peter did not fully understand this concept at this time, would be my thought. This means that Jesus was forgiving of failures but wanted people to learn and to grow. He wanted people to learn from their mistakes. He was giving Peter instructions because he knew that Peter was going to be instrumental in sharing the good news.
Again, Peter was a sinner. As I recall the previous day’s quiet time where Peter denies Christ three times after telling him that he would rather die than deny him even once, I think about Peter’s mouth seemingly moving faster than his brain (hey, I can relate to that…). In this situation, he has just been given instructions/commands from Jesus and then turns and asks “Hey, Jesus… what about this guy? Does he have to do the same thing?” What in the world was he thinking?!
From a personal failure perspective, a few things come to my mind again. 1) Prayer time with the Lord — I don’t think I spend enough time talking with the Lord and this is a huge failure on my part; 2) Family time in the Word — I don’t spend enough time with my family reading, studying and talking about the Word; 3) My witness when around non-Christian friends/co-workers is suboptimal. Instead of showing others love, I gossip and talk bad about people. I have conversations that are nothing more than idle chit-chat. This is not rewarding to the Lord and is a failure on my part to give God the glory He deserves.
Have you known a time of uncertainty and waiting, possibly following a time of humiliation or emotional turmoil? Have you anguished over the need to make a decision about the future? What reassurance can you find from Jesus’ conversation with Peter than God does not abandon those whom he loves, whom he intends to use in the future? If you are in such a period at the moment, pray for yourself in the light of what you have read, and for any others that you know in such a situation.
As my family searches for a new house so we can help with a new church plant, I think the uncertainty and stress around selling, and buying, a home is difficult. It is hard to remember to go before the Lord for direction and wisdom. While I will do this for “big” decisions, I struggle with the minor details and making sure I am bringing these things before the Lord. Luckily, the struggle we were having, as a family, around going to this church plant was a prayer answered by the Lord in quiet time. Praise God for that!
Jesus made it clear to Peter that he still had things to do for the Lord. This is reassuring as I think about some of the mistakes Peter made. I am sure I would have done exactly what Peter did, if not worse. I am so appreciative of the fact that the Lord knows everything and is able to compensate for my inabilities. In fact, God has a plan for me in this world to do something for Him. While that is hard at times to swallow because of my sin nature, I know that God is great and He can work miracles — even through me.