“So when they had dined, Jesus saith to
Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto
him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my
lambs.” – John 21:15
In the United States, identity theft is a felony punishable by
law with a max penalty of up to 15 years imprisonment and enormous fines. Our names, bank accounts, personal assets,
and records; they are just that, ours, and thereby protected under US law. However, we understand that our identities
consist of far more than what is on paper.
What we do, what we believe, where we go, where we work, who we are
around, what we drive, etc. So many
things are thrown in this blender of self to create our identities. These identities not only define us, they are
us, and many will fiercely guard them if threaten.
Before the Apostle Peter was the Apostle Peter, he was a
fisherman. His day to day occupation was
to catch fish and sell them to market for profit. He had a boat, he had a business, he had a
reputation I am sure, and he had an identity.
There were things of this world that defined Peter. When Jesus called him, and when Peter chose
to follow Christ, Peter’s identity changed.
He was no longer Peter the fisherman, he was Peter the disciple. His identity was totally wrapped up in
Christ. Then Jesus is convicted,
condemned, and crucified; they lay him in the grave and it’s over for Peter
right? He trusted this man, he followed
this man, and now this man Jesus is dead.
However three days later Mary comes baring news that the Lord has risen
and it is not long until they get to see and hear it from Christ himself. Now we have to understand that after the
resurrection, Jesus was not walking around with them all the time like
before. He would appear for a time and
then leave. Sometime in Jesus’s absence
Peter decides to go fishing. He reverts
back to his old trade, his old identity (let’s be honest, men will define
themselves by what they do for a living), and at the Lord’s instructions he
brings in a mess of fish. Now, we have
to appreciate the scene that is playing out here. We have Peter and various other disciples;
with a huge haul of fish, sitting with the resurrected Christ eating on the
shoreline, and somewhere nearby flips and flops a pile of “great fish.” Then, perhaps sometime
after the initial joy and elation of seeing Jesus wears off, Jesus turns to
Peter and asks him “Simon, lovest thou me
more than these?” He presents this
question three times: “lovest thou me
more than these?” To this Peter says
“Yes” and Christ tells him to “feed my
sheep.” One must understand that to
Peter, there was a whole lot more than a pile of fish to love. The fisherman inside of him had probably
already calculated the payout at market, the humanity within was already wrestling
with where to spend his recent earnings.
The blessing from God, could very quickly become a tool of temptation
for the devil, because it was more than a pile of fish to this man, it was
elements of his old identity. I imagine
before he met Jesus he spent nights dreaming about a haul like this; it was why
he got into fishing in the first place!
To catch fish! Now here he was
sitting with the risen Christ, and his old dream was realized, his two
identities called into question. To this
question Peter gives no hesitation: “You know I love you.”
What is your identity today?
Are there things of this world that you acquire to build up
yourself? Anything and everything that
you have and are is called into question: “Lovest thou me more than
these?” Do you love Jesus more than the
praise of men? Do you love Jesus more
than the new position at work? Lord help
us to live in such a way where Jesus Christ is our identity. To live in such a way that there is no doubt,
no question, and no hesitation: “Yea Lord you know I love you.” Jesus does not want us to guard who we are,
but give up who we are; for the Apostle Peter would have never been “the
Apostle Peter”, if he loved the pile of fish.
