A Sermon Manuscript from Adam Miller
Read: John 21
My Dad was a pastor and he started preparing me for ministry from a young age. I started preaching when I was 12. I really didn’t have a chance to rebel or walk away from the Church during my teenage years. I went off to Bible college after I graduated High School and joined every ministry team that was available to me. I was the poster boy for Christianity, but internally, I began to resent the pressure of being perfect all of the time.
By the age of 21 I was burnt out. I remember writing in my journal, “I feel like every time I get a drop of water in my cup I have to spoon it out and give it to someone else.” I continued, “If this is ministry, I don’t want any part of it.” A week later, I was trying to convince my friend to stay on our ministry team rather than go back home to be with her family. “What better place to serve God than right here?” I chided.
In a soft and gentle tone, she replied, “Adam, it doesn’t say that God is a rewarder of those who diligently serve Him.” I knew that verse. I had memorized it when I was a kid. Hebrews 11:6, “…He rewards those who seek Him.” The Word of God had pierced my heart. I would never be the same.
Instead of trying to impress God with all of the work I was doing in ministry, I was able to draw close to Him and have my cup filled by His mercy and love. It opened me up to do ministry out of the overflow of my life. Now, when I feel like I’m getting to the bottom of my cup, I know why. It’s because I’m putting ministry before my relationship with Christ.
When we look at the story of Peter in John 21, we get a glimpse into a tailor made encounter with Jesus which was just what Peter needed to get back into ministry after feeling worthless, used up, and embarrassed by his failures.
A Post Credit Scene
We all love the movies with that extra little scene tucked away after the credits have started to roll. It’s a mark of a great film that leaves you wanting just a little bit more. The story is already resolved, but there is still an itch that needs to be scratched. That is what I like so much about John 21. Jesus has already risen from the dead and revealed Himself to the disciples. The overarching narrative has ended with John saying, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” But then he follows it up with, “After this Jesus revealed Himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and He revealed Himself in this way.” There is just one more story to tell.
On the night Jesus was betrayed, He told His disciples that it would be one of them who turned Him in. Peter boasted that he would die with Him, to which Jesus responded, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.” Sure enough, as Jesus was taken by the Pharisees before the Jewish court, Peter denied ever knowing Jesus three times before the break of day.
This was weighing heavily on Peter’s heart. We cannot know his thoughts, but we can infer with almost certainty because of how this story unfolds that Peter was unable to forgive himself and move on.
The Wrong Kind of Fishing
Peter was a fisherman when Jesus first met him. He had been fishing all night but caught nothing and Jesus told Him to get back out there and let down his nets again. When Peter did what Jesus told them to do, their nets were so full that they began to break under the weight. This shook Peter. He knew it was a miracle and he fell at Jesus’ feet and cried out, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” But Jesus told him, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” Peter left his nets and everything behind from that day forward when he became a disciple of Jesus. (Ref. Luke 5:1-11)
After the resurrection, Peter felt like a failure, and counted himself out. So he chose to go back to his old vocation. The scenario is almost in perfect alignment with his initial calling. They had fished all night with no success, Jesus has called out to them from the shore to try once more from the other side, and when they do, the catch is so heavy it almost breaks the nets. It’s only after all of this that they realize it was Jesus on the shore. Peter jumps into the water and swims to see His savior. Only this time, Peter is not upfront and honest about the sin that is preventing him from following Jesus.
Peter is quite the character. He’s headstrong and bold. He throws himself into every scenario with determination. He was self assured when He confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, but ever since He had denied Jesus He was self-conscious and insecure. After spending three years serving alongside Jesus, Peter still felt that he was too much of a sinner to be accepted by Him.
Do You Love Me? Do You Really, Really Love me?
After breakfast Jesus begins an intimate conversation with Peter. He asks him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Jesus had renamed him ‘Peter’ after his confession, which means ‘rock,’ but now Jesus refers to him by the name his father gave him, reminding him of who he was before he started to follow Christ. Peter responds by saying, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus orders him, “Feed my lambs.” It’s an amazing encounter that repeats itself three times, each growing in intensity until the third time when it sets Peter off.
Like most people with limited patience, I hate having to repeat myself. A second time is understandable, but if I have to tell you something three times, then it’s obvious you’re not listening. Jesus isn’t hard of hearing, he’s not needy of affection, or intentionally trying to annoy Peter. Like a skilled surgeon precisely cutting to the nerve that is crushing Peter’s heart, Jesus is drawing out the problem.
Peter was focused on his failure which he felt disqualified himself from ministry. He had denied Jesus three times. He couldn’t forgive himself and he couldn’t understand how anyone else could forgive him.
There is an interesting detail in the original Greek. As Westerners, we only have one word for ‘Love,’ but the Greeks had several. Jesus is asking Peter if he loves Him using the highest expression of love, ‘Agape.’ But Peter is responding by saying he loves Jesus by using a lower, brotherly expression, ‘Phileo.’ Peter is recognizing that there were limits to his love. He had thought that he would fight by Jesus’ side and die with Him if it came down to it, but when push came to shove, he had failed Jesus in His final hour.
Peter isn’t sure about his relationship with Jesus anymore. He doesn’t feel worthy of Christ’s love. His response seems to try and avoid the conversation. But when Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him the third time, He meets Peter on his terms, “Do you ‘phileo’ me?” Peter was missing the point of Jesus questions because he was focused on his own limitations.
An Honorable Death
As Peter stews over how Jesus is interrogating Him about the level of His devotion, Jesus tells Him that He’s going to die a gruesome death. Initially, Peter thought he was willing to die for Jesus, but when the opportunity came, he failed. Jesus is asking much more from Peter by telling him to live for Him. Peter will eventually die for Jesus, but there is still much for him to learn and do before that time.
For someone with the bravado of Peter, the announcement of an honorable death might have a reassuring quality. But Peter turns to John, the one Jesus loved, and says, “What about him?”
John had been the one closest to Jesus. He was there at the foot of the cross when Jesus died when all of the other disciples had fled. Peter reveals something else that had been lurking under the surface in his heart for a long time. He was jealous of the relationship Jesus had with John. He wanted the closeness they had, but he kept getting in his own way.
Peter is feeling embarrassed, broken, and useless, but his problem is not his feelings, it’s his maturity. He will get over his emotions. He will get past his feelings of shame. He will learn about the love of Jesus throughout the years and that will prepare him for his death. He’s not there yet, but the One who began this good work in him will complete it.
Cutting Off Our Nose to Spite Our Face
Peter felt distant from Christ, but it wasn’t on account of Jesus. Peter had put up imaginary barriers. He was so internally focused on his own disappointment that he was unable to see how much he was loved. Peter needed to go through this experience so that he could be useful in ministry. He needed to feel like a failure so that he could experience the all surpassing wonder of knowing Jesus and His love for us.
Our relationship with God is not limited to the measure or intensity of our love. Christ demonstrated His love toward us while we were still sinners. There is no greater expression of love than the fact that Jesus died for us. He paid the penalty for our sin and bore the wrath of God on our behalf. There is nothing we could do to earn God’s favor or keep Jesus’ love. It is a free gift, already paid for by His blood. We can accept it or reject it, but we can never negate it. If we feel unworthy, we are just the kind of people Jesus came to save.
We may feel like Peter at times, that we are unworthy of Christ’s love. We may even feel like Christ has let us down when He refuses to cave in to our selfish desires. Isn’t it comforting to know that Jesus meets us where we are and doesn’t limit His love based on how far we have moved away from Him, what we got ourselves into, or the mess we made of our life? Come back to Jesus and find your comfort in His warm embrace.
Adam Miller is the president and host of Songtime Radio and serves as the pastor of South Chatham Community Church. This article is a condensed version of one of his sermons.