Good Shepherd sermon. May 4, 2025. John 21. 1-19
“Feed My Sheep”
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God, the Creator, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, thru the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Wow, simply, wow. There is so much to unpack in these 19 verses that I think it’s unfair to those of us called to preach. I mean, there are three distinct possible storylines one could follow. Trying to fit the three into one is a disservice to the entire text.
I mean, I love the first part, verses 1-8 helping us to recall Jesus extending the call of the disciples to do what…right! Follow me. That was is the same area this passage takes place.
Then there are verses 9 thru 14, with the charcoal fire. I don’t know about you, but that totally reminds me of when Peter was asked if he knew Jesus, or even a slight accusation that he did. He vehemently denied such a thing.
Oh, and I think this is important; in the 9th Chapter of John’s gospel, it is Peter’s discipleship that is questioned, not simply if he knew him. Remember? He doesn’t deny Jesus, or deny knowing Jesus – he denies his discipleship
“Aren’t you one of his disciples?” Without hesitation, in an attempt to save his backside, Simon, son of Jonas, proclaimed: “No, I am not.”
Ouch!
What happens in verses 15-19, however, are pivotal if we are going to better understand the veracity – the reality – of what discipleship demands.
If you were with us during our midweek Lenten video study either in person, or online, you’ll remember that it was all about what it took back in 1st Century Palestine to become a disciple of Jesus. The video was entitled, “In the Dust of the Rabbi,” which was indicative of the closeness one had to be to the Rabbi. To be that close one could feel the dust being kicked up from his feet. The disciple was to listen, to study the scriptures and how to apply it to life.
Karoline Lewis, Professor of Homiletics (preaching) at Luther Seminary, in St. Paul, MN says discipleship is much more than “what would Jesus do.” In her book, John: Fortress Biblical Preaching Commentaries,1 she writes that “Jesus essentially asks Peter to become the Good Shepherd for the sake of God’s love for the world when Jesus cannot be.” Two sentences later, she writes this bombshell: “In other words, Jesus is asking Peter to be the I AM in the world. He is revealing to Peter that discipleship will demand the same price that he paid, alluding to Peter’s death.”
My immediate thought was, “Hold on there, Jesus! The only time I am the I AM is…well, never! God is the only I AM. He said so in Exodus. Does that mean that we, who have made commitments to Christ to be loyal and true to his word suddenly become little “I AM’s” running around ministering to others?
Well…kinda! 😊
And…luckily for us, kinda not! Karoline isn’t saying we become God or think of ourselves in that way. That would be blasphemy. So let’s think in this fashion: perhaps it means that God relies upon us, his disciples, to give witness to the world, just like Jesus told the disciples in “The Great Commission” in Matthew 28, when he told them to “Go! Go into the world and make more disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
Simply stated Jesus wants Peter to go and witness to the world that God has love for ALL people. That’s why he asks Peter the three questions about loving him.
In the book by John Doberstein, entitled Minister’s Prayer Book, given to me by a friend of mine years ago while we were still in seminary, there is a quote by Charles Edward Jefferson, almost buried on pages 354, 355, offering the following lovely explanation of verses 15-19. Take a listen, please.
“When Jesus handed over to Simon Peter the charge of the Christian church, he was careful to use the possessive pronoun, “my.” “Feed my lambs! Tend my sheep! Feed my sheep! It is the mightiest pronoun in the New Testament for the saving of the minister from lordliness. “Simon, son of Jonas, feed my lambs. They are not yours, they are mine, but I wish you to look after them for a little while. I do not give them to you. They belong to me. Mine they always shall remain, but I ask you to tend them for a season for me. Feed my sheep.
They are not yours. Not one of them shall ever pass from my possession, but I am going away for a few days, and I leave them with you. Guard them, feed them, guide them, be good to them for my sake. Follow me.
Remember my gentleness, my watchfulness, my considerateness, my patience, my compassion, my readiness to help, my swiftness to heal, my gladness to sacrifice. Be the kind of shepherd to my lambs and my sheep that I have been to you. Follow me!” 2
(Pause – deep breath)
What this part of the gospel lesson points to is not just Jesus asking Peter if he loves him; I believe we must assume the role of Peter and respond to Jesus accordingly.
You have heard me say in the past that being a Christian is a contact sport, of sorts. Not a physical touching contact, but the sharing of the heart of love of Jesus which has been imparted to us. I love what Paul writes in Galatians 2:20:
“I have been crucified with Christ, 20 and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.” That, dear friends, is the love of Christ. The same love he gave on the Cross, the same love in his resurrection. Yes, the same love you will taste in a matter of minutes with the Breaad of Heaven and the Cup of Salvation which Jesus gave to us in the night he was betrayed.
No…there is no finer love than this. Let the words Jesus spoke to the disciples when he first called them and the same words he told Peter in today’s text.
Follow me.
Thanks be to God.
AMEN.
Sources:
- Lewis, Karoline. John: Fortress Biblical Preaching Commentaries, Fortress Press. Kindle version, 2013. Pages 257, 258.
- Doberstein, John M. Minister’s Prayer Book, Muhlenberg Press, Philadelphia, 1959. Pages 354, 355