Do You Love Me?
John 21:15-19
Part of Wisdom in Wonder—The Questions Jesus Asks and Their Deeper Meaning
May 12, 2024

Happy Mothers Day!

John 21:15-19
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

Going Home

In life,

is a constant for most things.

The disciples went

. After Jesus showed up and directed them to cast their nets to the other side, they had a huge catch of fish!

Jesus invited the disciples to eat

with him.

Bless Your Heart

A common expression in the South: “If you can’t say something

, don’t say anything at all.”

While it is a good life lesson not to

people with your words, we are mistaken if we believe that as Christians we can’t about things that are hard or uncomfortable.

A Hard Conversation

Three times, Jesus asks Peter, “Do you

me?”, mirroring the three times Peter Jesus.

For real

between persons to be possible, truth-telling has to occur.

God is not

by your problems and failures. Jesus’ blood is more than sufficient to atone for your shortcomings.

Love is something we should

.

The Bridge of Love

We can come to God as an open

because there isn’t any part of our life that God’s grace isn’t sufficient to cover.

God doesn’t use us in

of who we are. God uses us of who we are.

Even more than a status, Jesus gives us a

.

There is tremendous

in our invitation to work in the Kingdom of God.

Questions for Discussion

  1. What is a time you talked to a trusted person about something that was hard for you. How did they receive you? What did you learn from the experience?
  2. Do you think it’s harder to believe what God says about his grace regarding our own sins as opposed to the sins of others? If so, why might that be?
  3. Mark used the statement: “God doesn’t use us in spite of who we are. God uses us because of who we are.” Do you agree or disagree? Why?
  4. What do you think about the invitation we have to be workers in God’s kingdom? How might this be dignifying to us?