THE COMMISSIONING OF PETER

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Cuthbert Price
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1 THE COMMISSIONING OF PETER Location John 21 Commercial fishing was the main industry in the towns around the Sea of Galilee. Recent research has revealed some fifteen stone harbors on its shores, most of them constructed to accommodate fishing boats landing with their fish (Nun, 1989). During His days of ministry in Galilee, Jesus lived in Capernaum, the largest fishing center on the lake. Many of the events recorded in the Gospels involved fishing, and most of these took place between the towns of Tabgha and Capernaum, less than two miles apart. From the warm springs at Tabgha, that attracted fish in the winter and spring months, to Capernaum, this shore was "home" to at least four of Jesus' disciples (Peter, Andrew, James, and John). Since their boyhood, this had been where they had beached their boats, counted their fish, and cleaned their nets. (See Location Profile: Tabgha.) We can imagine their nostalgia and satisfaction when they saw Him back "on their turf," standing on that familiar shore, barely visible in the early morning mist. This place had always been important, for Jesus and for them. This day, it would become even more memorable. In Jerusalem The night before His crucifixion, Jesus predicted three events that were fulfilled at Tabgha in Galilee (Matt 26:31-33). "You will all fall away because of Me this night," to which Peter protested, "Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away." Responding to Peter s implied superiority over his peers, Jesus would ask him, "Do you love Me more than these?" (John 21:15) "I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered" (Zech 13:7). Jesus would appoint a new shepherd, Peter, to tend His sheep (John 21:15-17). "But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee." Jesus planned to meet His disciples where He had first called them, to appoint Peter as the shepherd to tend His sheep in His absence (John 21:1, 2).

2 Jesus spoke these words to His disciples while they were walking toward Gethsemane. Still rejecting the possibility of His death, His predictions about a post-resurrection rendezvous in Galilee would have had little meaning for them that night. Only after they had arrived in Galilee would they understand the importance of that appointment. On the Road to Galilee Jesus disciples had traveled up to Jerusalem a half-year before in high spirits. Their mood was jubilant, charged with anticipation of their important roles in Jesus kingdom. Surely, the kingdom was at hand! As they neared Jerusalem, Salome, the mother of James and John, had asked Jesus to assign her sons thrones on His right hand and on His left (Matt 20:20-23). Their minds were dominated with the question: "Who is the greatest in the kingdom?" (Matt 18:1) Neither Jesus' predictions at Caesarea Philippi of His crucifixion (Matt 16:21), nor His Parable of the Minas at Jericho (Luke 19:11-28), could diminish their expectation of participating in a kingdom when they arrived in Jerusalem. Now all had changed. Although a few weeks later they would ask Jesus, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6), their expectation of a kingdom in their lifetime had faded. A cross, a tomb, and a Jesus who appeared and disappeared, had changed forever their expectations. Nor had they yet dealt with the hostility that Jesus had predicted they would face after His departure (John 15:18-16:4). Listen to their conversations on that seventy-mile journey from Jerusalem to Galilee... "But Judas was one of us! We trusted him with the coins the women had given us for food. We never suspected that he would be that ambitious. When Jesus told us that one of us would betray Him, we just looked at each other, and even at Judas. We couldn t understand what He was talking about. He ate with us. And then he went out, and brought the soldiers to Gethsemane to arrest Jesus. And then he killed himself! What was he trying to do? "Jesus kept preaching about that kingdom. He even sent us out all over Galilee to talk about it. But where is it? How can there be a kingdom when our leaders pressured Pilate to kill the King? And they're still telling people that we stole His body!" (Matt 28:13) Do you think all of this has something to do with what He was telling us on the Mount of Olives? Can you imagine that temple being destroyed? Or all those wars and those strange things happening in the sky? (Matt 24:1-10) "Why do you think He told us to meet Him back in Galilee? Why were those women so intent on reminding us to go up there? What will He tell us? And how will we find Him? He just said Galilee. Will He find us or are we supposed to look for Him?" "After all that happened in Jerusalem in these last few weeks, it will be good to get back home. People will have a lot of questions and we have a lot to tell them. Do you think we will have time to go fishing? Zebedee will probably need the help."

3 "If there won't be a kingdom, what will we do? If Jesus just appears and disappears and talks about going back to His Father, where does that leave us? Perhaps that was what He was trying to tell us while we were celebrating Passover. Maybe He will tell us more when we see Him in Galilee. I hope so!" On the Shore of the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-4) They were glad to be back. They had been reunited with their families in Capernaum and Bethsaida. Nathanael may have gone back to Cana to visit. Now they were waiting for Jesus to appear. Then one evening, Peter, who tended to be restless, announced, "I am going fishing. We always used to fish at night so the fish couldn t see the net. A half dozen other disciples decided that they would go with him. Shoving off in a couple of the family fishing boats, they moved out onto the lake and let down their dragnet. All night they sat in their boats and drifted around on the familiar waters of the lake. They talked in low tones and remembered the old days before the Builder from Nazareth moved to Capernaum with His mother and brothers. It seemed strange to be back here again, without Jesus. Then morning came, and they rolled in their drag net. It was empty! (After their long absence, down in Judea, perhaps they had lost their expertise!) As they rowed back to land, dejected, they noticed a figure on their beach. Through the early morning mist He called out to them, "You don t have any fish, do you?" "No," they shouted back, obviously frustrated by their night s wasted effort. In a scene reminiscent of one three years before in the same place (Luke 5:1-11), the man on the shore called back to them, "Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch." It worked! To their amazement, their net was overflowing with fish, so many they could not haul them all in. John was the first to recognize that man on the beach, It is the Lord! Never one to hesitate, Peter splashed into the shallow water, wading to the shore to meet Him. They had found Jesus. Or He had found them! Where else but at Tabgha! It was here that He had called four of these men to follow Him (Matt 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20). For three years, they had been His disciples, listening and learning, and watching Him do wonderful things, even raising the dead. For three awful days, a trial and a cross and a tomb had ended all that. But He had come out of that tomb and had appeared in that upper room in Jerusalem. Now He was here, on their beach, drawing fish into their nets! At the Charcoal Fire (John 21:9) As they drew near to the shore, they became aware of the pungency of burning charcoal. For Peter, this would bring back the dark memory of a cold night in a courtyard when he mingled with soldiers and guards around another charcoal fire (John 18:18). And then, another memory, of his bitter words, "I do not know the man." Perhaps this is why Jesus used a charcoal fire to broil the fish- to prepare Peter for His three-fold question to come. When the men pulled their net onto the shore, they counted their fish- exactly 153! It was an astounding catch, especially after sunrise when the fish could see the net.

4 As the sun rose over the hills of Lower Bashan, these seven disciples were about to be treated to a "men's breakfast," complete with pita-like bread and sardine-like fish. This was a moment to savor, to remember, and to cherish, long after the Host had departed from the Mount of Olives. Did they realize that Jesus was taking them back to that scene at nearby Bethsaida where He had sent them out to deliver this same kind of bread and fish to a multitude? His seemingly ridiculous command on that occasion, You give them something to eat would soon become His commission as He left them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel. The Commissioning (John 21:15-17) The Shepherd had been stricken and the sheep scattered (Zech 13:7). The Great Shepherd would soon leave His sheep. The time had come for Him to appoint an undershepherd to tend the flock- a flock that would almost instantly increase from 120 to 3,000 and then to 5,000! This was a very special flock; it belonged to the Shepherd who had given His life for them. To be trusted to lead them, an under-shepherd's motivation must be love for the Shepherd, and nothing else (1 Pet 5:1-5). Jesus would now ask Peter one question three times to verify his qualification for this responsibility. (NOTE: This was not the time Jesus restored Peter to fellowship. Somewhere in Jerusalem on resurrection day, Jesus had found Peter (Luke 24:34; 1 Cor 15:5). The record is silent on their conversation but the outcome is clear: Jesus forgave Peter and restored him to fellowship. Heading to that upper room where he knew the disciples would be gathered, Peter could not wait to tell the others he had seen Jesus. From the depth of his shame early on the morning of the crucifixion to the height of his ecstasy Sunday afternoon, Peter had plumbed the depths of grace and forgiveness, a sifting experience that would forever define his ministry. His joy in this restored fellowship expressed itself dramatically a few weeks later when the disciples kept their appointment with Jesus in Galilee. When Peter discovered that the Man on the shore was Jesus, he jumped from the boat and splashed to the shore to meet Him. Repentance and reconciliation in Jerusalem had prepared him for this reunion with Jesus and for his commissioning that would follow.) The first time Jesus asked the question Do you love Me? He added "more than these." These words have been understood in various ways. First, it is unlikely that Jesus was referring to fish or even to the fishing business; Peter had left that long ago. To love Jesus more than fish, or even one s vocation, would hardly constitute an adequate qualification for this important ministry. The night before Jesus' crucifixion, Peter had claimed to love Jesus more than the other disciples, a boast that proved to be overstated, at least temporarily, in Caiaphas' courtyard. This claim may also have reflected the "Who is the greatest in the kingdom?" competition among the disciples that had already surfaced in the upper room (Luke 22:24-27). Jesus' use of the words, "more than these," then, may have included a rebuke for Peter's show of pride. The fact that Jesus repeated His question, and Peter's implied complaint that He had asked him this three times, suggests that the number of these repetitions had significance. As Peter had, in effect, compromised his love for Jesus three times by denying that he knew Him, Jesus may have been giving him the opportunity, before

5 those whom he would soon be leading, to declare three times his love for Jesus. This then, would be a public demonstration of Peter's qualification to lead the Church. This moment marked the third of a series of events that had progressively prepared Peter for his unique leadership ministry in the first generation of the Church. 1. When Jesus first met Peter, He had changed his name from Simon to Petros, "rock." There is no record that Jesus explained this unusual action to Peter or to His other followers. By changing his name, however, Jesus had previewed the Peter character of Peter in the book of Acts, the Peter who would be taught and tested and then trusted to shepherd Jesus flock. 2. Two years later, at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus commended Peter for believing the revelation God had given him about Himself. Then Jesus proceeded to say, "And I also say to you that you are Peter (Petros), and upon this rock I will build My Church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it" (Matt 16:17,18). The new name Jesus had given Peter at the Jordan River now became linked to the metaphor for the truth that Jesus is the "Christ, the Son of the living God." It was on this fact that Jesus would build His Church and it was through Peter that He would shepherd it in the Pentecost generation. 3. Now, nearing the end of His presence on earth, Jesus appointed Peter to the unique role he would have in His absence. He would replace Jesus as the leader of those hundreds of men and women who had been drawn to Jesus Himself during His ministry among them. No greater responsibility and privilege has ever been given to any human being. What Moses was in the first decades of the nation Israel, Peter was in the first decades of the Church! The trilogy of Jesus' pronouncements to Peter was now complete. Peter, the "rock," would shepherd Jesus' flock. Implications and Applications 1. They Are Jesus' Sheep. The Shepherd had said, "I will build My Church (ekklesia)." Each believer is one of Christ's sheep, a person for whom the Shepherd gave His life. What does this reveal about how we should relate to each of them, whether old or young, male or female, rich or poor, well or sick, nice or not so nice, educated or uneducated, influential or powerless? It means that we must treat them with respect and love because they are His sheep, and because loving them is the way the world will know that we are His disciples. Besides, "loving one another" makes life a great deal more enjoyable! 2. Love for Christ Is the Sole Essential Motivation for Our Ministry. Our motivation for ministry cannot be the acquiring of money or status, personal fulfillment or reward. Peter himself taught this as he defined servant leadership: "... shepherd the flock of God among you, not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock" (1 Pet 5:2-3).

6 3. Feeding the Flock and Tending the Lambs Is Essential for the Ekklesia. Each sheep needs to feed on the Word, to be led into the green pastures and beside the still waters of the Scriptures. Newborn lambs need security and nourishment to mature, and mature sheep still need tending to guide and protect them. Jesus applied this metaphor a few days later on a hill, probably not far from Tabgha, as He commissioned His followers to "make disciples... teaching them to observe all that I commanded you" (Matt 28:19-20). This is sheep-feeding; this is sheep-tending! 4. Ministry Is a Life, Not a Career. Following Jesus will not always mean walking on paved roads and through safe neighborhoods. He sent His disciples into a hostile world, reminding them that "... the world hates you" (John 15:18). Twice on that shore Peter heard Jesus say, "Follow me," once to become a fisher of men, the other time to become a shepherd and a martyr. Peter never stopped fishing for men and, as faithful under-shepherd, he gave his life for Jesus sheep. 5. Jesus Not Only Has Purposes for Our Lives, He Also Has Parameters. Peter turned around and noticed his old friend and fellow fisherman, John, following them along the beach. He had just received the high honor of leading Jesus followers when He returned to the Father. But what would John do? What would be his role in the days to come without Jesus? Peter s question, Lord, and what about this man? revealed his deep concern (John 21:21). Peter s ministry would last for thirty years; John s would be almost twice that long. As they walked along the beach together that morning and later joined in ministry in Jerusalem, neither man knew where and when or how the roads of their lives would end. Peter would witness to Jesus in Samaria and at Caesarea and Antioch. Eventually he would travel to Rome where he would be reunited with his Lord, face to face. John would witness to Jesus in Samaria and go on to Ephesus and be exiled on the Isle of Patmos. Just before he would meet Him face to face, Jesus would give His beloved disciple a preview of His glory (Rev 1-3). In the end, each would leave us a legacy that enriches our lives and draws us closer to their Lord and ours. Each day Jesus leaves us on this earth, He leaves us here for a purpose His purpose. Each day is a sacred resource entrusted to us to invest for eternity. The number of our days is limited, but it is sufficient to complete the assignment Jesus has designed for each of us. Bibliography Nun, Mendel. Sea of Galilee: Newly Discovered Harbours From New Testament Days. Kibbutz Ein Gev: Kinnereth Sailing Co., Terry C. Hulbert, 2005

Peter s Commissioning

Peter s Commissioning John 21 So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, Do you love Me more than these? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He