FEED MY SHEEP
The west is being plagued by a new insidious disease, the spread of “unconscious atheism.” People have not deliberately renounced God, but they have ceased to behave as if there were a God. God has become a voluntary philosophy which is devoid of much practical relevance. In a recent radio survey 80 per cent of people said they believed in God, yet how seldom this makes much practical difference to the way people live.
We are facing a crisis - our society feels it can do without God!
Even Church members are facing the same problems. If they cannot see the need to be dependant on and obedient to the creator and sustainer of the universe, is it surprising that the rest of the world is not interested in God either? The natural consequence of this will be devastating - without God there can ultimately be no meaning, purpose or morality. Let us test ourselves. How many of us, who would call ourselves Christians, spend time studying God’s word to us, spend time praying or even think it important enough to talk about our Saviour to others. We are suffering under time pressures, and wanting to be approved of by the world, consequently it is all too easy to deny Jesus in our every day lives. That is what happened to Peter, just before his Saviour was crucified. He denied his friendship with Jesus three times because of the pressures on him.
After his resurrection, Jesus met his disciples on several occasions. He met seven of them after they had gone back to fishing, in the Sea of Galilee. They had some fish for a picnic breakfast and then Jesus and Peter had a remarkable conversation. This discussion highlights the features that are needed in his followers.
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.”
Again Jesus said, “Simon, son of John, do you truly love me?”
He answered, “Yes Lord, you know that I love you..”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
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.” (John 21 v. 15-17)
Some have applied this passage only to Christian leaders, but according to the New Testament, all true Christians are meant to be ‘priests’, that is an intermediary between God and other people. If the laity are not effective in this role, few outside the church will have much chance of understanding the Christian good news.
Peter is addressed formally by Jesus, probably because of the gravity of the threefold preceding denial, and because of the importance of this conversation. Then Peter is asked three times, “Do you love me?”
1) A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS IS NECESSARY
The first time this is asked Jesus adds the words, ‘more than these’. What could he be referring to? Jesus could mean ‘more than these other disciples,’ but it is most unlike him to be divisive in such a way. He doesn’t want Christians to compete against each other in the game of ‘Godliness’. He wants us to be a team where we are all encouraging the others to be better. Much more probable is a reference to Peter’s way of life - his fishing, with his boat, nets, and the fish being nearby. Peter is being asked ‘Do you love me more than your career or your workmates.’
If we are to be effective Christians, we must also be able to answer ‘yes’. Our love for Jesus must supercede everything else. Christianity is not about loving a creed or truth, but about loving a person. It is about having a personal relationship with our Lord and Saviour. As in a good marriage, we should be constantly thinking to ourselves, “Will this please him.” It is said that Christianity consists of personal pronouns - many can give intellectual assent to the concept, ‘Jesus is Lord’, but only the true Christian can say, “Jesus is my Lord.”
2) AN UNDERSTANDING OF GOD’S POWER IS NECESSARY
Peter’s reply to Jesus demonstrates that he already understood something of the divinity of Jesus. Just prior to his arrest the disciples had said,
“This makes us believe that you came from God.”
“You believe at last!” Jesus answered. (John 16 30-31)
Peter did not reply as many would, “Yes, I love you”, but instead said,
“Yes, Lord, you know that I love you”.
Of course God knows what is going on in our minds. Our secret thoughts are not secrets to him. He knows what is most important in our lives - our love for ourselves and our interests, or our love for him. God knows for sure what place Jesus has in our lives. Just to be a churchgoer and call ourselves Christians does not mean that we are necessarily accepted by God as one of his people. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned his followers,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ’Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7 v. 21-23)
Nothing could be clearer - to make the right noises is not enough, there must be a real commitment to live in God’s way and for his ends for anyone to be acceptable to God. This change of direction from living for ourselves is called ‘repentance.’ Such people will have a relationship with God himself, and will be known personally by him. They are secure and safe. To be outwardly religious and perform spiritual feats is itself not a guarantee! When a person really understands that God knows all that we think and do, only then will they bother to turn to their maker and beg for his mercy!
3) FEEDING OTHERS IS NECESSARY
All Christians are called by God to be involved in the business of helping, teaching and encouraging other Christians. Peter was first told to ‘Feed my lambs’ (v. 15). The young sheep , or new Christians are a great priority to Jesus. They need all the help they can get. The next verse reminds Peter that the others in God’s family also need help too - “Take care of my sheep,” he is told. For sheep this would involve much more than giving the odd bucket of scrap food. So Christians need to visit, telephone, have round for meals, and help in countless other ways, those who also belong to their Christian family.
The third time that Jesus speaks he simply says, “Feed my sheep.” How broadly this has been interpreted recently. Some see it as being like counselors or psychologists, listening as people unburden themselves. There is a place for this, but it is not feeding. Others see the ritual of the communion service as the means of feeding Christians. Again this is important but an analysis of those churches which rely on this activity, will quickly show that not many feel adequately fed by ritual alone.
God’s people are fed by teaching, and this must come by expounding what God has taught us in his word, the Bible. In the Great Commission that Jesus gave to his disciples, he said,
“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28 v. 19-20)
Unfortunately some of the Church’s teaching has not been in the apostolic mould. An elderly bishop paid a visit to Saint Mary’s church in Oxford, the University church. He met an even more elderly verger whom he remembered from his days as an undergraduate. As they talked the verger said,
“I have much to be thankful for. You know , your grace, I have listened to every sermon preached in this church for fifty years - and thank God, I am still a Christian!”
The apostles stressed this need to teach, but emphasised that we must teach what God has taught us, nothing more and nothing less. When Paul wrote to young Timothy, who was to take over his role as a church leader, he keeps repeating this theme’
“Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. . . . Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them.” (1 Timothy 4 v 13 - 15)
“From infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: ‘Preach the Word . . .- with great patience and careful instruction.” (2 Timothy 3 v. 15 - 4 v. 2)
This must be our priority - to teach and be taught God’s word. All of us should be involved in this work, usually through individual conversations. Paul’s letter to Titus emphasises the importance of teaching. He says that even the older women in the church should be involved in teaching ! - they have a particular responsibility to teach and train younger women (Titus 2 v. 3). How we need to make this a priority amongst Christians today. If at all possible, join a Bible Study group where the Bible is well taught. Encourage those who teach, to expound the Bible and not just to share ideas that are compatible with the Bible. This is a serious business, without it the sheep will perish from lack of nourishment.
If our churches and society are to survive this crisis of unconscious atheism, we must all act on these three points, - these are the very heart of being Christians. At the end of this discussion with Peter, Jesus finishes with the simple but profound words, “Follow me” (John 21 v. 19). That is what Jesus requires of all of us, a day by day walk with Jesus, where we are living as he wants. As we do this, we will find that we ourselves have an active shepherd who will also care for us, his sheep. Furthermore there will also be the possibility that God will intervene to help our society so that it does not drift into a horrendous moral chaos of increasingly selfish people - the product of life without God. The response is ours, both individually and corporately.
BVP
