"Feed My Sheep"

If there was ever a person that could say they knew their Savior, it was Peter.  I have loved reading and pondering the life of this man.  I suspect that Peter may have known Jesus prior to his being called as an apostle. He was likely a person of considerable means as we know that he was an owner of several larger sized fishing boats and commanded their fleets.  He was an active owner, working along side his employees.  He was well aware of hard work and of the elements.  He would have known about the sea and the wind and the waves.  Jesus was familiar with his family as there is mention of him healing Peter's mother-in-law early on.

Peter's ministry, though, began on that morning when he returned with his crew from a fruitless night of fishing.  As they sat on the shore performing the dull chore of cleaning their nets, Jesus approached him and asked if he could use one of his boats to deliver a message to those on the shore.  When Jesus was done teaching, he returned the boat and admonished Peter to launch out again a little deeper and let out his nets.  Having just finished cleaning the nets and knowing that the best time for catching fish had just passed, Peter somewhat begrudgingly accepted the counsel from the carpenter's son.  The nets of course were filled beyond capacity.  Peter cried, "I am a sinful man," and Jesus told him that from henceforth he would be "fishers of men."  Peter then "straightway left his nets" and accepted the call of Jesus to "come follow me."

From that day on, Peter walked side by side with the master.  When others left, he responded, "to whom shall we go?  Thou has the words of eternal life" (John 6:68).  When asked by Jesus, "but whom say ye that I am" he resolutely responded, "thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God" (Matthew 16:16).  He was promised to receive the keys of the kingdom of heaven, receiving power to bind on heaven what he would bind on earth (Matthew 16:19).  He stood by the Savior as he was transfigured before the Father, witnessing the appearance also of Moses and Elijah.  In all this Peter was not yet what he would become.  He was allowed to have weaknesses and challenges to humble himself.  He was learning how to rely on the Lord.  He was admonished to let the children come unto Jesus, to forgive even to seven times seventy.  When unable to heal a man with an evil spirit he and his disciples were told to have faith as a mustard seed.  To the end of Jesus' mortal mission, Peter's spirit was willing but the flesh was weak.  He misunderstood the Lord's purpose for washing their feet.  At the last supper he boldly declared that he would never deny the Lord.  Jesus warned him that Satan desired to have him and that Jesus had prayed for him that his faith would not fail.  He then told him "when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethern" (Luke 22:32).

What followed was likely regarded by Peter as the worst night of his life.  Jesus took him with James and John to the garden of Gethsemane.  The were admonished to watch and pray lest they enter into temptation.  Three times the Lord came back to find them sleeping while he suffered alone.  In the savior's greatest hour of need, Peter was not there to support him.  Immediately thereafter came Judas' betrayal.  Quick to show his willingness to standby his master, Peter drew his sword, cutting off the ear of one of the men who came for Jesus.  He was tenderly restrained and Jesus miraculously cured the man.  The soldiers took Jesus away to the High Priest, Caiaphas and all the disciples fled, though Peter followed from afar. Caiaphas accused Jesus of blasphemy to which he was answered not a word.  He then asked Jesus, "Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?"  While Jesus answered in the affirmative, Peter's previous declaration of the same rang somewhat hollow as he once then twice and finally three times denied being an associate of the man from Galilee.  Immediately the cock crew.  "And the Lord turned and looked upon Peter.  And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow that shalt deny me thrice.  And Peter went out and wept bitterly" (Luke 22:61-62).  The man he had left his nets for, the man he had devoted his life to, the man he knew to be his savior was then taken, condemned, scoured and hanged on a cross.  I cannot imagine the depths of Peter's remorse.  He must have thought that all was lost.  I would imagine he thought that he had failed.

News of his sighting by Mary Magdalene three days hence must have come as a great shock.  He ran to the empty tomb.  Later, with the disciples, the Lord appeared to them all while they conversed among themselves.  They felt the marks in his hands and in his feet from the nails.  He talked with them and ate with them.  Still, Peter was unsure of what he should do, what direction he should take.  Like most of us would, he went back to doing what he knew best.  He went back to his nets.  One night while on the lake, a man from the shore called, telling the men to throw the nets on the other side of the boat.  As they did so, the nets filled again as they had only filled once before.  Peter, knowing immediately that it was Jesus, leaped into the water to get to the shore as quickly as possible.  That night, Peter's life changed forever, this time for the good.

While eating the fish together, Jesus turned to Peter and queried, "lovest thou me more than these [the fish]?"  Peter answered, "Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee."  Jesus answered, "feed my lambs."  Again Jesus looked at Peter and asked, "lovest thou me?" Again the answer, "yea Lord, thou knowest that I love thee.  This time came the injunction, "feed my sheep."  Fresh with the memory of his failure in his mind, Peter was asked one more time, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?  Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee.   Jesus saith unto him, feed my sheep" (John 21:14-17).  Just as he had denied Jesus thrice, the Lord blessed him with the opportunity to affirm his conviction three times as well.  From then on, Peter never wavered.  From the converting of thousands on the day of Pentecost, to the establishing and running of the Lord's church, to the healing of the lame man outside the temple Peter was truly changed.  He devoted the rest of his life to feeding the Lord's sheep.  His path was not easy.  Walking with the Savior stretched him to the limit.  Through his trials, Peter grew to know the Lord.  As one of His most trusted companions, he became an instrument in the hands of the master.  His flesh became as strong as his spirit was willing.  Never again would his devotion to his savior be questioned.  Peter had become a man of God.