“Love Jesus”

The Rest of the Story: The Que= stion that Won’t Go Away

John 21:15-17

Commercial: “I love you.”

“Why are you crinkling t= hat bag of salt and vinegar potato chips?”

Why are you scraping a spoon a= cross that heat grate?

Mix. Puree. Blend.

You’re not breaking up.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> You have AT&T!

Oka= y, so why is this such an anxious moment for the poor guy in the commercial?....Do you remember the first time you said ̶= 0;I love you” to your husband or wife?&n= bsp; (Last time?)

But= the first time you said, “I love you,” what were you hoping to hear= in return?....YES—“I love you too.” THAT’s what you wanted so de= sperately to hear, right? That’s = why you took such a risk to say it, and made yourself that vulnerable.

So = often, “I love you” is not just a statement. It’s a question: “Do Y= OU love ME???” The person = who says it wants to hear this response: “I love you too.”

But that’s huge. When two p= eople—two people who are old enough and mature enough to understand what it means--say this to each other, something’s gotta’ happen. That poor fellow in the commercial= knows that if he hears what she’s saying, he’s got to say something back.

And= if he says back what she wants to hear, it just might change his life—FOREVER! We’= re talking commitment here!

So = bring on the potato chip bag, the spoon on the grate, and the variable speed blender—“ANYTHING,” he’s thinking, “to get me= out of this mess I’m in.”

And= if the commercial had gone on a little longer, and if it reflected real life—= ;she just might have gotten around to asking the question directly: “Do you love ME?” It’s the question, you see, that just won’t go away!

Now= , the circumstances were quite different—no cell phones, for one thing—when Jesus asked the Apostle Peter, “Do you love me?” Different circumst= ances, and yet, some similar dynamics-- --similar in that the answer to the questi= on was potentially life-changing—for Peter back then, or for any of us n= ow.

Thr= ee times in our text Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?”

Thr= ee times! I wonder why? Think back to the 18^th c= hapter of John’s Gospel--back to before the crucifixion. Jesus is under arrest, and Peter has followed Him to the high priest’s courtyard.

1)&n= bsp; “Oh you are one of his disciples,” observes the girl at the gate. “= No, not I,” said Peter.

2)&n= bsp; Then as they warm by the fire, someone asks, “Aren’t you one of his?= ” “No, I am not!”

3)&n= bsp; And a third time, “Didn’t I see you with him in the olive grove?= 221; “No, no, I swear to you= , no. I don’t know him.”=

In = the distance, a rooster crows. Th= is disciple who had vowed he would follow Jesus to prison or even to death has denied his Lord three times. = Peter makes it clear his own hide is more important to him than his love and commitment to Jesus.

So = Jesus uses this opportunity to check out Peter’s loyalty. Three times Peter denied Him. Three times, Jesu= s asks, “Peter, do you love me?”

Now let’s put ourselves in this story. Jesus stands along side of us. He asks us that same persistent que= stion—the question that will not go away in any important relationship: “Do you love me?

Lis= ten—Jesus is calling your name right now. He’s calling my name. And He’s asking us: “Do you love me?” “_________, do you love me?” What are we going = to say?

= 220;Yes, Lord. You know that we love y= ou. Why do you even ask?

Why= , we kinda’ feel insulted, Lord. Surely y= ou know we love you. Can’t= you tell, Lord?”

But= now let’s finish the question: “Do you love me more than these?R= 21; “More than what, Lord?”=

= 220;Peter, do you love me more than you love these friends and family members who are = with you. Do you love me more than= this old fishing job of yours? Mor= e than these safe and familiar surroundings? More than even life itself? Peter, do you love me more than all= of these?”

A c= ertain scribe came to Jesus and asked him: “What’s the most important commandment of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, Hear, O Isr= ael: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all yo= ur strength. The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourse= lf.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”<= /p>

We = use the word “love” very casually, almost flippantly:=

1)&n= bsp; We say we love our families, but we= also say we love to watch TV and surf the net (Anyone not seen the commercial Sh= elby and Timothy shared?).

2)&n= bsp; We love our friends, but we love ou= r new car, too.

3)&n= bsp; We love God, but we also love peanu= ts & potato chips.

It = can get rather confusing. Oh, but preacher, everybody understands that we mean many different things when we say “love.” Someone made a helpful distinction = about love when they said that we are to love God and love people, and we are to = use things.

A p= roblem occurs, however, anytime we get this confused and begin to love things. Because when we really start loving things, we will use people and even try to use God Himself in order to acqu= ire all those things we love.

I k= now at times all of us use the word “love” when we don’t really = mean love; or to come at this from a different direction, there are many shades = of meaning, many degrees of intensity for this word “love.”

It = would be simpler if, like the Greeks, we had different words for different kinds of love. They had a word for fri= endly love, another one for romantic love, and still another for a selfless kind = of love that has no strings attached.

We don’t make those distinctions with our word for love. So it’s vitally important tha= t we understand what Jesus means when He says “love” and when He asks us, ̶= 0;Do you love me?”

Lov= e in this context, is heart, soul, mind, and strength love. It is first priority love, total commitment love, complete allegiance love. This is the response Jesus Christ is looking for from us, and He is not satisfied with anything less.=

We = must love Him more than these: mor= e than these relatives / friends / these things / these surroundings. We must love Jesus Christ supremel= y, above all other loves we have in our lives, for such is the love of the Christian= for his Lord.

But= that often leaves us with a question: does loving the Lord that much mean we must love family and friends less? Well, no, that’s not what it means at all!

1)&n= bsp; Loving Christ supremely means that we have dealt supreme self-love or selfishness = or pride a fatal blow.

2)&n= bsp; And getting our exaggerated concern for self out of the way enables us to truly love one another as we should--to love selflessly, to love with abandon eve= n as Christ loved us, and gave Himself for us, and now loves us still.

3)&n= bsp; Friends, it is as we experience the love of Christ at work in our lives that we disc= over how to truly love God and our fellow human beings, whether they are in our family, our church, our community, our workplace, or in some random encount= er wherever. The love of Jesus C= hrist in us, as it grows in us, it becomes all encompassing. We love others!

But= here, Jesus is asking us, “Do you love ME?” And he’s listening for our reply. More than that--HeR= 17;s watching for our reply.

a) = “Peter, do you love me?” “= ;Yes Lord, you know I love you.” “Then, Peter, feed my sheep.”

b) = “Do you love me?” “Ye= s, Lord.” “Then do something about it. Show me that you mean it—that your love is real.&= #8221;

1)&n= bsp; Peter was to show his love for Christ by spiritually feeding and caring for those= who were just entering the Christian fold—the new believers.

2)&n= bsp; Later he would show his love by dying as a martyr for the cause of Christ—d= ying, according to tradition, on an inverted cross—because he felt unworthy= to die in the same manner as his Lord.

3)&n= bsp; Peter’s love for Christ had matured remarkably since those three denials in the high priest’s courtyard.

4)&n= bsp; Now Peter was to nurture Christian love in the lives of others.

5)&n= bsp; He became, in fact, a rock of faith upon which Jesus could build his church. <= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Peter showed that his love for Jesu= s was sincere.

Let= ’s bring this back home now. Wha= t are we doing to show our love for Christ? How are we making our love visible?= The question is just as important f= or us as it was for Peter.

How= shall we demonstrate our love? The = first thing we must do is to respond to Christ’s love. R= 20;Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends.= 221;

Thi= s is how Jesus Christ made his love tangible. This is how He revealed the FatherR= 17;s love for us. He laid down his= life for his friends. He gave his = all that we might have life, not just mere existence, but life redeemed and set free from the deadly effects of sin and guilt—real life, abundant lif= e.

Our= first response to God’s love is to love Him supremely, and to love His Son, Jesus Christ, and to accept by faith his gift of love: redemption and eternal life throug= h our crucified Savior and risen Lord.

It = is because God so loves the world that he gives us His Son, and our only fitti= ng response to God’s love gift is our deepest love and most genuine commitment of all that we are to Him.

We = are to love God more than all the other things which entice our love today—to love with something much more than our emotions—to love Christ with o= ur lives, our time, our money, our involvement in the things that matter to Hi= m.

Tha= t’s called Christian discipleship, and it’s how we show our love.

1)&n= bsp; When we unite with Christ’s body, the church, we are declaring, “Jes= us, I love you.”

2)&n= bsp; When we give sacrificially to support the ministries of our church, we are demonstrating our love.

3)&n= bsp; When we worship God, study His word, pray, reach out to others with the gospel, = visit the sick and lonely, and reach out to the poor and helpless--whenever we do= the tasks Christ would have us to do, whenever we deliberately take up our cros= ses and follow Him, we are saying through our actions:

“Yes Jesus, we really do love you.” And he knows that we mean it. For our love is not just words--it&= #8217;s deeds. And Christ is pleased.=

The question won’t go away. Christ is asking us, “Do you love me? Do you really love me? Do you love me more than these?R= 21;

Wha= t’s your answer? What's mine? Let us examine our hearts, our live= s, and most important: our actions. That’s how we know. Right now—let’s be real honest with ourselves and with God. Is there anything to this love we = claim we have for Christ--is it real?

= 220;If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.” Can you say that this morning? Well, of course you can—it&#= 8217;s easy to say. But is this the witness of your life: ‘if ever I loved Thee, Jesus, it’s NOW?&#= 8217;

Thi= s is a hymn of confession—which should always cause us to ask: Is this MY confession—honestly—is it?&nbs= p; IS IT?

The= hymn is not meant to be enjoyed, but to be experienced at a deeper level: If ever I loved Thee, is it now, Jesus? Have I ever loved you = the way I should—the way you deserve?&nb= sp;

If = you seek to be a follower of Jesus Christ, that’s the question that simply won’t go away. WhatR= 17;s our reply to Jesus when He asks: “DO YOU LOVE ME?” <= /span>