Title John 21:15-25 The Holy Mission
Contents
The text is a scene where Jesus, disappointed in Jesus' death, returned to his hometown of Galilee and appeared to the disciples who were fishing, showing the miracle of catching fish in an empty boat, and after having breakfast together, he asks Peter.
“Simon, do you love me more than these people?” This question tells us that it was for Simon Peter that the Lord was dragged into the inner courtyard of Caiaphas the high priest, beaten, mocked, and finally crucified to death. “Did I not suffer and die to save you from sin and curse and destruction? Then, shouldn't you love me too?" Because the Lord loved him first, he demands love from those who are loved.
The life of the Lord is evidence of His love for all of us, not just Simon Peter. Those who have forgotten the life of the Lord who loved them cannot love the Lord. When we face temptations, indolence, and complaining in our religious life, we can look back and find ourselves forgetting how much the Lord loved us. A life of faith without traces of the Lord's love is nothing more than boasting the long-standing tradition of believing, and it is to set your faith according to your own will and to believe as you please.
The Lord asked Simon Peter twice more, “Do you love me?” The question is, “Just as I gave up all my rights for you and loved you to death on a cross, can you also love the sheep I have entrusted to you in this way to the point of death?” Whenever the Lord asked this question, Simon Peter confessed, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." When the Lord heard Peter's confession, He said, "Feed my lambs," "Feed my sheep," and "Feed my sheep." After the Lord confirms that he loves him, he will entrust his sheep to those who love him. “Feed and feed my lambs” is a command to feed the sheep abundantly and raise them well, and to keep them until the end.
This command is a mission given to all Christians who are loved by the Lord and who love the Lord. A mission is to risk your life. It is to love your neighbor as the Lord loved you to the point of shedding his blood for those you love. If we fail to fulfill this mission and our neighbors perish, we must take responsibility for it. Just as the Lord loved us to the point of death, to love our neighbor's souls even to death is to love the Lord who loved us, and to obey His commands. Even today, the Lord commands with love to those who confess, “You know that I love you.” “Feed my lambs” “Feed my sheep” Only those who are moved by the love of the Lord will obey the commands of the Lord's love.