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"But what about you? Who do YOU say that I am?" (Jesus asks Simon Peter, Mark 8:29, emphasis mine)
"What is truth?" (Pontius Pilate asks Jesus, John 18:38)
But the one that I want to camp out on today is Christ's question to Simon Peter:
"Do you love me?" (John 21:15-17)
At first pass, it is a straight forward question--or should I say questions, as Jesus asks Peter this question three times over after His resurrection. Perhaps He asks it once for each time Peter had denied Christ before the crucifixion. But as simple as this question sounds, it is most searching! And as interesting as this question is, it is almost more interesting to me what Christ chose NOT to ask Peter at this time. He could have asked Peter a myriad of other things--why does He exclusively focus on this matter of love? For example, Jesus could have asked Peter "Do you believe in me?" or "Will you serve me?" or "Will you now confess me?" or "Will you follow me?" But instead, Jesus simply asks Peter "Do you love me?" For this is the point on which a person's Christianity hinges.
Now, the Bible is clear that our love for the Lord is not one of mere feelings--true love WILL be expressed in service, worship, obedience, and charity.
"Jesus replied, 'Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.'" John 14:23-24
And it ought also to be mentioned that this love for Christ is not manufactured from within our own hearts! 1 John 4:19 makes it clear when it states, "We love him because he first loved us."
But it is very telling that Jesus is most interested in our love for Him. He knows that if we have this love, we WILL serve Him, obey Him, and follow Him, and the world around us WILL be impacted through our witness and service. Jesus cares most about our relationship with Him, and not merely religious practices and service.
So when Peter answers Jesus with a simple "Yes, Lord" and "you know that I love you," Jesus reinstates him as His disciple and commissions him to feed His sheep, emphatically declaring, "Follow me!" (v. 19)--for as we have discussed, this love has deep implications of obedience and service.
But notice the order of things. Jesus never asks Peter to follow Him, serve Him, and obey Him in order to love Him (or earn His love). Instead, Jesus asks Peter about this issue of love FIRST. We love...therefore, we serve. We do not serve in order to love or earn Christ's love in return. We see this same pattern throughout the Scriptures. God Almighty establishes a covenant with His people and delivers the Israelites from Egypt, bringing them out to the mountain wilderness...and then gives to them His Law (Exodus 20). He does not give them the Law first, and then delivers them and establishes a covenant of love with them, as if it were contingent upon their obedience. No! He gives them the Law within the context of a loving relationship with them as their Savior God.
So what about you, dear friend? What would YOU say if Jesus turned to you and asked, "Do you love me?" It is a question that pierces our very soul, and one that people of any age and culture can understand. In fact, I think it is one of the most important questions you will ever answer!
"If a man has no love to Christ, you may be sure he has no faith" --J.C. Ryle
"The great workers of the Church--the men who have led forlorn hopes in the mission-field and turned the world upside down, have all been eminently lovers of Christ" --J.C. Ryle
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