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God is on the throne and He is alive in the world through the Holy Spirit!
Jesus taught a lot by telling stories, but he also taught by asking questions. Jesus was a master question asker. Even at age 12 this attribute showed up when he asked questions of the elders in the temple.
John 21:12 – Jesus appears at the end of a long night of fishing and asks if they had caught anything. He then told them to throw their nets on the other side… and they immediately caught more fish than they knew what to do with!
Jesus asked Peter four questions. They are similar questions but they are different.
More Than These?
The first time Jesus asked him he said “Do you love me more than these?” What was Jesus referring to? Do you love me more than these nets? These friends of yours? More than these other disciples love me?
It seems like Jesus kind of leaves the question hanging.
We need to love Jesus more than anything else. This is a question of priorities. Do you love me more than anything else?
Do we know Jesus? Jesus knows us best… knowing Jesus is a matter of life and death.
John 18:18-27 – Have you failed to keep a commitment to Jesus? Three times Peter was asked “weren’t you with him?” Three times Peter denied. Yet Peter was forgiven and became a pillar in the early church.
Do You Love Me?
“Peter do you love me?” Peter responds, “yes, Jesus you know I’m your friend.”
The third time that Jesus asked Peter this question he used the term for “friend.” This hurt Peter deeply.
Jesus knows what you’re going through. He cares. He wants to help us face the painful and difficult assignments that come our way.
Peter wonders “what about this other person?” Jesus tells him that not to worry about the other person, instead he should just “follow” him.
Let us love Jesus and follow him wherever he calls us to go and do what he asks us to do.