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Jesus calls us by grace

This week, the sermon topic selected in Mandarin Service was from John 21, where Jesus actively seeks out the disciples who had left Him, calling Peter in particular to follow Him once again.

When Jesus was arrested, the disciples scattered, and Peter denied Jesus three times. After Jesus' resurrection, He appeared to the disciples multiple times, but according to the account in John's Gospel, the disciples still did not know how they could continue to live; they were filled with confusion. So Peter suggested, "I'm going fishing," and the other disciples joined him. They returned to their old occupation , resuming the life they had over three years ago, making a living from fishing. They had once eagerly followed Jesus, abandoning their nets and boats to follow Him wholeheartedly.

Three years later, after Jesus had been crucified and resurrected, the disciples were still confused. They once again turned to fishing for a living, but unfortunately, their former skills were no longer the same; they caught nothing all night.

At this time, Jesus appeared for the third time. Among the disciples, no one recognised Him. Jesus directed them to cast the net on the right side of the boat, and they caught 153 fish, yet the net did not break. A miracle occurred again with the appearance of Jesus.

John finally recognised that it was Jesus. Perhaps out of shame towards Jesus, Peter immediately jumped into the sea. The disciples returned to shore and found that there was a charcoal fire to warm themselves, and breakfast was prepared with bread and fish, marking the second miracle.

But the disciples dared not recognise Jesus. As they awkwardly ate breakfast, Jesus asked Peter, "Do you love me?" This question must have made Peter feel at a loss, but Peter still answered, "I love you."

Interestingly, in the original Greek text, the love Jesus asked about, "Do you love me?" is unconditional, divine love. In contrast, the love with which Peter responded to Jesus, "I love you," is brotherly love. The meanings are worlds apart. Peter was avoiding Jesus' question, but Jesus asked three times, wanting to know if Peter truly and steadfastly loved Him, especially since Peter had denied Jesus three times.

By the third time, the "love" Jesus asked about had changed to "brotherly love," and Peter responded to Jesus, saying, "You know everything." Perhaps Peter meant, "Lord, you know my weakness, you understand everything about me, my love is limited, you understand."

Jesus said for the third time, "If you love me, feed my sheep."

It seems that Jesus was telling Peter, "I know how much you love, no matter how much you love me, if you love me, you will take care of my lambs; this is how you express your love for me."

Jesus understands Peter and our limitations; our love for God is limited, but God also accepts us. Jesus loves His disciples unconditionally, even if they do not seek Him out or even recognise Him. Jesus actively seeks out His sheep, providing them with food, warmth, love, and care. Jesus actively allowed them to catch fish again, but more importantly, Jesus gave the disciples and Peter another chance to express their love for Him.

Jesus extends His invitation with grace, asking, "Are you willing to love me again?" The past that caused your confusion, the things that made you feel fallen or discouraged, have passed. Now, Jesus actively seeks us out. Perhaps we, like the disciples, do not recognise Jesus, see Him, and dare not acknowledge Him, keeping our distance, afraid to face Jesus with our true selves. But Jesus will not despise us; He still accepts us unconditionally with His grace. Do we respond to Jesus with love? If so, then feed His sheep, actively seek out Jesus' lambs, actively provide help, food, warmth, care, and guide the lambs to know Jesus Christ. This is how we show our love for our Lord Jesus Christ.

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