I was just thinking about a recent sermon from my pastor, Allen Morton, at Chenal Valley Baptist Church. He was telling how Jesus extended grace to the apostle who had denied him three times. Then, three times the Lord asked Peter, “Do you love me?” What we do not see in our English language is absolute grace. The first two times Christ asked, “Do you agape Me?” Each time Peter replied, “Lord, You know I phileo You.” Those are not the same kind of love.
Jesus asked for an ultimate love, a love like God’s love. Peter responded with a love of a lesser degree, a brotherly love. But that third time, Jesus changed the situation. He asked, “Peter, do you phileo Me?” It hurt the apostle deeply because he could not live up to his Lord’s desire. He replied, “Lord, I phileo You.” Jesus came down to Peter’s level when Peter could not come up to His.
A Reminder from a Song
The Gaither Vocal Band has sung these lyrics for years: “He came down to my level, when I couldn’t come up to His. With a strong arm, He lifted me up, to show me what living is. ‘Cause I know about a Savior. He came down to be a man. And when He left, He sent His Spirit, He made me everything I am.”
That is a description of what the apostle Peter experienced 2,500 years ago. It is what believers experience all these centuries later.
A Recalling of the Gospel
The word gospel means “good news.” Because the Son of God left His royalty in the glory of Heaven to come down to our level, we have received the good news. When convicted by the Holy Spirit, informing us that we are sinful and cannot save ourselves, we rejoice that Jesus came to save us. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8 NIV1984). Because we could not become good enough by ourselves to merit everlasting life with the Father, Jesus came down and cleared the way for us to be saved. That is definitely good news!
A Redemption of Helpless Humans
Can you imagine how Peter felt when the Master asked him those three questions? He was the boisterous braggard who said, “If all these others leave you, I will never leave you!” His heart must have sunk to his feet when he denied the Lord three times. But Jesus, with His amazing grace, redeemed that helpless apostle.
I well remember back in 1966, in the teen choir at First Baptist Church in Magnolia, Jim Courtney introduced us to this song: “Heaven came down and glory filled my soul. When at the cross, my Savior made me whole. My sins were washed away, and my night was turned to day. Heaven came down, and glory filled my soul.”
Jesus came down to our level when we could not get up to His! That is the work of redeeming love!
A Responsibility Given by Christ
In each of the questions and replies in the conversation between Jesus and Peter, the Lord extended responsible tasks for the apostle. That responsibility is extended to pastors, evangelists, missionaries and the believers in the pews (or chairs) today. He told Peter to feed His lambs, to take care of His sheep and to feed His sheep. There is purpose in everything Christ does. He has told us basically the same thing He told Peter. We have a great responsibility.
