And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures,
which are able to make thee wise unto salvation
through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2 Timothy 3:15 & 16
My little children, let us not love in word,
neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
1 John 3:15&16
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us,
and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear:
because fear hath torment.
He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
We love him, because he first loved us.
1 John 4:10,18&19
| Lovest Thou Me? |
Introduction
This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead. So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
(John 21:14-17)
For centuries, countless preachers have preached the passage where the Lord Jesus Christ asked Peter whether he loved Him three times. The question as to why the Lord having to ask Peter three times whether Peter loved Him is a subject of much speculation and controversy. Some might think that the Lord was not sure whether Peter really loved Him so that was why Peter was asked three times. This impinges on the omniscience of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some might feel that this was the way the Lord proved Peter’s love for Him by asking him three times. This might be a more tenable explanation but it does not address the reason why the Lord has to ask Peter three times. Why not ask Peter just two times or to be more certain ask him seven times which is a number of perfection? Some would even believe that in order to find out the reason why Peter was asked three times whether he loved the Lord, one has to find out the exact meaning of the word “love” in Greek given in the passage. They contend that the intensity of the word “love” cannot be correctly and fully expressed and understood in English without going back to the original language. Indeed the word “love” in the passage are translated from two different Greek words. But is it true that without going back to Greek no one can understand the Holy Scriptures in English? Are we to surrender the study of God’s Holy Bible to some linguistic experts to do the study for us?
If we are to interpret this passage on its own, of course we can come out with as many fanciful theories and fairy tales we want. However, we are dealing with the Holy Scriptures. They are not subject to private interpretation. We are to compare Scriptures with Scriptures. The Holy Spirit is our best Teacher and Guide. It is in God’s light shall we see light. All scholars and linguistic experts are of no consequence and relevance as far as learning from the Holy Scriptures is concerned. Unfortunately, many have mistaken scholars or linguistic experts as the Holy Spirit! They are going after the wrong source for spiritual truths. They are climbing up the tree of knowledge of good and evil of fallen men to seek wisdom and truth and they miss the real meat in spiritual truths found in the tree of life in the Lord Jesus Christ – the fountain of life.
In order to understand this passage as to why the Lord asked Peter three times whether Peter loved Him, we have to study events leading to this meeting. This was a meeting after the resurrection of Christ. Events prior to the crucifixion of Christ have to be analyzed and studied carefully. Why was it that Peter was the only disciple asked by the Lord three times whether he loved the Lord and not the other disciples? Were the rest of the disciples already loving the Lord perfectly? Were they not as important compared to Peter? Was the Lord practicing favouritism? Why was Peter singled out? Was it something that Peter had done in the past that caused these questions to be asked? What was the purpose? What was the desired outcome? What was the subject matter? What can we learn from this passage?
A child of God cannot be lazy if he wants to learn what the Lord would like to teach him. He has to search the Scriptures horizontally from cover to cover. He must not search the Scriptures vertically going back to the tomb of some dead languages where the Holy Ghost had already saw fit to give His inspired words to us in the Authorised King James Bible. The Lord is no longer in the tomb for He is risen! Spiritual truths are not kept in catacombs of dead languages. The words of the living God are alive and we have moved on to higher ground and greater spiritual knowledge and truth. We trust God has preserved His inspired words for us and that is why we are searching the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Only then are we ready to learn from the most important Book on this earth. May the Lord bless the reading and study of His words!