Thou knowest that I love thee

Q: What does the Bible say about loving Jesus?

The Bible emphasizes that loving Jesus is central to being a true Christian, as seen in John 21:15-17. In John 21:15-17, Jesus directly asks Peter if he loves Him, emphasizing that true love for Christ is foundational to the Christian faith. A true Christian is distinguished not just by outward religious practices or knowledge, but by a heartfelt love for the Lord. Peter's response indicates that despite his recent failures, his love for Jesus remains genuine and central to his identity. Ultimately, loving Jesus reflects an inner transformation and a deep relationship established by grace.

Q: How do we know that Peter loved Jesus?

Peter's repeated affirmation of love for Jesus, even after denying Him, shows his deep affection and recognition of grace. Peter demonstrates his love for Jesus through his responses in John 21, where he expresses, 'Lord, thou knowest that I love thee.' Despite having denied Christ prior to the crucifixion, Peter's love is evident in his grief over the threefold questioning by Jesus. This interaction reflects his understanding of grace, revealing that even amidst failure, true love for Christ persists. This relationship is not contingent upon perfection, but upon a heart that loves and recognizes the significance of Christ's sacrifice.

Q: Why is love for Christ essential in the Christian life?

Loving Christ is essential because it defines a Christian's identity and relationship with God. Love for Christ is not merely an emotional response but the core essence of what it means to be a Christian. True love for Jesus arises from an understanding of who He is, what He has done, and the grace that transforms a believer’s heart. As expressed in the Great Commandment, we are called to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. This love propels Christians to live in obedience and service, reflecting the love Christ has for His people.

Q: What role does Jesus’ grace play in our love for Him?

Jesus' grace empowers and deepens our love for Him, recognizing our need for His mercy. A Christian's love for Christ is intrinsically connected to the experience of His grace. The understanding that we are loved despite our failures leads to a profound love for Christ. As Peter reflects on his life, he acknowledges that his love is a response to being called and saved by God’s grace. This grace reminds believers that, regardless of their shortcomings, Christ's love remains unconditional, motivating them to love Him genuinely and deeply.

May God be pleased to be with us this morning. Let's turn together to his word. And I want to turn to this chapter, John chapter 21. We read earlier, John chapter 21, and we'll read again verses 15 through to 17. These words of Jesus to Simon Peter. So John chapter 21, verse 15. 2.17 So when they had dined, Jesus saith unto 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.

I believe here we have, very simply put, what it is to be a real Christian. Peter is making his profession here in answer to these questions that the Lord asks him. And Peter is really opening his heart and speaking what is found in him. That whatever has gone before And whatever he has done, as we know there's a context, we'll look at that in a minute, he loves the Lord. And that is found at the root and center of his very being. He loves the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, there's a lot else. And there's a lot else going on here in his heart and in his thoughts. But in the root, in answer to this question, when put, when the question is directed at him, Do you love me? Lord, thou knowest that I love thee.

Here then is a simple testimony of what it is to be a Christian. You see, a Christian is not just someone who has an outward lifestyle that looks Christian, or someone who attends a church of worship and joins with Christians. And it's not just someone who understands Christianity or perhaps even has a very deep grasp of doctrine.

All those things are great. All those things are important. And all those things are part of the Christian life. We grow in knowledge. We understand our faith. We meet with Christians. We live as the Lord has called us. It's all part of the Christian life but none of those things are what a Christian is of themselves. We can be all of those things and yet unconverted. Peter here though makes his confession of a true converted believer because a true Christian will have this.

I love the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ is my principal desire. I love him. You remember how the Lord himself gave that summary of the law of God? Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind and with all thy strength and thy neighbour as thyself. The law of God condemns us, of course. Who meets that standard? Who loves with all our heart and mind and strength? And when we analyze that call to love, that commandment to love, we realize that we break that law. We do not love as we should.

And yet the believer does keep that commandment in measure. They do love the Lord. Here is then Peter. He is answering the Lord's question. But the fact that the Lord is asking this question these three times, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me, reminds us that there is, in the very question, a question. Does Peter love the Lord? Does he love the Lord?

And so we know the context. because Peter's actions in the last few days may seem as if he does not love the Lord. Peter, as you remember, was in the garden of Gethsemane with the Lord Jesus Christ. And when Jesus is arrested and bound and taken to Caiaphas' palace, Peter follows on behind and he makes entrance through connections that he has into the courtyard of the palace. And so as Jesus enters into the judgment, so Peter warms himself by the fire with others who are gathered in the cool of the night air in the courtyard of the palace. And people notice. and people start to recognise him or people start to hear his speech and realise he has an accent from someone in Northern Galilee. And so they ask him, weren't you with him? Are you not also a disciple? Didn't I see you in the garden?

And Peter says, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not with him. I'm not a follower. I do not know what you're saying, even to the point that with a solemn oath and curse, as if God strike me down if I were not telling the truth, he denies the Lord Jesus Christ.

Peter, you do not look like someone who loves the Lord. You look like someone who has abandoned the Lord, someone who's turned their back on the Lord, that if you were ever with him, you are not with him anymore. You look like someone who regrets your association with Jesus, someone who wants to now rejoin the ranks of the world. You look like someone who has no love in their heart at all. In fact, Peter, you look like you have joined your fellow disciple, Judas.

Does he love the Lord? And so with that background, we have this meeting now at the Sea of Galilee where Jesus asks him that pertinent, that direct question, do you love me? Simon, son of Jonas, love is thou me? Jesus asks him the question three times. And there's no doubt, you're probably aware, he uses different words in asking the question. Peter is asked twice by the Lord Jesus, lovest thou me?

In the first two times, he uses the word agape. And it's a Greek word for love, which means, and deep. and unconditional love. It's the kind of love that we think of God having towards his people, an unconditional, gracious love. Do you love me in this way, he says, unconditionally, passionately. And Peter answers with a different word. He uses the word phileo, which means more a friendship or a brotherhood Do you have an unconditional love towards me? Do you have a gracious love towards me, this unbreakable bond?

And he says, well, there's a friendship. There's love. I'm not diminishing the love, but it's a different type. It's not quite so unconditional. He's proved, you see, his weakness. But then the third time, Jesus uses that word. Lovest thou me? And he uses the philia word that Peter's been using. Are you my friend? That's what he's saying. Are you really my friend?

And you notice the third time Peter is shocked and upset. We read he was grieved. Well, he's grieved because he's been asked the third time that Jesus has felt need to ask the question three times. But I believe he's also grieved because Jesus is now questioning if he's even his friend. And he's upset. Jesus is questioning the friendship. But you see, this friendship and this love has been called into question. Does he really love the Lord? Notice also what Jesus calls him.

Simon, son of Jonas. He's not Peter. Peter is the name that Jesus gave him. Peter, the stone, the rock, the solid one. But he's not Peter. He's Simon. And he's going right back to the days before he was called. Remember, he's at the same place, or at least nearby. He's at the Sea of Galilee, which is where Jesus first called him, and he's been called the name that he was before Jesus called him. He's Simon.

Are you just like you were before I even called you? Are you just like you were before you even met me? Are you just Simon? You see, Simon, Peter, has been stripped of so much. Peter is being questioned, or Jesus is questioning, are you even a friend? Are you a disciple anymore? Do you love me at all? And Peter is being brought to a point where he can claim nothing. He cannot claim to be an important disciple. He cannot claim to be a faithful disciple. He cannot claim to be a bold disciple. He cannot claim to have gifts and ability at all. Everything has been stripped away from Simon Peter.

But he has one thing. Thou knowest that I love thee. He has that. And what that shows to us is that despite his actions in recent days, despite his denial of the Lord Jesus Christ, the heart of the matter is a matter of the heart. And he wasn't therefore like Judas. And yes, Judas, of course, did a dreadful thing. But Judas' heart was never changed. He didn't love the Lord.

But Peter does. And with everything else being called into question, this thing he is certain of, which is why he's grieved when he's asked three times or challenged over his friendship, now knowest all things. In other words, thou knowest all that has taken place, and thou knowest I am not what I thought I was, and thou knowest the deepest recesses of my heart, and yet thou knowest, Lord, that if you plumb the recesses of my heart, you will find love. That is there, even if everything else has been stripped away.

Lovest thou me? Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. Well, why does Peter love the Lord? Why does he love the Lord Jesus Christ? The psalmist in Psalm 116 says this, I love the Lord because, because he has heard my voice. and my supplication he has a reason you see for his love I love the Lord because and Peter is going to or he teaches us there's a reason for his love why does he love the Lord well I want to think about that this morning why does he love the Lord Jesus Christ he's confessed it but why Lord thou knowest that I love thee. Well, do we love the Lord Jesus Christ?

Perhaps like Peter, we've been through an experience of much else being stripped away, many other things being called into question in your religion. Perhaps you've become real face-to-face with your own sin, with your own fallen nature, with what you are capable of as a sinner. Perhaps it shocked you.

Do you love the Lord? You answer the Lord's question here, lovest thou me? If you do, why? Why does a Christian love the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, why did Peter? And we can say, first of all, he loves the Lord Jesus because Jesus called him. Jesus called him.

We know that Peter, or Simon, was brought to the Lord Jesus Christ by Andrew. We find there in the opening chapter of John's Gospel that Andrew had been a disciple of John the Baptist, and as he heard John speak, behold the Lamb of God pointing to Christ, he followed Jesus, and he was Simon Peter's brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, we have found the Messiah, which is being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. So the first message, or the first encounter, that Peter has with the Lord Jesus is through his brother Andrew, who no doubt came with this message, here is the Lamb of God.

John has taught us that he is the one who has come to die for the sins of his people. He is the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. That was Peter's first interaction with Jesus, the first thing he came to know. And then later on at the Sea of Galilee, Jesus calls him as he is for fishermen on the sea and says, follow me and I will make you to be fishers of men. And at that point, he gives up that work and he follows the Lord Jesus as that open disciple is one of the 12. And he followed him through to the end, to the ascension of the Lord Jesus into glory. You see, Peter has come to know who Jesus is as the Lamb of God. And Peter has heard that call. Follow me. That was a gracious call.

The Lord Jesus Christ came to him. the message of the gospel came to him. Wonderful to think of how his own brother Andrew was used to bring that message to him. But God worked in him. And God then gave him in his heart a willingness that when Jesus Christ came to the Sea of Galilee and called him to follow him, he left his nets and he followed the Lord. Because the Lord Jesus Christ had chosen him. and he loved him, and he called him to be a follower and to be with him.

Peter, I am sure, never lost a sense of wonder that the Son of God had called him to be a disciple, had called him to be with him, had chosen him. He was just a fisherman from Galilee. He was no one of importance. but the Son of God called him. Peter doesn't claim any merit, he doesn't claim any worth, he doesn't claim any ability of himself.

He points to the Lord Jesus Christ who loved him and who called him. I love the Lord because he saw me there at the side of the sea with my fishermen nets. I love the Lord because he saw me lost He saw me in my sin. He saw me without a savior, and he called me to follow him. God showed grace. We've been singing of grace in our two hymns so far this morning. And God's call is a call of grace. Jesus chose him.

And that was always a sense of wonder, no doubt, for Peter. I love the Lord. because he called me. That's why he's there. That's why he's found at the Sea of Galilee on this occasion. That's why he's so delighted when he realizes it's the Lord Jesus there. He called me. And here I am. I'm still here. I'm still a follower of the Lord Jesus because he chose me.

You see, the Christian loves the Lord because he calls them. Because they would be lost were it not for him. The Christian loves the Lord because they knew where they were before they knew Christ and they know whereby his grace they are now. The Christian loves the Lord because they were lost and running off in the wrong direction but he took hold of them and showed that their need and drew them back. A Christian loves the Lord because he is shown grace.

And my experience is that if you grow as a Christian and as you mature as a Christian, grace becomes a more and more wonderful subject. Because it is grace that covers everything. Grace that is greater than even the mountain of our sin. And grace that is wider and longer and deeper grace that cover is all and Peter was there by God's grace and that's the case for every Christian you would be lost but for his grace God worked you see God called God drew him and God showed him that he needed the Lamb of God And through Andrea the message, behold, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. Do you love me, Peter?

Yes, Lord. Thou knowest that I love thee because thou didst call me. Have you known something of that call? To see a beauty, to see a necessity in Christ that you didn't always see. to see something in Jesus that you didn't always recognize. He's the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world, and that's who you need. I love him because he called me. Secondly, he loved the Lord because he blessed him, because Jesus blessed him. Peter had known much of the power and the love and the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ in the three or so years before this occasion.

Let's think of a couple. Here we are at the Sea of Galilee and there the Lord is meeting with them and they are having this meal together here at the Sea of Galilee. But as Peter looks out across the sea, as he sits there at the beach side, I wonder if Peter remembered the occasion when he had walked on that water. When he had been out there in the midst of the storm and they had seen Jesus coming, walking over the waves. And they had cried out in fear, thinking perhaps they'd seen a spirit or a ghost and not knowing quite what it was.

And Jesus had said, be not afraid, it is I. And Peter answering said, Lord, if it be thou bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, come. And Peter was come down out of the ship. He walked on the water. I wonder if he looked out on the sea and remembered what it was like to walk on water. But then as we know, the wind was boisterous and Peter was afraid. He saw the wind, he was afraid. He looked at the storm, he felt the wind in his face, he saw all of the waves and fear gripped his heart and he began to sink and he cried saying, Lord, save me.

And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him. It said, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? What a blessing. Peter had known the power, God, that miraculous power, walking on the water, and then he approved his heart. He proved his little faith, and he sank. But Jesus didn't say, O thou of little faith, you deserve to sink to the bottom of the sea. O thou of little faith, you deserve whatever comes to you. You have proven to me you are not what you could be or what you should be, Peter. You have failed the test. Now Jesus takes down his hand and he says, he lifts him up, immediately lifts him up. What a blessing. He'd been saved, naturally.

And he had proven that God was a God of grace again and God was long-suffering and merciful and would save him. What a blessing. And then you can think of another remarkable occasion when Peter goes up the mountain with James and John and sees the Lord Jesus Christ transfigured before him in his glory. He was transfigured, his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. What a blessing. But he saw his glory. He saw this brightness. And he heard this conversation between Moses and Elijah and Jesus about the death he would accomplish at Jerusalem. What a blessing.

Peter came to see that the almighty, glorious Son of God had come to save him, and would go to the cross to save him, and come from the heights of glory, that the Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us. And really that word in John 1 is demonstrated in front of him on the Mount of Transfiguration. The word, the eternal word, the Son of God has been made flesh and dwelts among you. And there he is before him.

What a blessing. I love the Lord. I love the Lord for he is glorious and shines in his brightness, but I also love the Lord because this glorious God will reach down his hand when I'm sinking in the sea and lift me up. I love the Lord because he's blessed me, because he saved me. Can you recount God's blessing? Can you say I love the Lord because he lifted me up? because he heard my cry of desperation. Lord, save me, and he did.

Do you love the Lord because he's shown you something of his glory and yet something of his compassion and condescension in coming to a sinner just like you? Do you love the Lord because he's heard your prayer and because he's listened to your need and your cry? Can you think of one time when the Lord Jesus Christ has blessed you? Do you not love the Lord in return? Hasn't it moved your heart to love him, Peter Good? Hey Lord, I knowest that I love thee because you blessed me. Thirdly, and connected, he loved the Lord Jesus Christ because of who he is. because of who he is. We've seen something of that in the Mantra of Transfiguration, where he saw the glory of the Lord Jesus. But we know that Peter made that very clear profession of his belief of who Jesus is.

Jesus asked the question, whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? Peter answered and said, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. His confession. who Jesus is, the Christ, the Messiah, the promised one, the anointed one, the savior, the son of the living God. Jesus, you see, has used this word, this title found in the book of Daniel. It's a messianic title, but it's son of man. Yes, it's the son of God. Now the Christ, the son of the living God.

Peter sees that God has come and he has come in his grace to save his people from their sins. He is amazed at Jesus. I think what's lovely here is that Peter is not just amazed at what Jesus does, He is, yes, the Messiah, the Christ who has come to save. He will die and he has blessed him and he will bless him.

But it's not just the things that he does for Peter that stirs his heart to love. It's not just the things that he gets, if you like, from Jesus that stirs his heart to love. He loves Jesus because of who Jesus is. He loves him because of who he is. He is God. and he's the Messiah, and he's come into this world. He is amazed at Jesus. He beholds him, and he stands in wonder. His heart is moved by this, and knows that I love thee. Not just what you do, but I love thee. You see, this is the wonder of the gospel. God has come. As I say, the Word has been made flesh. God has come. And God has taken on frail flesh. He has become real man. Eternal Son of God takes on that flesh. And He is born into this world.

And so that when as Peter looks on the Lord Jesus Christ, he is beholding the very face of God. For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and he sees in him his glorious God, and he loves him. And his heart is stirred because he realizes that he's been brought through Christ into fellowship with God, the living, eternal, his creator God. He is beholding God, and he loves him.

Do you love God? I wonder if we went round the streets of Redhill and Rygate today and asked that question, what would people say? And people might say they don't even think about God. But I wonder if a lot of people are afraid of God. This concept of someone greater, powerful, judge, holy, if that's what their understanding is of Him, of course. I'm afraid of God, I don't want to hear about God. I don't love him. I might try to placate him. I might try to make him happy. I might try to do things to make him want me or love me. I might try to please him. But do I love him? Am I motivated by fear or slavish obedience?

You see, the Christian is not motivated by fear. They love him. Oh, it's hard for me to describe and explain, but to the believer there is something remarkably attractive about the Godhead. Something remarkably beautiful about Jesus, in who he is. What do you see in Christ? What do you see in him? He loved Jesus because of who he is. Fourthly, He loved Jesus because he was his rock. He was his rock.

When he writes the epistles, Peter describes the Lord Jesus Christ as that chief cornerstone who is a lex and precious. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious. Unto you which be disobedient the stone which the builders disallow, the same is become the head of the corner, a stone of stumbling, a rock of offense, even unto them which stumble at the word being disobedient. He is precious, says Peter. And why is he precious? Because he's the chief cornerstone. because I am built on him, because I am resting, like the building is resting back on that cornerstone and is built up off that cornerstone, so Peter was resting on Jesus Christ. Peter the stone, remember his name? But he's on the chief cornerstone. He's on Christ. And he's resting there. That cornerstone is not going to move. That cornerstone is dependable and he will not move while he rests on that stone. He is my rock. Jesus Christ never failed Peter. Peter failed him. Peter denied him. Christ never failed Peter. He didn't leave him to sink. He didn't forsake him, though he denied him.

He's calling him back here at the Sea of Galilee. Oh, says Peter, when he looks back on all of this, I rest on the chief cornerstone. And as a result, I can say he is precious. He is vital. Without him, there would be no building, there would be no church. And without him, I would not be secure. He is my rock. Now notice that I love thee. Is he a rock? And if he is, has your rock ever failed? Has your rock ever moved?

You might say, well, I've had ups and downs in my life. I've had different experiences, naturally and spiritually. I've had low points and high points. I've had points where I have really doubted my faith. I have points when I've really questioned what I believe. And I've had points where I've wondered if God is really my God. I've been up and down, perhaps on a daily basis. Yes, you have. But has your rock ever moved? Has Christ ever changed? Has his word failed? Have his promises fallen through? You see, the cornerstone remains. And this rock is unmovable.

Oh, build your hopes, build your confidence on the precious rock. Lord Jesus Christ is building his church, he said. And the very gates of hell, the powers of hell will not prevail against the building of this church. Well, that's true in the gathering of all of his people. The whole church will be gathered in, not one of them will be lost, but it's true of each individual one. He will not let any stone be lost. You're resting on the rock of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, you're like the sea. And you're like the sea in all its waves and its movement and its uncertainty and it's churning around. But you see your religion isn't based on how you feel. Your hope for heaven isn't based on the feelings that you've got this morning. It isn't based on your ups and downs. It isn't based on your great or little faith. Your place in glory is solely and only on what Christ has done. on the rock, Jesus Christ. Peter said, I have been through some ups and downs, and he certainly had, but Jesus has remained. I love the Lord because he's precious, he's my rock. Fifth, I love the Lord because he has died for me. He has died for me.

Of course, he had literally died for Peter before this account. Not long before, he had been nailed to the cross at Calvary, where he had suffered for the sins of his people. And he had suffered for the sins of Peter. Those nails, as though they were driven into his hands and feet, yes, they held him to the cross, but love for Peter's soul held him there. as well as the souls of all of his church. He died for him.

He tells us that when he writes his epistle again in 1 Peter chapter one, you know you're not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ as a lamb without blemish and without spot. This is the way of redemption, Peter tells us. the precious blood of Christ. He is a lamb without blemish, the righteousness of Christ, the perfection of Christ. But he has shed his blood. Here is the way of redemption. Here is the price that's been paid. And Peter, as he preaches it to us in his epistle, is saying, that's my hope. That's what's precious to me. That's how I've been redeemed.

Christ has died. The just for the unjust. Jesus died for me. Even that sin of betraying and denying Christ, even those words of cursing and oaths, even that shame that he felt in his heart of Jesus when he said those words, those sins were laid on him. His unbelief, his fears, that was laid on him. And everything else was laid on him. And his blood was shed. And his blood is atoned. It has redeemed my soul. And those sins have been paid for.

And so Peter knows amazingly and wonderfully that when he stands before the throne of God on the great judgment day, the Lord will not look on Peter and say, ah, but Peter, what about your denial? Or Peter, what about your oaths? Or Peter, what about your unbelief or your fear or your hearts? God will not even remember those things, so to speak.

Because they've been dealt with. because the price has been paid, he's redeemed. And the Lord Jesus has taken those sins away. As God says, I have cast thy sins into the very depths of the sea. Peter, you're redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. Peter has come to realize that the cross at Calvary was not a failure and was not the end, but was victory and was redemption. And so Jesus says, do you love me? And Peter says, how can I not? Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. Do you love the Lord as the sin bearer this morning?

Where are your sins? Your sins are in one of two places this morning. They are credited to one of two accounts. They are either at your account, credited to you, and you must therefore give account for them and face the consequences for them. All your sins by God's grace are at Christ's account, where he pays and redeems and bears the price for his people instead. Where are your sins today? Do you trust by his grace in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ while Peter did? The precious blood of Christ. I love him because he died for me. Sixthly, he loved me Sorry, I love him because he has restored me. He's restored me.

Peter denied, but Jesus restored. Jesus met with him on the resurrection day, not far from the tomb. Jesus had already given the message to the disciples, go and tell my disciples and Peter, and now he is here at the side of the sea speaking to him. Oh what love and patience and long-suffering is found in the person of Jesus. And Peter is amazed, must be amazed, of that grace that's shown to him. He had fallen but he was raised up. In the words of Psalm 23, he restoreth my soul. He restoreth my soul. Ever merciful, ever gracious, ever ready to bless. Peter had sins to confess, but the Lord would restore him. You have sins to confess, don't you? You have daily sins to confess. However long you've been in the Christian pathway, you're not beyond your daily confession of your sins. Have you fallen? Have you stumbled? Have you been Peter-like? He is able to restore. Oh, this God of long-suffering and mercy. Remember that the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses from all sin. Do you love me, Lord? Do you love me, Peter? Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? O, I wonder in the heart of Peter, Lord, the very fact that I am sitting here eating this food with you shows your love to me.

Of course, of course thou knowest that I love thee. O, you may have backslidden, you may have fallen, but you are not beyond the restoring power of the Lord Jesus Christ and the greatness of his love. And then one final point, which wraps it all together. Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Lord, thou knowest that I love thee, and I love thee, because thou didst first love me. I love thee because thou didst first love me. And that was where Peter's confidence, where the unmovable rock was.

As he says in an epistle to the people of God, they are elect according to the foreknowledge of God, or they are loved with an everlasting love. Here is Peter's hope It's in Christ and his love to him. Peter's love was up and down. Peter's love had failed in the sense that it would not be seen in such a clear way, but Jesus' love never did. And so his call and the blessing he received and the grace and the forgiveness and the restoration all flowed from the heart of God's love to him. As Paul would say when he wrote to the Galatians, who loved me and gave himself for me. And so Peter, his love is simply a response to the love that Jesus has shown to him.

And so as he marvels at Jesus' love, the love that took him to the cross, and the love that called even Simon, he marvels and he stands in wonder that he who he beheld at the Mount of Transfiguration would die in agony at the cross in love. And he beholds all this and he says, Lord thou knowest, I love thee. I must, I cannot but love Christ.

Put your name in the question. Take out Simon and put your name in. Lovest thou me? And what's your answer? Do you know anything of these things this morning, any, some of these points. And can you say that there, despite everything else and despite all in your heart and all that sin which you struggle with and you have, do you say, yes, but deep down there, I love him.

That is a Christian. And that is what will take you to glory. Because if you love him, and one day your heart's desire and your longing will be satisfied, and you will be with him forever. Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Yea, Lord, and knowest that I love thee. May God bless his word to us this morning. Amen.

Thou knowest that I love thee

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about loving Jesus?

How do we know that Peter loved Jesus?

Why is love for Christ essential in the Christian life?

What role does Jesus’ grace play in our love for Him?

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Thou knowest that I love thee

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about loving Jesus?

How do we know that Peter loved Jesus?

Why is love for Christ essential in the Christian life?

What role does Jesus’ grace play in our love for Him?

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