1. John 21:15-22

2. Observations From John 21:15-22

3. John 21:15-22 He Doesn’t Assure Our Allegiance As seen in vv. 15-17 3 times Jesus asks Peter “Do you love Me?” The first time He adds “…more than these?” More than these other disciples cp. Mt 26:33 Many have also speculated these 3 questions are to offset Peter’s earlier 3 denials

4. John 21:15-22 He Doesn’t Assure Our Allegiance As seen in vv. 15-17 We also notice different words for “love” The first 2 times, Jesus asks Peter, “Do you agapao Me?” Peter’s reply both times was, “Yes Lord, You know I phileo You”

5. John 21:15-22 He Doesn’t Assure Our Allegiance As seen in vv. 15-17 We also notice different words for “love” The last time, Jesus asks Peter, “Do you phileo Me?” Peter had cherished affection, fondness Jesus questioned his sacrificial devotion

6. John 21:15-22 He Doesn’t Assure Our Allegiance As seen in vv. 15-17 Jesus’ 3rd question grieved Peter The Point? Peter needed to face his past failures so he could be prepared to serve His Lord in the coming kingdom loyally, dependably

7. John 21:15-22 He Doesn’t Assure Our Allegiance As seen in vv. 15-17 We also need to face our past failures to make sure we are loyal now and ready to serve Christ in His kingdom This type of “love” is the greatest Mt 22:37 “The Other Man” has no bearing on our loyalty

8. John 21:15-22 He Doesn’t Alter Our Future Service As seen in vv. 18-19 Peter will eventually show just how much he loves the Lord Jesus tells Peter what awaits him in the future Jesus speaks of the freedom he enjoys now Jesus predicts later restrictions…to death

9. John 21:15-22 He Doesn’t Alter Our Future Service As seen in vv. 18-19 Peter will eventually show just how much he loves the Lord Notice the desired effect of Peter’s death…it was to “glorify God” Imagine what Peter felt hearing these words

10. John 21:15-22 He Doesn’t Alter Our Future Service As seen in vv. 18-19 Future service awaits all who are Christ’s What others do, don’t do won’t alter what may come our way through God’s providence Whatever awaits us, we can “glorify God” in faithful service regardless of “The Other Man”

11. John 21:15-22 He Doesn’t Affect Our Obedience As seen in vv. 20-22 Peter’s question is based on… …the Lord’s questions to him re: love …the Lord’s prediction about his future Peter felt he needed to know what awaited “The Other Man” Ù John

12. John 21:15-22 He Doesn’t Affect Our Obedience As seen in vv. 20-22 Peter felt he needed to know what awaited “The Other Man” Ù John The Lord’s reply stops such “wonderings” What did John’s status & future have to do with Peter? v. 22

13. John 21:15-22 He Doesn’t Affect Our Obedience As seen in vv. 20-22 Peter felt he needed to know what awaited “The Other Man” Ù John Notice the Lord’s last words to Peter were the same as His first words cp. Mt 4:19 Others don’t affect our duties to the Lord

14. John 21:15-22 He Doesn’t Affect Our Obedience As seen in vv. 20-22 Whether due to envy or curiosity, Peter’s actions illustrate a prevalent fault we have When faced with our own obligations, we often want to discuss “The Other Man”

15. John 21:15-22 He Doesn’t Affect Our Obedience As seen in vv. 20-22 Whether due to envy or curiosity, Peter’s actions illustrate a prevalent fault we have Whatever the Lord has in store for “The Other Man” should never remove our focus from whether or not we are following faithfully

16. John 21:15-22 Some Concluding Comments… Yes, there will be times where we need to be concerned about “The Other Man” Gal 6:1 However, our “concern” is for his benefit, not to satisfy our curiosity or get the spotlight off of us because we have failed in some area of our service to the Lord

17. John 21:15-22 Some Concluding Comments… We must always look at self first before thinking about others 2 Cor 13:5 Whatever “The Other Man” does, fails to do has no bearing on our obligations to Christ True re: marriage 1 Cor 7:10-15 1 Pet 3:1-2 True re: secular employment issues Col 3:22-25 True re: discipleship to Christ Mt 10:34-39

18. John 21:15-22 Some Concluding Comments… Jesus has commissioned each of us to follow Him Whether “The Other Man” follows or not If we spent more time thinking about ourselves instead of “The Other Man,” imagine the good we could do for Christ

19. John 21:15-22