Costly Confessions

Jeremiah 23:1-6                      1 John 4:20-21                                John 21:15-19

Costly Confessions

On a Tuesday morning, on April 20, 1999, 17-year-old Cassie Bernall walked into Columbine High School, in Littleton, Colorado, a promising student. She was carried out later a Christian martyr. While she was reading her Bible in the Library, one of the shooters confronted her. “Do you believe in God?” he asked. Her reply was apparently loud enough for those hiding behind chairs and tables to hear clearly. “Yes,” she said, “I believe in God.” Before fatally shooting her, her murderer’s only comment was, “Why?”

But Cassie was not the only one that died for her faith that day. Rachel Scott was also gunned down after testifying to her belief in Jesus. Again, her testimony was offered without faltering. The deaths of these two young people echo the story of the persecuted church throughout the centuries, when a mere profession of faith could be a fatal statement. Rather than hide their faith or denounce the one who had given his life for theirs, these believers, like the Columbine martyrs, openly testified of their faith in Jesus and paid for their confession with their lives. 

Yet in stark contrast, the disciples deserted their Lord at the time of his arrest, one denied him and all the others doubted him because they were afraid that the Jewish authorities would hunt them down and murder them too. Sadly, they did not confess the good confession even for a period of time after the resurrection. And so, in this final appearance to his chosen instruments for global evangelism and disciple making, Jesus exposed the one thing that causes faint hearts and weak knees, namely a misplaced faith… faith that is centred on self or on something or someone other than our Lord. 

I do want to point out that this gracious confrontation between Jesus and his estranged disciple took place after they had shared a meal together. This intimate action clearly reveals the humble and loving nature of our Saviour. Although direct and persistent and piercing in his words, the painful process of correction and restoration was warm and gentle, not harsh or judgemental. Surely this is something we ought to strive to emulate when we confront others. In my experience, we usually tend to err in one of two ways. We either do not confront others, hoping that things will disappear or rectify themselves. Or we burst in with all guns blazing, proverbially speaking, of course. But the method of our master is to heal the bruised reed, not to snap it…to rekindle the smoking flax, not extinguish it.

There are so many things going on at the same time in this compact section of John’s Gospel, but I am going to walk us through only a few. 

The first thing to notice is that Jesus did not shun or shame Simon Peter. He welcomed him together with the other disciples. There was no singling out or preferential treatment of one or of other members of the group. If there was any awkwardness during the breakfast on the beach it was surely not from Jesus’ side. 

The second thing to notice is that Jesus used the “chazakah method”, the method we discussed last week, in reverse, cancelling the threefold negative denial of Peter with a threefold positive affirmation of Peter. “I don’t know Jesus” was replaced with “I am devoted to Jesus” three times and so the apparent permanence was undone, and Peter was reinstated, ready to receive his recommissioning.

The third thing to notice is a word often overlooked in Jesus’ first question. “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Now, the word “these” could refer to the fishes…in other words, do you love me more than you love your vocation or your livelihood…or it could refer, as I believe it does, to the other disciples. Why? Because if you recall in Mark’s Gospel, chapter 14, right after the Last Supper, Jesus said to his disciples, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” And then, do you remember what Peter said to him? “Even though they (the other disciples) all fall away, I will not.” And then when Jesus told him that he would deny him three times before the rooster crowed Simon Peter said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” Of course the rest all agreed, but I want to emphasise Peter’s own emphasis. “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” “I will not deny you.”

Now, in the light of what we just read, when we read Jesus’ question again, perhaps we can understand why that little overlooked word is there. “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” What Jesus was addressing in this first question was a self-reliant approach to faith. Peter was certain that he was better than the other disciples…that he was stronger than the other disciples…that he was more devoted to Jesus than the other disciples.  What was lacking in Peter was a humble reliance or dependence on Jesus. Which is why we ought to think twice before judging others or of shunning them because we think we alone have the corner on the truth. A little humility goes a long way when it comes to matters of faith. We may think we are better than others…we may think that we know better than others…we may think that we are more devoted to Jesus than others…until Jesus draws us aside and asks us, “Do you love me more than these?”

This question is important because only those who have truly come to terms with their own human frailty can feed the lambs of Jesus. The Pharisaic spirit that thanks God that we are not like others is not the spirit of Jesus. Peter had to come to the place where he could truly and humbly say, but for the grace of God, there go I, before he could be recommissioned to be the man Jesus wanted him to be.

The fourth thing to notice is where Jesus was headed with these questions. Jesus did not just want to restore Peter as a disciple, but his goal was to reinstate him so that he might recommission him. “Feed my lambs,” Jesus said. Tend and feed my sheep. In other words, be a shepherd of my sheep…lead my children, teach my children…but lead and teach from a position of humility, not pride. It is interesting to note that when Jesus addressed the church in Ephesus in the book of the Revelation, he commended them for their works, their toil, their patient endurance, and their doctrinal purity, but he had one thing against them, that they had abandoned the love they had had at first. 

This sounds very similar to what Jesus was asking Peter, don’t you think? Do you love me? Love covers a multitude of sins and love for God is often seen and expressed through loving people. So, while we ought to correct falsehood, especially in the church, and while we ought never, ever to turn a blind eye to sin, our method of correction must be done in humility and in love. 

Shepherds must tend the flock…they must nourish the sheep…they must lead them to still waters and cause them to lie down in green pastures. As I said before, love for Jesus is most clearly seen in our love for his people. Peter’s success as a shepherd depended on his love for the Good Shepherd. As John said later in his first epistle, “If anyone says, “I love God,” and (yet) hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” So it is the depth of love that determines the depth of ministry.

Now, we need to remember always that ultimately, we are all members of the same flock regardless of denominational emphasis or difference. If we attack each other…if we break each other down…if we speak ill of one another…if we shun or judge each other, are we not perhaps doing the same to Jesus…to the one who is Shepherd of us all? 

But note that Peter did not quite get this until after the third question. John tells us that when Jesus asked the same question the third time, Peter was grieved. Now, when God persistently presses his finger on an area in our lives that needs some attention, being grieved is not a negative thing. To the contrary…being grieved is undoubtedly the realisation that God sees beyond our bold or not so bold exterior. And so Peter was grieved as he realised his arrogance and his unfounded faith in himself…in his own limited knowledge and his own limited strength.

But note Peter’s reply after the third question: “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” This is a far cry from the Peter that rebuked Jesus because he thought he knew better…this is a far cry from the Peter that thought he was better than all the other disciples. 

And finally, there is a humility that ought to be the hallmark of every shepherd of God’s sheep. “Lord, you know everything…you know that despite myself…despite my fumbling and bumbling and stumbling stupidity…you know deep down inside that I love you and that I need you and that I am submitted to you. 

There is nothing better than a piece of soft, warm, pliable clay in the hand of the master potter. And it is at this point that Peter was to be recommissioned. Notice then his tenderness in his first epistle chapter 5:2-4 “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” 

If Jesus could do that with Peter, then there is still hope for me.

But notice that Peter is recommissioned precisely because he humbly admitted his insufficiency. This is so contrary to our way of thinking. We think a leader must know it all…be a superman to do the work of Lord. But all Jesus asked for here was love. “Do you love me.” If we love Jesus…truly love him…we will love the flock too and want only the best for them.

The best kind of shepherd is one who has come to terms with his finiteness…his frailty, fallibility, humanity, brokenness, and weakness. 

But this shepherding would cost Peter dearly. Right after recommissioning him, Jesus revealed to him that there would come a day when he would be taken and martyred for that love he had just declared. Peter, a man who had denied his Lord to save his life, would lose his life for loving his Lord and loving his fellow sheep. As Paul once told Timothy, “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”. 

And here is the final thing I want us to notice. There is no argument from Peter. He seems to have learned his lesson well and would not doubt his Lord’s words again. And it is at this point in his life that he was truly ready for true discipleship. Only at this point did Peter truly comprehend the cost of following Jesus, and he willingly accepted it. 

You see, true discipleship does not shy away from the cost involved in following Jesus. The rich young rule made that mistake and so have many believers down through the ages. Any inconvenience, no matter how slight, seems to be enough to send us scurrying back under our proverbial bushels. The martyr’s testimony is rarer than we care to acknowledge and, if we are honest, we would probably admit to being more like the pre-breakfast-on-the-beach Peter when threatened with the difficulties involved in truly following Jesus than the post-breakfast-on-the-beach Peter.

Cassie Bernall, Rachel Scott, and many others in so-called closed countries have died because they loved Jesus more than their own lives. They died because they were willing to confess their faith even when staring down the barrel of a gun, the point of a knife, or the knuckles of a fist. 

Of course Peter wasn’t perfect after this…remember he flagrantly ignored the Lord’s teaching on inclusion when faced with opposition from the Judaizers in Antioch. But the question I want us all to consider today is this: what is keeping us from loving Jesus more than our own lives? What is keeping us from witnessing to his Lordship over our lives? What is keeping us from loving others even as he loves us?

If Jesus were to ask you right now, “Do you love me?” would he have to ask you three times before he got the correct response?”

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2025