Sunday School Lesson
June 20
Lesson 3 (KJV)
HEALED BY FAITH
DEVOTIONAL READING: Proverbs 3: 1–8
BACKGROUND SCRIPTURE: Matthew 9: 18–26; Mark 5: 21–43; Luke 8: 40–56 MATTHEW 9: 18–26
18 While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.
19 And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples.
20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:
21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.
22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.
23 And when Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise,
24 He said unto them, Give place: for the mid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.
25 But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.
26 And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land.
KEY VERSE
Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.—Matthew 9: 22
CONFIDENT HOPE
Unit 1: Jesus Teaches About Faith
LESSONS 1–5
LESSON AIMS
After participating in this lesson, each learner will be able to:
1. Identify common elements of the two miracles of the lesson text.
2. Explain the significance of the two miracles of today’s text.
3. Distinguish circumstances when retelling of the two miracles would be appropriate or not in counseling contexts.
HOW TO SAY IT
Capernaum Kuh-per-nay-um.
Elijah Ee-lye-juh.
Galilee Gal-uh-lee.
Israel Iz-ray-el.
Jairus Jye-rus or Jay-ih-rus.
Moses Mo-zes or Mo-zez.
Sabbath Sah-bawth.
synagogue sin-uh-gog.
Introduction
A. Go to the Specialist
Have you ever had to see a specialist? You went to see your regular physician, and, for whatever reason, he or she sent you on to a specialist—someone better trained or with more experience for your situation. When the need is critical, you want the very best help.
Jesus is the ultimate specialist! He specializes in the critical needs of the body and of the soul. As people need to have confidence in a physician’s knowledge and skills to treat our needs, so our text challenges us to put our faith in Christ, even in (or especially in) the darkest hours. When others are not specialized enough to help, Jesus is!
B. Lesson Context
Today’s lesson takes place late in the second year of Jesus’ public ministry. He conducted much of the early part of His ministry around the Sea of Galilee. Specifically, much of the ministry was on the north end, in and around the village of Capernaum. Jesus’ popularity was very high (example: Luke 8: 4, 19). He taught about life and the kingdom of God in the rural areas and towns along the western side of the sea (example: Matthew 5–7). His teaching was pointed, His spirit magnetic. And having already healed so many people, His reputation had spread far and wide. (See Lesson Context: Sea of Galilee and Lesson Context: Miracles in lesson 2, pages 354–355.)
But public opinion had begun to polarize. People watched and listened to Jesus very closely, but for different reasons. Not everyone adored Him. Today’s text occurs in a section of Matthew that contrasts Jesus’ authority and power, as demonstrated in miracles, with the objections of religious leaders. Jesus raised their ire by forgiving sins (Matthew 9: 2–3), by associating with marginalized people (9: 11), and by violating certain traditions (9: 14).
Despite the objections of the powerful, Jesus brought God’s grace to bear for the blessing of God’s people. As Jesus dealt with the crowds, He never lost sight of the individual (example: Matthew 8: 1–3). Our text today witnesses to two examples in this regard. Both circumstances involve tragically common instances of human suffering.
The events considered below occurred after Jesus ended His response to a controversy over fasting. He was doing something fundamentally new in God’s plan, something that required people to lay aside the old (Matthew 9: 16–17). This was no time for mourning and fasting but instead for rejoicing because God’s promised redeemer had arrived (9: 15). The deeds that followed provided a glimpse of that newness in the kingdom of God. (Mark 5: 21–43 and Luke 8: 40–56 offer parallel accounts.)
I. A Grieving Family
(MATTHEW 9: 18–19)
A. A Father’s Request (v. 18)
18a. While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him.
The interjection behold draws the reader’s attention to what happens next (see Matthew 9: 20, below). The ruler who approached Jesus held a prominent position in the local Jewish community in that he oversaw the day-to-day operations of the synagogue. This man’s title suggests that he was respected and mature in his faith in God. Though Matthew did not name the ruler, Luke identified him as Jairus (Luke 8: 41).
The ruler worshipped Jesus in the posture of a supplicant approaching his king. Though the term can apply to the worship given to God (example: Matthew 4: 10), it can also simply indicate great respect for someone of honor or power (example: 2 Samuel 16: 4, same word in the Greek version of the Old Testament). Either way, it is a humble posture. The ruler might not have realized Jesus’ divine identity. But, like many others, he did recognize Jesus as a man of exceptional authority, and probably at least considered Him to be a great prophet (compare: Luke 7: 16; 9: 19).
What Do You Think?
What mental posture will you assume the next time you approach God in prayer regarding a need you have? Why?
Digging Deeper
What positive and negative elements of the account of Job help you answer this?
18b. Saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.
It must have wrenched the ruler’s heart to announce that his daughter was dead. Again, Luke gives more detail: she was 12 years old (Luke 8: 42). But the man did not ask Jesus to join him in mourning. Rather, this father made the statement of remarkable faith that we see here. He sought the reversal of his loss, the restoration of his daughter to life.
How did the man come to believe Jesus was capable of miracles, including raising the dead? Certainly he must have heard of Jesus’ healing miracles (Matthew 4: 23; 8: 16; etc.). Perhaps he had witnessed one. But to this point in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus had not raised someone from death. Still, the story of Elijah raising the widow’s son (1 Kings 17: 17–24) serves as precedent for a prophet’s being able to raise the dead. The ruler surely knew the account. The connection is strengthened by the fact that, when the crowds misidentified Christ, they sometimes believed Him to be Elijah (Matthew 16: 14). In any case, the father’s hope was that Jesus was able to bring the dead back to life.
PRAYER FOR HOPE
I entered the hospital room, ready to offer comfort to a mourning family. But I did not want to interrupt the voices quietly singing hymns in a language I did not know. An immigrant couple stood cradling their baby. The mother sang along with two friends who had come to support them. The father prayed over his infant daughter, who had died. He prayed for strength for his family and for the welcome of his daughter into the arms of God.
The depth of the parents’ grief was coupled with a hope and peace I’ve rarely sensed at the death of a child. Their friends’ support, the reassuring sound of the hymns, and, most importantly, the presence of God in the room reminded me that we can find hope in the midst of suffering. Even when God chooses not to provide healing on earth, His presence can bring peace and hope to the family left behind. Will you ask Jesus to journey with you in sorrow?—L. M. W.
B. Jesus’ Response (v. 19)
19. And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples.
Probably some of the ruler’s friends were certain that Jesus would not go with him. But the great physician, Jesus, makes house calls. And, as usual, his disciples followed.
II. A Story Interrupted
(MATTHEW 9: 20–22)
A. A Woman’s Need (vv. 20–21)
20. And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment.
This transition repeats behold (see Matthew 9: 18, above), alerting the reader that a new piece of narrative is interrupting. The second account, of an unnamed woman, begins here (see Lesson Context). This method of telling the two stories builds tension in the first, as we wait to see what will happen with the ruler and his daughter. It also invites the reader to feel the exasperation that the ruler and the disciples might feel at being stalled on their important errand. Will the girl live or not? We must read on to find out.
The woman’s issue of blood was what we would call hemorrhaging. This was probably from constant menstruation, a debilitating physical condition. The woman’s body would have needed to replace lost blood constantly for twelve years (the same amount of time the ruler’s daughter had been alive; see Luke 8: 42). All her energy would go to that vital need, leaving her weak and vulnerable to other sickness. Furthermore, she “had spent all that she had” going to physicians, who only made her condition worse (Mark 5: 26). There had not been any specialist in 12 years who could treat her properly.
This illness also made her life intolerable in being a social outcast. According to the Law of Moses, any flow of blood made a woman ceremonially unclean (Leviticus 15: 25). This law was meant to illustrate to the entire nation of Israel the need all people have for God’s repeated cleansing. But in application, it meant that the unclean woman could have no social contact with anyone except another woman who was currently menstruating. The clean became unclean by contact with the unclean (examples: Leviticus 15: 16–27). So for this woman, the Law of Moses was a curse (compare Galatians 3).
The hem of his garment may refer to one of the tassels that the Law of Moses specified for the garments of the Israelites (Numbers 15: 38; Deuteronomy 22: 12). Being ritually unclean, the woman could not approach Jesus directly. Thus she attempted to slip in unnoticed. Even so, she risked putting many into unknowing states of being unclean when they brushed against her in the crowd.
21. For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.
The woman did not give in to the despair. Though contact with the unclean normally contaminated the clean person (see commentary above), the woman believed that the reverse would happen. She, like the girl’s father, apparently believed that Jesus’ power, demonstrated in other miracles, could meet her need as well. Just the slightest touch would be enough for a great healing.
The word translated be whole is translated “be saved” in other contexts (examples: Matthew 10: 22; 19: 25). Though we usually think of saving and salvation in spiritual terms, the word could indicate physical healing (as in this text), political release (a typical reason for Roman emperors to refer to themselves as saviors), and other forms of liberation, depending on context.
Understanding the many uses of this word points us to the ways that Jesus intends to save us. Though we will have everlasting life with Him, we can also experience now the kinds of renewal that this woman desired. She wanted an end to her physical suffering; she wanted an end to her years of social ostracism. She needed help that wouldn’t cost her money she didn’t have.
We too can experience healing and community in Christ. Realizing that she had nowhere else to turn, the woman put her trust in the one whose power could make her well. In her weakness she reached out to Jesus, believing that a mere touch would be enough.
What Do You Think?
Which actions of the woman and/ or the ruler can and should you imitate in approaching Jesus to have your needs met?
Digging Deeper
How should passages such as Matthew 18: 6; Mark 10: 13–15; and John 1: 44–46 inform your task with regard to others who would approach Jesus?
B. Jesus’ Healing Answer (v. 22)
22. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.
Jesus possessed not only divine power to work miracles but divine knowledge as well. He recognized the touch, even though it was slight and He was in a crowd (compare Mark 5: 24, 30; Luke 8: 42, 45). He realized that this slight touch signified something of great significance.
This proves that the woman’s healing was not some kind of psychosomatic reaction. There was something more here than a woman having believed so strongly that she was going to be well that she actually willed herself to be well. That possibility could not be true because Jesus felt the power go “out of him” (Mark 5: 30). Her faith made the healing possible, but the healing power came from outside her.
Seeing the woman, Jesus addressed her with respect and kindness. Daughter, a term of endearment, also indicated her need for help and Jesus’ acting on her behalf like a good father (another tie to the story of the ruler, which has been paused). Jesus’ encouragement be of good comfort reassured the woman that she had done nothing wrong and had no reason to fear Jesus’ reaction. The other Gospels make clear that the woman was indeed afraid (Mark 5: 33; Luke 8: 47).
The account comes to its climax as Jesus says thy faith hath made thee whole. This is precisely what the woman hoped for (see Matthew 9: 21, above). The Law of Moses had separated the woman from society. But the one for whom that law prepared the faithful of Israel to expect had given her new life.
Some conclude from Jesus’ words that if a person needs God’s miraculous help and does not receive it, then that person does not have enough faith. This is not at all the meaning of Jesus’ statement. Jesus commends and celebrates the faithful who seek what He alone can give. When He says words such as “Your faith has made you well,” He also acts on their behalf. Effective faith believes that what God supplies will meet the real need regardless of whether or not a miracle is involved. Thus prayers are not necessarily answered on terms we expect. Even Jesus’ own prayer to the Father in Luke 22: 42 was not answered on the terms Jesus wanted. Yet He committed himself to the Father’s will, confident that the Father would be faithful. As important as the greatness of our faith is, the greatness of the Lord’s faithfulness is more so.
What Do You Think?
Without giving directive advice, how would you counsel someone who had been told by a “faith healer” that the person’s infirmity was not healed because of a lack of faith?
Digging Deeper
What Scripture passages will support your counseling?
III. A Child Resurrected
(MATTHEW 9: 23–26)
A. A Noisy House (vv. 23–24)
23a. And when Jesus came into the ruler’s house.
Having successfully resolved the issue of the woman’s bleeding, Jesus continued on His way to the ruler’s house (see Matthew 9: 18, above). Jesus had not forgotten the need there.
23b. And saw the minstrels and the people making a noise.
Mourning in ancient Israel was not quiet. Minstrels, likely paid to mourn, played their instruments. Family and neighbors would gather to show support by joining in. The people expressed sorrow with loud wailing and songs of lament (compare Matthew 11: 17; Luke 7: 32). The result was much noise in order to demonstrate just how loved the deceased person was.
24a. He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth.
Jesus’ telling the crowd of mourners to give place is a command to withdraw, as the word is also translated in Mark 3: 7. But here Jesus was not asking merely for quiet in order to concentrate. Rather, the fact that the maid is not dead, but sleepeth meant that there was (or shortly would be) no reason to continue mourning. By this statement Jesus was not implying that the girl was in a deep coma that had been mistaken for death. Nor did He mean that she actually was sleeping naturally. He meant that she would not remain dead. Later, Jesus would speak similarly at the death of Lazarus (John 11: 1–11), a declaration that the disciples misunderstood (11: 12–14; compare and contrast 1 Corinthians 15: 51; 1 Thessalonians 4: 13).
24b. And they laughed him to scorn.
Jesus’ remark seemed absurd to the mourners. They knew death when they saw it. All their own life experiences told them that there was no logical reasoning behind Jesus’ statement. Thus their laughter was one of derision (compare Psalm 44: 13). Unlike the girl’s father, these mourners held out no thought that Jesus could do anything to reverse the state of death.
B. Jesus’ Power and Fame (vv. 25–26)
25. But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.
Matthew described the miracle in terms that match Jesus’ declaration that the girl was asleep. Like a parent might take a sleeping child’s hand to awaken her, so Jesus woke the girl from death. Her resurrection came as a simple touch from Jesus, like the healing of the sick woman. Though most of the people were not with Jesus in the room (compare Mark 5: 40), they surely saw that the girl was alive again (see Matthew 9: 26, below).
What Do You Think?
What should you do, if anything, were you to discover that your class’s prayer list was overwhelmingly for physical healing, with few if any requests for spiritual healing?
Digging Deeper
In addition to Luke 11: 2–4; 22: 31–32; 1 Thessalonians 3: 10; Philemon 6; and James 5: 14–16, what texts would support your actions?
PRAYER FOR HEALING
Working as a chaplain, I received a page that a patient was experiencing an emergency. I arrived to find medical personnel scurrying into and out of the room, doing everything possible to save the teenage girl in their care. I stood with her mother, waiting as I listened to her explain her daughter’s complicated medical history.
This mother expressed hope that God would heal her daughter, even while knowing that the girl’s condition was very poor. I prayed for healing for the girl, who had suffered a great deal because of her illnesses over the years. A few months later, I learned that the daughter had improved so much that she was able to help other girls in similar situations! Her mother’s prayers had been answered. May you also persist in your prayers, even for years, and expect that the Lord hears you.—L. M. W.
26. And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land.
This great miracle, the results of which were seen by many, could not be kept quiet. The spread of this news surely contributed to the crowds that followed Jesus or came out to meet Him when He came near their areas.
Their numbers made it clear that the people needed more attention than Jesus alone could give them. So He sent His disciples out to declare the coming of the kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 9: 36–10: 8). That initial missionary commission was a prelude to the commission Jesus gave to His followers after His resurrection, a commission that we share today to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28: 18–20).
What Do You Think?
How can you turn your own most serious health problem into a ministry of support for others with the same issue?
Digging Deeper
Think in terms of either your own single-person ministry and a broader church ministry involving others to help you.
Conclusion
A. Abundance in the Midst of Suffering
Matthew introduced the interaction between Jesus and the synagogue but then interrupted it with a second encounter before returning to the first story to wrap it up; the parallel accounts in Mark 5: 21–43 and Luke 8: 40–56 do so as well. By this arrangement, we note related themes in the two accounts. The themes are that of (1) a 12-year-old girl who had not yet attained womanhood when she died and (2) a woman for whom womanhood has become the source of suffering for as many years as the girl had lived.
Perhaps you see in yourself characteristics of the people in these two accounts. Perhaps you are like a family member of the dead girl, mourning the loss of someone you love. Perhaps you are like the sick woman, suffering with a chronic condition that does not improve. Certainly we all know that grief and suffering will come for us, even if we presently enjoy a moment of calm.
The miraculous power of Jesus does not assure us that we will have no loss or pain. But our text tells us what we can do in the midst of suffering and loss: we can put our trust in the Lord. Our ultimate destiny is a life in which the Lord wipes away our tears (Isaiah 25: 8; Revelation 7: 17). Even if our pain lasts for years, the Lord will heal it when He raises us with all His people to live with Him forever (21: 4). Even when death separates us from those we love, even when we face that separation in our own death, the Lord will reunite His people when He returns (1 Corinthians 15: 51–57).
We sometimes refer to Jesus as “the great physician.” But He is more than a great medical doctor who knows how to treat and cure diseases. There is power and authority in Jesus, power that eradicates death. There is the power and authority in the resurrected life in Jesus—power and authority for life both now and in eternity.
B. Prayer
Almighty God, we cry out to You in our suffering and our grief. We long for the life that You have in store for us. As we do we recognize the abundance that we now possess through Jesus—even abundance unto eternal life. We thank You for this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
C. Thought to Remember
Jesus’ power and authority are greater than the worst of our circumstances.
KID’S CORNER
From Fear to Faith to Love
Sunday, June 17, 2021
John 21:9-19
John 21:9-19
(John 21:9) So when they got out on the land, they *saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread.
Jesus had not been out fishing for fish. Jesus fished for people; so, as the Lord of creation, Jesus worked a second miracle that morning in their presence. He created a fire and burning coals, then He created and cooked the fish on the fire where He also created and baked the bread “out of nothing.” As with all creation, Jesus spoke their breakfast into being. After fishing all night, Jesus knew His disciples were tired and hungry; so, even though He is the King of the universe, Jesus helped them meet some of their most basic needs. As the King of the universe, He became their cook and server. Jesus did for them what He wanted them to do as Apostles—He “fed and tended His lambs.” The disciples were truly friends of Jesus, and He was truly their Friend. In John 15:13-15, Jesus had told them, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. [NOTE: They knew Jesus had laid down His life for them.] You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.” As their Friend, Jesus helped them catch fish and then He fed them breakfast. Any other king would have expected these disciples to wait on him and fix him breakfast even though they had been awake all night working hard to catch fish. Jesus is not and did not act like a mere human king, master, or leader. In Luke 17:7-8, Jesus described how someone might act like if they were a king, “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink?’” Only God the King, only Jesus, would humble himself before His servants as Jesus served them.
(John 21:10) Jesus *said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have now caught.”
Jesus could have multiplied the fish and the bread that He created; just as He had multiplied the fish and loaves to feed the thousands who came to hear Him teach (see John 6:1-15). Whatever they did, Jesus wanted His disciples to obey Him and work with Him as friends work together. The fish they had caught were important to Jesus and to them, and they had worked together to catch them as Jesus would always work with them forever. Jesus gave them a valuable practical and spiritual lesson. Remember, in John 6:12, after feeding five thousand people, Jesus commanded His disciples, “When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, ‘Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.’” Jesus did not want them to waste what they had caught, for the fish would be valuable to sell and feed their families after He left. Nor did He want them to expect Him to feed them without working as He commanded. Jesus taught them by word and example. Later, in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, Paul reminded Christians, “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.’”
(John 21:11) Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.
Though Peter had left His fellow fishermen to drag in the fish alone, he immediately obeyed the Lord Jesus before anyone else and hauled the net ashore. Jesus gave Peter the strength he needed to do this alone, for John does not say anyone helped him. As fishermen, they noted the number of large fish that they caught and marveled that with so many their net was not torn. On this morning, Peter demonstrated his desire to be with Jesus as soon and as often as possible and to obey Jesus as quickly as possible. He became an example for all who will believe in and follow Jesus.
(John 21:12) Jesus *said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples ventured to question Him, “Who are You?” knowing that it was the Lord.
Jesus knew about their labors of that night and early morning, and He was concerned about their physical and spiritual needs. If His disciples were famished from hard work, they would not be able to concentrate on what He needed to teach them during their meal and after they ate. Throughout His ministry, Jesus showed concern for the whole person, mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, and He did so here. Jesus is still concerned about all the needs of all His followers, and He meets them as He wisely can. In the early morning hours, the disciples knew by the way Jesus spoke and acted that Jesus was alive from the dead and speaking to them once again. As Jesus taught in John 10:27, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” They knew He was the Lord because they knew His voice and only Jesus would cook them breakfast.
(John 21:13) Jesus *came and *took the bread and *gave it to them, and the fish likewise.
Since Jesus was not a ghost, Jesus could personally and physically serve them by taking the bread and the fish and handing them their breakfast, even as He broke bread and shared wine with them at the Last Supper when He established the New Covenant in His blood instead of the blood of goats or sheep. Remember: as King of kings, Jesus could have asked them to serve Him, that is the way of the world, but Jesus came as a servant and to give His life as a ransom for many. Earlier, Jesus had explained His relationship with them and how they should treat one another. In Matthew 20:25-28, we read: “Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’”
(John 21:14) This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead.
The Gospel of John records three resurrection appearances of Jesus to His disciples. Before He appeared to His disciples, He appeared to Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18). On the evening of the first day of the week (on Resurrection Sunday), Jesus appeared to His disciples, but Thomas was not present (John 20:19-25). A week later (on Sunday), they were in the house again, when Thomas was present, and Jesus appeared to them again (John 20:26-29). Perhaps during these two appearances Jesus personally told them to go to Galilee. Jesus’ third appearance to them was in Galilee and likewise totally unexpected and perhaps on a Sunday (not the Jewish Sabbath when they would not have worked). Perhaps they began fishing in the evening after the Sabbath ended; if so, Jesus appeared to them on a Sunday morning. These three appearances to His disciples seemed the most important three for John to report. Indeed, John wrote: “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30-31).
(John 21:15) So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus *said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He *said to him, “Tend My lambs.”
In John 14:21, Jesus taught what true love for Him meant, saying, “They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” Just as He promised, Jesus showed himself to the ones who loved Him. In 1 John 2:5-6, John wrote, “Whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him: whoever says, ‘I abide in him,’ ought to walk just as he walked.” The way with walk with Jesus as our Friend shows Him and others our love for Him and them.
After their breakfast, Jesus addressed Simon Peter using his official Apostolic name (Jesus had earlier given him the name “Peter”), which indicated the seriousness of their conversation (much as our full name would be used in a court of law). Jesus’ three questions related to Peter’s denial of Jesus three times after Jesus was arrested and put on trial. Jesus’ formal questions before the gathered disciples (or at least in the presence of John) began the process of Jesus’ restoration of Peter as an Apostle of Jesus Christ, for Peter answered in the affirmative three times and then Jesus commissioned Peter to serve Him by telling Peter three times to feed and care for His sheep (His people). “These” may refer to Peter’s occupation as a fisherman: Did Peter love fishing with his partners and making his living as a fisherman with these men more than he loved Jesus and serving Jesus? Peter answered that he loved Jesus more than anyone, anything, and doing anything else. Thereafter, Peter began fishing for people as Jesus told Him.
(John 21:16) He *said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He *said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.”
Three times Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him, and three times Peter answered that he loved Him. In these verses, Jesus and Peter used two different Greek words for the word “love.” The one Greek word for love (agape: agapaō) that Jesus used in His first two questions expressed a greater, deeper, self-giving, and sacrificial love than the other word for love (philia: phileō) which indicated a friendship type of love that Jesus used the last time He asked Peter if he loved Him. Peter used the word (philia: phileō) each time he answered Jesus. Agape love may show total commitment because agape love involves the person’s heart, mind, soul, and strength, and agape love is willing to sacrifice for another. God the Father and Jesus love us with the agape sacrificial love that Jesus expressed when He came, taught, and died on the cross. Philia has been defined by some as a lower type of love, a friendship type of love. Some have argued there is no real difference in the use of these two words, and volumes have been written about the different Greek words for love. Jesus accepted the type of friendship love that Peter offered Him. And Jesus knew Peter’s love for Him would grow. Though Peter had denied Him three times, Jesus offered Peter friendship love. Jesus knew that Peter would someday express his agape of love for Jesus and His sheep by the way Peter would die.
(John 21:17) He *said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus *said to him, “Tend My sheep.
The third time Jesus asked Peter His question about loving Him, Jesus used the word philia for love and Peter answered Jesus with the word philia for love. God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit love us with both agape and philia love, which is love in both the highest sacrificial total sense and love in the friendship sense. Peter only used the word philia every time he answered Jesus’ questions, perhaps because he knew he did not love Jesus in the highest sense possible. There is much room for discussion of these verses. We can say with certainty that as believers in and followers of Jesus Christ, Jesus expects us to love Him and make Him our closest Friend, just as He loves us and is our Friend. Also, we are to love Him in the highest sense as He loved and loves us in the highest, sacrificial sense of love. We love God because God is worthy to be loved and because God first loved us.
Regarding Jesus’ use of different words for “lambs” and “sheep.” At the least Peter and all of Jesus’ followers are to love Jesus’ people (His lambs and sheep) irrespective of their age and other natural abilities and qualities. Regarding Jesus’ use of the different words “tend” and “feed,” at the least these words mean Peter and all of Jesus’ followers are to try to meet the real needs of Jesus’ people as wisely as they can with Jesus’ guidance and the resources that the Lord Jesus supplies for these needs.
(John 21:18) “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.”
After Jesus restored Peter to his apostleship, He told Peter how he would die. From that day forward, Peter would remain loyal in his commitment to care for Jesus’ people, and he would die as a faithful martyr in the cause of his Lord and Savior. When Peter died by crucifixion, tradition says that he requested to be crucified upside down because he knew he was unworthy to die on the cross as Jesus had died on the cross.
(John 21:19) Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He *said to him, “Follow Me!”
Jesus glorified His Father when He obeyed His Father and died on the cross to save His people from their sins and grant them eternal life. Peter glorified his heavenly Father and Jesus Christ when he died on the cross as a follower, obedient friend, and loyal servant of Jesus Christ. No matter what happened to Peter day-to-day or how he was to die, the important thing for him and all Jesus’ followers is faithfully following Jesus day-by-day and leaving the consequences with Jesus, the Giver of Eternal Life.
From Fear to Faith to Love
Sunday, June 17, 2021
John 21:9-19
Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord (John 21:12—KJV).
Jesus *said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples ventured to question Him, “Who are You?” knowing that it was the Lord (John 21:12—NASB).
Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ because they knew it was the Lord (John 21:12—NRSV).
After Jesus’ resurrection, the first two times He appeared to His disciples they were hiding in a room behind locked doors, and He frightened or surprised them. The final time John recorded Jesus’ appearance may surprise us. Before Jesus called His first disciples, He helped them catch fish. He had just finished speaking to the crowds from their boat, and He “paid” them by telling them where to fish. After they obeyed Him and let down their nets, they began bringing in so many fish that their nets began to break. Then, Peter exclaimed, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8). Instead, Jesus called Peter, James, and John to follow Him. After Jesus had taught His disciples for three years and had risen from the dead, Jesus could still help His disciples catch fish and keep their net from breaking. This time, after Jesus told them from the shore where to fish and John said, “It is the Lord,” Peter jumped out of the boat and waded one hundred yards to shore to be with Jesus. He knew the depths of the love and forgiveness of Jesus. Beginning with nothing, Jesus could create a charcoal fire, cook fish, bake bread, and serve breakfast to His disciples. As the Word made flesh and risen from the dead, Jesus could still make anything by simply speaking the word. In John 10:27, Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me,” and that is why the disciples did not need to ask, “Who are you?”
Thinking Further
From Fear to Faith to Love
Sunday, June 17, 2021
John 21:9-19
Name _____________________________
1. How many times did Jesus appear to His disciples?
2. What fish did Jesus use to feed His disciples?
3. What do these verses tell us about Christians who sin being
given another opportunity to serve Jesus?
4. What did Jesus ask of Peter before He restored him as an
apostle?
5. What type of love has Jesus shown for His people (His
sheep)
Discussion and Thinking Further
1. How many times did Jesus appear to His disciples?
We do not know h0w many times Jesus appeared to His disciples over the forty days of His appearing. The Gospel of John records three of the times Jesus appeared to His disciples. John said that it was the third appearance of Jesus that he was recording in his gospel.
2. What fish did Jesus use to feed His disciples?
Before they came ashore, Jesus had fish on a fire that He had created “out of nothing;” then, the fish that He told the disciples to bring to Him. He also gave them bread that He had not baked, but had created “out of nothing,” but His own creative word that created the world.
3. What do these verses tell us about Christians who sin being given another opportunity to serve Jesus?
Christians who sin can be given another opportunity to serve Jesus on Jesus’ terms, but perhaps in a different way than previously. Peter and Paul had both sinned grievously before Jesus called them to be Apostles.
4. What did Jesus ask of Peter before He restored him as an apostle?
He asked Peter to love Him. One type of love required Peter to love Jesus as his Friend. The other type of love is a higher type of love, a loving of Jesus with all one’s heart, mind, soul and strength, a love that is willing to sacrifice oneself in obedience to Jesus Christ as our God, Lord, and Savior to care for and meet the real needs of Jesus’ people (His sheep) as Jesus leads and provides.
5. What type of love has Jesus shown for His people (His sheep)?
Jesus has shown a sacrificial love for His sheep by teaching them the truth in the most difficult of circumstances, by suffering, dying, being buried and rising again to save sinners from their sins and grant them eternal life if they believe in Him as their Lord and Savior.
Word Search
From Fear to Faith to Love
Sunday, June 20, 2021
John 21:9-19
W T C H A R C O A L O S N B E
O E K L P U K B K C X B D Q S
N D R A O B A J R Y S M A M U
R T F U Q P E I W I W A E V J
E S E G Z K H A H F N L R M L
K X E M B T E N V Y I G B W B
H I D R K R Y H U R J R N H R
L Z V S U S E J D C O D E D V
Y O A D Z X M A A U E P E G E
E G V M V A L U K L O R Z Q B
A S T E X S G V U F D Y T R U
G B O K I H I A L N A B Z F B
S Y N W T O H X U D I S W A M
O A B E M R F H I E V P T H E
X C I T V E B R Z H S I F U D
Ashore
Charcoal
Fire
Fish
Bread
Bring
Caught
Aboard
Hauled
Net
Hundred
Breakfast
Feed
Lambs
Love
True and False Test
From Fear to Faith to Love
Sunday, June 17, 2021
John 21:9-19
Name _______________________________
Circle the True or False answers. Correct the False statements by restating them.
1. Jesus spent the early morning hours baking bread for His disciples, but He needed them to catch some fish for their breakfast. True or False
2. The night Peter denied Jesus, he warmed himself on a charcoal fire, and the morning Peter saw Jesus, he saw his breakfast cooking on a charcoal fire. True or False
3. Peter and the disciple Jesus loved hauled 153 fish ashore. True or False
4. Because the disciples recognized Jesus, they did not need to ask, “Who are you?”. True or False
5. When Jesus yelled, “Come and get it!” all the disciples rushed at once for their breakfast because they were hungry. True or False
6. When Jesus asked Simon Peter if he loved Him, Peter answered, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” True or False
7. After Peter had denied Jesus three times during His trial, after breakfast Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him. True or False
8. Peter felt hurt after Jesus asked him a third time if he loved Him, and he told Jesus that He was hurting his feelings. True or False
9. Jesus told Peter to feed and tend His sheep and lambs. True or False
10. After Jesus told Peter the kind of death by which he would glorify God, Jesus said to him, ‘Follow me.’” True or False
True and False Test Answers
- False
- True
- False
- True
- False
- True
- True
- False
- True
- True
Prayer
Almighty God, we cry out to You in our suffering and our grief. We long for the life that You have in store for us. As we do we recognize the abundance that we now possess through Jesus—even abundance unto eternal life. We thank You for this in Jesus’ name. Amen.