Pastor Adam Gomez
Sunday, August 30, 2026
Scripture: John 21:12-25
John 21:12
Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?”—knowing that it was the Lord.
It is apparent that Jesus looked different in His resurrected body than He had in the body they had known prior to His death. The Apostle Paul gives us a glimpse of what our resurrected bodies will be like in eternity. The Apostle Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 15:39–44, “All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.”
John 21:13-15
13 Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish.
14 This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.
15 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”
“These” probably refers to the fish. Jesus was most-likely referencing the measurable success of his previous career and industry. The Lord was asking Peter to completely walk away from everything stable in his life that he ever knew and follow Him: “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).
Jesus asks, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you [agapaō] Me more than these?” The Greek verb “agapaō” comes from the Greek word “agapē.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 gives the attributes and actions of true love: “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” This is the kind of love Jesus demonstrated while on the earth, “…having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (John 13:1). This is the kind of love we are to demonstrate towards each other: “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet, for I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you” (John 13:14-15).
Peter answers, “Yes, Lord; You know that I [phileō] You.” “Phileō” is the Greek word for love that means to have a warm, tender affection, to be fond of someone, or to love like a close friend—brotherly love with a high regard to loyalty. Peter is answering the Lord through the lens of his failures, the lens of his unworthiness, the lens of his abilities or inabilities in this case.
Jesus says to Peter, “Feed My lambs.” ”Feed” is “boskō” in Greek. The Greek verb “boskō” is primarily used to describe what a herdsman does to provide food for the sheep.
John 21:16
He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”
Jesus asks again, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you [agapaō] Me?” Peter again answers, “Yes, Lord; You know that I [phileō] You.” Jesus says to Peter, “Tend My sheep.” ”Tend” is “poimainō” in Greek. The Greek verb “poimainō” means “to act as a shepherd” or “spiritual leader.” It is descriptive of a person who acts as spiritual shepherd under Jesus, in the spiritual care of God's children. The "feeding" of the flock is from the Word of God and is the constant and regular job of the shepherd. The tending (which includes this) consists of other acts, of discipline, authority, restoration, material assistance of individuals, but they are incidental in comparison with the "feeding."
John 21:17
He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, 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, “Feed My sheep.”
Jesus asks a third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you [phileō] Me?” Jesus uses the word that Peter has been answering Him with: phileō. Peter answers with grief, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I [phileō] You.” Peter is saying, “Lord, You know that my actions do not support the answer that you are looking for.” Guilt and shame will rob you of the depth of love that you are able to have for Jesus. Peter is declaring to Jesus, “Lord, I obviously do not [agapaō] You in the way that You deserve to be loved, but I DO love You like a brother!”
You may be feeling like Peter this morning: “I have wandered off the path,” “I have lost my way,” “I have been distracted,” or “I have even denied ever knowing Him.” Jesus will meet you at your level of love for Him, but you must grow your love for Him and maintain it! The Lord ultimately desires to elevate you to a perfect love relationship with Him. Our love for the Lord must be maintained. Jesus informed the church in Ephesus, “I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (Revelation 2:4). He instructs them to realize how far they have fallen, turn back to the Lord, and do the works done at first.
We might expect for the Lord to disqualify Peter, but, instead, He restores him. In verse 15, 16, and 17, Jesus commands Peter to “feed and tend My sheep.” God had ordained Peter for a job only he could do, but he must learn to love Jesus more than anything he’s ever loved in his life! God has ordained YOU for a job only you can do, but you, also, must love Jesus more than anything you’ve ever loved in your life!
John 21:18-19
18 “Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.”
19 This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”
Even in his death, Peter will glorify God.
John 21:20-21
20 Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?”
21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”
We are always concerned about what the Lord might be doing in someone else’s life.
John 21:22-25
22 Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”
23 Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?”
24 This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.
25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.
Sunday, August 30, 2026
Scripture: John 21:12-25
John 21:12
Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?”—knowing that it was the Lord.
It is apparent that Jesus looked different in His resurrected body than He had in the body they had known prior to His death. The Apostle Paul gives us a glimpse of what our resurrected bodies will be like in eternity. The Apostle Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 15:39–44, “All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.”
John 21:13-15
13 Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish.
14 This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.
15 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”
“These” probably refers to the fish. Jesus was most-likely referencing the measurable success of his previous career and industry. The Lord was asking Peter to completely walk away from everything stable in his life that he ever knew and follow Him: “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).
Jesus asks, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you [agapaō] Me more than these?” The Greek verb “agapaō” comes from the Greek word “agapē.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 gives the attributes and actions of true love: “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” This is the kind of love Jesus demonstrated while on the earth, “…having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (John 13:1). This is the kind of love we are to demonstrate towards each other: “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet, for I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you” (John 13:14-15).
Peter answers, “Yes, Lord; You know that I [phileō] You.” “Phileō” is the Greek word for love that means to have a warm, tender affection, to be fond of someone, or to love like a close friend—brotherly love with a high regard to loyalty. Peter is answering the Lord through the lens of his failures, the lens of his unworthiness, the lens of his abilities or inabilities in this case.
Jesus says to Peter, “Feed My lambs.” ”Feed” is “boskō” in Greek. The Greek verb “boskō” is primarily used to describe what a herdsman does to provide food for the sheep.
John 21:16
He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”
Jesus asks again, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you [agapaō] Me?” Peter again answers, “Yes, Lord; You know that I [phileō] You.” Jesus says to Peter, “Tend My sheep.” ”Tend” is “poimainō” in Greek. The Greek verb “poimainō” means “to act as a shepherd” or “spiritual leader.” It is descriptive of a person who acts as spiritual shepherd under Jesus, in the spiritual care of God's children. The "feeding" of the flock is from the Word of God and is the constant and regular job of the shepherd. The tending (which includes this) consists of other acts, of discipline, authority, restoration, material assistance of individuals, but they are incidental in comparison with the "feeding."
John 21:17
He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, 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, “Feed My sheep.”
Jesus asks a third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you [phileō] Me?” Jesus uses the word that Peter has been answering Him with: phileō. Peter answers with grief, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I [phileō] You.” Peter is saying, “Lord, You know that my actions do not support the answer that you are looking for.” Guilt and shame will rob you of the depth of love that you are able to have for Jesus. Peter is declaring to Jesus, “Lord, I obviously do not [agapaō] You in the way that You deserve to be loved, but I DO love You like a brother!”
You may be feeling like Peter this morning: “I have wandered off the path,” “I have lost my way,” “I have been distracted,” or “I have even denied ever knowing Him.” Jesus will meet you at your level of love for Him, but you must grow your love for Him and maintain it! The Lord ultimately desires to elevate you to a perfect love relationship with Him. Our love for the Lord must be maintained. Jesus informed the church in Ephesus, “I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (Revelation 2:4). He instructs them to realize how far they have fallen, turn back to the Lord, and do the works done at first.
We might expect for the Lord to disqualify Peter, but, instead, He restores him. In verse 15, 16, and 17, Jesus commands Peter to “feed and tend My sheep.” God had ordained Peter for a job only he could do, but he must learn to love Jesus more than anything he’s ever loved in his life! God has ordained YOU for a job only you can do, but you, also, must love Jesus more than anything you’ve ever loved in your life!
John 21:18-19
18 “Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.”
19 This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”
Even in his death, Peter will glorify God.
John 21:20-21
20 Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?”
21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”
We are always concerned about what the Lord might be doing in someone else’s life.
John 21:22-25
22 Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”
23 Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?”
24 This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.
25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.
Crossroads Church of Denver
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