THE KING'S BUSINESS
973
Jesus is jealous for our love; He yearns for our love-our personal love. Nothing less than that will satisfy Him. Mere devotion to His cause will not satisfy. The question is "Do you Jove Me?" "If you love Me, keep my commandments, not from !ear, but from love." Our love is demonstrated-proven– by our service. "If you love Me, feed my lambs." (Mark 9: 36, 37) "Antl he took a child und set hhn in the midst of the111; urul ·when he hnd taken khu in his ur1ns, he snit! unto then1: 'Vhosoever shall receive one of such ehildren in n1y nan1e, receiveth n1e; und whosoever ltihall receh·e nte, recehreth not a1e, but hhn thnt sent 1ne." (Mark 10:15, 16) "Verily, I s:ty unto you, \Vhosoever 11bull not receive the king·tlont of God as a littlt" child, he shnll not enter therein. A1ul he took then1 nu in his nrn1s, put Ills hands UllOll theni, and blessed the1n." (Cf. 1 Peter 2: 25) Peter has learned humility through failure. He has learned that "actions speak louder than words." Again, Jesus puts the question to l'eter, "Lovest thou me?" And again Peter replies, "Yea, Lord , thou knowst that I Jove thee." Christ is probing the heart of Peter !or his own good. Peter had denied Him. At the supper he had said, "Though all deny thee, yet will not I." H.is impulses were good, but good im– pulses are not necessarily founded on faith and often self-confidence is the ground of failure. When we trust our own impulses, or our own strength, or our love, we will fail. Christ is our hope. When we are conscious of our own weakness we lean hard on His arms which are always underneath, and are strong. When we trust our own strength, then we are weak. Do not trust to impulse. Wait for conviction. Christ is getting close to the heart of Peter and tenderly, yet lovingly, is helping him to see himself as he is, and preparing him for the task to be com– lllitted to him.
The third time the Lord thrusts the knife into Peter's heart, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?" The word "love" used by the Lord the first time meant unselfish, lofty. devotion,-Dl– vine love. Peter had replied, "Thou knowest that I love thee," using a ·word which meant tender affection such as that of a mother for a child, and this is the term used by the Lord when He puts the question to him the third time, "Dost thou love me dearly?" Jesus knew Peter's heart. He de– sired to fortify him against repeated failure ; to reinstate him among his brethren, and to show him that only In love could he render true service. There are two great functions for a saved soul: Catching fish-feeding sheep. The believer is to be, first, a fisherman. This is his relation to the world (Luke 5:10) "An'l Jesus said unto Shnon, .Fear not; fro1n hencefortlt thou shult catch ni.en." The believer is to be also a shepherd to the flock (1 Pet. 5: 2) "Feed the flock of Go(] 'vbich is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but ·willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready 1nind." (Acts 20: 28) "Take heetl therefore unto yourselves, an•1 to all the flock, over the 'vhich the Holy Ghost hath 1nade you overseers, to feed the church of God, '\oVl1ich he hath I)Ur<~hased 'vith his o'vn blood.' ( 2) PREDICTING AND COMMEND– . ING, vs. 18-25, "This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God." v. 19. The Lord now informs Peter con– cerning his future and predicts the character of his death, prefacing His statement with "verily, verily," mark– ing it as most important. It was a warning note to Peter: "You said you '-vere 'villing to die for iue. ~T o'v you . shall die for ni.e." Peter was to have a shepherd's life of hardship and die a martyr's death that he might glorify his Lord, and he lived always in the consciousness of that fact ( 2 Peter 1: 14)
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