Chapter 16: THE RENEWED COMMISSION
Chapter 16: THE RENEWED COMMISSION
John xxi
"And man's forgiveness may be true and sweet, —
But yet he stoops to give it. More complete
Is Love that lays Forgiveness at thy feet,
And pleads with thee to raise it I Only Heaven
Means crowned, not vanquished, when it says 'Forgiven!'"
— A. Procter.
IT IS ALMOST certain that the final chapter of John's Gospel — which has been described as a postscript — was appended by the beloved Apostle as a tribute to the memory of his friend, who, according to universal tradition, had sealed his long and glorious ministry by martyrdom — the martyrdom of the Cross. In noble loyalty to Peter's memory, he desired to show how, notwithstanding the three-fold denial, the Lord had Himself replaced the keys in his hand and returned his sword. The Primitive Church had already recognized him as one of its pillars; but the story of his actual rehabilitation had not been placed on the canvas of history. Accordingly, beneath the inspiration of the Divine Remembrancer, the Apostle-Evangelist set himself to paint his inimitable scene, the exquisite naturalness and beauty of which attest its authenticity.
Is there one of us who has not been entangled in some word and act which, if taken by itself, might have been interpreted as debarring us from future service in the Flock of Christ? But we knew in our deepest soul that such an interpretation would have been absolutely erroneous and unjust, since we were conscious that the failure was an exception, not the rule; an eddy or cross-current on the surface, not the main drift of the stream. Of course, there are sudden outbursts of evil which reveal an inward rottenness of long duration, as the fall of a forest-tree may result from the prolonged activity of the borer-worm at its heart. We must not forget to make that admission; but it is also true that under strong and sudden pressure a man may be betrayed into acts and words which belie his true self, as Peter's oaths, in the hall of Annas, belied his faithful attachment to the person of his Lord.
All things are naked and open to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Jesus knew that the Peter of the denial was not the real Peter, and since his future leadership depended on the concurrence of his brethren, He skilfully contrived to bring about a revelation of Peter's innermost soul, that the effect of his denial might be neutralized, and that unquestionable proof might be afforded of his possession of the qualities required for the leadership of the Church. The great Architect of the Church knew the qualities of the man who was to be the Master-Builder, and took care to provide the platform on which their possession by Peter would be displayed. The unanimity with which his leadership was agreed to proves the infinite wisdom which inspired the Lord's action when they met for the last time on the shores of the Lake of Galilee.
I. The Scene. — In obedience to their instructions, the Apostles returned to Galilee and to the Lake, every headland and inlet of which was fragrant with hallowed associations. Here He wrought that miracle! Yonder He was sitting when He spoke those words! Their circumstances, however, were entirely different.
The funds, which our Lord shared with them, were no longer forthcoming; and as the time of their next interview was unknown, and a long interval might elapse before they received further instructions, they were prepared to adopt Peter's proposal to resume their former craft. Simon Peter said, "I go a-fishing." They immediately agreed with his suggestion, and replied, "We also come with thee."
The evening breeze was fragrant with the myriad flowers of spring. Meadows and mountain-pastures were aglow with colour. The Lake lay dimpling in the warm sunset. Boats and nets were to hand; and with the eager alacrity with which men will respond to the call of an old-time but long-discarded habit, seven of them pushed off from shore in one of the larger fishing boats, a smaller one being attached to the stern, and made off for the familiar fishing-grounds. Darkness stole down the mountains, the lights died out along the shore, heaven's vault revealed its starry galaxies, the silence of the night was broken only by the letting-out and drawing-in of the nets, or the occasional stroke of the oar; but when the grey morning began to break — they had taken nothing.
The disappointment was hard to bear. But those who have had experience of God's dealings are well aware that one door is shut that another may be opened, and that our programme is arrested in a certain direction because God has provided something wiser and better. Had the fishers been successful that night, it would have been much more difficult to win them back to a life of dependence on their Master's personal care. He wished them to understand that their livelihood was to be obtained, not by plying their fishing-craft, but by fires that He would light and meals that His own hands would prepare. The lesson is for us all. If our days are filled with consecrated service, we may go to our beds and sleep in peace. "It is vain to rise up early, and so late take rest, for so He giveth to His beloved in sleep."
They failed to recognize the Figure standing on the white, sandy shore, enwrapped in the golden shimmer of the morning mist. Surely He was some early fish-dealer; and the two inquiries addressed to them across the quiet water failed to dissipate their mistake. That fishermen, returning from a night of toil, should be asked if they had fish to sell, or that directions should be given for catching a shoal by one standing on the shore, were familiar incidents. But John, with the unerring instinct of love, discerned the presence of the Lord, and in a whisper passed his glad discovery to Peter. None of the others could, for the moment, have understood why he suddenly caught up and wrapped around his person the outer coat, which he had cast aside to expedite his labours, and plunged into the water, regardless of the morning chill. Those swift strokes, however, gave him a brief additional opportunity of lonely personal intercourse with Jesus, in which to renew the ecstasy of the garden interview.
We may not linger on the tender, almost womanly, thoughtfulness which had kindled a fire, at which exhausted fishermen might chafe their limbs and dry their clothes, and which had prepared the bread and fish. Nor may we dwell on the frugality of the miraculous, which bade them bring of the fish that they had caught. It is enough if we learn from the entire incident that, from our Lord's Resurrection and onwards, the seine-net of the Gospel must be cast into the multitudinous waters of the human world, that the Master's presence and direction are absolutely essential to success, that the fisher's needs for comfort and subsistence would never be forgotten, and that when the Master and they have wrought together in obtaining the harvest of the sea, He will welcome them as they near the heavenly shore in the daybreak, and will feast with them and they with Him. None of them will then ask. Who art Thou? for they shall know it is the Lord, and there shall be no misunderstanding or division, for the sea and morning mists will be no more, and the former things will have passed away.
The outstanding qualifications for religious leadership are three: Passionate Devotion to Christ, Unfeigned Humility, and Indomitable Courage. In each of these Peter had been proved deficient by the incidents of the Betrayal-night. But they were latent in his soul, as clover-seed in an ill-nourished field, and only waited for favourable circumstances to call them forth. These circumstances and conditions were furnished by the Saviour's loving thoughtfulness.
(i) Passionate Devotion to Christ. — Had it not been for the Denial, none of the Apostolic band would have questioned Peter's attitude towards the Master. The members of the other groups must often have longed for the ardour of the Boanergic group, and especially of Simon Peter. But a shadow of grave doubt now overspread the sky, and as they spoke together they may have questioned, with all seriousness, the strength and steadfastness of his devotion. Our Lord realized this, and knew that before He entrusted to him the tendance of His sheep and lambs, He must secure a very decisive and unquestionable expression of the Love which He at least recognized as a dominant factor in His Apostle's character.
When, therefore, breakfast was over, Jesus repeated the same question thrice: "Lovest thou me?" and in each case addressed him as Simon Bar-Jona, i.e. Simon, son of John. "We read of one of the Caliphs," says Dr. Trench, "who gave to his principal officers an honourable surname suggested by their qualities.
When he wished to show his dissatisfaction, he dropped it, calling them by their own names; this caused them great alarm. When he resumed the employment of the surname, it was a sign of their return to favour." This helps us to understand why our Saviour laid this stress on His servant's earlier name. He desired to give him a fresh opportunity of acquiring the Rockman title.
Love to Jesus is the indispensable qualification of service. Only those who love can satisfy the requirements of Christ's service. Only they can bear the fret and strain of wayward wills and faltering resolve. Love is needed for the gathering of tired and sick lambs to the shepherd's bosom, for the weary mothers finding the mountain-path steep and difficult, and for the straying sheep, possessed by an incessant tendency to break through gaps, or wander browsing on forbidden pastures. The first, second, and third qualification of the true Shepherd is Love. Therefore the Master asked persistently, "Dost thou love Me?" And to the thrice-repeated question Peter returned the same reply, "Thou knowest that I love Thee," only adding at the third time: "Thou knowest it not only with the perfect knowledge of God, but with the intuitive sympathy of man."
If we may so state it, Peter showed great dexterity in using our Lord's silence to secure his vindication.
In each case he put Christ in such a position that He must have broken silence had it not been so. He could not have held His peace, if He had entertained any doubt of Peter's passionate attachment to His Person and devotion to His service. This seems to have been the gist of Peter's reply. He staked everything on his Lord's intimate knowledge of the thoughts and intents of his heart, and challenged Him to refute his threefold avowal of love, if it was not true to fact. In after-days, when the Apostles discussed this remarkable incident, they must have acknowledged that they were convinced, not only by Peter's own statements, but because the Master, when He was appealed to, tacitly assented that they were true, and, by immediately repeating His commission, endorsed and confirmed them. Clearly the Master had no doubt about His servant's loyalty, or He would never have entrusted him with responsibilities so arduous and important. There is much comfort here. The Lord knows all things. The tiny lichen on the stone, the limpet on the rock, the ephemerae of the forest glade! All are within His vision, and so also is our love, though often overgrown, confused in utterance, and blushing to confess Him.
(2) Unfeigned Humility. — Two Greek words stand for Love. The one expresses the reverent and adoring Love with which we should regard the Holy God. The other expresses love in its more human and affectional aspect. In His two first questions, Jesus asked His Apostle whether he loved with the former love. This Peter modestly disclaimed. "Nay," said he, "but I love Thee with the ardour of personal affection." Finally, our Lord descended to his level and asked if indeed he loved Him thus, eliciting the immediate response: "Assuredly, and whether as Son of God or Son of man. Thou knowest it right well."
With evident reference to Peter's boast made at the Supper, that though his fellow-disciples might desert the Master, yet he never would, Jesus asked him if he loved Him more than the rest. But all his braggart boastfulness had gone, and he, by his silence and his grief, confessed that he dared not claim any priority in love. He was prepared to take the lowest seat, and own himself last and least. In this, also, he proved that he was worthy for the foremost place, because he was willing to take the lowest. If only he might fill some lowly office he would be content. He had become as a little child; and our Lord did not hesitate, with the hearty assent of the brethren who stood around, to take him by the hand and place him in the old foremost position which he seemed to have forfeited for ever.
(3) Indomitable Courage. — From the beginning our: Lord saw the Cross standing clear-cut on the horizon before Him. Amid all the excitement of His early appearance. He told Nicodemus that the Son of man must be lifted up. Do we sufficiently estimate His courage in treading resolutely a path that led ever deeper into the valley of death? Not for a moment would we depreciate the magnificent courage with which, in the excitement of the charge, the soldier flings himself on the foe, foot to foot, steel to steel.
But we may fairly question whether it will bear comparison with courage of that other quality which, with the certain knowledge of a most terrible death before it, never flinches, never loses its self -composure or genial kindliness, but continues to pursue the course which will inevitably incur that fate, the anticipation of which freezes the blood.
This was our Lord's experience. "I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened till it be accomplished?" Henceforth it was to be Peter's also. "Thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldst not. This, He said, signifying by what death he should glorify God." In his proud self-confidence Peter once said: "Lord, with Thee I am ready to go to prison and to death." The Saviour replied: "Thou canst not follow Me now, but thou shalt follow Me afterwards." This afterwards had now dawned. The disciple was not to be above his Lord. He was to follow Him to prison in Acts xii, and to death at the end of all — the death of the Cross, as tradition assures us, and this prediction suggests. In his second Epistle Peter refers to these words of Jesus: "I know that the putting off of my Tabernacle cometh swiftly, even as our Lord Jesus signified unto me." Clearly for him also the Cross was the ultimate goal; but he never swerved from the chosen path of service because of its menace. He was steadfast and unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. For the joy that was set before him, he was willing to endure the Cross, despising the shame, and for him also there was laid up a crown of righteousness. The courage that could stand that strain was of rare and splendid quality, and approved his fitness for leadership.
By evincing his ownership of these three qualities Peter established his right to the foremost place in the glorious company of the Apostles, and he nobly fulfilled the position, as we shall see. He would have been glad if John's companionship and help had been granted him, and this yearning for his fellowship inspired the question, "What shall this man do?" But other work awaited the beloved Apostle, and would take him in another direction. "No," said our Lord, "John cannot be spared to you, but I will be your all-sufficient Helper to the end." What that companionship meant for Peter is made clear in his epistles, especially in the verse which tells us that he rose to the highest form of love, the form which he had not dared to claim. "Whom not having seen ye love," not only with the love of passionate affection, but with that of the highest quality — the love of God Himself.