Jewels From JohnSample

The Call to Make Disciples 

After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. John 21:15 (NLT) 

Read John 21: 1-17 for the entire account

When Jesus first called Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John, as recorded in Luke 5:1-11, they had toiled all night, caught no fish, and when Jesus commanded them to throw the net into the deep, they caught such a huge haul of fish that the nets were breaking, and their boats almost sinking. On witnessing such an astounding miracle, they recognized Jesus as Lord, left everything, and followed Him. Jesus then said to them, “From now on you will catch men." 

After the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, the disciples were now back to square one, and Simon Peter along with six other disciples, decided to go back fishing as recorded in John 21: 1-9. A strikingly similar situation as the previous one – the disciples had fished all night, caught nothing, were exhausted, probably discouraged, but this time they encountered the risen Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus performed the miracle, once again, and filled their empty nets with a huge catch of fish. The risen Lord had to reassure them once again that He who called them was faithful, He was the same Lord, and He could most certainly take care of all their needs. 

Having fed the disciples with a hearty breakfast, Jesus then asked Peter thrice whether he truly loved Him more than anything else. On receiving this confirmation from Peter, Jesus then reinstated Peter to a higher calling from being a 'fisher of men' to becoming a 'shepherd of God’s flock.'

While being ‘fishers of men’ involves bringing people into the kingdom of God, ‘feeding the flock’ is the call to make disciples of those who respond to the Gospel. To disciple someone who has decided to follow Jesus means to walk alongside them. Discipling, therefore, takes time, energy, consistency, patience, giving of one's self, sharing of one’s life, praying for the ones we disciple, and helping them grow in the knowledge of God and His word, so they can become true followers of Jesus. 

That’s the call and commission of the Lord Jesus to each one of us, as clearly given in Matthew 28:19-20, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (NLT)