“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
Easter is the annual apex of Christian joy. Gathered with the largest crowds we’ll see this year, we shout, “He is risen!” and “He is risen indeed!” We sing praise before celebrating with feasting and fun for the little ones and then …
We go back to work. Back to the same old routine. Back to our unfinished business.
The story of Peter isn’t that different. Easter came. Jesus rose. Peter rejoiced. And when all the excitement died down, Peter went back to work. Back to his unfinished business.
Peter was a fisherman, but his unfinished business wasn’t fishing. He cast his net racked by guilt. In the hour of trial, when the Lord’s life was on the line, Peter denied knowing Jesus thrice.
Peter wasn’t expecting the Lord to come to his workplace that day. Jesus came anyway. He called to Peter from the shore, and Peter swam to him. Then, on the shore, Jesus and Peter talked about this unfinished business.
It’s tempting to think Peter was right: that the unfinished business was the shame of his denial, that the Lord had to remove that by giving Peter the opportunity to thrice proclaim his love. But the truth is that guilt was removed by the cross. Those things that weighed Peter down came not from the reality of his standing before his Lord, but from his misperception thereof.
The unfinished business the Lord had in mind wasn’t finished on the shore that day. The true unfinished business was the feeding of the lambs, which symbolized Peter’s role in building up the church, caring for the body of believers, and spreading the good news of God’s grace.
Our unfinished business is much the same. Easter behind us, we must realize that the guilt of our sin is gone and that the Lord has work for us to do. It’s the same work he had for Peter: build up the Lord’s church, care for the body of believers, and spread the good news of God’s grace.
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