Feed My Sheep

“When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?’
‘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!’”
– John 21:15-19

There’s a ton of stuff to be gotten from this passage. Such as Jesus asking Peter three times if he loves Him; one for each time Peter denied Him. Jesus’s last answer that pointed to how Peter was to die. Right now, I just want to look at one thing. Each time after Peter professed his love for Jesus, Jesus replied, “Feed my sheep.”

Jesus is the great Shepherd. He goes out and finds the lost sheep and brings them back to His flock. We are called to be like Christ so we act as shepherds. We go out into the world as witnesses of the Gospel and help lead people to Christ so that He can save them. What some Christians forget is what they are supposed to do with the “sheep,” once Christ has saved them. Just like Jesus told Peter three times, we are to feed His sheep. Before Jesus ascended to Heaven after His marvelous resurrection, he left the disciples (and us) with the Great Commission.

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”
– Matthew 28:18-20

Jesus not only told the disciples to make disciples of all nations and baptizing them, but He then told them what they are supposed to do with the new believers. He told the disciples to teach the new believers. Show them how to obey what Jesus taught. Help them live out the Gospel. Guide them to become mature in the Word. Disciple them. In other words, feed them.

I’m sure this has been going on through the ages, but I feel that too much of the time in our present generation that Christians lead people to the Lord so Jesus can save them, and then think they completed the mission. Unfortunately this leaves so many new believers on their own. Granted, there are those that are being saved that may have been raised in church so they know the Sunday School answers and what is morally right and wrong by Christian standards, but what about the ones who weren’t raised in the Christian culture? How would someone that grew up away from church and Christian beliefs know what is called of them? How are they supposed to know how to grow? How are they supposed to know how to have time with the Lord? Where would they begin in reading the Bible? Would they even have a Bible? Do they know how to pray? Christians, especially those of us that were raised in the church, forget that most new believers don’t know what to do. So why would it ever cross our minds to think the “job” is complete?

We are called to make disciples; to feed the sheep. In Acts, on the day of Pentecost, around 3,000 were saved! So what happened to those 3,000 people? Did the disciples and the few other believers before Pentecost just congratulate the new believers and go on about their days? NO! The end of Acts 2 paints a picture for us of what happened:

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teachings and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
-Acts 2:42-47

Those 3,000 new believers devoted themselves to what the apostles taught. They met in the temple courts to hear the teachings of the apostles. They didn’t only do that, but they had community with each other. They started living life together. They ate together. They learned from one another. They put into practice the teachings of the apostles and praised God. Because the apostles taught the new believers on what Jesus had taught them, the new believers couldn’t help but share it with others in their lives and they shared the Gospel with the nonbelievers they were in contact with. So God added to their number daily those who were being saved.

That’s how the first generation Church lived out their lives for Christ. They actually lived it. They didn’t look at leading people to Christ as a job that they needed to do on Sundays or leave it to those that teach and preach. No, they lived it out themselves. They were discipled and made disciples and those disciples made disciples that made more disciples throughout the generations.

This is the greatest way to reach people for the Lord because through discipleship we are not only helping lead others to Christ, but equipping them how to live their lives in a way that is pleasing to the Lord in which they themselves can make disciples. Each person is able to lead others to Christ through their own unique talents. That is why there are different gifts. In Acts 2:44, it says that, “all the believers were together and had everything in common.” What they had in common was the love of the Lord. The Spirit dwelt in them, just as the Spirit dwells in us today for those who believe, and the fruit of the Spirit was prevalent in their lives. They had everything in common because they all expressed love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). They had all this in common, but were gifted differently, so those who have the gift of others could lead others to Christ by serving them. Others through teaching. Others preaching. Others in hospitality. Others in mercy and so on and so forth as the gifts go on.

So what stops us from discipling others today? Growing up in this century, it almost seems like a foreign concept, even though it was the original way the Church was told to go out. I think the main thing is that we are so selfish with our time that we don’t make time for new believers after they have been saved. Time is precious, which is exactly why discipling is so important. To disciple effectively, you must invest in this new believer’s life. You show them how to pray, how to read the Word, how to spend time with God, how to share the Gospel, and much more. You’re there to listen to them and help them in their time of need. You’re there to pray with them. You’re there to hold them accountable. You’re there to show them that you don’t have it all together, but God is forgiving for when you mess up. You’re there to live life with them and celebrate the glorious life God has given us. Through that, they will naturally begin to disciple others, because it’s what you taught them.

So my challenge to you, and to myself as well, is to find someone. Find a new believer, or maybe someone that is a believer but has never had anyone show them how to live the life we are called to, and disciple them. Pick one to three people and truly invest in them. And just as Luke stated in Acts 2:47, “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved,” God will add to our numbers here and now, those who are being saved.

Let us do just as Jesus told Peter. Let us not only go and find the sheep, but let us feed them too.