Feed My Sheep: Why the Cross Matters | Samuel Voo | January 25th 2026

``So when Jesus commands Peter to tend his sheep and feed his sheep, I don't think it's too much to say that Jesus is asking Peter to love his sheep the way that he loves the sheep. Peter's ministry is an extension of Jesus' ministry. And then when Peter in history gives ultimately his life for Jesus in obedience to Jesus, I don't think it's too much to say that Peter's death is a kind of participation in Jesus's death, the one who ultimately laid down his life for the sheep. For John, Peter's restoration and Peter's commission are linked together by the cross. So for Peter to love Jesus meant to feed his sheep. And to feed his sheep means to die for the sheep, the way that Jesus acted for the sheep, loved the sheep, and ultimately died for the sheep. Okay. So here's the question then for us. Most of us are not going to literally die. [00:22:02] (68 seconds)  #FeedLikeJesus

And, that reference is one of the three lifted up sayings in the gospel of John. So, that's one clue, think, that points to the kind of death that Peter is going to die, probably by a cross. And, the second is that the word glory or glorify God here in chapter 21, in the gospel of John primarily refers to the way that Jesus dies on the cross. For us, it's a little bit paradoxical. Glory and the cross, but this is partly what John is trying to help us understand. Glory is not just about resurrection, it is that. But for John, glory primarily is about being lifted up on the cross. [00:18:58] (49 seconds)  #GloryInTheCross

In these next twelve weeks, we're gonna explore how and why this cross isn't just something that happened two thousand years ago, but really is meant for us today to impact and change our lives today. And here's the promise. As we embrace the cross in our lives, as we embrace Jesus' suffering, as we embrace the cross that he's given us in our lives, we will also experience his blessing. That's where we will experience his life, his joy, and his peace is in those places as we embrace the cross. [00:29:33] (44 seconds)  #EmbraceTheCross

This is a really important part, Peter, and it's related to the cross. That's the premise of this message today as well as as well as of this series that we're embarking on in these next twelve weeks. That the cross and the Christian life are deeply, intricately, intimately intertwined and they should be. [00:04:07] (26 seconds)  #CrossShapedLife

We're not gonna be martyred for our faith. What does it mean for us to die? Well, there is another place in the gospels, not in this gospel of John, but in the other gospels where Jesus says to all his disciples, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Another way of putting the question is, what does it mean to take up our cross daily? What does a cross shaped life look like in daily life? [00:23:10] (36 seconds)  #TakeUpYourCrossDaily

I wanna close with a final observation about our context and our culture in which we live. I think we live, and it's something that's quite, commonly remarked, in a death denying culture. We don't like to think about death, we don't like to see death, we try to hide it away in our society as much as possible, We keep it at the backs of our minds as much as possible. We avoid suffering. We love convenience and comfort. And if we live in a death denying culture, that means that we also live in a cross denying culture. And that means, I think, this kind of message and this kind of series is going to be hard for us to hear. [00:26:54] (55 seconds)  #DeathDenyingCulture

Here in this chapter, Jesus says, do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me? And three times, the answer is yes. Jesus is not just testing Peter to see if he really loves him, but really what it is is a way of providing Peter a way of undoing what he had done. Does that make sense? Three denials, three affirmations of his love for Jesus to restore what was broken. [00:08:07] (40 seconds)  #ThreeTimesRestored

If you're a parent, you're shepherding. If you're a grandparent, an aunt, an uncle, you're shepherding. If you're in a small group, you're shepherding. If you cook a meal for someone on the pastoral care team, you are shepherding. If you listen to a friend who's struggling, you're shepherding. If you're welcoming someone, a newcomer into this church, you are shepherding. If you help greet or usher or lead worship or serve coffee, you are in a way shepherding. All of us are involved in this ministry together. [00:15:10] (37 seconds)  #WeAreAllShepherds