WHO IS JESUS REALLY? | A Soul Piercing Question | Aaron Stern

The smell of sawdust can open a door into another world, bringing back a grandfather’s garage, fishing, and all the memories tied to those places. A sound like gunshots can also pull a person back into fear, agony, and pain. Triggers can carry real weight, but Jesus does not simply tell wounded people to avoid every place, smell, memory, or moment that hurts. John 21 brings Peter right back to a charcoal fire, the very setting where he denied Jesus three times.

Jesus’ three questions, “Do you love me?” are not an interrogation. Jesus does not come with a red pencil, ready to write down every failure and say, “Some friend you turned out to be, Pete.” Jesus also does not act like Peter’s denial never happened. Jesus goes right at the place of shame in order to redeem it, heal it, and restore it. Peter’s past is not thrown out like a broken computer; Jesus deals with the shame virus so Peter can live into the fullness God has for him.

God works in all things, not merely the good things, easy things, or put-together things. Grace means God at work, not Peter at work trying to make up for his denial. Peter weeps bitterly and repents, but Jesus is the One who restores him. God’s love does not rise and fall according to a good spiritual day or a disastrous, sinful day. Peter’s denial becomes no longer merely a reminder of failure, but a reminder of grace in failure.

Jesus puts love, not performance, at the heart of following him. John’s Gospel has spent twenty chapters saying, “I love you,” through the cross, the Father’s love, and Christ’s choosing of his people. Jesus then asks Peter, “Do you love me?” Ministry flows out of a life in love with Jesus. Jesus meets his disciples not in a synagogue on a holy day, but at work on the Sea of Galilee, showing that kingdom ministry includes ordinary workplaces, relationships, generosity, kindness, and service.

Jesus does not only forgive Peter; Jesus recommissions him: “Feed my sheep.” The overflowing net recalls Peter’s first encounter with Jesus in Luke 5, when Jesus first said, “Follow me.” The same call has not expired after Peter’s collapse. Peter jumps out of the boat and runs toward Jesus rather than hiding like Adam and Eve. Jesus still invites ashamed and wounded people to the fire, to breakfast, and ultimately to the meal of forgiveness and redemption.

##

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Jesus enters shameful memories with grace [08:32] Jesus does not avoid Peter’s charcoal-fire memory, and he does not use it to humiliate him. The fire becomes a place where failure is named truthfully and shame loses its power. Christ can enter the memories that still feel too painful to revisit and make them places of healing. [08:32]
• 2. Grace means God at work [12:16] Grace is not a reward for spiritual productivity or a prize for getting life together. God works in all things, including the things that expose weakness, regret, and need. Repentance matters, but restoration rests on God’s action rather than human self-repair. [12:16]
• 3. Love, not performance, fuels ministry [18:25] Jesus asks Peter about love before he tells Peter to feed the sheep. Service that runs on guilt, self-confidence, or the need to prove something will eventually run dry. Love received from Jesus becomes the fuel for faithful presence in every ordinary place. [18:25]
• 4. Forgiveness leads to recommissioning [24:15] Jesus does not forgive Peter and then replace him with someone less broken. Jesus sends Peter back into the very calling that shame had tried to cancel. Failure may require honest repentance, but it does not place a person beyond Christ’s redeeming purpose. [24:15]
• 5. Run toward Jesus, not away [29:41] Peter jumps from the boat when he realizes Jesus is on the shore. Adam and Eve hid after sin, but Peter’s restored heart moves toward the One he betrayed. Jesus’ invitation is not “hide until you are worthy,” but “come have breakfast with me.”
  
  ## [29:41]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:43] - Smells, Sounds, and Triggers
• [02:16] - Jesus Meets Peter in John 21
• [05:22] - The Questions of Jesus
• [07:16] - A Charcoal Fire and Three Denials
• [08:32] - Jesus Removes Shame
• [10:29] - Jesus in the Heart, Grandpa in the Bones
• [11:44] - Grace Is God at Work
• [14:48] - Does God Love the Good Day More?
• [17:00] - Do You Love Me?
• [18:25] - Ministry Flows From Love
• [22:22] - Feed My Sheep
• [24:15] - Forgiven and Recommissioned
• [26:38] - Follow Me Has Not Expired
• [29:41] - Jump Out of the Boat
• [30:34] - Come Have Breakfast

Bible Reading

John 21:15-17
“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.” [04:48]

Romans 8:28
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” [12:01]

Luke 5:1-11
“On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.” [26:49]

Observation questions

1. In John 21:15–17, what question does Jesus ask Peter three times, and what instruction does he give after each of Peter’s answers? [04:48]
2. What details in John 21 connect this breakfast by the fire with Peter’s earlier denial of Jesus?
3. In Romans 8:28, who is at work in “all things,” and for whose good does Paul say God works? [12:01]
4. What similarities can the group notice between Peter’s first encounter with Jesus in Luke 5 and the fishing scene in John 21? [26:49]

Interpretation questions

1. Why might Jesus bring Peter back to a charcoal fire and ask him three times, “Do you love me?” How could this be restoration rather than humiliation? [07:16]
2. Peter clearly needs to repent for denying Jesus, yet Jesus does not ask him to prove himself before restoring him. What does this reveal about the difference between repentance and trying to earn grace? [12:50]
3. Jesus asks Peter about love before telling him to feed his sheep. Why is love for Jesus a stronger foundation for serving others than guilt, fear, or the need to perform? [18:25]
4. The repeated catch of fish connects Peter’s original call in Luke 5 with his restoration in John 21. What does this connection suggest about whether failure cancels Christ’s calling? [27:42]

Application questions

1. Is there a memory, place, relationship, or situation that still brings shame, regret, or fear to the surface? What might it look like to invite Jesus into that place rather than simply hiding from it? [28:34]
2. When failure comes to mind, what is the usual inner message: “I am disqualified,” “I need to make this up,” or “Jesus can meet me here”? What would honest confession and receiving grace look like this week? [08:41]
3. Think about a “good spiritual day” and a day when faithfulness feels absent. In what ways is there a temptation to believe God loves more on the good day? How can the group help one another stand in grace instead of performance? [15:22]
4. Where might serving others have become fueled by pressure, guilt, image, or self-confidence? What simple practice could help renew love for Jesus as the source of that service? [18:32]
5. Jesus meets the disciples in an ordinary work setting and then sends Peter to care for his sheep. What is one ordinary place this week—work, home, school, neighborhood, or friendship—where love for Jesus could take practical shape through kindness, generosity, listening, or service? [19:17]
6. Peter moves toward Jesus after recognizing him, while Adam and Eve hid in shame. When there is sin, weakness, or discouragement, what does “jumping out of the boat” and moving toward Jesus look like in a practical way? [29:41]