After restoring Peter’s love toward Him, the Lord Jesus charged him, saying, “Feed My lambs,” “Shepherd My sheep,” and “Feed My sheep.” The first twenty chapters of the Gospel of John stress the matter of believing in the Son that we may have life (3:15). But in this chapter it is not a matter of believing but of loving. The fruit-bearing in chapter fifteen is the outflow of the riches of the inner life. Here the lamb-feeding is the nourishing with the riches of the inner life. In order to feed others we need to enjoy the riches of the Lord’s divine life. This requires that we love Him. To believe in the Lord is to receive Him, and to love the Lord is to enjoy Him. The Lord came as life and as the life supply to us. We need to have faith in Him and love toward Him. According to the Gospel of John, these are the two requirements for participating in the Lord.
Lamb-feeding is by the nourishing with the riches of the inner life, and sheep-shepherding is for the building of the church. Shepherding is for the “flock” (10:14, 16), which is the church (Acts 20:28). Therefore, it is related to God’s building (Matt. 16:18). Later, in his first Epistle, Peter indicated this by saying that growth, by feeding on the pure milk of the Word, is for the building of God’s house (1 Pet. 2:2-5) and by charging the elders to shepherd the flock of God (1 Pet. 5:1-4). The growth by nourishing is for the building. The Lord is still working with His disciples in this way. Today, by lamb-feeding and sheep-shepherding, the Lord is working with us for the building of the church.
By considering three chapters, John 10, and 1 Peter 2 and 5, we shall see that feeding the lambs and shepherding the sheep are for the building up of the church. According to John 10, the Lord laid down His soulish life that His sheep might have His divine life and be brought together as one flock. To bring all His sheep together as one is truly the building. In 1 Peter 2, Peter says that we, as newborn babes, must be fed with the pure milk of the Word that we might grow up to be built up together as a spiritual house. Finally, in 1 Peter 5, Peter, as one of the elders, charges the elders to care for the sheep by feeding and shepherding them. Feeding the sheep is different from shepherding them. In 21:15 the Lord said, “Feed My lambs”; in 21:16, He said, “Shepherd My sheep”; and in 21:17, He said, “Feed My sheep.” To shepherd means to take care of the sheep, and to feed means to supply food to the sheep. While we are serving the Lord today, we must not only care for His sheep, but also feed them with spiritual food. It is not sufficient simply to care for and to look after the brothers and sisters; we must also feed them. In verse 15 the Lord said, “Feed My lambs,” and in verse 17 He said, “Feed My sheep.” By this we see that both the young believers and the more matured believers need the feeding. If the Lord has committed to us the burden of His flock, we must be sure to do two things—to feed them and to care for them.
In 21:18-23, we see that the Lord Jesus walks with the disciples as His followers. After restoring Peter’s love for Him and charging him with lamb-feeding and sheep-shepherding, the Lord, by predicting Peter’s martyrdom, instructed the disciples to follow Him to death. In verse 18 the Lord said to Peter, “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go.” In saying this to Peter, the Lord was “signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.” Later, in 2 Peter 1:14, Peter referred to this. Here in this chapter the Lord was preparing Peter to follow Him to death, but not by anything of himself nor according to his own will. The Lord seemed to be saying, “Peter, you did not keep your word, but I will keep My word. You said that you would even die for Me, but you did not keep your word. One day you will die for Me, for you will die to glorify God. While you are young, you will be free. But the day will come when you are old. Then people will catch you, bind you, and bring you to a place where you do not want to go.” After hearing these words, Peter realized that he would be martyred for the Lord. At that time, Peter did not say either yes or no.
After predicting Peter’s martyrdom, the Lord said to him, “Follow Me!” We all must follow the Lord as the indwelling One. The “Me” whom we are to follow is in us. As verse 18 indicates, we must not follow the Lord by our own will but according to His leading. Our following Him even unto death is to glorify God (v. 19). Furthermore, we must follow Him without paying attention to others. After the Lord told Peter to follow Him, Peter turned to John and said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?” (v. 21). To this, the Lord replied, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!” (v. 22). The Lord was telling Peter that what would happen to John was none of his business and that he had to follow Him.
This chapter is a picture showing that after we have been regenerated and commissioned by the Lord, we must love the Lord at any cost and follow Him to the end at any sacrifice. By following the Lord in this way, we shall accomplish the Lord’s purpose to feed His lambs and to feed and shepherd His sheep.