John 21:16-17, Do You Love Me?

16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.

Jesus keeps asking the same question and Peter keeps answering until they make it through three rounds to make up for Peter’s three denials. Even though Jesus changes the wording in the questions and directives, there is not much to be made of that grammatically. Those who do are nitpicking with the Greek and miss the main point. Jesus wants to know if Peter truly loves him and lets him know that if he does he will prove it by his witness and ministry. Love is demonstrated in actions not just words.

Before we can fully follow Jesus, the sin in our lives, as in the life of Peter, must be addressed. Sin is basically the following after idols. When we follow idols we are not following Jesus. In the case of Peter, his idol was his own safety and self-protection at a dangerous time. However, Jesus never panicked. Jesus never sought his own safety. On the contrary, Jesus sought our safety by going to the cross and denying his own safety. Now he asks Peter to put his own safety on the line and consider taking care of the sheep and lambs to be of far greater importance. Another important point not to miss in this encounter is that failure with God is never final. God is a God of mercy and grace, and Jesus has plenty of that for Peter.

Peter is not Jesus’ only audience. He wants the other disciples to hear this and remember it as well as they too will fail in the future. And they need this firsthand experience with Jesus of the forgiveness, grace, and mercy he extends to Peter. They need to know that what Jesus did on the cross extends into the present day and was not some one-off time of grace. In Jesus grace abounds for all through all ages.

Lord Jesus, you demonstrated to Peter your forgiveness, mercy, and grace. In my life, please forgive me for [you fill in the blank] that I may know your mercy and grace. Thank you Lord. Amen.