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John 21:15–19 (ESV)
15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 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. 18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”
If you take the time to trace Peter’s life in the Gospels and into the rest of the New Testament, I think that you’ll discover that we’re a lot like Peter in many respects. As Peter followed Jesus, he had many ups and downs. When Peter confessed Jesus to be the Christ, Jesus said of Peter, “On this rock, I will build my church.” But Jesus rebuked Peter just moments later when Peter objects and rejects Jesus’ candid words regarding His suffering, death, and resurrection (Matthew 16).
Peter also made many boasts, including that he would never abandon Jesus, but shortly after that boast, we know that Peter fell hard when he denied that he even knew Jesus.
I can imagine that this post-breakfast scene is both joyous and awkward for Peter. Peter is clearly overjoyed to once again see the resurrected Jesus, but there is a painful dark cloud over Peter that has clung to him ever since his denial. Jesus’ victory hasn’t yet become Peter’s victory and the wound of Peter’s denial is still fresh in his soul. Peter is broken and his guilt and shame constantly presses against his heart and nearly overwhelms him.
But something amazing is going to come as this post-breakfast conversation unfolds.
At this point, Peter had lots of options. He could have simply faded out of the picture. He could have become a fanatic for Jesus, going to extremes and calling others to hold to a high standard of faith—all in an effort to compensate for his failure, as if he were working himself to the bone to pay off the debt of his denial. Or Peter could have given in to guilt and shame and let the fear of a second failure drive his life.
Fortunately for Peter, none of those are options for Jesus. Jesus wants to bring healing and resolution for Peter through one little word; love.
We might have expected something else from Jesus. Perhaps a bit of teasing, “What happened to your big boast?” or “You’re not as big and tough as you think you are.” Or perhaps we might expect Jesus to be direct, “Are you sorry? Do you promise not to do that again?”
Instead, we get a rather unpleasant question, repeated three times, “Do you love me?”
You see, what matters right now, in fact it’s all that matters, is that Peter loves Jesus. Only love will bring healing, restoration, forgiveness, and resolution.
Here’s the thing. It’s not about being good, or doing and saying all the right things, or how strong we are spiritually because truthfully, Peter, and you and me for that matter, will never be enough in that regard: not good enough, righteous enough, strong enough, or spiritual enough. We can’t be enough of anything to overcome our sinfulness and win the favor of the Lord. We know all too well our failures and our propensity to fail. We’ve all failed, and I’m sorry to tell you this, you will fail again—just like Peter (Galatians 2).
This is about loving Jesus. It’s not about loving being a disciple, or doing the work of the kingdom, or going on mission, or any sort of heroic work. It’s just about loving Jesus and Jesus meets Peter right in the midst of his greatest pain and failure and invites Peter to respond to the loving heart of God, “Do you love me?”
It’s a great question because it’s pregnant with healing and restoration. As my pastor Henry Greene said, “When we’re broken, we may not have the resources to do anything more than say ‘Yes’ to the Lord.”
Is there some wretched cloud clinging to your soul, some guilt and shame-spawned mess that is threatening to overwhelm your heart and mind?
Jesus is asking you the same question He asked Peter, “Do you love me?”
If you say “yes”, His love and forgiveness will flood through you.
When that happens, then take your next steps in faith when Jesus says, “Follow me.”
God bless you and know that you are constantly in my prayers.
Scott
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