Read:
Reflect:
Restoring a broken relationship can be a tense and hard experience. Peter had denied Jesus three times during his trial (John 18:15-18; 25-27), just as the Lord had predicted (John 13:38). Now, with breakfast over (21:15), Jesus took the initiative and asked Peter three times whether he loved him. The English language has only one word for “love”, and so cannot reflect the different nuances of the word in the text. John uses two Greek words for “love”: agape (self-giving, sacrificial love) and filos (familial, friendship love). The interplay of these two words is significant for the way John portrays the conversation between Jesus and Peter.
Peter had expressed willingness to die for Jesus (13:37), but failed to deliver on his promise of such self-sacrificial love. So Jesus asked him for the first time: …do you love (agape) me more than these? (presumably meaning the other disciples). Peter could not bring himself to make a claim of such superior love, but simply answered: Yes, Lord; you know that I love (filos) you (v 15). The best reply he could muster was to assert his friendship love. The second time Jesus asked more pointedly: …do you love (agape) me? (without any comparison to the love of others). Again Peter replied: Yes, Lord; you know that I love (filos) you (v 16). He knew in his heart that he had not shown self-sacrificial love for Jesus. Then the third time Jesus changed his wording and asked: Do you love (filos) me? Grieved at the lower standard set by these words, Peter appealed to the universal knowledge of Jesus and admitted to this lesser level of love: Lord; you know everything; you know that I love (filos) you (v 17). He realized what the current level of his love (filos) was, but probably desparately wanted it to be raised to the level of agape. Jesus’ prediction of Peter’s death (traditions claim he was crucified upside down) indicates that his love turned out to be genuinely of the agape kind (vv 18-19).
Though Peter could not speak of his love as more than mere friendship (filos), it appears that Jesus still accepted his profession of love. After each exchange Jesus commissioned Peter to service in his kingdom: Feed my lambs (v 15), Tend my sheep (v 16), and Feed my sheep (v 17). Jesus did not reject his flawed disciple who had failed him at a crucial time. Instead he renewed his summons with the simple but profound words: Follow me (v 19). Peter would learn that this call to service from the risen Lord would lead him to many new experiences quite different from what he had discovered when travelling with Jesus in the land of Palestine. It would truly require an agape love for Jesus. Finally, Peter came to realize that God’s call was very personal. When he wanted to know what God had in mind for other disciples, Jesus in essence told him to mind his own business. The important thing was: You follow me! (vv 20-22). And so Peter was more than just reconciled with Jesus; he received a personal call to follow Jesus and a fresh commission to serve his Lord with a renewed agape love.
How can we benefit from this remarkable story of reconciliation? First, we need to realize that the same incredible love Jesus showed Peter in gently leading him to a restored relationship, he also extends to us. Secondly, our failures and denials are not insurmountable barriers to the Lord’s ability to bring us back to a good relationship with him. Thirdly, this story brings the matter of our love for Jesus to the forefront. We need to ask ourselves: How deeply do I love Jesus? Fourthly, Jesus also summons us to follow him. Let us do so with a genuine agape love for him in our hearts and actions.
Respond:
Let us celebrate with the apostle Paul the immeasurable love of God for us in Christ Jesus.
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)