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“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.” 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.” 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.”
John 21:15-17.
In the morning on the shores of the sea of Tiberias, Jesus and a few of his disciples are gathered around a small fire having just finished their breakfast. Just a few hours before, Jesus revealed Himself to his disciples by telling them to cast their nets on the right side of their boat which resulted in a miraculous catch.
This was after Jesus’ death on the cross, burial, and resurrection, a death where His disciples had fled away when their lives were at stake. Peter had followed Jesus after they had arrested Him from a distance. Gathered around a fire in the middle of a courtyard, Peter is confronted by the crowd.
“This man was also with Him.”
“Woman, I do not know Him.”
“You are also one of them.”
“Man, I am not.”
“Certainly, this man was with Him.”
“I do not know what you are talking about.”
Peter’s denial of Christ was the fulfillment of a prophecy he had heard from Jesus’ own lip not too long ago which he had vehemently denied.
Now in a mirrored setting of a group around a warm fire, Jesus comes to Peter and asks him this simple question, “Do you love me?”
“Yes, Lord”
“Feed my lambs. Do you love me?”
“Yes Lord.”
“Tend me sheep. Do you love me?”
“You know that I love you.”
“Feed my sheep.”
Three times Peter denied Jesus and three times Jesus asked Peter to confirm His obedience to Him. He asked for Peter’s heart. Jesus had forgiven Peter for disowning Him. Jesus exists in broken places. He is the one who restores, the one who renews, and His love is far greater than what you and I could ever hope to imagine. Today and every day, let us respond in kind to the Lord by giving our whole heart to Him in love and obedience.
Stephen Lee
February 4, 2024