Summary of passage: Jesus asks Peter if he loves him. Peter says of course. Jesus tells Peter to feed his lambs, take care of his sheep, and feed his sheep.
Questions:
6) Jesus is letting Peter know he is forgiving for denying him three times after his arrest and that he has important work for him to do. He’s encouraging him to forgive himself, get over the past, and concentrate on the work ahead. He’s doing this in front of the others so the others support him as well.
7) Personal Question. My answer: It seems I always have people placed in my way to teach me something the Lord is trying to get across to me. He always knows just where I need to be or what I need to hear in order to move more towards Him.
8 ) Our past and our sins are forgiven. Despite our faults of being human, we can still impact this world and make a difference. In fact, we can use our shortcomings to help others who are struggling with the same sins (addiction, etc). All is for a purpose for Him.
Conclusions: Great example of God’s love for us. There is no reason to wallow in self-pity over our sins when God doesn’t. He has a plan for us and we can’t waste precious time avoiding it.
End Notes: Jesus had already met with Peter individually on the day of His resurrection (Luke 24:34, 1 Corinthians 15:5). We can only wonder at what Jesus and Peter talked about at that first meeting. Nevertheless, it was still important for Jesus to restore Peter in the presence of the other disciples.
Peter means “rock” and Jesus does not address him as such here. Peter hadn’t been a rock. But he sure would become one!
Before Peter denied Jesus three times, he claimed to love Jesus more than the other disciples did (Matthew 26:33). Jesus wanted to know if Peter still believed thus. Of course, Jesus already knew the answer (as Peter points out in verse 17), but Jesus is asking for Peter’s self-knowledge, not his.
Some scholars say here Jesus could be asking if Peter were willing to give up fishing for him since “these” is a pronoun referring to something previous. However, all indications are it’s the disciples he’s referring to.
Jesus uses the word “agape” when speaking of love and Peter responds with the Greek word “philio”. Agape is the all-encompassing love and philip is brotherly love as we discussed HERE.
Most scholars agree there is a reason for the difference but most disagree as to what that reason could be. Some think Peter was now being more reserved after his dismal denials earlier.
Jesus instructs Peter on how to act towards God’s people. Jesus first emphasizes that the people are his. The verb translated “take care” or “tend” has a much fuller meaning. It means to shepherd his people. Collect them, care for their every need, and lead them.
If Peter loved Jesus how he claimed he loved Jesus, then he would care for Jesus’ people.
Peter, abashed, knows why Jesus is asking him three times. Three times he denied and now three times he gets to confirm.
This third question Jesus uses “philio” instead of agape. Again, Jesus tells Peter to forget the past and move on to feeding his people. Great stuff!
This reinstatement helped embolden Peter to become one of the early church’s most fearless spokesmen.
