WHY was Peter asked 3x, “Peter, do you love me?” John 21:15-17

You’re probably familiar with the story of the disciple Peter vehemently denying Christ three times. Afterwards, Peter felt emotionally destroyed when he fully realized what he had done. He had been the leading disciple for years – and here he was firmly denying he had anything to do with Jesus Messiah.

I’m talking about this because there are lessons for us all in this story and some views I want to share that are a bit different from the way I was taught it decades ago. PLUS, the time is coming when you and I will also face tough questioning about our relationship with Yeshua, the Son of the living God. Will we do any better than Peter? If it were illegal and life threatening to own a Bible or to be a Christian, how would we all do?

Let’s pick up the story in Matthew 26.

Matthew 26:69-75  Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant approached him and she said, “You were with Jesus the Galilean too.”

70 But he denied it in front of everyone: “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

71 When he had gone out to the gateway, another woman saw him and told those who were there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazarene!”72 And again he denied it with an oath, “I don’t know the man!”73 After a little while those standing there approached and said to Peter, “You certainly are one of them, since even your accent gives you away.”

74 Then he started to curse and to swear with an oath, “I do not know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed, and Peter remembered the words Jesus had spoken, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.”

By the way, when verse 74 says Jesus even began to curse and swear, he was actually saying, “look, if what I’m saying is not true, then may I be cursed!”

            Matthew 26:74 in NIV and CJB say: “Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, "I don't know the man!

The other disciples did not personally deny any knowledge of Jesus – but, on the other hand, they all had fled. Peter was the one who stayed close by, and John also was even right there at the cross with Jesus’ mother Mary and other women present. But all the other men were nowhere to be found due to fear of suffering the same fate. Just several women followers of Christ, plus John, were there with him to the very end. Praise God for the women believers.

Before this, Peter was constantly the main leader of the twelve chosen disciples. He certainly said more, spoke up more and was one of the three most often chosen by Jesus to accompany him at more private, special times. The three were Peter, James and John.

WHY am I discussing this? I think there will be various lessons in this account that many miss, that will apply to so many of us – all of you and me too.

The RESULT of Peter denying Christ to the point of calling down curses on himself if he was lying:

• Peter wept BITTERLY. This was a crushing blow to him – that perhaps he needed, as he had bragged that he would never deny Christ.
• I’m sure HE felt disqualified and cursed and totally unworthy of being “one of the twelve,” let alone the leader of the twelve.
• The other disciples may also have wondered if they could ever trust Peter again as a leader – or if Jesus himself would accept him back.

So what happened next?

To deny your Messiah three times in front of everyone, is bad enough. However Titus 1:16 says it’s very possible for you and me to also deny Christ by our sinful actions, not living up to what we claim to believe.

Titus 1:16  “They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.”

So actually, we ALL have denied God or Christ many times by our sinful actions,  when we stumble and fall into sin or living a lie.

What I want to point out in this blog is this:  Peter wept bitterly after he did that. I’m sure he was terribly depressed for days, feeling disqualified as a disciple of Jesus Christ, and wondered what God thought of him now or if God could even ever use him again in the work of the gospel and working with God’s sheep. And even the other disciples may have had the same questions.

(Remember you can just hover your mouse over the scripture references to read it fully.)

Some things you may not know, that may encourage you when you recognize your own story in Peter’s story:  it didn’t end there. Remember that God promises to finish what he started in you and me (Philippians 1:6). That applies to you and to me as well.

The first human being to see the risen Christ was Mary Magdalene according to Mark’s gospel account (Mark 16:9), confirmed also by John 20:1-18. When the two Marys went to the tomb and saw and talked with an angel in the empty tomb, the angel made a point in Mark 16:7  that they were to tell Peter, mentioned by name, to go on ahead to Galilee. I find that encouraging that Jesus is not just dropping Peter. He asking for Peter. Then Mark goes on to say in verse 9 “…He appeared first to Mary Magdalene…” He also appeared to other women who fell to his feet and worshipped him (Matthew 28:9-10). This was during a time when women were not considered reliable witnesses.

Paul says Yeshua appeared first to Cephas (Peter) in 1 Cor. 15:5, then to the twelve, but the full story is that He first saw and talked with Mary – and other women – THEN to Peter by himself, something a lot of people don’t realize. Jesus made a point after His resurrection to find Peter, talk to him one-on-one, and tell him He wasn’t done with him yet and I’m sure the Christ forgave Peter.

 Then after that, Jesus appeared to the two men “on the road to Emmaus”  -- who ran back to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples, and they also confirmed that Yeshua had already appeared to Peter before that (Luke 24:33-34). After that we read the two accounts in John 20:19-29  of Yeshua suddenly appearing to the assembled main disciples, + the two men from the road to Emmaus and possibly others there.

What’s my point? As bad as Peter’s denials were, Jesus was not about to give up on Peter. And He didn’t. He won’t give up on you and me either.

 I wonder what the personal one-on-one conversation with Peter might have been like. No doubt it was very positive, because in the story in John 21, while they were fishing, when Peter heard it was Jesus on the shore, he dove right into the sea and swam to shore ahead of those in the boat (John 21:7). He couldn’t wait to be with Jesus again.

If the one-on-one talk had been rough and corrective, Peter would not have been so eager to be right there with Yeshua again.

When YOU deny Christ by your words or actions, please remember how Jesus treated Peter. He obviously received him back in the group and showed tremendous love and forgiveness. Of course He did. This was the same Jesus, after all, who taught us to forgive someone who has sinned against us even seven times in the same DAY and comes back seven times that same day asking for forgiveness again (Luke 17:4).

Let’s pick up when they went back up to Galilee in the north and Peter said he wanted to go fishing (John 21:1-3). Seven disciples of the remaining eleven also went fishing with him.

In John 21:1-3 – Peter and six other disciples decided to go fishing but after trying all night, they caught nothing. God was teaching them a lesson. They were called to be fishers of men, not real fish.

You may find that we may have missed the real points Jesus was making in this story involving Peter in John 21 –which was done in front of all the other  remaining disciples present. And you’ll come to appreciate the love, mercy and confidence that our Lord and Master Yeshua the son of God extends to his brothers and sisters – even to you and me, even when we had failed miserably. So I hope you give this good attention. We all fail miserably at times. I sure have. But our Savior continues to search and find us and bring us back. He’s come to save sinners, remember, not the righteous (Luke 5:32; 19:10)   

Jesus calls out to them (John 21:4) if they had caught anything yet, and they answered “no.”

John 21:5-17  They answered Him, "No."

6 And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.

7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea. 8 But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish. 9 Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish which you have just caught."

11 Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken. 12 Jesus said to them, "Come and eat breakfast." Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, "Who are You?" — knowing that it was the Lord. 13 Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish.

14 This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.”

OK – but now why did Jesus right after this ask Peter three times if he loved Him? In the past, I thought it was a bit corrective, almost like Jesus was saying “How could you say you love me after denying me three times?”  But now I don’t think that way. It was quite the opposite.

I believe now, that in front of the other disciples, in case any of them had any doubts or questions about Peter as a leader or minister, Jesus was AFFIRMING that Peter was still in the ministry, still going to be working with the brethren, and the Son of God gave Peter three affirmations of this, more than making up for Peter’s three denials. So let’s read it:

John 21:15-17    So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of Jonah, 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 again a second time, "Simon, son of Jonah, 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 Jonah, 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 all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”  

When I used to talk about this, I emphasized that Jesus asked Peter if he “agape” loved him. And Peter replied that “I phileo (deeply like) you.”  I focused on the two different kinds of love being discussed. But now I don’t think that’s the main point.

The MAIN POINT going on I believe is this:  Jesus wanted to give Peter three times to say he loved Jesus, to counter the three denials, but more than that – Jesus was doing this in front of the other disciples.

They all heard Jesus restoring Peter to ministry – to take care of the sheep of God. Jesus was not done working through and with Peter in spite of his horrible denials. And God is not done with me. And he’s not done with you. He’ll see us through to the end and to victory in Christ. 

So three times, in the presence of the others, Jesus tells him, “Feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my sheep.”   

So when you deny Christ by word or actions – remember, if we also repent and weep bitterly when we sin, we have a merciful and loving father, and a wonderful loving Big Brother in Jesus, our Savior, who continues to love us and work with us.