Jesus Publicly Reinstates Peter

Jesus revealed himself to seven of His disciples who were fishing in the Sea of Tiberias more commonly known as the Sea of Galilee. For most of us a remote lake with a special fishing hole is a comforting scene. The kind of place we might expect to see Jesus or feel his presence. The kind of place where the Holy Spirit could speak to us without the noises of the world. After finishing a breakfast of fish cooked over charcoal accompanied by fresh bread – another pleasant thought – Jesus spoke to Peter. Now this was not the first time that He saw Peter after His resurrection. ( Luke 24:34 1 Corinthians 15:5 ) Peter, as you remember, denied Jesus three times prior to the trial and Crucifixion. Jesus gave Peter a look that caused Peter to weep bitterly in deep repentance. Peter was already forgiven by Jesus ( John 20:,21--- “I am sending you” ) but the Lord needed to remove the last traces of self confidence from Peter's heart. He publicly absolved Peter's great sin in front of six witnesses and reinstated Peter as His apostle.

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus came to Peter calling him Simon son of John. He asked do you love me more than these? Peter said to Him “Yes Lord you know that I Love you. Jesus said to Peter “feed my lambs.” Jesus repeated the question a second time. Peter once again said to Him. Yes Lord you know that I love you. Jesus said tend my sheep. Peter was grieved that Jesus asked a third time. Simon son of John do you love me? Peter responded, you know that I love you Lord you know everything. Jesus once again asked him to feed his sheep. Peter denied Jesus three times. Jesus quizzed Peter three times about His love. Previously Peter, in a desire to save his own skin, forgot all about pledging his undying allegiance he had sworn to the Lord. Perhaps this affected his lukewarm response to Jesus' questions.

When Jesus asks Peter if he loves him in verses 15 and 16, it is helpful to remember that the Greek language has four words for love. Jesus is using the Greek for the highest form of love. That is Agape love----- love that is sacrificial. The same word for love that is used in John 3:16. ------ For God so loved the world. ----- Peter replies using the word Phileo for Love which is a brotherly love or affection for someone. Jesus switches in verse 17 to brotherly love. Agape is the higher form of Godly love and Peter seems to be unwilling to commit to that strong of a term, so Jesus concedes and comes down to Peter’s level. Jesus was expecting more but accepted less. I feel that this is important. It shows that we can love and serve the Lord in our imperfect states. As we are exposed to the means of Grace and the Holy Spirit teaches us, we slowly rise to the level of sacrificial love that Jesus prefers. I speculate that if Jesus would have had this same conversation with Peter after Pentecost, both Peter and Jesus would be on the same page.

Jesus tells us in Luke 9:23: “If anyone would come after me -- that is follow Him, --- let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. In our dialog with Jesus and Peter, Jesus is asking Peter to follow Him. (V 19 ) This is after Jesus describes the kind of death that Peter will suffer that would glorify God. Jesus is asking Peter to sacrifice himself and follow Him.

In Luke, scripture gives us three good examples of men who wanted to be disciples – that is followers – of Jesus but their priorities were inadequate for the task.

Someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go. Jesus said to him: “ Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head. To another Jesus said “follow me.” but the man said “ Lord let me first go and bury my father. In others words he had other priorities. Jesus said to him leave the dead bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God. Another said I will follow you Lord but FIRST let me say farewell to those at my home. Jesus said to him “ No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God. Another example is the rich young man in Matthew 19 who walked away from Jesus' call to discipleship. He put a higher value on his money than he did his Lord.