John 21:17

We cannot be sure why Jesus asked Peter three times whether he loved him. Many people have suggested that it mirrored Peter’s three denials before Jesus’ crucifixion. It is suggested that this was Jesus’ way of helping Peter to find cleansing from that time of abject failure. There is great encouragement for us all in the fact that Jesus was willing to forgive someone who had let him down so comprehensively. Peter had a hugely significant ministry ahead of him, but it couldn’t begin until he knew that he had been released from the burden of his failure.

Every time Peter affirmed his love, Jesus told him that he was giving him a job. Peter was instructed to take care of Jesus’ sheep and feed them. Whenever someone follows Jesus, they are also given responsibilities to serve others. The idea of Christian faith being a private matter that simply gives a person a warm relationship with God and a secure future for all eternity is foreign to the New Testament’s teaching. Every follower of Christ becomes a part of the body of Christ and has the responsibility to support and care for the other members. We will all do that differently according to our gifts, abilities and opportunities, but none of us can dodge the privileged responsibility of supporting our Christian brothers and sisters.

Peter is then warned how tough it will be to be a follower of Jesus. He is told that his obedience to Christ will lead
to his death (vv18-19). Having informed him of this, Jesus challenges him: “Follow me” (v19). In this Gospel we learn that following Jesus is the path to life in all its fulness, but he never disguised the cost of following him. He promised his followers that they would be hated by the world and rejected. And it is this same risen Lord Jesus Christ who comes to us today and says: “Follow me.”

Question

In what ways does this story of Jesus commissioning Peter encourage and challenge you?

Prayer

Loving Lord, help me as I seek to follow you and to serve you faithfully wherever you call me to go. Amen