In the Gospel of John, Jesus appears to his disciples three times after his resurrection:

• The day of his resurrection
• When Thomas was present
• At the Sea of Tiberius (Galilee)

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, CHAPTER 21:1-17

• After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberius, and he revealed himself in this way.
• Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together.
• Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing”. They said to him, “We will go with you”. They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
• Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
• Jesus said to them, Children, do you have any fish? They answered him, “No”.
• He said to them, Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some. So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish.
• That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, It is the Lord! When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.
• The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.
• When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread.
• Jesus said to them, Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.
• So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn.
• Jesus said to them, Come and have breakfast. Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.
• Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish.
• This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
• 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.

LESSON

Probably because Peter denied knowing Jesus three times before the crucifixion, Jesus asked Peter three times if he actually loved Him. Each time Peter responded that Jesus knew that he did. After each response, Jesus commanded Peter to care for all those that had followed Him before He was crucified. That is, care for the Church of Christ. Restoring Peter to a leadership position provided assurance to Peter that he was forgiven.

The English word “love” is used when these scriptures are translated from the original Greek, however the Greek words had slightly different meanings. The first two times, Jesus used the word agape which means a sacrificial Christian love.  This is the type of love between the brothers and sisters of the church. The third time Jesus used a word that meant love between close or best friends to show Peter that their relationship was still strong even though Peter had denied Him.

Jesus referred to His followers as a flock, reminding Peter that He was the Good Shepherd and that His followers were both sheep (adults) and lambs (children) that needed to be cared for and nurtured.

Those followers of that day, like those of today, sometimes deny their Lord by both word and action. We need the same comfort that Peter received, knowing that our sins are forgiven and that Jesus remains faithful even though we are not at times.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we thank You that Your Son, Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. As we read how Jesus reinstated Peter, remind us that You also reinstate us through forgiveness of sins for the sake of Jesus. Teach us to love You and Your Word and increase our faith through the Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen