Peter Restored To His Office
“Lovest thou me?” —John 21:15, 16, 17
Read John 21:15-25
Peter and some of the other disciples went fishing, and caught nothing. Suddenly, Someone on the shore called out for them to cast their nets out on the other side of the ship and they would find. This Individual spoke with such authority that, in spite of themselves, they obeyed the command. To their astonishment, their net was immediately full.
“It is the Lord,” John told Peter. Unhesitatingly, Peter jumped over-board and went to the shore, leaving the others to complete their work. He had but one goal: to meet the Lord Jesus. After the others had arrived and been fed with a meal, the Lord directed three ques-tions to Peter. (It was really the same question, but with various nuances in Greek which are not reflected in English translations.)
The Lord Jesus asked Peter whether he loved Him with his whole heart. Thinking of his denial, he did not dare to affirm this, but re-plies by saying something like, “I like Thee a lot.” The Lord asked the same question a second time, probing Peter’s love for Him. Again Peter didn’t dare to affirm his love for his Master with the same term the Lord used. Finally, the Lord stooped even lower; He descended to Peter’s level by asking him a third time of his affection for Him, this time using similar terms. “Simon, do you really like Me?” Then Peter’s heart broke and he responded with a heart filled with love, (with the same term in which he had answered before), “Thou knowest that I love Thee.”
What a great miracle the Lord’s condescension towards Peter was! What if the Lord would ask you the same question? What would be your answer?
Why do you think the Lord asked Peter the same question three times?
This devotional was taken from “The Time of Your Life” a daily devotional published by the Youth & Educational Committee of the FRC. To order a printed copy of this book, contact: bookorders@frcna.org.