Why does Jesus ask Peter three times if he loves Him in John 21:17? Immediate Literary Context “Jesus said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love Me?’ Peter was grieved that He asked him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ He said, ‘Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed My sheep’” (John 21:17). The scene is the Sea of Galilee after the resurrection, beside “a charcoal fire” (v. 9), an intentional echo of the charcoal fire of Peter’s triple denial (John 18:18). Threefold Denial—Threefold Restoration 1. Peter denied Jesus three times (John 18:17, 25, 27). Jesus restores him with three explicit opportunities to confess love, mirroring each denial. 2. First-century Jewish jurisprudence treated a matter as established by two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15). Jesus gives Peter’s restored affirmation legal-covenantal weight. 3. The charcoal fire setting underlines reversal: the place of failure becomes the place of grace. Symbolism of the Number Three • Creation order: earth-sky-sea triad (Genesis 1). • Abrahamic oath rite employs three-year-old animals (Genesis 15:9). • Isaiah’s trisagion (“Holy, Holy, Holy,” Isaiah 6:3) signals completeness. Jesus employs the biblical pattern of triple repetition to convey full, irreversible reinstatement. Pastoral Commission Embedded in Each Question 1. “Feed My lambs” (v. 15) – nurture newborn believers. 2. “Tend My sheep” (v. 16) – guard and guide the maturing flock. 3. “Feed My sheep” (v. 17) – provide continual doctrinal nourishment. The verbs βόσκω and ποιμαίνω evoke Ezekiel 34, where God condemns faithless shepherds and promises to shepherd His people personally. By delegating these tasks, the risen Lord entrusts Peter with His own divine prerogative, highlighting Peter’s apostolic authority yet his utter dependence on Christ. Historical Echoes in Early Church Practice Ignatius of Antioch (c. AD 110) calls bishops “shepherds” and appeals to John 21 language, indicating that the church universally interpreted the scene as Peter’s commissioning and a template for pastoral care. Archaeological & Geographic Corroboration The traditional site of Tabgha (“Seven Springs”) on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee includes 1st-century fishing-related installations unearthed by Israeli archaeologists (e.g., basalt piers, fish-salting pools). Such finds confirm the economic milieu John describes (21:3-11). Theological Implications for Soteriology Peter’s restoration demonstrates: • Grace surpasses failure; salvation rests on Christ’s resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:14). • Confession of love for the risen Lord is the sine qua non of Christian ministry (Romans 10:9). • The Good Shepherd (John 10:11) delegates shepherding to redeemed under-shepherds, fulfilling Psalm 23 and Ezekiel 34 in Christ’s resurrected reign. Practical Application Every believer who has failed can be fully reclaimed by Christ’s initiating grace. Ministry flows from love for Jesus, not from merit. Repeated affirmation of love, verbalized before witnesses, heals shame and reorients life purpose to glorify God. Conclusion Jesus asked Peter three times to seal a full juridical, relational, and ministerial restoration corresponding to Peter’s triple denial; to employ laden Greek verbs that capture the depth of divine-human love; to fulfill prophetic shepherd imagery; to model psychological healing; and to commission the apostolic mission under the authority of the historically risen Christ—facts solidly preserved in the earliest manuscript tradition and corroborated by archaeology, theology, and lived ecclesial practice. |
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