“Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the Vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing”

— John 15:4-5

This is a weekly reflection on the previous week’s sermon text. Each week there will be a devotional related to the scripture for the week, along with questions for reflection/discussion, as well as prayer. Feel free to make this a part of your individual spiritual growth throughout the week or utilize in small group settings (growth groups, Sunday school, etc.)

John 21:15-19

“When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ he said, ‘you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.’ Again Jesus said, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He answered, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Take care of my sheep.’ The third time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ He said, ‘Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my sheep.’”

By the time we reach John 21, Peter has already lived through one of the most painful failures of his life. This is the same Peter who once boldly declared he would never forsake Jesus—only to deny him three times on the night of his arrest. The third denial came in the courtyard, while Jesus stood on trial inside. When the rooster crowed, he went out and wept bitterly. That is where we last see him—broken, ashamed, and undone.

But John 21 tells us something remarkable. When Peter sees the risen Jesus standing on the shore, he does not retreat in shame. He dives into the water and swims toward him as fast as he can. Whatever else is true about Peter in this moment, this much is clear: his heart still longs for Jesus.

What follows is not a confrontation. It is a restoration.

First, there is breakfast. Before any words are spoken, Jesus takes bread and gives it to them (John 21:13). For Peter, that gesture would have carried memory—the same hands, the same posture—taking, blessing, breaking, giving—just as in the upper room. Jesus meets Peter not only at the place of his failure, but also at the table of his most sacred memories.

Then, there is the fire. The Greek word used for the charcoal fire in John 21:9 is anthrakia—the same rare word found in John 18:18, where Peter stood warming himself in the courtyard the night of the denial. This is not coincidence. It is intention. The smell of charcoal, the crackling of the coals—these sensory details would have transported Peter back immediately, the way a familiar scent carries us to another place and time. Jesus chose this setting on purpose.

And then come the three questions.

Three times Peter denied Jesus. Three times Jesus asks, “Do you love me?” Jesus is not piling on. He is not punishing Peter by reopening the wound three times. He is healing him. Every denial is being replaced, one by one, with an affirmation. Shame is being displaced by grace, failure by restoration.

When Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?” he uses the word agape—a deep, self-giving, unconditional love. Peter responds with phileo—a warmer but more modest, brotherly love. Perhaps Peter, chastened by his own failure, can no longer reach for the bolder word. He is being honest. And so by the third question, Jesus comes down to Peter’s level. He uses phileo—Peter’s own word. Grace always meets us where we are.

Brené Brown writes that shame cannot survive being spoken and met with empathy. That is exactly what Jesus is doing. He names the wound, revisits the moment, and meets Peter there—not with condemnation, but with compassion. He does not call him “Peter”—the rock, the name of strength. He calls him “Simon,” his given name. He meets him not as the man Peter claimed to be, but as the man Peter truly is.

And then comes the surprise. Jesus does not simply forgive Peter and send him home to recover. He recommissions him: “Feed my lambs. Take care of my sheep. Feed my sheep.” Peter is not only restored to relationship—he is restored to purpose. His failure does not disqualify him. It becomes the very place where grace takes root.

This is who our God is. Not a God who holds our failures over us, but a God who walks us back through them—redeeming what was broken and restoring what was lost. Recovery from even our greatest failures is possible in Jesus Christ.

And perhaps this raises a question for us. Jesus did not pursue Peter to prove a point. He pursued him because he wanted a relationship with him. He is no less committed to restoring us—and calling us, as his restored people, to seek restoration in our own relationships. Romans 12:18 says it plainly: as far as it depends on us, live at peace with everyone.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, Restorer of our souls, you meet us not at our best, but at our most broken places. You know the moments we wish we could forget—the words we regret, the failures we carry, the shame we cannot shake. And still, you call us by name. Meet us there again, Lord—not to reopen the wound, but to heal it. Restore us, send us, and give us courage to mend what is broken, to seek peace in our relationships, and to live as people made new by your grace. Amen.

QUESTION FOR REFLECTION:

1. Peter denied Jesus three times and is asked three times, “Do you love me?” What does this deliberate parallel reveal about the way Jesus restores rather than shames?

2. The scene takes place around a charcoal fire—the same setting as Peter’s denial. Why do you think Jesus intentionally recreated that moment? What does it say about the way God meets us in our pain rather than around it?

3. Jesus uses agape; Peter responds with phileo; and by the third question Jesus comes down to Peter’s level. What does the language of love here reveal about grace? Where do you find it difficult to receive love as you are rather than as you think you should be?

4. Jesus restores Peter not only to relationship but to purpose: “Feed my sheep.” What does this tell us about how God uses our broken places?

5. What relationships might God be calling you to restore? What would one step toward reconciliation look like this week—not to be right, but to pursue the relationship?

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