Three Times
John 21:15-17
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly 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 truly 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.”
As I read this story I ask myself the question, “Why would Jesus ask Peter three times, “Do you love Me?” Jesus wasn’t simply being redundant. He wasn’t being repetitious by accident. No, there was a very good reason why Jesus would ask the same question three times. The Lord knew exactly what He was doing. He asked Peter the question “Do you love Me?” three times for a reason.
I may totally off-base on this but I believe it was the Lord’s way of saying to Peter, “Remember how you denied Me three times? Well, I’ve forgiven you three times as well.” Not only was Peter gently reminded of his three-fold denial, he was also reminded of the extent of grace. The Lord not only forgave Peter for each of the three denials, He also restored Peter to ministry in triplicate.
Isn’t it interesting that Jesus did NOT say three times, “You denied Me!” Rather, three times Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” Jesus did NOT say, “I’m going to rub this in your face three times just to remind you of what a loser you are!” Nope, that wasn’t His purpose. Rather, Jesus wanted to communicate to Peter, “I’m reminding you that for every one of your failures I am offering you a new opportunity to serve Me!”
Jesus used the occasion to communicate to Peter that he was thrice forgiven, thrice restored, thrice reinstated, and thrice commissioned for ministry. Christ’s purpose was not to dwell on past failures but use those as a springboard to urge Peter on toward future ministry.
And Jesus does the same for us. As we are humble, contrite, broken, and repentant the Lord looks at us and says, “Yes, I know that you failed Me. I’m aware of your sin. However, My goal is not to cause you to wallow in guilt and shame. Rather, I want to remind you that My grace is even greater than all of that!”
And as you are reading this today, this is what I’m thinking: What sin, failure, and “denial” is haunting you from your past? What is it that tends to plague your thinking, cause you to feel guilty, and push you into a cesspool of shame?
Here’s the invitation: come to Jesus on the shore. Admit to Him your failure, fault, and flaws. Confess them honestly and transparently. And then allow His forgiveness to wash over your heart. Do you honestly think that your sin is unforgiveable? It’s not. He not only wants to forgive you, He wants to reinstate you for future ministry.
Don’t believe me? Ask Peter.