John 21:15-19

¹⁵When 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." ⁶Again 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." ¹⁷The 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." ¹⁸Jesus said, "Feed My sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." ¹⁹Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then He said to him, "Follow Me!"

Even with this sign, Peter is still in need of assurance and comfort. So at the end of their supper together, Jesus comforts Peter’s heart with the exact words that he needed to know that his shocking sin was forgiven, and that he would be used to minister the gospel to the hungry and wayward sheep for whom Christ died. Here, even as Peter had denied Jesus three times, so Jesus extracts from him a confession of love three times (a confession which He knew to be sincere), as if to say, “Your bitter denial is over, and in its place is a true and loyal confession of Me, which will never again be shaken.” Jesus gave to Peter a threefold commission to be His minister, caring for and feeding His flock as a loving and faithful shepherd under the Great Shepherd, Jesus Himself. This call to be a shepherd, or a pastor, is in itself laborious and troublesome; since nothing is more difficult than to keep men under the yoke of God, among whom there are many who are weak, others who are wanton and unsteady, others who are dull and sluggish, and others who are slow and un-teachable. And we, as husbands and fathers are called to a resemblance of this role as well. So the lesson is this: As great as his sin was, Peter was forgiven indeed, and restored to true and fruitful ministry in the service of the King! Truly, God’s grace abounds to the chief of sinners, a fact for which we ought to be most grateful.

Christ does not give to Peter and others the office of feeding all sorts of persons, but only His sheep or His lambs. He elsewhere describes who they are whom He reckons to belong to His flock (John 10:5,27). Calvin says, “Faithful teachers ought to endeavor to gather all to Christ; and as they cannot distinguish between sheep and wild beasts, they ought to try by all methods if they can tame those who resemble wolves rather than sheep. But after having put forth their utmost efforts, their labor will be of no avail to any but the elect sheep; for docility and faith arise from this, that the heavenly Father delivers to His Son, that they may obey Him, those whom He elected before the creation of the world. Again, we are taught by this passage, that none can be fed to salvation by the doctrine of the Gospel but those who are mild and teachable; for it is not without reason that Christ compares His disciples to lambs and sheep; but it must also be observed, that the Spirit of God tames those who by nature were bears or lions.”

Before we continue on, let us note in passing that the difference in the Greek verbs (agape and phileo) for “love” is perhaps not as significant as some would have it be. John often moves back and forth between synonyms for mere stylistic purposes – in fact, he moves back and forth between different words for “sheep” and “feed” in this same passage – and this is probably all that he is doing here. Other commentators make a big deal about the Greek switch, but the key to this passage is the three-times restoration to compliment and overturn the triple denial.

In v18-19, Jesus reveals to Peter the kind of death he would die. It would not be pleasant, but it would be the least Peter could do after comprehending the forgiveness and grace he had received from the Lord Jesus. He would be led where he wouldn’t want to go. The dread of death is certainly natural, for being separated from the body in which our spirits dwell is an uncommon occurrence – indeed only once will we die. Jesus Himself undoubtedly experienced this dread, and He forewarns Peter that he will experience it as well. But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.” Whatever we experience in our lives is what we are called to experience. The question is this: Are we following Jesus? It may not be pleasant, but there is joy in suffering. So follow Jesus. The exhortation to follow Him is meant to comfort, for Jesus leads us and never drives His sheep. He has been there, and He endured. We experience nothing He has not overcome. So take heart and follow Him. It is noteworthy that a few extraordinary individuals have died with no dread in the most terrifying of tortuous experiences. This can certainly be attributed only to the grace of God in granting an extra measure of His presence and peace during those times.