On Monday, we briefly talked about the restoration of Peter in John 21 when Jesus tells Peter three times: “If you love me, take care of my sheep.” We inferred that demonstrating your love for someone requires actions, not just words. (Which by the way is exactly what 1 John 3:18 says.) But there are a couple of subtle points about this dialogue between Peter and Jesus that deserve some additional attention.
First, Jesus asked Peter “do you love me” three times. People will often say, “That’s because Jesus was giving Peter an opportunity to repent for the three times that Peter denied him”. Although I agree with this, on face value this can lead to some sketchy theology. Does God require us to enumerate every sin to be fully cleansed prior to being admitted into heaven? If Jesus had only asked Peter this question once, would Peter have been lacking in his confession and restoration? I don’t think so. It is true, that for those who will be judged in the Great White Throne Room Judgement in Revelation 20:13 that an account must be given for every sin. But for those whose names are found in the Lamb’s Book of Life in verse 15, they are not judged according to their sins. Furthermore, 1 John 1:8-10 tells us that everyone sins, even when we don’t realize it. If we live a life of repentance, continually turning our hearts towards God and trusting in the blood of Jesus, there is no account for our sin. Yes, it is healthy for us to confess our sins, but God is not determining our eternal destination based on a ledger of sin and confession. If he were, we’d all be damned because it is not possible to recall all of our sins, we would always come up in the red. And that is why Jesus came!
It may well be that Jesus was trying to provide a full-catharsis for Peter, giving Peter the emotional benefit of cancelling each denial with a confession of love and faith. This is an example of grace on the part of Jesus, to be fully concerned about Peter’s well-being, and restore him to his former confidence, knowing the work ahead will be difficult. But it was not a matter of salvation. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23), but gift of God is eternal life (Rom 6:23b).
Second, Jesus makes a subtle change in his questioning that is only apparent in the Greek. The first two times that Jesus asks Peter if you love me he uses the word agape. This is the Greek word for love that references the perfect and divine love of the God the Father. But the first two times that Peter replies, he says, “Jesus, you know that I phileo you.” This is the Greek word for love that describes brotherly love. The third time that Jesus asks, he changes his question to use the word phileo, not agape. This is very interesting, and there is no agreement about why Jesus did this. One thought is that Peter was simply aware of his human limitations, or he was being humble, and did not want to claim that he had the ability to love with the same kind of love as God himself. Therefore, when Jesus changed his question to phileo it was an act of grace, letting Peter off the hook a bit, coming down to his level, relieving the pressure. Jesus was fully accepting the love that Peter was willing to offer, even if it wasn’t the type of love that Jesus was hoping for.
The fact that Jesus asked “do you agape me” twice tells us that is possible for us to love others perfectly with the love of the Father, even when we mess up. And it means that our goal should not be to simply share in brotherly fellowship, but actually extend the love of God to everyone who needs it, the lambs and sheep of Jesus.
Lord, help us to agape more each day and in every way. Help us to see and act on every opportunity to love more perfectly with the very love that we ourselves have received from the Father. Help us to experience the love of the Father, so that our love bank will never be empty. In Jesus name, Amen.
