John 21, the story of the resurrected Jesus appearing to His close followers on the shore of the Sea of Galilee raises a number of questions that Christians would do well to ask themselves. These questions call for self-examination. Some of these questions will be more relevant to some Christians at some times than others.

1. The disciples did not at first recognize Jesus’ presence (verses 4-7). Where might Jesus be working in my life right now that I have failed to recognize? Do I really believe Jesus is working in my life?

2. One focus of the passage is Peter’s restoration after he spectacularly denied Jesus. What failures/disloyalties/sins do I need to be restored from?

3. Jesus first provided the disciples with a miraculous catch of fish from the sea and then fed them fish and bread he had cooking on a fire on shore (verses 6-13). How is God ministering to me and supplying me with the things I need today?

4. There is nothing wrong with being a fisherman, but God had called Peter to do something else. What is it that God has called me to do? What has He called me not to do?

5. Jesus called Peter to feed other sheep. What is my responsibility to other people in my life? Is there something I should be doing to feed, supply, assist, or encourage someone else?

6. When Peter looked over His shoulder and asked about John’s fate, Jesus rebuked him. Could I be guilty of comparing myself to others, priding myself on my greater faithfulness, or envying someone else’s easier journey? For what could Jesus be rebuking me today?

7. When Jesus challenged Peter, “Do you truly love me?”, He used the word “agape” (self-sacrificing love). In this challenge, in Jesus’ prophecy of Peter’s end (like Jesus, he would be crucified), and in Jesus’ call to Peter to “follow me,” there is a suggestion that “When God calls a person, He calls that person to come and die.” What is it that I need to die to? What do I need to sacrifice, to lay down on the altar?

8. Jesus did not ask Peter whether he loved his work, his fellow disciples, or the sheep he would feed. Rather, Jesus’ fundamental question, before commissioning Peter to minister, was: Do you love Me? Jesus asks the same question of us. Do I love Jesus?