On the night he was betrayed, Jesus told His close followers that He was going away to somewhere where they could not follow: “I will be with you only a little longer…Where I am going, you cannot come” (John 13:33). Peter protested that he would go with Jesus all the way, even to death: “I will lay down my life for you” (John 13:37). I am not sure that Peter meant it literally. He probably meant that he was willing to risk death to help Jesus set up His kingdom. Peter did not realize that Jesus was going to willingly and deliberately lay down His life. Jesus then warned Peter that he would deny Jesus “three times” that same night (John 13:38). Peter proved to be braver than the other followers. He tried to defend Jesus by cutting off the ear of one of the men who arrested Jesus (John 18:10), and he followed Jesus into the high priest’s house to see what would happen and perhaps to help if he could. In trying to remain free to act, Peter did indeed deny Jesus three times. What we often overlook is that Jesus also said that Peter would “follow later” (John 13:36).

Peter was greatly discouraged by his failure. After a rooster crowed to remind him of his betrayal, “he went outside and wept bitterly” (Matthew 26:75). When Jesus’ followers returned to Galilee, Peter decided to go fishing. Did he think that his failure disqualified him from further ministry and he should go back to his previous occupation? John 21 describes what is often called Peter’s “restoration.” This took place on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus had originally called to Peter, “Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people” (Matthew 4:19, Mark 1:17). This time, Jesus took Peter aside and asked, “Do you love me more than these?” It is not clear what is meant by “these.” Was Jesus asking if Peter loved Jesus more than the trappings of his old fishing way of life? Was He asking if Peter loved Jesus more than the other followers of Jesus, as Peter had once claimed (Matthew 26:33: “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”)? The Greek word for love here is agape, which means self-sacrificing love, the highest form of love. (If Jesus was speaking Aramaic, the language of Palestine, it is not clear what word He was using, but it is also true that many Jews would understand some Greek.) Peter responded that yes, he loved Jesus, but hedged his affirmation by saying that Jesus knew this. He was saying that Jesus knew better than Peter did himself what was in his heart—as Jesus had demonstrated the night before Jesus’ arrest when Peter was sure he would remain faithful and Jesus knew he would not. Peter had learned some humility and was hesitant to claim too much. In response, Jesus did not ask Peter to sacrifice himself but to do something much easier—to “feed my lambs” (John 21:15), that is, to teach and serve other followers of Jesus. Jesus asked the same thing a second time and got the same answer. Then Jesus asked a third time, three questions corresponding to the three times that Peter had denied Jesus. But this time the word Jesus used for love was phileo, brotherly affection, a much lower standard. This grieved Peter, who was unsure whether he could even claim to reach this lower standard. He felt he was again failing Jesus. But then Jesus declared that Peter would indeed remain faithful to Jesus, that he would demonstrate self-sacrificing love for Jesus, by stretching out his hands and being crucified (John 21:18). Jesus then told Peter again to “follow me.” Peter would do this, both in preaching the good news and healing (feeding and taking care of the sheep) as Jesus had done and in dying on a cross. This must have been very reassuring to Peter but sobering and terrifying at the same time. From then on, Peter would know that he would be crucified, just as Jesus had known that He would be crucified.