Three Times (May 11 Sermon Summary and Discussion Questions) - John 21:15-19

We all like a good comeback story. It’s nice to see people who have gone through a rough patch in their lives come out the other side and find their way again. But there are limits, for most of us, of the kinds of “comebacks” we will embrace: if the behaviour is too egregious, too far over the line, we aren’t so sure about restoration. The story in John 21:15-19 is about the restoration of Peter after his failure on Jesus’ darkest night. When Peter denied knowing Jesus, he was practicing infidelity with regard to a very special relationship. He was breaking promises. But after the resurrection, Jesus sought out Peter to assure him that restoration was possible.

In this passage, we see Jesus initiate the conversation. He speaks to Peter. Peter had probably been desperately trying to erase the memory of what he had done (see again John 21:1-14 and look at all of Peter’s activity there). But when Jesus speaks to Peter he is showing him that he has already made the decision to restore him. If Peter will receive it, there is hope for him yet.

Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” (In Greek, there is some variety in the wording Jesus uses, but scholars generally don’t believe those changes are significant.) He asks him three times as a way of acknowledging the elephant in the room: Peter had denied knowing Jesus three times on that terrible night a short while before. Jesus’ restoration of Peter will not happen without acknowledging the wrong that has been done. In our society, we generally don’t like to name the wrongs we have done to one another. If someone tries to apologize for something that we see as a small wrong, we say “don’t mention it,” essentially treating it as something that doesn’t need forgiveness. But over a certain line (when we feel we have genuinely been wronged), we all too often cut ties. Jesus’ way (which, of course, is by definition also God’s way) is different: wrongs must be named, but wrongs can always be forgiven.

We can learn from Jesus’ restoration of Peter how we might approach offering restoration to others. But we should also see in this scene a call to be restored to Jesus ourselves. We have all fallen short of what we were made for, we have all broken the promises of our life as human beings made in God’s image (Romans 3).

In each of Jesus’ three interactions with Peter, he gives Peter a job to do: “Feed my sheep.” In Jesus’ mind, restoration is not about being able to find a seat in the back of the room. Rather it is to do the work that he has planned for us to do. The body of Christ (which Peter here represents) is always a group of people who need and receive restoration from Jesus, and who out of that grace become his servants for others.

Discussion Questions

1.      Think of some relationships in your experience that were or are broken. What is the barrier to restoration?

2.      Why is it difficult to reach out to a person who has wronged you and to make it clear that you would like to see that relationship restored? Have you ever been on the other side of this breach, so that you feel that restoration has been refused you?

3.      Consider the following verses: Matthew 6:12; Matthew 10:8; Romans 15:7.

a.      How do these verses present a challenge to us?

b.      How do they help us find a way forward in doing the difficult work of forgiveness and restoration?

4.      Read John 21:15-19.

a.      Put yourself in Peter’s place. What thoughts do you think you would have had as Jesus asked, “Do you love me?”

b.      What does it mean to “feed my sheep” or “take care of my sheep”? Read 1 Peter 5:1-4 for further insights.

c.      In verse 18-19, Jesus gives Peter a glimpse of what his future will be. What do you think Jesus means by these words? What does it say about the work Jesus might be calling his church to do today?