Three Times, By a Fire
“The 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.' Jesus said, 'Feed my sheep.'”
— John 21:17 (NIV)
Peter denied Jesus three times while standing at a charcoal fire. The Greek word for a charcoal fire appears only twice in this Gospel: that night, and now on the beach. Jesus asks three times, one for each denial, and never once mentions the denial itself. After each answer Jesus gives him something to do.
Nobody has to be punished before God takes them back. Peter was not put on probation and not asked to explain. He got one question about love and then a job, on the same morning. He did not have to earn his way back before he was useful again.
Let Him Ask You
- 1Sit with the question honestly: do you love Him? Answer out loud, however uncertain it sounds.
- 2Then do one thing today that feeds someone: a meal, a call, an hour of help.
Jesus, ask me the question and then give me something to do today.
I do not have to earn my way back to being useful.
Why does the charcoal fire matter?
John uses a rare word for charcoal fire only twice: at Peter's denial and on this beach. The setting deliberately echoes the failure.
Why ask three times?
It mirrors the three denials. Each question undoes one, and Jesus never names the denial out loud.
What does feed my sheep mean here?
Peter is given responsibility, not a demotion. Restoration includes being trusted with work again.