He says to him again a second time, Simon, [son] of Jonas, lovest thou me? He says to him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I am attached to thee. He says to him, Shepherd my sheep.
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He says to him the third time, Simon, [son] of Jonas, art thou attached to me? Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, Art thou attached to me? and said to him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I am attached to thee. Jesus says to him, Feed my sheep.
Peter had denied his Master three times. Now the Lord asks him three times whether he loves Him. The question is not for information. It is the last stage of a restoration, and it ends with the Lord placing His flock in the hands of the man who failed.
The count is deliberate, and Peter felt it.
William J HockingWhy three? The Lord's enemies had asked Peter three times if he was a follower of Jesus, and three times he had denied the truth. So Simon knew that the Lord was searching and testing him. He felt the point of the knife in his heart, and knew that he deserved to be exposed.
In the original language the Lord and Peter do not use the same word for love.
W. T. P. WolstonThe Lord's word for "love" is the one used for divine love, which never fails. Peter's word expresses brotherly affection, and that kind of love often fails — as his own did towards the Lord. On the third occasion the Lord comes down to Peter's word and says, "Are you attached to Me?"… Peter had boasted of more love for Christ than anyone. Now he admits that it took divine insight to discover that he had any love at all.
Commentators differ on what exactly grieved him. Some point to the repetition; others to the changed word:
G C WillisIt was not that He asked three times if he loved Him. What hurt terribly was the change of word. The Lord dropped His own word for "love" and used the weak word, as though He questioned whether Peter loved Him at all.
Peter had already met the risen Lord in private. Something deeper than the act of denial still had to come out — and the name the Lord uses points to it.
Hamilton SmithThe actual sin had been dealt with at the private interview. Peter had judged the evil fruit of the old tree and confessed it to the Lord, and his conscience had been relieved. But the evil root that produced the bad fruit still had to be exposed and judged. Only then would his heart be fully restored to fellowship with the Lord. The Lord does this work in public for our profit. We all have the root of evil in us, even if we have not fallen into particular sins… So the Lord addresses Peter not by his new name of grace, but by his natural name, "Simon, son of John".
Peter no longer argues from his own record.
The Christian's FriendIt is a wonderful thing to be satisfied with what God knows about us. You see it strikingly in restored Peter, when the Lord tested him on the very point he had boasted about. He says, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." He had confidence in himself before. Now he falls back on what his Lord knows of him. He had found out what he was, and he has not a word to say for himself. His comfort is, "You know."
The questioning ends in work, not in dismissal. Notice what the Lord tests before He hands over the sheep.
The Bible TreasuryIt is interesting to notice that the Lord's question is not "Do you love My sheep?" but "Do you love ME?" Then come the words: "Feed My lambs"; "Tend My sheep"; "Feed My sheep." This reminds us in passing that no amount of affection for the sheep will supply enough drive to keep serving them without growing weary.
The Lord's word for the sheep here is a tender one.
G C WillisThe Lord says: "Feed My dear sheep." These are the only times in the New Testament where "sheep" appears in this small, affectionate form. "Lamb" appears in it only here as well, apart from Revelation. What depth of meaning the Lord adds to His words by putting in that little ending three times!
All of this happens in front of the other disciples.
W. T. P. WolstonHere, in plain language, you have Peter restored in public in the most beautiful way… In the presence of them all He openly says, "I trust that man absolutely. I put into his hands the objects of My tenderest love and care — My lambs and My sheep, for him to feed by his ministry."… When Peter trusted himself, he failed. When the springs of his self-confidence were broken, that was the moment Christ could trust him.
- Threefold — Three denials, three questions. Peter counts them and feels how deep the Lord is probing.
- Downward — In the third question the Lord uses Peter's own weaker word for love, and that is where the grief bites.
- Root — The private meeting cleared his conscience. The public questions reach the self-confidence under the sin.
- Refuge — Peter has no claim left to make for himself. He rests on what Christ knows: "You know."
- Trust — The Lord tests love for Himself, not love for the sheep. He gives His flock to the man who has stopped trusting himself.