Do You Love Me?

  I’m always amazed and blessed by the depth of Scripture.  Something I’ve read many times suddenly sparks a thought that hadn’t occurred to me before.  We can learn much both from what the scripture reports and the message it contains beyond the actual event.  To contemplate of the depth of scripture is to better know God.

   I recently had this happen when considering Peter’s denial of Jesus.  After the resurrection Jesus asked Peter to reaffirm his love for Him three times just as he had denied Him three times.  This time I experienced a deeper meaning of these events.

   “And a maid came up to him, and said, ‘You also were with Jesus the Galilean.’ But he denied it before them all, saying, ‘I do not know what you mean.” (Matt 26: 69-70)

   “Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” (John 21: 15)

   Perhaps the first time Jesus asked Peter to restate his love for Him was to help Peter more fully recognize the sin he had committed in his denial.  Just so, we need to acknowledge our sinfulness when we seek forgiveness.

   “And when he when he went out to the porch, another maid saw him, and she said to the bystanders, ‘This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.’  And again he denied it with an oath, ‘I do not know the man.”  (Matt 26: 71-72)

   “A second time he said to him, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’  He said to him, ‘Yes Lord; you know that I love you.” (John 21: 16).

   Peter’s second reaffirmation of his love for Jesus may have been to deepen his sorrow for denying the Lord before others.  As we seek forgiveness, we must also feel sorrow for the times we have failed to take a stand for our Lord.

   “After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, ‘Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you.’  Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, ‘I do not know the man.’  And immediately the cock crowed.”  (Matt 26:73-74)

   “He said to him the third time. ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’  Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?  And he said to him, ‘Lord you know everything; you know that I love you.”  (John 21: 17).

  When Jesus asked him of his love for Him the third time maybe it was meant to impress upon Peter that he must change his ways and always seek to serve the Lord regardless of the consequences.  We too, when seeking forgiveness, must amend our lives and strive to live more fully for God.

   How many times have we denied Jesus in our life?  For many of us probably more than three times.  Peter reaffirmed his love of Jesus, not once but three times in his healing process.  We also need to be healed as we seek forgiveness for our sins.  That process includes an honest acknowledgment of our sins, genuine remorse for having failed our Lord and sincere effort to avoid sin in the future.

   May Peter’s experience, through God's grace, lead us to a closer, more loving relationship with our Lord.