Do You Love Me? By Susan Barnes
Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” . . .“Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” . . . “Simon son of John, do you love me?” . . . He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” John 21:15-17 NIV
Peter was inclined to exaggerate. He thought his faith was strong enough to walk on water, but he sank after a few steps. He boasted that he would lay down his life for Jesus, but denied him three times. However, a subtle change occurs in Peter’s life between Jesus’ resurrection, and Pentecost.
In John 21 we see Jesus asking Peter three questions. In some older translations, the word "truly" is added to Jesus' first two questions to indicate he has used the stronger Greek word for love. In all of Peter's replies, there is no "truly." Peter has used the weaker Greek word for love.
In one way it is disappointing that Peter could not come out with a strong declaration of his love for Jesus, but in another, it shows that Peter had stopped overreacting and got honest with God. Perhaps we need to do the same.
We can make a strong declaration of our love for Jesus when we understand, "We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19). Our love is a response to his love and only increases as we become more focused on his love for us.
Susan, an Australian pastor's wife, regularly writes devotional thoughts on Bible passages, book reviews, and inspirational articles. Contact |
