Peter has fallen hard (chapter 18), and he knows it. Yet we read in chapter 21, "As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, 'It is the Lord,' he...jumped into the water". In Peter we see a man who understands his need for Jesus, or at least is eager to be with Him. Then we see this encounter:
"Do you truly love me more than these?"
"Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
"Feed my lambs."
"Do you truly love me?"
"Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
"Take care of my sheep."
"Do you love me?"
"Lord you know all things; you know that I love you."
"Feed my sheep.."
In this encounter, Jesus makes Peter whole again, demonstrating His infinite mercy and power to forgive. Peter's denial of Jesus ranks with the most heinous of acts, and yet Jesus very intentionally and thoroughly enables Peter to leave it in the past. Peter is given the responsibility to feed lambs and take care of sheep, a role that the Good Shepherd (chapter 10) would never carelessly entrust to anybody.
The final verse of the book is pretty cool - "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." (v. 25)
If you have journeyed through John, whether for the first time or the 1001st time, congratulations! Read, studied, digested and applied to our lives, God uses His Word to transform us and change our lives forever.
And I hope you'll plan to continue on to the next book in the New Testament - Acts chapter 1 for next week!
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