In 21:1-14 we saw that, in resurrection, the Lord moved and lived with the believers. Now, in 21:15-25, we see that He is also working and walking with the believers.
The Lord is working as the Shepherd to build up the church by shepherding His flock (21:15-17; 10:16). There are three aspects of the Lord as the Shepherd: the good Shepherd (10:11), the great Shepherd (Heb. 13:20), and the chief Shepherd (1 Pet. 5:4). Shepherding is not for individuals; it is for the flock. The flock is the church, and the church is the building. By reading John 21 and 1 Peter we can see that shepherding is for the building of the church.
In 21:15 the Lord Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” The Lord was here restoring Peter’s love toward Him. Peter did have a heart to love the Lord, but he was too confident of his own strength, his natural strength. His love for the Lord was precious, but his natural strength had to be denied and dealt with. The Lord allowed him to utterly fail by denying Him to His face three times (18:17, 25, 27) so that his natural strength and his self-confidence might be dealt with. Furthermore, Peter had just taken the lead in backsliding from the Lord’s call. His natural confidence in his love toward the Lord must also have been dealt with by this failure. Since he might have been somewhat disappointed, the Lord came to restore his love toward Him, to charge him with the shepherding of His church, and to prepare him for his martyrdom, so that he would not follow Him with any confidence in his natural strength.
When the Lord spoke to Peter in 21:15-17, He did not call him “Peter,” which was his regenerated name, the new name of his regenerated person. The Lord called him “Simon.” Simon was his old name, the name depicting his natural person. Because Peter was still a natural person, the Lord asked him, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” The reason the Lord asked him this question first was because Peter had boldly told the Lord on the eve of His betrayal that he would not give up the Lord, even though all the other disciples would forsake Him (Matt. 26:33). Peter had said that he would follow the Lord unto death (John 13:37; Matt. 26:35). By saying this, Peter made himself different from the other disciples. Yes, he was different from them—in his weakness, not in his strength. When the Lord asked him, “Do you love Me more than these?” the Lord was reminding Peter of what he was. He was a man so self-confident and proud.
Peter’s love toward the Lord was precious, but his natural strength had to be dealt with. Peter’s strength was dealt with in two ways: in his denying the Lord and in his taking the lead to backslide from the Lord’s call. Peter failed the first test by denying the Lord three times, and he failed the second test by going fishing. The reason the disciples went fishing was because they were without food. When Abraham was in Canaan, he also was tested by the same problem and went down to Egypt because of the famine. In the same principle, Peter and the other disciples went to the sea to fish, being tested by the lack of food. Peter thought that he was strong, and able to withstand any test, even death itself. He had told the Lord that he would follow Him even unto death. Thus, the Lord tested Peter twice, and Peter failed both tests.
How did the Lord deal with Peter’s natural strength? By temporarily taking His hand off him. In 10:28, the Lord said that no one is able to snatch the believers out of His hand. When Peter betrayed the Lord, denying Him to His face three times, it meant that the Lord had taken His hand off him for a while. The Lord seemed to be saying, “Peter, you have too much confidence in yourself. You don’t know that your standing depends upon My holding you in My hand. If I don’t hold you, you cannot stand. Let Me take My hand away for a while and see if you are able to stand.” Then the Lord stood back a little, and Peter fell. Do not think that you have the power to stand. No, an unseen hand upholds us all the time. I appreciate the fact that throughout the years, and even now, many saints have been praying for me. In my fellowship with the Lord in the spirit, I have the deep sense and appreciation that so many dear ones are praying for me. By myself, I cannot stand. By myself, I cannot minister. I know the source of the power of ministry. And I know that the source of the strength to stand is not in me—it is in Him. We all need to realize this. Because Peter was so strong, having too much confidence in himself, the Lord was forced to temporarily remove His hand. As a result, Peter fell and denied the Lord three times. Moreover, Peter could not stand the test of his daily living and took the lead to backslide to the sea. Perhaps Peter thought that he had reason to do this because, at that point, he had not seen the supply of the Lord. Nevertheless, by his backsliding Peter was exposed. The Lord withdrew His hand for a little while, and Peter was fully exposed. This was the Lord’s dealing.
In chapter twenty-one, Peter was humble and very low. Undoubtedly he was quite disappointed. Thus, the Lord came in to recover, strengthen, and restore him. It is quite meaningful that, in front of all the other disciples, the Lord asked Peter, “Do you love Me more than these?” The Lord seemed to be saying, “Simon, have you forgotten that a few days ago you said, in the presence of all the others, that although they would forsake Me, you would follow Me to death? That was your word. Now, Simon, I ask you if you love Me more than these do?” If I had been Peter, I would not have had the face to say anything. Peter simply replied, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You” (v. 15). Peter could not answer the Lord with a clear word, for he was in a very perplexing situation. He did not say, “Lord, I love You,” or, “Lord, I don’t love You.” How would you have answered the Lord if you had been Peter? Would you have said, “Yes, Lord, I love You more than all of these”? Would you have said, “Lord, I’m sorry I don’t love You,” or, “Lord, I’m sorry that I boasted and was unable to fulfill it”? Peter had lost his self-confidence and could say nothing except, “Lord, You know that I love You.” In other words, Peter seemed to be saying, “I don’t know whether I love You or not. Lord, You know. If I say that I love You, I know that this does not mean anything. Formerly, I told You that I loved You, but I failed. In fact, You told me that I would fail and deny You three times, and it was so. Now, Lord, it is up to You. You know—I don’t.” Here we see a man who had become a tested and broken person.
In verses 16 and 17, we see that the Lord twice more asked Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” When the Lord asked him this the third time, Peter was deeply grieved. He was grieved for two reasons. The first was that the Lord asked him this question three times. If I asked you the same question three times, you also would feel quite troubled. The second reason Peter was grieved was that by asking him this question three times, the Lord was reminding Peter that he had denied Him three times. When Peter denied the Lord, he was warming himself by a fire (18:25). There was also a fire in John 21. The Lord’s action was very meaningful, for now, having a fire to remind Peter, He seemed to be saying, “Peter, do you remember that fire? Do you remember that it was by a fire that you denied Me? By that fire you denied Me, but by this fire I supply you.” Thus, the Lord caused Peter to remember what he did by that fire and to realize what he was and where he was. Peter fully learned that lesson. In the whole New Testament, the best picture of Peter is the one in John 21. I do like Brother Peter in this chapter. Here he is a soft, meek, and broken person, a man who has truly learned the lesson of being tested and broken by the Lord.