When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He then said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” [Jesus] said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18 Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19 He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”
“Do you love me more than these?” With this question, Jesus begins a profound and tender exchange with Simon Peter by the Sea of Galilee. The risen Christ addresses not only Peter’s personal failure—his threefold denial—but also his future mission as shepherd of the flock. This dialogue is both a healing and a commissioning.
Three times Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?” (vv. 15–17), paralleling Peter’s threefold denial (cf. John 18:17, 25–27). This threefold repetition is not for emphasis alone; in Scripture, saying something three times signals solemnity and lasting importance, as seen in Old Testament passages such as Isaiah 6:3 (“Holy, holy, holy”) and Jeremiah 7:4 (“The temple of the Lord…”). Here, it serves both to publicly restore Peter and to solemnly commission him. Jesus entrusts Peter with pastoral care: “Feed my lambs…Tend my sheep…Feed my sheep.” These imperatives reflect the Lord’s trust and the office Peter is being given, not merely as one disciple among many, but as chief shepherd under Christ (cf. 1 Pet. 5:1-4).
The vocabulary in Greek underscores the theological depth of this exchange. Jesus initially uses agapao—a self-giving, sacrificial love—but Peter responds with phileo, expressing affectionate love. On the third question, Jesus shifts to Peter’s word, phileo, meeting him in his weakness. The Church Fathers saw in this a merciful condescension, Christ bending low to raise Peter up.
While in English usually one word is used to describe all types of love, in Greek specific words are used for different kinds of love: agapē, a self-giving, sacrificial love rooted in the will; philia, a brotherly or affectionate love; eros, a romantic or passionate love; and storgē, a familial love or natural affection.
This passage is also a fulfillment of Old Testament typology. As David was called from tending sheep to shepherd Israel (cf. 2 Sam. 5:2), so Peter is called to shepherd the new Israel, the Church. The pastoral image draws on God’s own identity as Shepherd (cf. Ezek. 34:11-16; Ps. 23), and now Christ, the Good Shepherd (John 10:11), entrusts His flock to Peter. The early Church understood this moment as the singular investiture of Peter with his unique apostolic role.
Jesus then foretells Peter’s martyrdom: “When you grow old, you will stretch out your hands…” (v. 18). This veiled prophecy—interpreted in verse 19 as indicating “the kind of death by which he would glorify God”—refers to Peter’s crucifixion. According to tradition, Peter was crucified in Rome under Nero, choosing to be crucified upside down, not counting himself worthy to die like the Lord (cf. Tertullian, Scorpiace 15).
Peter’s encounter with the risen Christ is not only a moment of restoration, but one of re-commissioning. Having denied the Lord three times, Peter is now asked to profess his love three times—and each time he does, Jesus entrusts him with the care of His flock. This exchange reveals that Christ’s mission is entrusted not to the perfect, but to the repentant. Love becomes the condition for leadership, and mercy becomes the foundation of ministry.
In this moment, Peter is not simply reinstated as a disciple but is established as a shepherd. The call to “feed my sheep” sets him apart with a unique pastoral responsibility. Other passages confirm this role: Jesus gives Peter the keys to the kingdom (Matt. 16:18–19), and tells him to strengthen his brethren after his conversion (Luke 22:32). The command that follows—“Follow me”—is now a summons to lead by sacrifice, a path that will end in martyrdom and glory. It is through this love and obedience that Peter becomes the visible shepherd of Christ’s flock on earth.
Lord Jesus, you know our weakness and still entrust us with your work. Strengthen our love for you, that we may serve you with fidelity and follow you even to the cross. As you called Peter, call us again. As you restored him, restore us. As you commanded him to feed your flock, help us to feed others with your truth and love. Amen.
Sources
- McSorley, Joseph. An Outline History of the Church by Centuries (From St. Peter to Pius XII). 2nd ed., B. Herder Book Co., 1944.
- Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
- Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: The Pentateuch. Four Courts Press, 2017
- Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Prentice Hall, 1990.
- Charpentier, Etienne. How to Read the Old Testament. Translated by John Bowden, 1981.
- Komonchak, Joseph, et al., editors. The New Dictionary of Theology.
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