NOTES for Joh 21:15-19

It would seem to be an ordinary meal: the apostles and their Teacher recline at table. We see the risen Jesus and Peter, who had recently betrayed Him. Yes, the grief of loss and the joy of the Resurrection had perhaps already "washed" this act, but it had still been committed... And before us is a man who will preserve the memory of his betrayal all his life. There is a tradition that Peter wept every time he heard a rooster crow, remembering his sin.

But this very thing brings something completely special into the relationship between the Teacher and His disciple. Perhaps this is exactly why Jesus gives Peter the chance to confess his love three times. Yes, this is especially painful in light of what happened, but it is necessary for Peter himself and so that, with the wound already healed, he can go and preach the Gospel to the world. Peter has nothing left to lose or hide from the Lord. That is why his words are not simply a confession of love, but something more: "You know everything; You know that I love You" (John 21:17). And who, if not Peter, would understand that Jesus knows everything? This understanding gives him strength, despite the sorrow caused by the question repeated three times, to answer the Lord by confessing his love.