Feed My Sheep

Today's Reading

John 21 is an epilogue — but what an epilogue. After the resurrection, the disciples return to Galilee and to fishing. Jesus meets them on the shore with a charcoal fire, a miraculous catch, and a conversation that restores Peter from the ashes of his denial. The Gospel ends not with a conclusion but with a commission: "Follow me."

Reflection

Seven disciples go fishing on the Sea of Tiberias and catch nothing all night. At dawn, a figure on the shore calls out, "Children, do you have any fish?" (John 21:5). He tells them to cast the net on the right side of the boat. They do, and the net is suddenly overwhelming with fish — 153 large fish, and yet the net is not torn. The beloved disciple recognizes Jesus first. Peter, impetuous as ever, throws himself into the water to reach Him.

On the shore, they find a charcoal fire with fish and bread. The detail of the charcoal fire is not accidental. The last time Peter stood near a charcoal fire, he denied Jesus three times (John 18:18). Jesus has recreated the scene — not to shame Peter, but to heal him.

After breakfast, Jesus turns to Peter with a question asked three times — once for each denial:

"Simon, son of John, do you love me?" (John 21:16)

Peter is grieved by the third asking. But Jesus is not twisting the knife. He is performing surgery on the wound. Each question draws out Peter's love, and each answer receives a commission: "Feed my lambs." "Tend my sheep." "Feed my sheep." Peter, the denier, is restored as a shepherd. The one who failed most publicly is entrusted with the most sacred task.

Jesus then predicts the kind of death by which Peter will glorify God — tradition tells us Peter was crucified upside down. And then the simple, devastating command: "Follow me" (John 21:19).

Peter glances at the beloved disciple and asks, "Lord, what about this man?" Jesus' answer cuts through all comparison and competition: "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!" (John 21:22). Each disciple has a unique path. The only question that matters is whether you will follow.

John closes his Gospel with a statement that captures both the richness and the inexhaustibility of Jesus:

"Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." (John 21:25)

Going Deeper

Psalm 139 declares, "O Lord, you have searched me and known me!" Jesus' three-fold question to Peter is not a request for information — He who knows all hearts already knows the answer. The questions are for Peter's sake, drawing out a confession of love to replace each confession of denial. This is the pattern of grace: God meets us in the exact place of our failure, not to condemn but to restore and commission. The Gospel of John ends where every believer's journey begins — with the risen Christ saying, "Follow me." The invitation stands open. The journey continues.