Section 6
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. For merly, 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