Over the weekend a bible verse that kept coming to mind was where Jesus asked Peter, “Simon, son of John, are you even my friend?” (John 21:17b, TLB). That verse just kept running through my head, and I wasn’t really sure why. Last evening when I was pondering it again, I came to realize that I think that even though Jesus knew beforehand that he would be denied three times by Peter, that Jesus’ human side felt hurt by Peter’s denials; after all, Peter was one of three (Peter, James, and John) in Jesus‘ inner circle. Having been one of Jesus’ closest friends, Peter’s denials had to especially hurt all the more. And I came to realize that Jesus not only suffered greatly physically in events leading up to and including his crucifixion, but he also suffered emotionally due to his friends betraying him, denying him, scattering and abandoning him after his arrest.

So that day after his resurrection while Jesus visited with Peter, Jesus posed three questions to Peter, correlating to Peter having denied Jesus three times. Jesus asked him first, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these others?” (John 21:15a, TLB); after all, before his arrest, Peter had claimed that even if the others abandoned Jesus, that Peter wouldn’t. Peter’s response to the question was “Yes, you know I am your friend.” (John 21:15b, TLB). Taken in context of the denials, I have to wonder what Jesus’ thoughts were about Peter’s claim to be his friend. So after replying to Peter to “feed my lambs” (a call to ministry), Jesus posed a second question to Peter: “Simon, son of John, do you really love me?” (John 21:16a, TLB). Having by now questioned Peter about his love for him (Jesus) twice, adds to the evidence that Jesus was feeling very hurt by Peter having denied him. And Peter again responded, “Yes, Lord, you know I am your friend.” (John 21:16b, TLB). And perhaps Jesus was thinking, “maybe not such a great friend.” Jesus then responded to him to “take care of my sheep” (again, a call to ministry). But in his final question to him, Jesus questioned Peter’s prior answers, where Peter kept claiming to be his friend. Jesus asked: “Simon, son of John, are you even my friend?” (John 21:17a), and perhaps that was one of the more painful questions; Jesus felt abandoned by one of his closest friends. John 21:17b, TLB, tells us the third question “grieved” Peter, as he responded, “Lord, you know my heart; you know I am.” Jesus then responded again to “feed my little sheep” (a call to ministry). Jesus’ questions posed to Peter that day seemed to be a process of reconciliation of Jesus with Peter, a reconciliation that needed to occur in preparation for and a call to Christian ministry.

I think sometimes we think of God as aloof and unable to understand the human experience. But especially because God walked the earth in the human form of Jesus and experienced firsthand many of the same challenges that we experience, God truly does know and understand the hurts that we experience in our earthly journeys. Our empathetic God walks with us; he truly cares; he truly understands.

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