Three

3/2/2020

John 21:17 "[Jesus] said unto him the third time, Lovest thou Me?”

Three times Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him, and each time Peter answered yes. Jesus then commanded him to; “Feed My lambs, Take care of My sheep, and Feed My sheep.” Peter was, however, hurt that Jesus asked him three times if he loved Him. This is, of course, the same amount of times Peter denied Jesus. It is also the third time Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection on the third day. Of course, The Holy Trinity is also three. The number three appears in the Bible 467 times. In Hebrew, the number 3 (shelosh, sheloshah) means harmony, new life, and completeness (Crosswalk.com) The three meanings can be seen in all of these examples.

The three times of Peter professing his love is in direct contrast to the three times he denied Christ, which could certainly fall into all the meanings of: harmony, new life, completeness. Peter was learning about the depth of his love for Jesus by this line of questioning. Chambers says, “Peter was beginning to discover to himself how much he did love the Lord, that there was no one in heaven above or upon earth beneath besides Jesus Christ; but he did not know it until the probing, hurting question of the Lord came. The Lord’s questions always reveal me to myself.” Peter needed to be brought to the place of being hurt before the truth could be revealed.

God’s questions do expose us, and uncover the depths of our love for Him and our faith in Him. Whether it is a question found in God’s Holy Word, or one that comes to us from the Holy Spirit, how we answer is always telling. The question that has been foremost for me recently is, “Do you trust Me?” With all that could weigh on my mind personally with relationships, health, home, job, finances, etc., or globally such as war, disease, crime, drugs, abuse, hatred, etc., this question always seems to be present. I would love to say that my trust in Jesus totally eradicates my worries and fears, but it takes prayer and focus for me to get to a place of peace. (Philippians 4:6&7) It certainly reveals to me how weak my faith actually is. Oh, to have faith as small as a mustard seed. I will keep listening to God's questions that test me, and pray that they will help me grow closer to my Savior; for He brings harmony, new life, and completeness.